Southern Tier - IPA

This is less of a post and more like a singular thought.
I really like this beer, just a really solid IPA, nothing that crazy, just crazy good flavor.
4 and 1 half stars.
Now back to drinking it...

Full Sail - Sanctuary

I debated long and hard on weather or not I wanted to age this beer or not. Being that it is 7% it is right on the boarder line of high enough to age... I'm glad I didn't.
OK so this is a typical dubble, lots of spice and medium body. Good nose, little head and fair lacing. But it has a dry cardboardish finish that is really off putting. It could be that this just isn't a fresh bottle, or was stored improperly. Either way it doesn't seem right... its not like it is bad, but it just doesn't seem right.
I would still give this 3 stars and has the possibility to be 5 stars, it just needs some dark fruit to balance out the woodiness and get rid of the funky aftertaste. Then I would call it awesome.

Founders - porter (aged 9 months)

This is my 3rd follow up to the aging of Founders Porter. So far all goes well and this may just be its peak time. I've got one more out of this pack that I stuck in my file cabinet of goodies that I think I will either wait till the 12 month or possibly the 16 month mark to try.
So this follows the lineage that I figured it would take. Less carbonation, a slightly heavier body, less coffee, more chocolate and less head. Cold it still has a sharp coffee bite, but as it warms it smooths considerably. The only thing that makes me think that it will not age any further is that it is starting to develop a slightly dry taste, so will it last any further or is this just the taste of the coffee giving in to the chocolate? Only time will tell, now if I can just stay patient enough to wait another 2 to 6 months...

Dogfish Head - 90 minute IPA

OK so I'm not the biggest imperial IPA guy, but DAMN. I've heard that this was one of the greatest IPAs around, so while I was in Portland I decided to bring back some home. Only one came with me in the luggage and the rest of the 4 pack is coming back in the mail (along with a gang of other beers), and having just gotten back from the airport I found no better time than now than to give it a whirl.
What a whirl it is. This thing is epic.
Poured gives very little head and very minimal lacing. It pours a slightly more pumpkin color than the typical IPA and has a slightly citrus and spicy nose to it.
Body is a little heavier than your typical IPA, with slightly less carbonation too, which does definatley help out since it is pretty high ABV. Other wise it kinda seems that every good IPA you have ever drank, this is like 10 up from it... it sounds like it is a cop out, but it really isn't. It starts with a good round hop and citrus bite and then has a good mouth full body. Then finishes with a nice round clean fresh hop flavor.
I just know that all of the DFH beers I brought back are going to have to be savored over time. Since no one can get Dogfish Head around here, of course, this supply is limited... and I now understand what the hype is about. I can totally say that this is a truly 5 star beer.

Mcmenimens - nitro terminator stout

OK so this is written almost a week after drinking, but I'm still going write about it, got a problem with that... didn't think so...
OK so I had this beer twice once during dinner with a friend then 2 days later... but oak aged on nitro tap... both were good, but the aged was out of this world.
The both follow the same flavor profile, malty stout with more of a cocoa nib flavor in the bitter department than coffee. It was perfectly carbonated just enough to make it drinkable, but not enough that it takes away from the heaviness of the beer. The regular version reminded me alot of Lagunitas Imperial stout, but the nitro was a whole different ball game. The oak aging was just enough to give the beer another level of depth, a slight tannin acidity kind of like a wine. But the oak just made the flavor that much more complex. The nitro tap definately helped add another layer, along with the gigantic head that a nitro tap produces it gave it a great creaminess that just pushed the beer over the top. If it was up to me I could have sat there at that restaurant table one the street in Portland all day drinking that beer. Actually in fact I did nurse that beer for quite some time since it was a perfect day and we were leaving the next day...
OK so to wrap it up, terminator stout, good. Oak aged terminator stout on nitro tap, f'ing epicly heavily good. Like Michael j Fox heavy. 4 and 5 stars respectively. If you are in portland ever these are beers to drink while you are there, however I can not guarantee weather or not the nitro will be available as I was told this was a special release that they got a couple days prior.

Pyramid - Juggernaut Red Ale

Ok so this beers good but ive got a beef with it... but I will get to that in a minute...
It pours a deep hazlenut red which you would hope from a red ale, it has very little head and good foamy lacing. On the nose it is slightly nutty and earthy. All in all a good start to a good beer... but here is where my beef starts...
It tastes like the smell, it is a slightly nutty and hoppy red ale, all signs point to good, then it hits me... This is a rip off of Stones Arrogant Bastard. It is less bold and in your face, but all the flavor components are there. From the upfront bite of hops, to the basic nutti-ness, to the clean slight citrus finish. Its all there. And not that I don't understand that there are only so many ingredients that you can fit in a beer, but this is almost vagrant. Even the name, Juggernaut, Arrogant Bastard, Juggernaut, Arrogant Bastard... so damn close. Pyramid, what the hell are you doing?
But yes this is a good beer. Would I buy it again? No, its simply to simple to compete with the complexity that is Arrogant Bastard... so I will continue to buy the Arrogance.

Deschutes - Stoic

This beer is epic, no doubt about it. This will probably become my new favorite belgian quad once it hits KC's streets, even surpassing chimay blue, which says alot for me...
It pours a nice golden color with a lack of head that seems to be just right for something with this high of ABV (12%). It has a nice nose of darkfruits with what seems to be peach. 
The taste follows the nose very closely,  but it hides the booze very well. It tastes more of plums than figs and raisins, however they are still there, but the fruit seems far more fresh fruit than wrinkle fruit... Yes i said wrinkle fruit. The flavor profile stays consistant from start to finish, but it does finish cleaner than alot of its counterparts due to the fresher fruitness of the beer.
I am curious to see this beer right out of the bottle and not on tap at their brew pub...  PS,  this beer goes perfectly with their pork belly burger with jalapeño and candied yellow tomatoes...  If your in portland,  pair the two,  its worth it...  Trust me.

