Life and Limb

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. / Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc.
Style: Strong Ale / Specialty Beer
ABV: 10.2%
IBU:
Serving Type: 750 mL bottle poured into an oversize snifter

A dark, opaque brown with a solid film of light tan head. Smells sweet and toasty, a little tinge of alcohol. It's also a little bready and a tad woody, which may be what they're going for with the "life" (yeast) and "limb" (maple, birch syrup) theme.

Tastes very sweet, the maple flavor is evident. Malt is also present and very crystal-toasty. The bitterness comes through at the end and at the back of the tongue. Not a hop bitterness, though. More like green wood, raw. The flavors balance well, but are thrown off a little by the alcohol bite at the end. The alcohol gets stronger as the beer warms. Nonetheless, it's very smooth and goes down easier than 10.2% alcohol would suggest.

This is a good beer, but could do with a bit of aging. Sweet and strong, and meant to be sipped.

My rating: 3.5/5
Beer Advocate: B+
Rate Beer: 78/100
Pintley: 3.9/5

Escondidian Imperial Black IPA

Brewer: Stone Brewing Co.
Style: up for debate... Black IPA? Cascadian Dark Ale?
ABV: 10.8%
IBU:
Serving Type: 22 oz. bottle poured into an oversize snifter

Pours pitch black with a thin finger of dense brown foam. Not even a hint of highlighting, no light is penetrating this. Good lacing. Northwestern hops are very evident in a piney, resinous, even spruce tree aroma. Strong, even before the beer has really warmed to a proper drinking temperature, but not at all overpowering. And then, I get just a slight hint of medicinality at the tail end.

The flavor... I don't know; can something be intense and subtle at the same time? I feel like that's the best way to describe this hoppiness. It's very present, right up front and every bit as pine tree as on the nose... but doesn't linger, and gives way to a slight roasted malt background. And there is a hint of alcohol warmth, felt more in the gut than the mouth or throat. Very smooth and medium bodied, on the light side in carbonation.

This is a really fine beer, yet conflicting for me. I tell myself that I have no great love for hops, but I keep subjecting myself to beers like this anyway. This could be the best hoppy beer on the planet, and I'll like it just fine, but still prefer a good bourbon barrel stout or Belgian quad. Maybe that's just a failing scoring beers in general. The beer may be flawless, but I feel weird scoring it five out of five when there are so many others, whole styles, that I would prefer to drink. Is that an argument for or against rating to style?

My rating: 4/5
Beer Advocate: A-
Rate Beer: 99/100
Pintley:

Black and Brew Coffee Stout

Brewer: Boston Beer Company

Style: Coffee Stout

ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 60
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an English pub glass

Pours a deep, dark brown (like so many others, not quite black). Seems totally opaque, but the edges of the glass betray an ever so faint ruby highlighting. A quarter inch of tan colored head dissipates quickly but leaves a then, persistent film with decent lacing for the style. Bitter, dark roasted coffee aroma, fainter than expected. Maybe a little of that green pepper that accompanies coffee sometimes.


Coffee flavor is much more intense than the nose. A good, dark roast. A mild astringency comes off as a quenching acidity. The body is very smooth and creamy, but a tad thin. The body and the 5.8% ABV make this a very (in my book, anyway) sessionable beer, something you don't often see in a good coffee stout. 


A new addition to the Sam Adams winter 12-pack, and a pity there's only two per case.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: A-

Rate Beer: 91/100

Pintley: 

Breakfast Stout

Brewer: Founders Brewing Co.

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 8.3%
IBU: 60
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an English pub glass

A pinky finger of persistent, light brown head on top of a dark, dark brown, totally opaque slug of thick liquid. Decent lacing. Has the aroma of fresh brewed coffee, or maybe just the freshly roasted beans. Dark malts come through behind the coffee.

Tastes like black coffee. The slight hoppy bitterness and the tanin/astringent character of the coffee play together well, offering just the right amount of bite back in such a big beer. The dark malt flavors linger at the back of the throat. It has a nice, heavy body, but is super smooth. Correspondingly light in carbonation.

Fantastic beer. One to look forward to every year.

My score: 5/5

Beer Advocate: A

Rate Beer: 100/100

Pintley: 4.4/5

Old Stock Ale

Brewer: North Coast Brewing Co.
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 11.7%
IBU: 36
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an oversize snifter

A deep copper or mahogany color, with short, off-white head. This beer is alive. The head fades pretty quick to a thin film, but is being constantly replinished in a curious donut shape in the center of the glass. Someting to do with the shape of the glass?

A nice fruit aroma, mostly apricot and raisin with maybe a touch of citrus. Some sweet caramely malt notes behind.

