Milk Stout

Brewer: Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, Colorado
Alcohol Content: 6%

Official Description from Brewer:
"Dark and delicious, America's great milk stout will change your perception about what a stout can be. Preconceived notions are the blinders on the road to enlightenment. Udderly delightful."

Wilk's Take:
As I am a sucker for a good stout, I couldn't help but grab this bottle for my six pack variety pack.  It has been sitting in my refrigerator for a good, long while as I've been busy getting the house in order from all things construction.  The worst part is, I had been anxiously waiting for the right time to crack open this brew.  Milk stouts have become more and more popular with the advance of craft beers and they make a great dessert.  After a night of homemade pizza, I figured it would be perfect.

Left Hand did me wrong with TNT.  I was expecting great things with this offering and I was not disappointed.  The stout poured beautifully into my usual pint glass, which I discovered is not quite a pint.  The black hue was inviting and the liquid was far from thick.  As I drew in a deep breath my sense of smell detected an odor bordering on rubbing alcohol hidden beneath the milky bitterness of the beer.  It was sickeningly sweet in a way.

My first draw of the Milk Stout was so smooth and creamy.  A sweet undertone gave way to an intense coffee aftertaste that was further followed by the initial milkiness.  The sensation was phenomenal and kept the glass tilted at a 45 degree angle near my lips.

Left Hand has won me back with the delicious Milk Stout.  It indeed was the perfect dessert beer to cap off my night and I am looking forward to stocking my fridge with a couple bottles.

Suggestion: Add this to your stout collection without hesitation.  Even if you aren't a fan of dark beers you will be pleasantly surprised by the rich, creaminess that Milk Stout has to offer.  If you don't like coffee, avoid the black aftertaste.

Value: Part of my $2/bottle variety pack.  Well worth it.  Smooth, delicious, and 6%.

Michelle Factor:  Michelle grimaced upon taking her sip of Milk Stout thanks to the intense coffee flavor on the back end.  After a minute she discovered the milkiness underneath but was still not impressed.

Oberon Ale

Brewer: Bell's Brewery, Galesburg, Michigan
Alcohol Content: 5.8%

Official Description from Brewer:
"Bell's Oberon is a wheat ale fermented with Bell's signature house ale yeast, mixing a spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas.  The addition of wheat malt lends a smooth mouthfeel, making it a classic summer beer."

Wilk's Take:
Bell's Brewery is one of the better known microbreweries in my neck of the woods.  I have had pints of Bell's Oberon before and already knew it to be a summer seasonal brew.  My encounters in the past in no way prepared me for this experience as my pints came straight from the bar.  Pouring Oberon out of a bottle was new to me.

There was nothing overly dramatic about pouring the beer into the glass.  Oberon is a darker shade of yellow than a pale ale or lager but equally transparent in appearance.  The worrisome thing in the glass to me were little flakes that were dancing precariously amongst the little bubbles of carbonation.  I have never seen anything like it before.  I'm wondering again if I've encountered a bad beer.  Maybe it's bottle conditioned and this is the result.  Not quite sure.

Oberon smells a little like a wheat beer.  The graininess that most wheats throw at you is very low-key with this brew.  There is no hop aroma either.  I was missing everything Bell's was telling me was there.  Then again, I hadn't tasted the beer yet either.  When I did I enjoyed it.  The bubbly liquid played beautifully on the tongue and the taste was crisp and refreshing.

Bell's certainly does not "wow" you with anything flashy in Oberon but it delivers what it promises: "a classic summer beer."  This can easily be in the cooler on the deck or on the table behind the grill and yield a clean, crisp "ahhhh" after consumption.

Suggestion: Bell's Oberon has always been a hit with the crowds I run with and I can't say I blame any of them.  If you just finished mowing your lawn in 90 degree heat, grab a Bell's Oberon and you won't be disappointed.

Value: This was still part of my variety pack so the bottle went for $2.  That's a great deal as the micro brew price tag would follow you into the bar.  Grab a six pack and I'm sure the per bottle price drops even more.  There is value to it because you don't want to stop at just one.

Michelle Factor:  I asked Michelle to take a drink and she politely declined.  If the past is any indication she would not have favored this beer.