Dogfish Head - Palo Santo

This beer is huge, tastes kinda woody... This is one that honestly i dont believe i can give an honest review till it has aged for atleast a year.
Ok so its decent,  but its just too boozy and woody as a fresh brew to really be good. It has slight darkfruit and cherry undertones, along with the woody acidity and some slight coffee bitterness.
It is just a meh for the time being unfortunately...

Yay for deschutes

So today for lunch we stopped at Deschutes brew pub for lunch... Awesome. Got some burgers, my wife got some cascade ale and i got some in house brown ale. Both were excelent.  I cant wait for the likes of cascade to make it to KC,  great hop flavor, but sans hop bite.  It is kind of a tease in a way with out being the slightest bit bitter, but the flavor is huge. Great hop flavor, great citrus, with a slight wheatiness to it.  Sadly i wont be able to get the brown ale in KC as its brewed in the restaurant, but i can live with that,  it was good,  but no better than 75st breweries and i can get that by the growler...

I wish i had taken some pics, but my stomach was taking control at the moment, but it is definitely a place i could go back to.

I love you boulevard, but...

So today is day one of my wife and I's vacation in portland,  and jesus am i tired...
We headed to whole foods to get some snacks to have in the hotel room for the week and i decided to sneek off to the beer fridge to see what they got.  First off, they still have the straight up saison up here that was replaced over a year ago by tank 7. I would have figured whole foods would not allow product to sit around this long... Second, boulevard products are less expensive up here than in KC. Wait,  what? Yes thats right,  only by a buck and change,  but still less expensive.
Ok, so i understand a giant like whole foods can buy product in much larger quantities (hence still having the saison) thus getting it at a lesser price,  but i still dont understand how i can live a matter of miles away from the brewery and pay more than someone halfway across the country... Mind boggling...

Arcadia Ales - Cerial killer

Ok so I wanted to post my old cereal killer review a long time ago but I didnt think it was right not reveiwing a fresh brew at the same time. Being that the original review was 2 years aged, it just didn't seem right. So here its the fresh review.
Right out of the bottle out had very little head, and poured a raisin brown that was slightly less hazy than the 2 year vintage. It has a large honey and dark fruit noise to it.
Just like the 2 year vintage, this beer is big in body. Yet still doesn't match the huge ness of the aged variety. The fruit is much less subdued as you would expect,  much more up front. On the tongue it has a huge malt and prune/raisin flavor backbone, as through the finish out fades into more of a honey flavor. I find this odd, as I would figure the honey flavor would be not add strong. Having tasted the aged version first,  of course, skews this a bit though.
All in all, a fantastic beer, and excellent example of the barley wine category, but if you have the will power, it is worth the wait to age this. Far smother, far richer, far huger, and gets you far drunker...

Southern Tier - Pumking

Ok so this is my first pumpkin ale, sacrelidge I know, but it was something I just never felt I would like... I figure if im gonna try a new genre of beer I might as well try one that every one thinks is good.
As it turns out I just dont like it. Dont get me wrong the flavor is great, it is just not my idea of what I like in a brew. It has a huge creamy body, for such a clear beer I found this to be very suprising.
The taste is nothing short of liquid pumpkin pie, but that is exactly why I dont like it. I dont like pumpkin pie... I like pumpkin flavor, but not a big fan of the horrible debacle that is the pumpkin pie.
Ok so next will be new belgium kick, which from what I understand is on the opposite side of the pumpkin spectrum... Only time shall tell on whether or not the turtle will find a pumpkin beer that changes his mind over whether or not pumpkin belongs in any of his brews.

New Belgium Brewery - Kick

Ok so my last experience with pumkin ale was not a great one, just wasnt my bag.
Thankfully this time it is my bag... Ok, so this time it is really my bag.
It pours a good pumpkin orange that is very clear, but has a slight haze to it. Maybe I am just a master pourer (not the case), but it pours with little to no head. Its got a slightly spicy and sour nose to it.
Ok so now to the important part taste! Ok so right off the bat it has a huge cranberry sour kick, bite and pucker. Cold it has a gigantic cranberry taste, but as it warms up the pumpkin really comes into its element.  It still has a harshly clean sour bite, but the pumpkin and cranberry start to balance each other out the warmer it gets. Finish on this beer is excelent, crisp clean and slightly sour.
All in all I like this beer alot, like could be a go to if it was available year round. All in all, this gets 4 out of 5 shells, er stars. I would give it a half more star if this wasnt seasonal...

Boulevard - nommo First tasting

Ok so this is probably going to end up more of a rant than a review, so I am going to call this a first tasting rather than the former... Even if it is a short rant.
Ther noise of this beer is rather off putting for a good beer. I like the taste and the spices that make up the flavor profile, but the smell is, well, different to say the least. I almost thought that I got a funky bottle when I first poured it, and almost poured it out. Then I took a drink and realized that that was the way it was supposed to smell.
The only real likeness that i could compare it to is wet musty moldy cardboard.  No really... I really dont understand how they could let that happen.  I mean who thinks, "we have this great tasting beer,  but it smells kinda funny...  Oh well,  let's send it out anyways."?
I also found it to be a little over carbonated and thin. Neither of which make it bad,  just not what i was hoping for.  But maybe this is just a beer that needs a year or so under its belt to really be great,  not just good.
All things aside,  i like it so far.  The cloves and anise flavor are subtle as to not over power your tastebuds, while the slight banana leaves the finish clean. This is definitely a brew that i am going to have to stash a few bottles in my "file cabinet of goodness" to let mature.  If for nothing else to let it de-carbonate a little and thicken up...

