331. Six Row Brewing – Double IPA
After having the STLIPA and Winged Nut at Urban Chestnut, my friend Joe and I headed over to Six Row in St. Louis on our “mini-micro tour” (stopping at 3-4 microbreweries today). We were bummed we missed out on their bacon infused “Porked Porter” yesterday. Additionally, their taps seemed a bit limited, as the bartender mentioned that they were preparing for the St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival next...
330. Urban Chestnut – STLIPA (St. Louis India Pale Ale)
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m in St. Louis doing a “mini-micro tour” (hitting 3-4 microbreweries) with my friend Joe. After lunch, our first stop was Urban Chestnut brewing for a couple beers. They have a very cool set up in an old carriage garage, and both the brewery and bar are new and modern. Joe and I sat at the corner of the bar and had samples of several different beers. They are very, very generous...
275. Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works – Hoperation Overload Double IPA
I had a late afternoon doctor’s appointment and had to run some errands. While running errands, I had remembered my friend Fred, the assistant brewmaster at Destihl, saying how much he liked this beer. So, I decided to stop by. Unexpectedly, I ran into Fred and his wife Heather, along with 4-5 other members of our homebrew club, the ABNormal Brewers. Fred was there to unclog the lines which had filled with hop sediment, and...
270. Smuttynose – Big A IPA Draft
My friend, BettyWriter is in town, so we went out for a couple drinks to catch up and put together a game plan for our trip to SXSW next month. We caught up at Medici in “Uptown” Normal, because they usually have a pretty good beer selection. I have heard a lot about Smuttynose, and it seems like they’ve been everywhere lately, so I thought I’d give them a chance. The Big A IPA appears to be a big American...
206. Founders Brewing – Devil Dancer Triple IPA
Well, I spent most of the day running from the car dealership to the credit union, but we finally closed on the minivan we were considering… just in time to pack it up and head to my old stomping grounds at the University of Missouri-Columbia for Homecoming. We took the kids around to look at the house decorations and got back to the hotel late. I was hoping to find a new type of seasonal beer in Columbia, but with all the...
Full Sail Brewing – Spotless IPA Cask
After taking the Widmer tour in the morning and having lunch at their Gasthaus pub, it was time to head south to Full Sail Riverplace for their smoker. It was a nice event for brewers and a few others to get away from the craziness of the festival and enjoy some beers and cigars with the folks from Full Sail. It was also a good excuse to have a small party for brewmaster John Harris’s birthday. I wish I would have taken some...
111. Bridgeport Brewing – Hop Czar Imperial IPA Draft
Although I was not very impressed with Pelican Brewery’s Guillotine Strong Ale, I thought I’d check back in with Jamie to see if he had enjoyed anything he had tried. He was drinking Bridgeport’s Hop Czar Imperial IPA and said it was pretty good, so I thought I would give it a try. It was the only beer at the Brewmasters’ Dinner which was being served from a firkin with some recently added fresh dry hops. I...
102. Full Sail Brewing – Spotless IPA
I enjoyed a few very good beers there in the tasting room and pub at Full Sail. Before heading out to grab a bite of dinner, I wanted to try a sample of the Spotless, a double IPA brewed by Full Sail. Jamie had mentioned it during our tasting the previous day, but there wasn’t room enough on the tray to include it (and it’s a pretty big beer to try along with so many other samples). Jamie had warned me though, it has an...
88. Captain Lawrence Brewing – Captain’s Reserve Imperial India Pale Ale
It’s been absolutely crazy around here and I haven’t even had time to prepare for my brewing internship coming up at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, Oregon in a couple weeks. However, today, I got my new iPhone, and to celebrate I decided to break open one of the good beers sent to me by my friend up in New York. The Captain’s Reserve Imperial India Pale Ale doesn’t say what the ABV is, howeve,r the bottle...
45. Dogfish Head – 90 Minute Imperial IPA
I got back from my son’s preschool graduation tonight and felt like grabbing something both refreshing and strong, and much to my delight, I found a Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA in the back of the beer fridge. The bottle says, “what you have here is an Imperial India pale ale featuring a single, constant 90 minute hop addition. It’s balanced by a ridiculous amount of English two row barley. Then we dry hop in...