Taste is very rich and complex, with that malty sweetnes paramount. Some bitterness, but definitely playing second fiddle to the malt. Actually hop flavor is low to none. Alcohol is noticeable, but not overly so. The carbonation is moderate, but the beer is so smooth and full bodied that it's barely noticeable.

A good sipping beer, but a little overly sweet for my taste. A little more bitterness or hop character may have provided more balance. This is the 2011 vintage and has lots of potential to improve with age.

My score: 3/5
Beer Advocate: A-
Rate Beer: 99/100
Pintley: 4/5


"Donut" head

Drink'in The Sunblet

Brewer: Jester King Craft Brewery / Mikkeller
Style: American Wheat
ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 30-40
Serving type: 750 mL bottle poured into a Czech pilsner glass



A collaboration between Austin, TX brewery Jester King and self described "gypsy brewer" Mikkeller, Sunbelt is offered as a flavorful alternative to macro lagers. Light, refreshing, and goes down easy on a hot day.


It pours pale gold, just slightly hazy, and with lots of bubbles. A short lived finger followed by a persistent film of offwhite head. No lacing to speak of. Strong grapefruit hop aroma, plus some rising bread dough. 


The hop flavor is just as strong in the taste, with some fresh cut grass behind the citrus. Very bright and effervescent. A slight grainy sweetness. Very light in body, I would even call in thin. A refreshing dry finish. 


There's plenty of flavor in this, but not really any body or complexity to back it up. As advertised, this is something that would be great after mowing the lawn on a hot Texas day. Or, I don't know, wrangling horses or something. They do that in Texas, right? A beer meant to be gulped. Not one that I would pick for an after dinner sipping beer.


My score: 3/5
Beer Advocate: B+
Rate Beer: 96/100
Pintley: 

Old Rasputin

Brewer: North Coast Brewing Co.
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 9%
IBU: 75
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an English pub glass

A finger of rocky, dark tank head sits on top of a dark, dark brown, nearly black beer with some faint red highlighting. Coffee and roasted malts dominate the nose, with a faint hop note in the background. The beer was poured at about 45 degrees, and the aroma intensifies as the beer warms.

The first thing that hits the tongue is black, dark roasted coffee. Plenty of dark malts and a touch of dark chocolate are right alongside. An earthy hop flavor follows, balancing the roast nicely and lingering on the tongue and roof of the mouth. Carbonation seems a little high, but it goes down smooth nonetheless. The 9% alcohol is well hidden.

This is a fantastic RIS, and a no-brainer at $8 a four-pack.

My score: 5/5
Beer Advocate: A
Rate Beer: 100/100
Pintley: 4/5

Juniper Black Ale

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Style: Cascadian dark ale, fruit beer

ABV: 8.2%
IBU: 61
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an English pub glass

Pours black with some faint red highlighting. A finger of lumpy, light tank head sits on top and is in no hurry to go away. Aroma is herbal, piney, perhaps a touch of dark fruit. Could be it's just the juniper I'm smelling, but it's not a fruit I'm terribly familiar with.

That herbal, pine flavor is right up front, very crisp and refreshing. Roasted malt is right behind, balancing the aromatics very well. Medium bodied with a fairly dry finish. Surprisingly drinkable and quenching for the style.

This was part of the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp variety pack in 2011. And I am a big fan of this beer; it's a shame it's such a limited release.

My score: 5/5

Beer Advocate: B+

Rate Beer: 97/100

Pintley: 3.4/5

Redband Stout

Brewer: Great River Brewery

Style: Coffee Stout

ABV: 6%
IBU: 36
Serving Type: 20 oz. can poured into a Bohemian Pilsner glass

Pour is thick and opaque, nearly black with no highlights. Two fingers of brown head that quickly fade to a thin but persistent film. Minimal lacing. The aroma packs a wollop, falling somewhere between a dark roasted coffee and an iced mocha.

Almost tastes more like coffee than beer. The dark malts are there, but the coffee definitely plays center stage in this one. If there are hops here, they're well hidden; the bitterness tastes like it's all coming from the astringency of the espresso. Medium to heavy in body, though perhaps just a tad lighter than expected. The moderate carbonation really helps the strong aromatics come out.

It's good to see such a good coffee stout coming out of a local brewery, and not have to rely on super limited releases like Kentucky or Bourbon County Breakfast Stout. If they start barrel aging this stuff, I'll buy it by the case. If there's a criticism, it's that this is a beer that probably doesn't need to come in a 16 oz. can.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: A

Rate Beer: 77/100

Pintley:

A brew pub since 2004, Great River Brewery began packaging out of Davenport, IA in May 2010, exclusively in 16 oz. cans.

Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

Brewer: Boulevard Brewing Co.