Deschutes - Conflux #2

I have had a really long past month,  one of my closest friends over the years died for reasons that i will not go into in a public forum,  but after the end of a long work week and mentaly preparing my self for his funeral tomorrow i decided to go on a beerster egg hunt.  Thankfully i found Conflux at gomers south and a 2 year vintage bottle of Arcadia Ales -Cereal Killer.  The latter is getting stashed into my file cabinet of goodies,  but one of the two bottles of conflux is being enjoyed as we speak. And i am impressed and totally get the 2 colaborations now.  Now i am even more excited to tour deschutes when i am in portland in early October.
Ok so this review isnt really a review.  Its more of a rant,  but here it goes...
I have heard alot of people complain about the differences between the two beers...  If they wanted the two to be the same,  they would have just made one damn beer. I think their whole basis of this is their own interpretation of the same idea.  Granted i dont know descutes product explicitly,  but from what i understand they venture more into a hop-centric brew and then lets face it,  boulevard really shines in the unfiltered wheat.
So the Deschutes version is a little hoppier with more lemongrass and citrus. Where as the Boulevards rendition is more smooth with a more earthy undertone and the definitive huge head that surrounds their smokestack series. Neither are bad. Neither stand out as being better.  They are simply two breweries combining their efforts to create something special but in their own unique style.  I really applaud this myself and i wish more breweries would take this as an example,  and do more beers in this vein.

Boulevard colab #2 first taste

So I have been spending more time recently actually enjoying beer than I have writing about it. But I will make an exception for this.
I love this beer. I think I may have to go out tomorrow and try to snag a couple more bottles for the future, since once this is gone it is done... It is basically exactly what it says it is, a white IPA. In my opinion it has a flavor profile of Avery's White Rascal and a thinner Modus hoperandi. It is slightly meaty like a Belgium white, with a big mouthful, but with a good clean fresh hop bite and a slightly spicy overtone.
My only real beef with this beer is that it is a one off brew. If this was a year round brew it would be a go to beer no matter what time of year it is. It is refreshing in the time of year that is right now in the mid west, the 82nd layer of hell, but is still kind of warming that goes well in the winter... Basically this beer is all around awesome.

Arcadia Ales - 2009 Cereal Killer

Holy Jesus, now I am glad that I saved this beer for a night that I can actually enjoy it. This beer is awesome. Like mind blowing awesome, like heavy, like Michael j. Fox heavy.
I'm having to much fun drinking this right now to go to far in depth... but here is the skinny... there is nothing skinny about this beer. Huge body. Chocolate and malt undertones. A good brown sugar hit to the tongue and a Carmel/toffee finish.
Pours like a black hole. No light escapes this beer. Very little carbonation, but what do you expect from a 2 year old barleywine?
OK so enough writing for me, and enough reading for you, now go drink some.

Ok so now for a morning after edit... There is no way that this beer is still 9% after 2 years. With how hazy my recollection of the night before is, I imagine that this beast has got to be 12 plus at least by now. But do I regret it... Not at all, that better was simply epic.

Founders - porter (aged 3 1/2 mo)

OK so this is another aged porter post, but this one was aged in my file cabinet of goodies. I had set to open this guy up on the 20th of last month, but got caught up at work and completely spaced on it till now.
OK so the non fridge aged is very much the same but really not at the same time. The regular aged really did not seem to take the bitter edge off as much which did not let the chocolate come out as much. The overall booze was much stronger as well.
The overall effect was very odd to me... I figured the bottle that was in the fridge would age more slowly and that the two would come out backwards from what they did... overall I am just perplexed on how or why 2 beers could come out different like this... oh well we shall see how the next one comes out in another 3 months. Only time will tell...

Founders - Porter (aged 3 mo in fridge)

Alright, right off the bat I have to admit that I know you shouldn't age beer in a fridge... its just been in the fridge for 3 months and I have a couple of bottles that I am progressively aging in my file cabinet of joy that I will compare it to.
OK so I am going to cut to the nitty gritty on this one, as if you read this you more than likely know this beer already. So I am going to talk about the differences between a new bottle and this one. If you haven't drank this beer, go drink one already.
OK so the first thing I noticed was that there was far less carbonation and less pshhhhh when I opened the bottle. Oddly the body seems to be vastly bigger as I found this beer kinda thin for a porter when I first had it. One of the largest differences is that there is mucho less bitterness, which I find very nice. The overall burnt coffee taste of this beer really turned me off straight off the shelf, but now it is simply an afterthought in the finish of the beer. This lack of bitter really leaves the toffee and chocolate flavors in the forefront and they really shine, it just rounds out the whole flavor profile all together and it finishes far smoother all together.
 All around this beer is far better with a couple months under its belt in short. It makes me anxious to try my bottles of gnarlywine and other founders porters (amongst other undisclosed beers) in the future. If I was founders I would age all of my stouts and porters slightly before shipping if this is the way they turn out... just sayin. I would buy a lot more of your product if I could just pick one up and it taste like this.

Anchor brewing - Bock

I just don't like it.
 For being a "spring time" beer, it seemed to be to porterish to me to really taste right... The flavor profile of this beer is like a cross dresser... just not sure which side to take...

Boulevard - Saison Brett

So tonight I had the pleasure of unwinding with a bottle of saison Brett. I am very thankfull that I bought a few bottles of it to cellar, and one to drink now. This is mainly for the fact that only being cellared 3 months right out of the bottle and being 8.5 percent it is pretty boozey now. But a year or two will take that edge off nicely.
That being said, this is a good brew as it stands, its just a little heavy on the alcohol now. It pours a beautiful orange that is very hazy, and has a huge head to go along with it in typical boulevard fashion. It smells of oranges and is kind of earthy in its smell, you can't really smell the alcohol in it like you can some others.
Taste wise it is pretty close to the smell. A very farmhouse taste of grains, some hopes, with some citrus (mainly oranges and lemon). It finishes fairly clean with a huge alcohol bite right at the end.
Really my only regret is that I didn't buy any last year to have an aged bottle ready to go now... I would love to taste what 1 and 2 years ages tastes like... Right now...

Mmm... Dinner

So this is supposed to be an Abita amber ale... Its good, kinda typical with a little bit of that soapy taste... I should drink it again, but its not my favorite. But you know what I completely forgot to do a flavor wheel or write an actual review since I was too busy eating my diner...
I'm still playing with the immersion circulator, and this chicken came out a little bland. But wow, the mushroom/olive/bacon pseudo confit was amazing...
That is all for today.

3 day brisket

For those that wanted to know... 3 day brisket suis vide is absolute awesome sauce...

