229. Springfield Brewing – Blacksmith Stout
I’m in Springfield, Missouri for work today (actually we spent the day working in Branson, but we’re staying in Springfield), and as always, I was easily able to convince my travel buddy Steve to stop at the local brew pub for dinner and a couple beers after a long day. I always try to sample something unique and different, and was told by the server about their Blacksmith Stout – a dry-hopped stout with a roasty...
228. ABInBev – Michelob Amber Bock Draft
I’m back on the road for work, this time heading to Springfield/Branson, MO. We were flying through Chicago O’Hare and missed our connecting flight. We were rebooked on a flight 2 hours later, so we stopped at the O’Hare Bar & Grill for dinner. As I looked at the menu, I wasn’t sure if there were any beers listed that I hadn’t had yet. I didn’t think I’d had this yet, so it was a good...
227. Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd – Murphy’s Irish Stout Draft
We had promised the kids earlier in the week that we would go out for pizza on Friday night and then drive around looking at Christmas lights. We were not anticipating 4+ inches of snow to be on the ground by dinnertime. We were able to talk them out of the usual Godfather’s pizza (they lover the ball pit), and went to Lucca Grill. They have thin crust pizza and a decent beer selection. However, the Murphy’s Irish...
226. Flying Dog – Snake Dog IPA India Pale Ale Draft
I stopped at Medici in Normal to grab a beer and get my final punch on my Wednesday Warriors card. On Wednesday, they have $3 pints, and after 10 Wednesday visits you become a warrior. That means you get a t-shirt – although I didn’t get one because they had run out of XLs – your beer is served in a mug, and you get invited to their end of the year party. Besides getting the final punch on my ticket, it’s...
225. Mikkeller – Centennial Single Hop IPA Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington for our ABNormal homebrew club steering meeting. It’s the first meeting of our new board, and I’m still VP. The nice thing about meeting at Fat Jack’s is the opportunity to try a few new beers. They usually have a decent selection, even if it is getting tougher to find beers I haven’t tried yet. The nice thing about the...
224. Southern Tier Brewing – Creme Brulee Imperial Milk Stout Draft
After a very stressful couple of weeks, it was nice to get out for a night and have some decent beers while having our ABNormal Brewers steering meeting. When I got to Fat Jack’s I looked up at the list of new beers on tap, and realized it’s starting to get a little bit harder to find a beer that I have not yet had. I had read a review of this on the Daily Beer Review and thought I’d give it a try, since I...
223. Sierra Nevada – Torpedo Extra IPA
Things have been tremendously crazy lately. As I mentioned in my review of Schlafly Winter ESB, my mom had emergency heart surgery and has been in the hospital. Due to some blood clots, she went back in. Upon being released, my grandmother stopped by to visit her and was killed in a car accident while leaving my parents house. It’s been a difficult time, so tonight, I wanted to just sit back, relax a bit in front of the...
222. Full Sail – IPA – India Pale Ale
It’s Thanksgiving evening and we’re about to start on our second helping of turkey and stuffing. We’ve already talked about the things we’re thankful for this year – family, kids, and more. Since we’ve moved onto the second helping, here’s my second helping of what I’m thankful for this year – my Travel Oregon Brewmaster Cuisinternship at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, Oregon. ...
221. Boddingtons – Boddingtons Pub Ale
My brother-in-law and his family are visiting for Thanksgiving week. He asked me if I knew why Boddington’s had such a different type of head than other beers. I explained that it was “carbonated” with nitrogen, while normal beers are carbonated with carbon dioxide. My wife, influenced by her brother, decided to by some and bring it over. So, I thought this would be a good opportunity to knock this beer off of...
220. Dogfish Head – Midas Touch Golden Elixir Draft
We had our ABNormal Brewers meeting tonight at Fat Jack’s, and as I was coming in, I noticed they had Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch on draft… so I gave it a try. It was a nice lead in to an interesting club meeting. We had guests there from Prairie Fruits Farms who helped us try different beer and cheese pairings. I got to try several cheeses – goat and sheep – that I probably never would have. We also...
219. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Winter ESB Draft
My mom had emergency heart surgery on Thursday, so we rushed to St. Louis to be with her and my dad. It was extremely scary, but the doctors say she’s doing pretty good after the surgery. It was very unexpected and caught my entire family by surprise. We’re praying for her and hope she recovers quickly. After spending the weekend at the hospital with my stomach a bit tied up in a knot, we decided to stop at...
218. Two Brothers – Heavy Handed IPA Draft
As I mentioned in my previous post, we’re out with a coworker who is in town for the week. We went out to Medici in Normal to grab a couple of beers and catch up. I was looking for something to add to this list and my coworker said she was looking for something “hardy.” So, I recommended New Holland’s Charkoota Rye Smoked Dopplebock, which I had there just last week. All agreed that it was like a BBQ rack...