Style: Saison

ABV: 8%
IBU: 38
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into Czech pils glass

Deep yellow, slightly coppery. Fairly hazy. Two fingers of dense, ivory head. Actually took a while to pour, as the head just kept building up. Eventually settles to still dense quarter inch, and laces the glass well. Nice bouquet of earthy hops, citrus, fresh-cut grass, and... coriander?

Has a good flavor, a little more hops than I was expecting from a farmhouse ale/saison, though not overly bitter. Just a hint of sour tartness, welcome in the style. Keeps an appropriate medium body and super dry finish. Tickles the toungue with a high carbonation and a slight acidity. Very thirst quenching.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: A-

Rate Beer: 98/100

Pintley: 4.2/5

Citra Pale Ale

Brewer: Yours truly

Style: American IPA

ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 54
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into Czech pils glass

Pours deep, hazy gold with orange highlights and a finger of dense, offwhite head. The head is persistent, and laces the glass well. Nice hop aroma, mostly citrus/grapefruit and some pine notes aswell. Some small amount of maltiness lurking in the background.

Hop flavor is very citrus, piney, and grassy. Hits the toungue a little sharp, but mellows quick as the moderately high carbonation spreads through the mouth. Very bright, effervescent. Nice and light, finishes dry. Thisrt quencher.

All in all, this turned out quite well. Troubles on brew day were minor, but nonetheless had less an impact on the final product than I expected.

My score: 4/5

Lawnmower

Two more, please

Brewing Classic Styles: Saison

The local homebrew club's August meeting is featuring Saisons, and I've been tasked to present. What better way to honor a style than to pull the recipe from the gold standard text on brewing classic styles, Jamil Zainasheff's Brewing Classic Styles?

Unfortunately, the day was fraught with troubles, starting with two broken thermometers. The mercury thermometer I was left with was very difficult to read, and my mash temperature was well too low. I'm hoping it will still turn out okay, as the style calls for a low mash temp and highly fermentable wort anyway.

However, my mash stuck to no end. There was only 12 oz. of wheat malt in the grain bill, and I didn't think rice hulls would be necessary. When the mash was finally through, I discovered this thick slime caked all over the bottom of my grain bag.

Finally, I was simultaneously building a table. I tried to keep track of both tasks, but both my mash and boil time may have been a bit too long. The mash time I'm not worried about. Low temperatures call for a longer mash to get full starch conversion anyway. A too long boil, while helping DMS, could easily throw off my color. And, oh yeah, I nearly forgot the pound of table sugar, which didn't go in until the rest of the beer was already in the fermenter. As such, I have no reliable gravity reading.

It ferments from 68-80 degrees, rising steadily to make the yeast attenuate as much as possible. At least this part I can control, now that I have a temp controlled spare fridge to ferment in. I'm really hoping that, even though it's not the best beer I could have made, it will remain true to the classic Saison.

Smoked Porter

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.

Style: Smoked Porter

ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 53
Serving Type: 22 oz. bottle poured into English pub glass

Very dark brown with some bright red highlighting. A finger of tan head that settles quickly but clings to the sides of the glass. Smells of woodsmoke and biscuit dough.

The smoke and roasted malts are up front, but there's plenty of bitterness backing it up. Seems like more of a dark roasted bitterness than anything from hops. A touch of chocolate. Mouthfeel is, say, medium. Thinner than I expceted. The roasty bitterness lingers in the mouth.

Pretty good overall, but not my favorite. Makes me want to break out a half-star rating, something I'm normally opposed to. But this definitely falls somewhere between "indiferrent" and "I like it".

My score: 3.5/5

Beer Advocate: A-

Rate Beer: 99/100

Pintley: 3.6/5

Older Viscocity

Brewery: Port Brewing Company

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 12%
IBU:
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into a snifter

Pours thick and pitch black, totally opaque, with a finger of dark brown head. Darker than most similar beers I've had. Fades quickly to a thin film and then a ring around the glass that likes to cling to the sides with every sip. Plenty of bourbon on the nose, plus notes of black coffee and dark roasted malts.

Taste follows nose with bourbon up front. Flavor is very dark, strongly roasted, with just a slight hop bitterness. Coffee is not as strong as in aroma. The beer is super creamy smooth, and easily coats the inside of the mouth. Lightly carbonated. Alcohol warmth is noticeable, though not as strong as I would expect from 12%.

A great beer, though I've yet to find a bourbon barrel stout that I don't like. This one does stand on it's own, though, with little to no chocolate coming through and the super dark, roasted malts playing center stage. It definitely reflects the old motor oil theme they're going for.