Free State Brewing - Ad Astra

OK so I like this beer, alot... but this will be in the quick and dirty review section. No pictures, no flavor wheel, just info.
Think black and tan
Reminds me alot like new Belgium's 1554
Kinda coffee
Kinda malty
Kinda amber ale
Good head
Good level of carbonation
Great drinkability
Great taste
And bam, bobs your mother.

It's raining meat

I haven't posted anything in a while I know, I have been drinking some new (to me) beers that I swear I will post reviews on soon. But I have been tinkering in my kitchen building new gadgets and playing with them mainly in my spare time alot.
I have been into molecular gastronomy for a while, but have not had the cash to really delve into it too much till just recently with the advent of my wife's new job and the extra income that came along with it. So I decided to finally bite the bullet and build an immersion circulator. For those that don't know this is the main component needed for suis vide cooking. This is a style of cooking that is not very dissimilar to the Midwestern staple of smoking meat for long periods of time in a smoker. Except in this manor you vacuum seal the food you are making and cook it in a precisely temperature controlled water bath. Some may say this is sacrelige, I say its beautiful.
Basically the theory is that in controlling the temp within a half of a degree you can keep your meat at precisely the temp needed to break down the fat and connective tissues while still pasteurizing all the things that can make you sick, all while not loosing a single ounce of the meats natural juices and producing a perfect succulent product.
I have already tried chicken with fantastic results, steak with "meh" but good results, and reheated a slightly dry pork tenderloin with as good of results as I could with an already slightly over done cut of meat. My latest experiment is brisket.
The one thing that I found is that seasoning goes a long way with this method. So I went sparingly on the highly aromatic stuff like pepper, since I can always season it when I pull it out after its 3 day cook time and sear it to get some browning on it to accomplish "the malliard effect".
The biggest test is my own patience, I'm not a baker, I'm a cook, do I really have the patience to watch a brisket gently float there in the water for 3 days and not yank it out and finish the cooking in my oven? Only time will tell, however, for my own sake of not being killed in my sleap, I probably should make sure my wife is here when when I finish it off since she loves brisket...

Boulevard - Tank 7

Some people will claim that this is the best beer to come out of KC, or even Missouri... I'm not so sure about that, but this is one damn good beer.
OK so before I start I want to clarify that I do know that I poured this into a non boulevard approved glass. For those that don't know, boulevard's smokestack series has a picture of what glass you should use on the back of their bombers, but not on the back of the Little Smokey line. I know that it is supposed to be a tulip glass, but all of mine were dirty... so what ya gonna do?
This beer pours with the typical huge foamy head that has come to typical of all the smokestack series, and reeks of oranges and other tasty spices. It also leaves a good lacing on the glass as you slowly succumb to this delightful brew.
It tastes not hugely unlike it smells, lots of fruit and a hint of hops in the background. This is another good showing of that it is all about balance in your recipe, and that you can't go overboard with one specific flavor or you will loose the entire "roundness" of the entire brew.
It doesn't overwhelm you with all spring time fruits which is nice, you can still taste some raisins and some plumb. But all the while it has an earthy quality about it that is not far off from a wheat beer. That is really where this beer stands out, it keeps a good mouthful while keeping all the flavors coalesced in a perfect manor.
OK so I may not think this is the defacto KC best beer, but it sure is in the top 3 for standard production, and easily in the top 10 even when taking limited runs in consideration. The only thing that you do HAVE to do, is DO NOT drink this beer straight out of the bottle. I see people do this all the time, sadly... It will not do this beer any justice. It needs to be in a glass to really be able to taste the full spectrum of the beer. Out of the bottle it is overly fruity and far to carbonated, but once poured it takes on a whole new life.
Flavor wheel after the jump

Schlafly - Bavarian Style Weissbier

OK so any one who actually reads this knows I love a good unfiltered wheat. This is definitely no exception. Here is the skinny
Pours hazy (duh, its unfiltered)
Limited head
You can really taste the earthy wheaty-ness in it
There is kind of an orange/lemon overtone to it that is very nice
It smells kinda earthy floralish if that makes sense
Perfect crisp finish for a spring day with a semi light body
OK, here is my beef... they killed off the #15 wheat beer, and then they release this as a seasonal... really? This beer needs to be around all year long. I can honestly say if it was there would be one in my fridge at all times. This is now in my top 5 wheats now, and will be very sad once I see it go. I would just go buy a case of this fantastic brew... bit who am I kidding? I will just drink it all in a couple weeks time if I do. Schlafly, good job. But you should really reconsider the limited nature of this brew...
Hit the Jump for the Flavor wheel

Yazoo- Pale Ale

This is going to be a very quick and to the point review...
This is my classic example of what man brewers do wrong when making a pale ale, they have the wrong flavor profile when brewing and it comes out tasting kinda soapy. Not that I spent a good portion of my childhood with a bar of soap in my mouth being punished for swearing (which I was, just no soap), or that I have licked a bar or soap or two in the past... but it just doesn't have the most appealing taste. Its not bad by any means, but if you are going to stop after one glass, before your drunk, you are probably not going to care for this beer too much in the long run.
Flavor wheel after the jump

Shiner - spring ale

Calling this beer spring ale is quite the perfect name. It's nice and crisp that would compliment a nice day of doing yard work or mowing the lawn... which sadly I have yet to do at time of writing this to the dismay of my neighbors . It smells like an amber ale with some citrus and ginger and a nice clear golden pour with very little head. The taste follows right behind. It is very much a floral and fruity ale with lots of grapefruit, lime, and lemon with just enough hops to give it a perfect dry bite. If you read anything of mine you know I'm not the biggest fan of huge hop beers, I find them kind of shallow and pedantic, so this was a nice surprise to find that the hops are what really make this beer fantastic. It gives the finish a nice clean aromatic finish with out being to over pronounced and bitter.
As a matter of fact I am drinking this brew while decompressing after a long day at work on the deck. Granted my dogs are watching me from the back door, but that's only because they were being jerks and barking up a storm at 10:30 at night and have lost their privilege to frolic in the yard. I think they would enjoy this beer too, but they are dogs, and I'm not a big fan of giving your pets booze. But anyway, this is a fantastic beer and I look forward to drinking more of it while its around, you should too...