Father's Day Southern Tier Trifecta

Special thanks to my brother Adrian for providing the three above beers to complement the Father's Day meal I had prepared.  He makes an annual trek to Western New York and always comes back with a full supply of Southern Tier brews.  After the so-so Porter that Southern Tier provided he was determined to prove the quality of the Southern Tier brand.  I'll play along.  Who can turn down free beer?

The Big Red is a nice Imperial Red Ale.  Certainly it poured like a red with a beautiful color that sit nicely in both of our glasses.  The big hop aroma attacked my nose and I knew this was a beer not to be messed with.  That really doesn't mean anything.  The beer was smooth and had a nice array of bitterness.  Southern Tier took great pride in the type of hop used for this beer.  They add a dry hop step to their brewing process akin to Sam Adams and their lager.  This beer was definitely better.  At 9% it also packed a punch.

The Farmer's Tan is an Imperial Pale Lager.  Now, I think it is silly to throw the word "Imperial" before any beer type, much like it's silly to throw the word "Senior" in front of a job title.  Miller Lite is a pale lager; ok, technically a light lager.  The only thing that Farmer's Tan has over Miller Lite is twice the alcohol and a heavier taste.  Now, it may have been the burger I was eating that affected this beer, but it was not good.

Finally we ended the evening splitting the Back Burner, a nice barleywine style ale.  It was good.  One thing in this trifecta is that Southern Tier loves their hops.  Back Burner had a subtle pineapple aroma and flavor that allowed the hops to be tempered so that the beer was palatable.  Much like the other beers, the alcohol content was around 9-10%.

Overall a good showing by Southern Tier.  2 out of 3 is not bad.  I'm hoping my brother can score the beer that they only offer the locals.  Hopefully they bottle it or he can grab a bomber at the pub.

Four Horsemen

Brewer: Mishawaka Brewing Company, Mishawaka, Indiana
Alcohol Content: Unknown

Official Description from Brewer:
None

Wilk's Take:
Sadly, in all my time at Notre Dame I never once made it to the Mishawaka Brewing Company's brewpub.  That will stay that way forever as the pub closed in December 2008 with the owners mostly laying the blame on a smoking ban and the recessing economy.  The brewery was to remain open with operations being moved to Elkhart.  It seems however, that the company is defunct or soon will be.  My research led me to discover that all the equipment was for sale.  This may be my only encounter with a brewery that was virtually in the backyard.

When I took the cap off the bottle I heard absolutely nothing but the clinking of the cap on my counter top.  I was nervous.  The ever inviting "pfft" that comes from opening a capped bottle was missing in action and I thought I may have encountered a previously unsealed beer.  I poured it however and discovered zero carbonation.  My worries continued as I raised the liquid to my nose and whiffed nothing but sour, almost rusty scent.  The copper brew in the glass was anything but my notion of an Irish Red.

My first sip of Four Horsemen was awful.  I was reminded of the sour beer I had in Newport with a distinct sour cherry taste to it.  Fear spread quickly, worried that my beer had spoiled somehow.  I took to my guys at Beer Advocate to see if my taste buds were experiencing exactly what they should.  I was missing a lot, but then as I read more reviews I decided the beer probably was intended to taste this way.  That didn't bode well for the beer.

The beer was missing hops.  I'm sure they were there, but there was no bitterness to speak of but that didn't make the brew any smoother.  Four Horsemen tastes like it was made with well water out of decaying copper piping.  The sour was a huge turn off to me and I barreled through the glass like a champion just so I can say I finished it.  In the end I regretted grabbing the bottle off the shelf.  Maybe it was good that I never went to the brewpub, it might have been a wasted trip.

Suggestion: Avoid it.  No need to spend money on a beer that you might not even be able to find any more.

Value: The $2 I spent on this bottle would have served me better if I bought a bomber of Natural Ice.

Michelle Factor:  Lack of bitterness and distinct beer flavor made Michelle actually enjoy this beer.  "I could definitely drink this."

Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery

Ah the lunchtime beer.  Away from the stressful work day, for most just not for me these days, you kick back with a cold pint and wash your worries away with a frosty lager or ale.  Luckily, I was joined by some of the finest people on the planet and sat on the patio of Flossmoor Restaurant and Brewery and soaked in the best weather of the day discussing how great life was at the moment.