My score: 5/5

Beer Advocate: A

Rate Beer: 100/100

Pintley:

Forgotten Cider

Brewer: Yours truly

Style: Cider

ABV: ???

IBU: 0

Serving type: 12 oz. bottle poured into a wine glass

Whoa. This has been in the bottle for 14 months, and could clearly stand to stay there for the foreseeable future. I think I can sense an improvement over the couple bottles I've had in months past, but it's still not ready for general consumption. Super tart and vinegary, and just a bit stomach-churning. Very dry and slightly apple sweet finish. Only a touch of carbonation.

The best thing I can say for it right now is the appearance. Pale, pale yellow and crystal clear. Has the look of white wine more than anything else.

Ah, well. It's back to the basement to be Forgotten for another year.

Dark Truth Stout

Brewer: Boulevard Brewing Co.

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.7%

IBU: 60

Serving type: 12 oz. bottle poured into a snifter

Pours espresso dark with a finger of dark brown head that clings to the glass. Aroma is subdued at first, but strengthens as the glass empties and warms. Smells like dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate. Some roasted malt is also present.

Taste is also intensly roasted and toasted with semi-sweet chocolate. A touch smokey. Maybe some dried dark fruit. The chocolate turns milky by the end of the glass. Mouthfeel is very creamy, light in carbonation. A nice, heavy body. There's no burn of alcohol in the taste, but a noticeable, pleasent warmth in the chest and stomach.

This is a great entry from Boulevard's Smokestack Series. A definite sipper with a pleasent warmth to remind you of what you're drinking. I drizzled a few teaspoons of this over a slice of chocolate cake that had gone a little dry, and it did wonders for it.

My score: 5/5

Beer Advoacte: B+
Rate Beer: 97/100

Pintley: 3.9/5

The Poet Oatmeal Stout

Brewer: New Holland Brewing

Style: Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 5.2%
IBU:

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an English pub glass

Dark brown with a finger of light brown head. Just a few hints of ruby highlighting with a bright light behind. An aroma like lightly roasted coffee with tons of cream, and a side of instant oatmeal.

Taste follows the nose with notes of coffee and toasted and roasted malts. A touch of bitter chocolate. Mouthfeel is medium-heavy, but not too heavy, and oh so creamy. Decent carbonation.

This is one of my go-to beers. Great flavors, not too heavy, and light enough in alcohol to drink a pair.

My score: 5/5

Beer Advocate: B+

Rate Beer: 94

Pintley: 3.7/5

Citra Pale Ale: Brew Day

MoreBeer.com had their recipe kits on sale a few weeks back and I grabbed a few, thinking it would be a good way to get back into my favorite hobby after a months long lapse. Today I brewed the Citra Pale Ale all grain kit.

The grain bill was 2-row pale base malt, plus some light crystal, cara-pils, and white wheat malt. Add to that a little Magnum hops for bittering, plus tons of Citra for flavor, aroma, and dry hopping. Given that I'm not really looking for yeast character with a beer like this, I opted for a simple dry yeast, Safale US-05.

The brew day started out slow. When I went to HyVee for water, I dropped into their liquor store for curiosity's sake, trying to find a bottle of this year's Utopias. Turns out Andrew, the Assistant Manager there, had purchased their only bottle for himself about a week earlier. He was a great guy though, and admitted that this made him feel like "kind of a dick."

That said, he called around and managed to track down a bottle for me at Broadway Liquors in Pekin. So off we went for a $200 bottle of beer. And now I have one of only 4 or 5 bottles of Utopias seen in Peoria in 2011. Totally worth a delay in brew day.

But I digress. Back to the brew. I targeted a single infusion mash temperature of 152°, using a calculator on my phone to figure the temperature of the strike water. In spite of my calculations, the mash seemed to settle around 160° by 10 minutes after mash-in. I tossed in a handful of ice cubes to try and bring it down, which seemed to work at first, but I soon found myself with a mash temp of 148°. Rather than play with it further, I decided to just roll with it and increase my mash time to a full 90 minutes. This will probably make my wort more fermentable and give me a drier finish on the final beer. We'll see.

Second fiasco came with an empty propane tank just after sparging. Not a big deal, just another delay. It really couldn't have come a better time in the process. If I'd already had a boil rolling with hops, the whole flavor profile could have been thrown off. But the beer made it into the fermenter, and the fermenter made it into the fridge (this is also the inaugural brew for my temp-controlled fridge turned fermentation chamber), so it was a good day.

Trappistes Rochefort 10

Brewer: Brasserie de Rochefort

Style: Quadrupel

ABV: 11.3%

IBU:
Serving Type: 33 cL bottle poured into a brandy snifter

I had one of these gems a few months ago at the Fly Saucer in Kansas City and loved it. When I saw it at Hyvee of all places, I knew I needed another taste.