Stone - Levitation Ale

You ever eat a sandwich that completely re-defines the way you look meat and bread forever? This beer is that sandwich.
Poured this beer has kind of a hazy red brown look to it, while having a very yeast activating look to the head that is a pretty decent 2 finger height. It goes down quickly, which I like alot, so I don't have to wait to drink said beer. It smells of hops, dark fruits and a little bit of brown sugar to round every thing out. The lacing is pretty intense in its staying power too.
If I didn't know this was a stone brew, and someone just poured it for me, I would totally still know they made it. It is very boisterous and in your face in flavor which in most beers I tend to stray away from, but something about stones beers seems to be extremely appealing.  There is a certain balance to their extreme nature that is extremely tasty. The overall flavor back bone follows the smell pretty closely. A good hops bitterness with a slight taste of resinous pine, dark fruits like plumb and raisins, and some brown sugar to level it all out. This would definately be what I would consider an American strong ale. An American brew most definately, but done in a way that makes me appreciate the more bitter darker brews. If you will, this would be a gateway beer to the darker more bitter English brews. This beer would most definately rank up as an awesome sauce. But its not too overly alcoholic so you can drink it with out getting too sauced. It may have a little too strong of flavor for me to drink all night, but you definately could with out waking up the next day worrying about what happened the night before. All in all it is another win in the book of stone.
Hit the jump to see my sweet Flavor wheel!

Odell - 5 Barrell Pale Ale

Odell... you continuously impress me. I figured this beer would be good, but I think I have officially fallen in love with you. Too bad I am already married (sorry ladies) and the fact that I am pretty sure that you can't marry a company... but there has got to be a state somewhere that will allow it.
This beer pours a nice hazy amber, kind of in their typical unfiltered look. It has little head, but who cares... its there to drink, not to just sit there and at. It has a nice sweet aroma that lends to brown sugar with a slight piney hops smell.
This beer is smooth and solid. A good balance of hops, citrus and just good ole fashioned beer. I could go on, but I won't. Just trust me, its good. If you don't trust me, go out and buy some and try it your self. This is a smooth drinking beer that you can definitely drink all night. Or drink after a nice day of working in the lawn.
Long story short, run don't walk to your favorite booze emporium and buy some. Then drink it and enjoy it... NOW!
click through the jump to see my tasting charts on this bad boy!

Firestone Walker - double IPA

This my first experience with this brand as they just started distributing to the KC area. So far so good. I figure any beer that ranks a 100 on beer advocate is worth a try, if others like it that much, there is a very good chance that I will too. Granted I am a big person on "just because others like it, doesn't mean their tastes are the same as mine...". But this beer does not disappoint.
It pours a good golden amber that all good IPAs do, and I could tell from first smell that this was going to be a piney beer. It has a subtle smell of pines, but its a sharp pine if that makes any sense. You have a solid 2 finger head that leaves good lacing as you drink it.
On first taste I thought, yup that's an IPA... but then as I continued I realized there is much more to this beer than just being a simple IPA. It has a slightly heavier body than your average IPA, which gives the beer a good balanced flavor backbone. Since the body is a more rotund than other IPAs it can still be crisp and piney, but it lets the flavor of the beer really develop in your mouth as you take your drink. Sure it starts with hops and a resinous pine, but underneath it has a spicy undertone that I can't quite put my finger on... maybe a little ginger... whatever it is it has a sweet spice to it that is not to over bearing, but sits just right in the mix. For being a fairly high Abv drink when its cold you can't taste much booze. Its not till it comes to a decent room temp that you can really tell that by the time you finish the bomber, that you will know that you drank it all.
Granted this does taste similar to alot of other double IPAs, but it is a little more robust and sophisticated than alot of other examples in this genre. Its like sitting down with a glass of scotch and smoking a Cuban Cohiba cigar with it, rather than smoking a black and mild. Neither one is bad by any means, but when push comes to shove, one is going to more pleasing of an experience than the other... and one you are going to want to have again, and the other you will want simply when you need a "fix"...

The Riot Room - Carousel Chronicles episode 12

The Classics - Gifted

What can I say... my friends have too much time on their hands...

Boulevard Imperial Stout refund

This is an example of why I still hold Boulevard above many other craft breweries. Sure my bottle of Imperail Stout cost the same as 3 Lagunitas bombers, but when faced with the fact that their beer was contaminated they are willing to give a full refund, even though they admit it is still a good beer and that it poses no threat to those consuming it... I cant see many companies actually doing that, and you really have to respect them for standing up and doing good by it.
I guess my bottle will be even more special when I open it in a year... who knows what I will get? It kind of makes me want to pick up a bottle of batch 1 somewhere and age it too for comparison.

here is the low down from Boulevard...

Tallgrass Brewing - Halcyon wheat

I have a serious soft spot for unfiltered wheat beers, and this brew has been highly recommended by some friends of mine so I figured I would check it out... wow, am I glad o did.
So on first pour it seems almost identical to my local legend that is boulevard wheat. Huge head, really hazy, like can't see though it hazy, some citrus smell of lemon and orange, and a little dirt. I mean what good is a wheat beer if you can't taste the dirt it came from? Then I tasted it...
It seems like a adopted child to boulevard wheat. This is not a bad thing... The classic story of two brothers that think they are blood till the age of 21 and then mom gets drunk and lets the beans spill on their past. The two are still loved equally, but the differences between the two become obvious once the truth is out.
Both beers have same flavor back bone, but in a slightly different balance. Boulevard focuses a little more on the citrus aspect, where as tall grass seems to focus more on the earthy wheaty aspect of the brew.
Both are good but neither one is better perse', it just depends on the mood you are on that night. If you want a little more fruit, go with boulevard, if you want more wheat, go with the tall grass. This is definitely not a replacement for my classic stand by, it simply stands as an alternative when I want something a little different.

