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...
Thank You Capital Brewery
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll remember my Oktoberfest Challenge back in October, where I had a seasonal Oktoberfest or pumpkin beer every day during the month. I never thought it would be so hard to find so many seasonal beers. On one trip to the local liquor store, I found a beer from Capital Brewing simply labled “Fest Seasonal beer.” I naturally assumed it was their Oktoberfest. When I...
274. Goose Island – Pepe Nero Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, I was at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington, IL for a Goose Island “mini invasion” where they had taken over 12 taps there. I met up with my friend Fred, who had just finished teaching a homebrewing class at the community college. He was in a good mood, so he bought me this round. Since he was buying I told him to pick what I should have (and I knew I could count on him to pick...
273. Goose Island – Aviator Doppelbock Draft
After going to uptown and Maggie Miley’s for a happy hour for a co-worker, I headed downtown to Fat Jack’s for a Goose Island “mini invasion.” They had taken over 12 of the taps there with different Goose Island beers. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, they were out of their imperial IPA. There didn’t seem to be much for my hop craving, so I decided to try this one. Numbers: 7.6% ABV Appearance...
272. Warsteiner Brauerei – Warsteiner Premium Dunkel Draft
Tonight I’m at Maggie Miley’s in Normal, IL for a happy hour for a coworker (@ChristyBerka) who is moving on to bigger and better things. So, as you can see by my photo, we went out to raise a glass to her. This bar always seems to have Warsteiner on tap, and they always serve it in a huge glass, so I went for the Dunkel. Numbers: 4.9% ABV Appearance & Aroma: As you can see, it had a nice sized, creamy, lightly...
271. Arcadia Brewing – Cereal Killer Barley Wine Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, I was out at Medici in Uptown Normal for a couple of beers. We were catching up on things and making plans for our trip to SXSW next month. After starting with a very good Smuttynose Big A IPA, I decided to go with something a bit maltier. They had this beer on tap, so I thought I’d give it a try. Numbers: 10% ABV Appearance & Aroma: It was deep black, and there was almost no head to it. ...
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...
269. Tommyknocker Brewery – Imperial Nut Brown Ale
I was at the liquor store several months back and found this one. I remember their Nut Brown Ale being pretty good when we stopped by the brewery several years back. So, when I saw an imperial version, and when I read that it was, “Brewed with pure maple syrup,” I knew I had to give it a try. I have no idea how old it was when I bought it, but it’s been in the beer fridge for about a year, so even from the outside...
268. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Raspberry Coffee Stout
I found out about this beer a few months back from STLHops, and I knew I had to try it. St. Louis Brewery/Schlafly, makes a very good coffee stout (review coming soon), and I think it has a lot to do with the Kaldi’s coffee they use (and the cold steeping process for extracting the coffee flavors). I had never thought of a coffee-raspberry combination before, but once I had heard of it, I knew that it sounded pretty good. Also,...
267. MacTarnahan’s – Summer Grifter India Pale Ale IPA
When I went to Oregon for my Brewmaster Cuisinternship this summer, I asked my friend Betty to send back several bottles I got while at Full Sail. When shipping the bottles back for me, she slipped this one in along with them. I think she’s a fan of MacTarnahan’s since she brought out their Amber Ale when we went to lunch in Portland, and she sent me a bottle of their Winter Hum Bug’r Porter as a pay off on a bet. ...
266. Full Sail – Brewmasters Reserve Hop Pursuit
After having the Hopivore yesterday, I was still craving a big, bold, hoppy beer. You can pretty much say that this one spoke to me, since was really in pursuit of a hoppy beer. When I got this beer, it was literally from the Brewmaster’s Reserve, when John Harris, Brewmaster at Full Sail – Riverplace, dipped into his hidden fridge and gave me several beers when I was there for my Brewmaster Cuisinternship. The bottle...
265. New Holland – Hopivore Michigan Wet-Hopped Harvest Ale
Things have been pretty crazy at work, so I was looking for a nice hoppy beer when I got home today. Of all the beers in the fridge, this one looked like it had the most potential. The bottle says, “Michigan-grown hops are the story in this seasonal harvest ale. Hopivore is wet-hopped, with hops added to the brew just hours after harvest, creating rare, fresh flavors.” Numbers: 5.85% ABV, 55 IBUs Appearance & Aroma:...