The beer pours a thick, deep mahogany with no highlighting. The tan head quickly fades to null. The aroma is very faint at first, but strengthens as the beer warms. Plum, raisin, and fig are are at the forefront, but there's a whole fruit basket to be found here. A hint of Jolly Rancher.

Dark fruit comes through in the taste just as well as the nose. There are also notes of dark candy sugar and just a hint of peppery spice. This is an incredibly complex beer. It's velvety smooth with just the right amount of carbonation. Slightly dry on the finish.

This is an amazing beer. Easily my favorite quad and one of my top beers, period.

My score: 5/5

Beer Advocate: A

Rate Beer: 100

Pintley: 4.5/5

Yorkshire Stingo

Brewer: Samuel Smith's Old Brewery

Style: English strong ale

ABV: 9.0%

IBU:

Serving Type: 550 mL bottle poured into a tulip glass

I wasn't familiar with this beer, but picked it up on a whim. The bottle proclaims that the beer has been aged for "over a year" in oak barrels, some of which "date back more than a century". There's a lot about the barrels, but very little on the beer residing within. I was actually expecting a stout or something and was surprised by a English strong ale.

The beer pours a dark, muddy copper with some ruby highlights. There's a finger of off white/light tan head that fades to a thin film. Some of the muddy/cloudiness is probably my fault for disturbing some of the yeast sediment. The aroma is lovely and strong. Dark fruit up front, plum and raisin; with fresh baked banana bread behind.

The dark fruit flavors come through in the taste, though somehow not as strongly as in the aroma. There's a good amount of caramel malt and earthy hop flavor there to balance. No alcohol warmth. I would call the body medium to heavy, but very smooth; it clings to the glass like a wine. The carbonation is pretty high, but not over the top.

I split a 550 mL (lousy Brits) probably 70/30 with my wife and was able to knock back my... 13 oz. or so pretty quick, so this is a nice, easy drinker. As the carbonation dies down and the glass warms up, it feels less like a beer and more like a nice brandy. A very nice surprise with this beer.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: A-

Rate Beer: 96

Pintley:

Concerning Light Beer

Beer is many things to many people. It makes sense, therefore, that we see beer in such a dizzying myriad of styles. Among these styles, arguably the most popular worldwide, is the American Light Lager. Born out of a post-prohibition fear of alcohol-heavy beers, and transformed over the years into a commodity designed to have the broadest possible appeal among consumers. "Broadest appeal" means "least offensive flavor with the greatest number of people".

People are finicky. Every person has a unique palate with unique tastes. What you may find delicious, another may find repulsive. Thus, "least offensive flavor" quickly becomes "least flavor". Marketing of the macro breweries will try and tell you otherwise, but these beers are nonetheless designed to be muted in any and all ways that could possible be perceived as the least bit displeasing by anyone, anywhere, ever.

A side effect of this muting of flavor is a lower caloric content than more flavorful beers. The natural direction to market them as "diet" beers. The diet beer craze peaked a few years ago with the release of Miller Genuine Draft 64 and Bud Select 55, with 64 and 55 calories, respectively. Now, your average Bud Light and Miller Lite are already so light in color, flavor, and body, it got me wondering just where that calorie reduction came from. With all the other caloric contributors to beer stripped down to nothing, the only thing left to take away is alcohol.

Alcohol is a chemical compound with known, immutable chemical properties. The ultralight beers are commercial products with a known number of calories and percentage alcohol. Thus, it is relatively trivial to figure out how much of that calorie reduction is simply from cutting the percent ABV.

Pure alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. Alcohol has a density of 0.789 g/cc. A 12 ounce bottle is 355 cc's. 7 * 0.789 * 355 = 1961. Multiply that number by the ABV, and you've got your calories from alcohol from a given 12 ounce beer.

Let's look at the Bud family.

Budweiser has 145 calories and 5% ABV. That's 98 alcohol calories, and 47 of what I'll call "flavor" calories. This is the baseline. Bud Light has 110 calories, a 35 calorie reduction and 4.2% ABV; 82 alcohol calories, 28 flavor calories. So, of that 35 calorie reduction, 16 came from cutting the alcohol back, the remainder lightening the flavor.

Bud Select is lighter still, at 99 calories but curiously, 4.3% alcohol; slightly higher than Bud Light. 84 alcohol calories, and a mere 15 flavor calories. Bud Select 55 contains the titular 55 calories and a mere 2.4% alcohol. 47 alcohol calories, and 8 from flavor. So, in cutting 44 calories from Bud Select, 37 came from the reduction in alcohol.