New Belgium - 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

I have had this beer many times before, and I never tire of it. This beer encapsulates everything I love about a black and tan, in one bottle, and with out actually being a black and tan...
This beer has a large aroma of malts and vanilla. Very earthy... it is accompanied by a huge, yet very light and froathy head that leaves pretty massive lacing behind.
Like I said before this is everything I ever wanted from a black and tan. A lightness that you can only get from an ale, but a dark robust creamyness that you can only find in a porter or stout. This beer blends the best of both sides. It is an earthy beer, while still being refreshing, and all while having a huge body. This is a beer that has won over a place in my heart as well as in my fridge. You may not be the zazziest beer or be the most expensive or rare or aged. You are just good... enough said.

Abita - strawberry harvest ale

My wife brought this back on her recent excursion to Memphis, on the recommendations of her coworkers in the area. And it would be a good recommendation if the beer finished the way I was hoping.
First off it poured much lighter than I was expecting... not sure why I figured it would be more brown, but its pretty light and hazy. Almost no head to be found on a fiarly heavy handed pour.
OK so the taste... it has that distinctive lager bite, with a big upfront strawberry taste. But here is where I would gone a different route. Its good but the strawberry is too much a topical flavor and not enough backbone flavor wise. There is a reason why alot of people decide to do fruit flavored beers as a wheat beer, it has a nice earthy undertone that works well with the fruits flavor. The lager just overpowers the strawberry, by the time that you get to the finish it just comes right back to the lager overpower. Not much fruit... if it had a rich strawberry finish this beer would be amazing and would have a permanent spot in my fridge when in season... but no it fails out... This beer still gets 3 stars... its still good... just not 4 or 5 star good...

The Riot Room - Carousel Chronicles episode 11 - Stone

Stone - Sublimely Self Righteous Ale

In celebration of this week being "stone week" here in KC, I figured I had to do atleast one review of a Stone brew. Thankfully I did not have to have this one shipped to me from my insider source within the brewery, but picked it up at my local liquor store for a price that kills alot of other breweries bombers. 6 bucks for a bomber is a killer deal for such a fantastic brew, and the fact that you can pick up the other so-cal craft brew great (lagunitas) bombers for around 5, even limited edition brews! Long story short, so-Cal beer is going to take over KC, and I hate to say it but, it may just give our KC giant a run for their money and may make them reconsider their 8 and up to 13 dollar bomber price...
OK so I'm supposed to be reviewing beer here aren't I?..
OK so it pours a really dark brown/red with a 2 finger head into the Stone Sniffer that was so generously provided by my in side wo-man. It smells of healthy hops, toffee and Carmel. At first the lacing seemed to be mid to light, but by the time that I was on my last snifter it was nothing but heavy. Like Michael J Fox heavy...
On the taste front, this is definitely a Stone brew. Big loud and proud. At first taste, my first thought was "damn, that's bitter", but it mellowed a good amount as I drank more and it warmed up, as did I. The flavor backbone mirrors the smell very close. It has a nice hoppy bitterness with a slight coffee,toffee/brown sugar undertone. There is a good grapefruit citrus acidity in there too that keeps the bite fresh on your tongue while allowing the beer to finish nice and clean.
It has a medium body that while still being a mouthful is still refreshing and not too over powering.
This beer definately gets 4 and 1/2 stars, and has earned a definitive place in my fridge.

Odell - Easy Street Wheat

I have a big spot in my heart for wheat beers, living in a city that produces the best wheat beer that I have ever tasted (boulevard wheat beer) any new wheat beer I taste has a big task ahead on the road ahead. Most simply compare, but I think I may have found a contender...
It pours amazingly clear for being unfiltered. Granted my hometown brew is very opaque, but this is in almost pale ale/ipa land in realms of clarity. There is about a half a finger of head with absolutly no lacing as you drink it. On the smell front it is earthy with some lemonish citrus notes.
Ok so now the important part, the taste... it has a nice earthy maltiness to it. It has a little more hops to it than I was expecting. Most wheats leave the hops on the down low, this beer brings it out, not to the extreme but to a good equalibrium with the malts. Just enough for a slight bitter bite to give this wheat beer a slight kick in the tongue. The really weird part is that for an unfiltered wheat with this ammount of clarity is that it has a much bigger body than was expected at first. Then the carbonation hits, and all of a sudden it makes sense. With the extra body, a slight hit of hops and a nice amount of citrus, when the carbonation comes in, it takes the whole traditional wheat flavor profile and and takes it to a crisper level that most wheat beers can not match.
Do I like it more than boulevards wheat or averys white rascal... no. Would I consider it to be in a different catagory... yes. I would consider this to be an amber ale brewed in the style of a wheat. It is definately a drink all night or at a hot out door bbq, all in all very refreshing.  Odell, I like you... you should send me some free beer. I swear I won't mind...

The Riot Room - Carousel Chronicles episode 10

Enjoy, it is almost time for stone to hit our shelves!

Flying Dog - Old Scratch Amber Lager

I always kind of imagined this is what Red Stripe always wanted to be...
OK so that is not a real good description of this beer, but right now I don't really care. I am enjoying it a bunch. Here is the nitty gritty
Smells like prunes
Dark amber brown pour
Maybe a half finger head
No lacing
Tastes crisp yet dark with malts, brown sugar, and dark fruit
Clean finish that leaves you with a dark fruit taste
Done, now I am going to go back to enjoying this beer while messing with my Boston terrier and Papillion in the back yard while I piss off the entire neighborhood with there barking at 11:30 @ night.
If you don't like this review... good for you, its kind of crappy, but the beer is tasty, and that's all that matters.

