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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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"...