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...