Lagunitas - Wilco Tango Foxtrot

Holy Jesus... I didn't think I was going to like this very much on first drink... but boy was I wrong!
I am glad that I chose to pour this into a tulip since this beer is more stout or porter than brown ale. Lagunitas considers this an imperial brown ale, or an American strong brown ale... but hell whatever it is, its dark and creamy. It pours with a huge head that is nice and airy but doesn't stick around for a long time. It has a typical aroma that you would expect, but with a little more of am alcohol over tone. As the level of booze quickly goes down in your glass it leaves a heavy lacing that sticks around for a looooooooong time.
OK so now on the taste front, this beer is f'ing creamy. It is kind of a blend of alot of different beer styles. It has a dark, creamy and malty flavor of a stout, the brown sugar undertones of a brown ale, and the slight nuttiness of an irish red. It has some slight hints of toffee, coffee, and a little hoppy bitterness. Its kind of an odd combination, but I like it. It is kind of like one of their brewers got bored and decided to dump all of their favorite brews into one bottle and just to see what happens.
Whatever the case may be, lagunitas 2 thumbs up to you, one for the fantastic beer, the other for being so awesome with the pricing of your bombers. This Guy totally gets a 4 out of 5 in my book (even though the flavor wheel says 3... i wrote that out before i knew i liked it alot).

Odell - 90 shilling amber ale

Odell, I am falling in love with your brewery. 3 beer reviews in and nothing even close to mediocre. This beer is fantastic so far, let me tell you why.
This is another short and sweet review since I want to continue savoring you. And by you I mean, the beer. If I was savoring my readers (or lack there of) that would just be creepy and odd, don't you understand that you can't drink a person?..
Pours hazy golden red brown
2ish finger head
Good lacing
Smells like brown sugar
Medium body
Slightly bitter (just enough)
Just a pinch of nuts
Don't pinch my nuts
Just a hair of hops coming though
A little bit of dark fruit
Slightly lingering finish
Back bone of brown sugar and delicious
Was that good for you, because I know it was for me? Not amazing but is definately light years better than your average gas station beer... now go get your self some and enjoy.

Anchor Brewing - Liberty Ale

This is a brewery that has always been intrigued with as they have seemed to have this old world nostalgia about them. The beer really seems to follow.
This is a beer that I could somehow see my self sailing the seven seas with an eye patch and a peg leg with. Not in my top 10, but still good. Let me explain...
It pours with a huge frothing head that does recesses pretty quickly as well as leave a pretty decent lace on the glass. On the aroma side of things it has a malty wheatiness to it that is a nice slightly spicy crisp refreshing smell.
Taste wise is where it leaves me with a "meh" feeling. It just kind of feels standard to me, a good standard, but standard non the less. It has all the standard flavor backbone of a good solid wheat beer but with the addition of a bitter hops note and a spice that I can't quite put my finger on, maybe nutmeg..? To be honest it seems like a slightly more bitter and spicy boulevard wheat beer, which to be honest I prefer over this beer. This is mainly because of the way it finishes, its not a bad finish, but the flavor profile changes though the finish. It mellows as time goes on, but in the end it goes to a very malty note that kind of contradicts the other flavors. It also leaves a very flowery aftertaste that is an interesting surprise, but doesn't fit the other flavors that are predominant in the beer.
OK so all in all, I spent this whole review comparing two beers that are of two different styles, but at the same time have the same flavor profile. They just hit the tongue different. Do I prefer wheat beers? Kinda. Do I still like this beer? Yes. Is my dog jealous of me right now? I don't know... why the hell would my dog be jealous?..

Bridgeport - Hop Czar

This is a beer that constantly comes up on the "best of" lists... yet another case of, don't always trust your beer tastes by someone else's... I think its partially there, it is just not all its cracked up to be.

Breckenridge - Vanilla Porter

I want to like this beer, but I think this is another case of "I may like it if its been aged a good bit to take the edge off it".

Chimay - Grand Reserve

Oh my god I am I loathe... I say that because I loathe the fact that I can not drink this beer all the time since it is fairly pricey. OK, its not too bad, but its enough to make me squirm just a bit...

Why?

So Anheuser Busch bought goose island brewery today... is this a good thing that will help the company *ahem* spread its wings, or will it ruin there quality product?

Riot Room Carousel Cronicles EP9

Odell Brewing - levity amber ale

I have always been a big fan of a good amber ale. A good body, good color... all around a solid any time of the year beer. This is no exception.
Not having drank anything from Odell in a state of caring or remembering it, this was my first conscious time of drinking their beer. I am impressed from first drink. Need I say more? Probably not, but guess what? I am... what you gonna do about it? Keep reading? I hope so.

New belgium brewery - Abbey

This beer is solid flavor, I'm not sure if I can say it any other way.

Simply Huge - Where The Wild Things Aren't

Stone - Pale Ale

I had to sit back and think about this one long and hard. Normally I write a review while drinking a beer, but I felt this one needed a bit more contemplation than some others. Maybe of was the fact that I was enjoying my last night before my wife left town again... but I think it was the fact that I liked this beer so much that I felt like it deserved a good night of enjoying it before I really sat down to write.

Flying Dog - Snake Bite IPA

I'm trying to like this beer, I really am, I swear... but its just not happening. I didn't even bother to take a picture for your enjoyment, go figure.
Poured, it has a nice hazy yellow gold color with about 1 finger head that leaves a good ammount of lacing behind. It has a very spicy aroma that kind of tingled the nose. But the taste is where it got me...
It starts with your typical IPA floral citrus notes but then as it finishes it leaves a bitter sour aftertaste that just completely ruins this beer for me. It is like taking a big bite of a chocolate bar and swallowing it only to look down at the wrapper and realize you just ate a huge hunk of laxative... it starts tasty, but it doesn't finish that way. You guys that like bitter beers, this is one for you. But its not for me... just not my style.

Aging

So i officially started aging some beers as of a few days ago, and realized that this is something I should continue and experiment with. So i grabbed a few, threw a date on them and threw them in my office closet for later consumption. Now the real test of time...

SIMPLY HUGE - WEP 7 - CRAPPY ROOMMATE

BUT WAIT THERES MORE!!!

The Riot Room - Carousel Chronicles appetizer platter

Not really a episode from Tim and the crew... but enjoy!

Stones arrogant bastard first taste

Got some stones in the mail today along with some other gifts from a friend that currently works for stone. No they are not the "key" stone variety, but the actual stone brewery. On first taste was wow, that's not what I was expecting. Second thought was, so when is it coming to KCs shelves? Review coming soon... the first bottle is simply for my enjoyment.