This is a lot of numbers to just throw out there, so let me try and sum it up. The calorie drop in an ultra light beer is primarily the result of lowering the alcohol content. You may as well just drink two normal beers.

This whole thing is just an exercise in curiosity anyway. You won't find me drinking any product of AB-InBev, or MillerCoors. If you do the same thing with a good beer, say, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (175 cal, 4.6% ABV), you get 90 alcohol calories and 85 flavor calories. Going for something a little heavier, Sam Adams Cream Stout (195 cal, 4.7% ABV) has 92 alcohol calories and 103 flavor.

Now, there's a lot in those extra calories. Sugars, proteins, enzymes, etc. They're not all going to contribute "flavor". But when you leave yourself just 8 calories, you can't do a whole lot. You can make up a Bud Select 55 "cocktail" by adding a third of a shot of vodka and half a teaspoon of sugar to a glass of water. It'll probably taste about the same, too.

Cowboy Coffee Porter

Brewer: Big Sky Brewing Co.

Style: Robust Porter

ABV: 6.4%

IBU: 32

Serving Type: 12oz. bottle poured into an English pub glass.

Beer is a very dark brown, with little to no highlights, but not quite black. A coarse, brown head is quick to form and fades to a thin film. There is a rich aroma of coffee and chocolate, with a hint of smoke.

Tastes of black coffee and roasted malts. Smokiness is still present, though less so than on the nose. No hop flavor, and the bitterness is well hidden by the coffee and malt. Really, comes off more as a slight astringency from a dark roasted coffee. Beer is well carbonated, and light to medium in body. A very easy drinker, flavors are intense but don't linger.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: B

Rate Beer: 93/100

Pintley:

Big Sky opened in 1995 in Missoula, Montana. Last year, they brewed beer in the neighborhood of 40,000 barrels, easily making them the largest brewery in Montana.

Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works

Destihl is a self described gastrobrewery opened 2007 in Normal, IL. I've only known them to serve excellent food and beer (all brewed on site). My most recent visit was April 23, when my wife, son and I were in Bloomington for Easter.

Beers come in 4, 12, and 16 oz. sizes. I opted for a 12 oz. of the current cask ale, their Jacob's Ladder American Brown, plus a number of 4 oz. samples. Keep in mind that the beers here are in order of consumption; my senses were probably getting strained by the end, not to mention the effects of alcohol.

Von Linne Apricot Wheat--A super tart beer. Very little to no malt or hop flavor, but tons of apricot. Almost less a beer than a very light, slightly carbonated, apricot liqueur.

Jacob's Ladder American Brown--Had this one on cask. Pine and earthy hop notes up front, with caramel malt behind. Light in carbonation and super smooth.

St. Dekkera Single Barrle Reserve--This was actually my first taste of a sour ale. It hardly seemed like beer at all. Very sour, no carbonation. There is a little malt there to balance the sour, but it's definitely in the background. And then there's this savory, almost cheesy note that comes through under the tongue. Very intriguing. Can't say I'm a true believer in sour ale, but this makes me curious for more.

Antiquity Rye Wine--This one is super peppery on the nose and palate; hard to believe that's all from the rye and not straight up black pepper. Otherwise, a fine barleywine.

Cerise Stout Imperial--The server brought me a little sample of this one after I opted for the first sour ale. A sour stout with cherries. There's an aroma of hot tub water. The super tart cherry flavor comes through with the sour. It has the smoothness of a stout.

Bamberger Rauchbier--Lighter (in color) than I was expecting. Very smokey. This was the last beer of the night and it was hard to get much out of it besides the smoke.

Glissade

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Style: Maibock/Helles Bock

ABV: 6.4%

IBU: 42

Servig type: 12oz bottle poured into English pub glass

From the brewer:

As winter begins its slide toward the sunny days of spring, we bring you Glissade Golden Bock to help you enjoy the ride. Glissade is a remarkably mellow take on the traditional spring bock.

With restrained sweetness, we emphasize subtle malt flavor, balanced against delicate aromas of spicy and floral European hops. This complex balance helps Glissade slide across the palate—bracing us against the last cold nights of winter, while its bright golden color turns our thoughts toward spring.

Glissade pours bright gold with a touch of amber and a thin layer of white head. A constant stream of fine bubbles fill the glass. Aroma is yeasty and slightly citrusy/spicy.

Malt profile is bold, with notes of biscuit, honey, and crystal coming through. Not a ton of hop flavor. Bitterness does come through in the end, though less than I expect from the 42 IBU. There is a slight alcohol warmth there, which I wasn't looking for from 6.4%. Fairly high in carbonation. Good, clean finish.

I feel like the malt profile overpowers the hops a little, at least given the brewer's description. Overall a good, malty beer that still comes through clean and drinkable.

