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...