While dining with Brett at Three Floyd's some weeks back the bartender received a gift from his friends in Flossmoor.  Naturally, it perked my interest and I determined that I must visit a local brew for the sake of the blog naturally.  So I called up Brett and we dragged our wives to lunch to sample what Flossmoor had to offer.

The food was phenomenal.  I'm hardly surprised.  You have to assume that if someone takes the time to prepare a good beer they probably take the time to prepare good food.  Of course, we are here to talk about the beer.

From their available menu I selected three beers and grabbed a seasonal rye.  The rye was up first.  It was bold and had a hint of hop to it and was generally refreshing.  From there I really messed with my taste buds I ventured into their Panama Red Ale.  My affinity for ambers led me to hop heaven here.  Flossmoor describes Panama Red as "hoppy, robust yet smooth amber" and they are not lying.  It was great and went well with my meal.

I asked the server what the Flossmoor flagship beer was and she mentioned their IPA, but then told me they sell more of their Zephyr Golden Ale.  This is because it is the closest thing that resembles Miller Lite or Bud Light and apparently some less than adventurous patrons visit their brewpub than I would have thought.  The Golden is not very tasty.  The flavor is just a notch above those American lagers.

I finished with the Iron Horse Stout.  It is an oat stout that looked like motor oil, as it should, and tasted like pure magic, as it should.  I am certainly embellishing here.  As I've mentioned before when you have the best company the beer tastes that much better.

Stone IPA

Brewer: Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, California
Alcohol Content: 6.9%

Official Description from Brewer:
"To say that this gem of an IPA is "hoppy" would be putting it modestly --- and modesty is definitely not one of our strong suits.  Big hop flavor and big hop aroma.  What about hop bitterness you ask?  You bet!  We loaded glorious amounts of crisp and refreshing hop bitterness into this brew.  First the aroma delights, then the flavor moves us to rejoice aloud!  In fact it makes us feel downright poetic.   We hope it does for you too!"

Wilk's Take:
First and foremost, my apologies for the bad picture.  My photography skills are far from professional and I need some lesson in proper lighting.  Secondly, my first experience with Stone IPA came in the trek west.  It is the Todd's favorite beer and he keeps it in stock in his house.  I drank his Tecate before I ventured into the bottle of the IPA.  My memory of that encounter is a good one, but it could be the environment I was in and not so much the beer.

Stone has an issue with either hypocrisy or bipolar disorder, I'm not sure which yet.  Their Sublimely Self-Righteous talks about humility leading up to the eventually braggadocio, whereas the IPA just thrusts the boastfulness front and center.  I stress the importance of the description because it guides the drinker to a certain expectation.  Stone isn't entirely wrong in how they describe the IPA.  It certainly is crisp and has really intense hop aroma.  Rejoicing aloud?  Not so much.

Stone IPA pours invitingly.  The ale resembles the memory foam under my bed sheets in color and consistency.  It is cloudy, but it shouldn't put anyone off.  Remember, the Todd commented on the difference of west coast and Midwest hops.  The west coast hop tends to be grassy and grainy, whereas the Midwest hop flows more of citrus.  The IPA is bitter and crisp, yet seems to lack in refreshment.

Suggestion:  My IPA bias may be showing it's ugly head.  It is hop heavy and bitter but because it doesn't feel refreshing, I won't be stocking my fridge with it soon.  But, the Todd would tell you otherwise.

Value:  My 12oz bottle came in a variety pack of craft beers and came out to about $2.  I'll never turn down a $2 bottle of beer, so the value is right.  With the alcohol content, it's better than drinking a light lager.

Michelle Factor:  Michelle just finished four 12 hour shifts and clocked out before I could offer her a drink.  I'm telling you though, she's a hop head so let's say she'd like it, well at least she won't hate it.

Fresh Hop

Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company, Denver, Colorado
Alcohol Content: 6.1%

Official Description from Brewer:
"Fresh Hop Pale Ale is brewed with fresh, whole cone hops from the Pacific Northwest.  We ship these 'wet' hops to Denver overnight and brew shortly after harvest, imparting an intensely grassy hop aroma and citrus hop flavor in a medium-bodied ale."