My Score: 3/5

Beer Advocate: B

Rate Beer: 71/100

Pintley: 3.2/5

The Goose and the Eagle

Some weeks ago, the craft beer world was abuzz with the news of the Goose Island's acquisition by AB-InBev. Some predicted the death of the brand and the introduction of 312 Light and Bourbon County Select 55, and others thought the sale was largely meaningless and that they would let the beer speak for itself.

Personally, I don't think the beer will be effected--at least initially. Anheuser Busch has a habit of acquiring brewers not necessarily to turn all their beers into more diluted corn water, but to acquire the fan base of said beers (Rolling Rock, Grupo Modelo, Tsingtao). That said, there are plenty of AB-InBev's (or MillerCoors') acquisitions which have declined over the years, no doubt from pressure to cheapen their products to appeal to a larger audience. And seeing brewmaster Greg Hall step down doesn't instill me with hope that the beers will remain free of the corporate giant's influence.

So will I keep drinking the beer? Not that I was a huge Goose Island consumer to begin with; Bourbon County Stout was really the only beer of theirs I drank with any consistency. In the end though, I think I'll pass next time. The beer may well be every bit as good as ever, but the simple fact is that I don't have the time or the money to drink every beer I would like. And there are so many good craft beers out there waiting to be drank. The fact that Goose Island is owned by Anheuser Busch-InBev is the only reason I need to pass by the Bourbon County and pick up a Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout, or an Espresso Oak Aged Yeti, or an Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout, or a Schlafly Barrel Aged Imperial Stout... the list goes on.

People will say "beer is business", and accept things like this as an inevitability. A product is being produced, and money must be made. But if we want craft beer to be taken seriously, to be recognized as the great step above BudMillerCoors macro lagers that it is, the money can never be the first consideration of the brewery owners. Or the malt and hop farmers, the maltsters, the brewers, the distributors, the servers, or the consumers. Brewing is an art, and beer is an art form. Artists get paid too, but they're not (or shouldn't be) in it for the money.

Saluki Dunkel Dog

Brewer: Big Muddy Brewing

Style: Dunkel

ABV: 5.5%

IBU: 22

Servig type: 12oz bottle poured into Bohemian Pilsner glass

Ap: Dep mahogany with ruby highlights. Finger of offwhite head fades to a thin, persistent layer. Small amount of lacing.

Ar: Wheaty with some sweetness, some light fruit.

T: A little acidic, but not overpowering. Flavors are fairly light otherwise, but include some caramel malt, and a touch of bitterness on the end.

M: Medium in body, higher in carbonation. Smooth with a slightly sweet finish.

I: A good entry for Southern Illinois' only craft brewry. A good introductory beer for people used to Bud Light.

My Score: 3/5

Beer Advocate: B

Rate Beer: 3.3/5

Pintley:

Liberty Ale

Brewer: Anchor Brewing

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.9%

IBU:

Servig type: 12oz bottle poured into Czech Pilsner glass

Ap: Pale gold with a finnger of slightly offwhite head. Thins out but remains persistent. A little cloudy. Decent lacing.

Ar: Bright, lemony aroma.

T: Strong, citrus hop note, but not a lot of bitterness. Almost sour. Orange and lemon flavors. Bits of biscuit malt.

M: Very well balanced. Medium body and a good amount of bright, prickly carbonation. Farily dry finish.

I: Delightful. I'm no hop-head, but beers like this definitely deepen my appreciation for Humulus Lupulus.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: B+

Rate Beer: 95/100

Pintley: 3.3/5

Maibock

Brewer: Capital Brewery

Style: Maibock

ABV: 6.2%

IBU:

Servig type: 12oz bottle poured into Czech Pilsner glass

Ap: Deep golden with a thin layer of white head. Minimal lacing. Crystal clear.

Ar: Floral and honey aroma. Some sweet fruit. A grassy hop note.

T: Honey and light fruit (peach, apricot). A bready yeast character. Some biscuit. Noticeable bitterness but not a focus on hops. An ever so slight alcohol warmth.

M: Light in body, but coats the mouth. Very smooth.

I: Tons of flavor, but still light enough to be thirst quenching.

My Score: 4/5

Beer Advocate:

Rate Beer: 85

Pintley: 3.6/5

Monarch White Beer

Brewer: Two Brothers

Style: Witbier

ABV: 4.5%

IBU:

Servig type: 12oz bottle poured into Bohemian Pilsner glass

Ap: Pours clear and golden, slightly amber at its deepest points. A finger of white head, slowly fading.

Ar: Lowely aroma. Very floral, with notes of clove and coriander. Noticeable yeast character.

T: Bright and floral, matches the aroma. Small amount of bitterness.