Sierra Nevada - torpedo extra IPA

I had always heard good things about this brewery, so I decided to finally try one. So far not so good. At this point I would ram this in with Samuel Adams...

SIMPLY HUGE - WEP 6 - THE LAST THIN MINT...

Lagunitas - Hop Stupid Ale

With every drink, the Lagunitas breweries drinks are making me wish that they had come to KC's shelves earlier. Good drink at an amazing price. This beer is definitely no exception.

Avery - White Rascal

I love this meaty beer. Wait did I just call a beer meaty? I think I did...

Flying Dog - Tire Bite Golden Ale

Hunter S Thompson eat your heart out, wait... drink your heart out... wait your dead and me saying crap like this is sacrilegious to good literature. But this sure as hell is a good beer!

HORRAYYYYYYYYY!!!

Stone beers will officially be in KC sometime next month!
Stone beer coming to KC
This makes this turtle very happy!
Hopefully if a good friend of mine that works for Stone in their restaurant gets me some soon i will have a review of some before their arrival.

Samuel Adams - noble pils

I'm not the biggest fan of the Boston brewery, but I had heard good things about this beer so I tried it... just glad that I got it in a "build your own six pack".

Lagunitas - Pale Ale

OK so I like this beer, but I would rather drink my local boulevard brewery's pale ale selection. Here's why...

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, at actually the almost the exact time that I am writing this I recieved a call from my now wife informing me that she had been laid off from her job. They had fired her for HR reasons... Since they were firing people in other departments they felt it moraly justified to fire nesiccary people in needed departments. It has been a long hard year, with a flooded house, one of our dogs almost dieing from an unknown poison that she had eaten, and well a general lack of income among many other things.
Even though I am now sitting at home typing this alone while my wife is away on her new job (travels 3-5 days a week), i am thankfull for every thing that happened. We would have never come out this strong in the end if it hadnt happened. And I know our marrige can survive damn near anything life can throw at us after all that we have been through. Heres a big middle finger to you B&M, followed by a high five for getting her out of a place that I know she would grow to despise as time went on.
Here is to moving on, Cheers!

Lagunitas - IPA

As time goes on, I am learning to love this brewery more and more. This beer sure does not hurt that love that is growing so quickly.

A new webisode of my friends online sitcom, if you arent watching these, well you should....

Schlafly - Scotch Ale

I am a big fan of Scotch, and I'm a big fan of beer, so this should be a pretty cut and dry review right? Not really... it is a very complex and kind of different beer that suits tonight perfectly. Its not too cold its not too warm, but it sure as hell doesn't seem right to drink a porter and surely doesn't feel fully like Wheat beer season just yet...

Avery - collaboration not litigation

This is a weird beer, this is not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I love this beer. It is very possibly one of my favorite beers at the moment.

explosive grafitti

This is mind blowing... literally. i just want to know exactly how he did it. 

Riot Room Carousel Cronicles EP7

The guys at the Riot Room have posted another episode of the Carousel Chronicles. Good bar, Good people, GREAT BEER, good times. DONT WHEEZE THE JUICE!

Bells Two Hearted Ale

I have always heard good things about the Bells brewery, but never felt like trying their beers... Every time I was in an adventerous beer mood I always went with something new or different from some brewery from the outskirts if Idaho or some stupid place that no one has heard of... But their beer is in my favorite liqour store, so it must be good... Right?

Please Stop Radiohead

Radiohead, what are you doing? Why do you keep putting out weirdly bland and non intriguing albums? I am not a purveyor of drugs making better music, but i think that ever since they stopped doing drugs, their music has gotten worse and worse. It pained me to listen to this album from front to back, and I love Radiohead! They just need to stop, however i have to commend them in the fact that they have become such an icon that they dont even really sell their albums any more, they just say "hey merry christmas, now come pay 300 bucks a ticket to see us live", and they sell out every show. Marketing genius if you ask me. Maybe they should stop playing music and become a marketing firm..?

Now if you do want to hear a good spacey album that you dont have to be high on every drug available simultaneously to enjoy, pick up Autolux's "Transit Transit". It took me a few listens before it sunk in completely, yet still amazed me from note 1.

The "black and tan" or how I learned to stop caring and love dark beers

Like alot of people I never liked dark beers, always saying "i dont want to chew my beer!". The problem is that, like many americans, I am not the biggest fan of bitter beers or those that have a heavy coffee taste. I am not a coffee drinker as it is, so why would I want my beer to taste like it? Mainly I got brain washed (like many have) that bud heavy and pbr are beer... I am sorry, but they are to beer what Dr. Dre is to punk rock... The beers I guzzled in college only deserve the name of beer as they will get you get you drunk if you drink a absolute gigantic ammount of it.
As time went on living in KC I got more interested in craft beers, the Boulevard brewery was right down the street and I got heavily into their wheat beer. Then I dicovered a couple of liqour stores that had beers I had only heard in whispers as I passed bars on the weekends. All of a sudden I was randomly buying beers off the shelf and finding some amazing stuff and some really bad stuff posing in a fancy expensive bottle. But there were still few dark beers that struck my fancy. I tried porters, stouts, oatmeal stouts, chocolate stouts and porters. Then I thought back to a drink named the "black and tan", you may have heard of it...

Avery Ellies Brown Ale

This brewery always suprises me, I dont believe there has ever been a beer from this brewery that I dont like. That being said, I like this beer, but I dont "looooovvvvve" this beer...

It has a very sugary ale smell to it, and tastes very similar. It has a slight malty  and a very sugary body. I just wish it would have had a thicker body. The finish of the beer is a slightly white sugar, when I was hoping for a more brown sugar finish.

Ok so now that I am done bashing it, I really do like this beer, I just wish it was just a little better. It is a pretty crisp brown ale that is mighty refreshing from a great company that I dont mind supporting.

Boulevard/Christoper Elbow chocolate ale

If you are from the KC area and you dont live under a rock, you know about this beer... Usually that is a death wish for any brewery. But this is a rare exception to this rule. Holy batmans dirty underwear this beer is good.