Wilk's Take:
For any purist reading this blog I realize that I poured a pale ale into a Guinness glass.  Behold, the world did not come to an end.  Regardless of the vessel I choose the beer tastes the same.  I do not worship at the beer glassware altar, at least not yet.

I love Great Divide.  I am never hesitant to heap praise on their beers.  Then I met Fresh Hop.  Great Divide description of the beer is pretty spot on.  I poured the ale specifically to avoid developing any head per Bamforth's suggestion.  I inhaled the aroma deeply and could barely make out the citrus from the hops but the grassy scent was very prominent.  The color was a beautiful dark orange but the liquid was cloudy.

Fresh Hop was smooth.  You could probably take down a glass in less than three minutes and not even realize it.  The taste was very blah, for lack of a description.  I wasn't impressed, nor was I necessarily disappointed.  I could not differentiate the taste of Fresh Hop from any other pale ale I've met in the past.  At 55 IBUs I was surprised to find that the only bite to the beer came in the aftertaste.  Then, only then did my taste buds take notice.

Suggestion: Eh, don't go out of your way to get Fresh Hop.  If you're a hop head you'll be sorely disappointed.  If you like a standard pale ale, feel free.

Value: Fresh Hop is brewed from October-December.  As a seasonal beer the price was $9 for a 22oz bomber.  I see no value as I can get Sierra Nevada Pale Ale any day of the week cheaper and I think it tastes better.

Michelle Factor:  Michelle wasn't impressed either.  She really did not care for the bitter aftertaste.  In her words, "that makes it distinctly beer."  To be honest, that means it wasn't hoppy enough.  I think the extra hops in Double-Wide created the sweetness that she was fond of.  Maybe Michelle is a hop head in disguise.  No wonder she hates porters and stouts!

"Beer is Proof God Loves Us"

Over 200 years of Chinese telephone has left many a historian crediting so-called famous words to some famous people.  If you are like me, you love pulling this gem from Benjamin Franklin out at your local watering hole to describe your love of beer and the approval of your love of beer by the Almighty.  If you are like me you will be disappointed to find out that Ben never said those words.  The quote in its entirety from a letter to the French economist Andre Morellet:

"Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy."

The usage of the quote here is the title of a book by Charles Bamforth with a subtitle of "Reaching for the Soul of Beer and Brewing."  Bamforth is a professor of beer.  I am not kidding.  He actually teaches classes related to beer brewing at UC Davis.  For years he worked for Bass and Anheuser Busch as a brewer.  The book is semi-autobiographical and also talks about the science of brewing.

I was excited when I first found this book because I was expecting a mutual desire for beer.  He loves beer, but not in the way you might think.  Bamforth contends that big brewers such as Busch and Miller are the excellence in beer brewing.  To be consistent in the quality of the beer outweighs the actual beer itself.  That's not to say Busch and Miller beers are bad, but they are distinctly mass produced.  Bamforth finds fault in the nuances of beer whereas I find it endearing.

Bamforth compares the American craft beer movement to his days visiting English pubs and relishing in the variety offered in England prior to the destruction of the beer industry at the hands of Margaret Thatcher.  He praises the likes of Charlie Papazian, father of the home brew movement, and especially lauds Ken Grossman and his creation of Sierra Nevada.  Ken Grossman for his obsession with quality control and environmental soundness and Charlie Papazian for the love of beer.  But he continues to relish in American lagers and the continuity of the big brew beers.

The book is a little disappointing.  Bamforth sets out to find the soul of beer and brewing and in the end admits that he would prefer to drink whiskey over beer.  His prowess at brewing beer and determining proper taste is simply a means to an end that he's built his career on.  There are only two takeaways from this book that I will remember forever: 1.) Cascade hops create the grapefruit scent in the IPAs; 2.) Foam in a beer is created from the pour of the beer and nothing else.  It is a byproduct only of consumption and does not occur naturally in beer; therefore why do we obsess over it?

Instead of trying to read someone else's search for the soul of beer, let's continue our journey together.

Double-Wide India Pale Ale

Brewer: Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri
Alcohol Content: 8.5%

Official Description from Brewer:
"The classic India Pale Ale is a traveler's beer, aggressively hopped to withstand the long, hot ocean voyage to the British East Indies.  Our Double-Wide I.P.A. also travels well, and is right at home in the most exotic ports of call of the Midwest.  While this modern-day prairie schooner may not resemble a graceful sailing sloop, our liberal hopping regimen does make her virtually 'twister-proof,'  Keep some in the cellar to enjoy while waiting for the all clear to sound."