M: Light and crisp, very refreshing. Moderate carbonation.

I: Great session beer. Plenty of flavor, but light enough to drink in quantity.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: B-

RateBeer: 64

Pintley: 3.4/5

German Chocolate Brown

Brewer: Yours Truly

Style: American Brown Ale

ABV: ~5.9%

IBU: ~23
Serving Type: 12 oz bottle poured into English pub glass.

Ap: Dark, dark brown and totally opaque. Half a finger of light brown head, fading to a ring at the glass and a thin film.

Ar: Intense, rich chocolate aroma. A slight malty sweetness behind it.

T: Nice chocolate flavor. There is some coconut there too, though not as much as I would have liked. Hoppy bitterness comes in at the end, balancing the chocolate nicely.

M: Medium to heavy body and moderate carbonation. Very smooth.

I: Not exactly what I set out to brew, but a nice beer nonetheless. Came out much darker than I was targeting, past what I would still call a brown. I think it must have picked up some color from the toasted coconut. In spite of that, I don't get as much coconut flavor as I would like. Brewed October 3, 2010.

My score: 3/5

Maple Wheat

Brewer: Yours Truly

Style: umm.... wheat?

ABV: ~8.8%

IBU:
Serving Type: 12 oz bottle poured into Bohemian pilsner

Ap: Orange-amber. Thin, white head quickly fades. Cloudy, but better clarity than I expected.

Ar: Maple sweet. Malty, fruity.

T: Very sweet. Maple and malty. Some definite souring, probably from age. Doesn't show the 8.8% alcohol.

M: Thin bodied, medium in carbonation. Dry finish.

I: Has not aged well. Used to have more bosy and at least a little hop character to back up the sweetness.

My score: 2/5 (probably a 3 or 4 in its heyday).

Brewed September 12, 2009, so about a little over a year and a half since brewed. Stored at room temp or a little below. I'd hoped that the higher alcohol would protect it from some of the ill effects of aging, but alas.

Taddy Porter

Brewer: Samuel Smith's Old Brewery

Style: Brown Porter

ABV: 5.0%

IBU:

Servig type: 12oz bottle poured into English pub glass

Ap: Very dark brown. Ruby highlights show when held up to a light. Dense, light tan head, two fingers. Good lacing.

Ar: Bready, toasty, dark.

T: A dark roast bitterness and not a whole lot else. Fairly dry finish.

M: Silky smooth. Medium-heavy body, light in carbonation.

I: A classic example of an old, old porter.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: A-

Rate Beer: 98/100

Pintley: 3.9/5

Mulkeytown Pale Ale

Brewer: Yours truly

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: ~5.5%

IBU: ~28

Servig type: 12oz bottle poured into Czech Pilsner glass

Ap: Pours with one finger of offwhite head. Foam is dense, creamy, and persistent. Excellent lacing. Copper with every so slight ruby highlights. Fairly cloudy.

Ar: Hop aroma is primarily piney, some citrus. Slight biscuity character.

T: Hop character is right up front, piney and resiny. There is sweetness behind it, but the malt character is minimal.

M: Pretty middle of the road in body and carbonation. Dry finish.

I: I'm not a great fan of hoppy beers, but I can honestly say this is one of my favorite beers I've brewed. Crisp and refreshing, but with tons of taste.

My score: 5/5

Black Hemp

Brewer: O'Fallon Brewery

Style: American Brown Ale

ABV: 5.8%

IBU: 33

Servig type: 12oz bottle

Ap: Dark brown, ruby highlights. Good clarity in spite of darkness. One finger light tan head,

Ar: Very little aroma. Hints of... licorice?

T: Farily bitter, but little hop character. Perhaps a floral hop character, if anything. There's also some je ne sais quoi tang in the back... the hemp seeds?

M: Medium to light bodied. Medium in carbonation. Very smooth.

I: A very curious beer. Gives the impression of a much lighter beer, but still has some indescribable character that begs for attention.

My score: 3/5

Beer Advocate: B+

Rate Beer: 73/100

Pintley:

#9

Brewer: Magic Hat Brewing Co.

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 5.1%

IBU: 20

Serving type: 12oz bottle

Ap: Pale yellow with orange highlights. One and a half fingers of persistent white head.

Ar: Citrusy orange and apricot.

T: Very fruity, especially orange and apricot. Some citrusy hop character, but not overwhelming.

M: Light bodied, but with some definite wheat character. Fairly light carbonation. Semi-dry finish.

I: Very sessionable beer. Tastes great after a hard day's work in the garden. A good non-hop centric pale ale to have around.

My score: 3/5

Beer Advocate: B-

Rate Beer: 51

Pintley: 3/5