Wilk's Take:
I promised you IPA, so here is an IPA.  I'm a perpetual fan of the corked beer.  Boulevard lured me in with this 750 mL bottle and the special Smokestack Series moniker.  You have to forgive my hesitation with hop beers.  Even after the wonderful trip out west and my introduction to some wonderful bitterness, I still approach IPAs with trepidation.

Double-Wide poured miserably.  It could be the fresh uncorking, it could be that I was rushed to enjoy a beer.  I was patient.  Titled my glass at a 45 and then straightened out at the half-way point.  This must have been my critical error because as you can see from the picture above half the glass was head.  The other half of the glass in the picture does not offer a true depiction of the liquid below.  It was a cloudy, rusty liquid that one might expect to extract from a sponge after wiping down a brass bar.  Not appealing to the eyes at all.  The head after the pour never disappeared.  From first sip to last gulp there was a continuous layer of foam residing at the top of my beer.

Hops are fickle in their taste.  Without researching the IBUs on this brew, you can tell that it probably hovers above 50.  For the sake of writing this I'm not going to look for the IBUs either.  The worst mistake I made with this beer is to actually let it sit on my tongue for longer than a heartbeat.  If you let Double-Wide linger and your breath warms the liquid you are left with the foulest, sourest taste you can imagine.  To then swallow the drink is a mark of intestinal fortitude.  When I walked away from that method however, it was a good beer to drink.

I was trying very hard to label the aroma I discovered when inhaling Double-Wide deeply after the pour.  I came up with an odd mixture of grapefruit, as I do in all IPAs, and believe it or not, citronella.  My first glass of Double-Wide was awful.  As I took drink after drink I was reminded of awful summer nights as a kid when I sprayed so much insect repellent on myself that I could taste it well into the night.  I feared that I might do the unthinkable and actually pour out the rest of the beer.  I quickly came to my senses and poured another glass.  Glasses two and three (remember 750mL) were a much more enjoyable experience.  Maybe the beer had time to breathe.  Either way, the bottle conditioned beer left some sediment at the bottom of glass number three.  Not unbearable, but a little disconcerting.

Suggestion:  If you are a hop head, drink with pleasure.  I'm sure this beer is right up your alley.  If you haven't ventured far from your safety beer, start smaller than this one.

Value: At $8 for a 750mL bottle and a nice 8.5% alcohol content you'll get your money's worth.  If you don't like hoppy beer, don't spend the money.

Michelle Factor:  For the first time ever, Michelle actually went for a second serving!!!  Considering this is a dramatic difference from the beers I thrust upon her in the past I was expecting a distinct difference in taste for her.  She indicated that the after taste lingers in the nose and mouth and you continue to taste the beer in the back of your throat long after you've swallowed it.  The after taste sold it.  Her first swallow led to the infamous Keystone Light bitter beer face of marketing campaigns long ago, but after a while she said that the taste was almost sweet and that the lingering beer on her palate made her crave more.  Of course, knowing the effect of actually consuming the beer was bad, she passed on a full glass.

American Craft Beer Counter Culture?

While enjoying tasters of beer at Great Divide Brewing Company, I leaned in to my companion and said, "Hey Dave, is it just me or are we surrounded by a bunch of hipsters?"  Dave laughed cordially and seemed to nod his head in agreement, but I wasn't entirely sure.  For a moment I had to take a step back and then analyze the two of us.  Were we also hipsters, denying this label because we in no way felt like we belonged to this class of citizen?
The problem with reviewing a question like this is that the definition of hipster cannot be pinned down.  It's been tried and there seems to be conflict wherever you look for a definitive answer.  For my sake, the term hipster reflects anyone trying incredibly too hard to show that marketing has no effect on his or her purchase decision.  It's a little broad I know, considering that someone with little or no money is essentially forced to shop either at Goodwill or Wal-mart (I don't equate the two).

I'll try to paint the picture of the scene: Unkempt hair, corduroy, big-rimmed glasses, cigarettes, thrift store shoes, loud colors that don't match anything, organic food, and of course craft beer.

It felt like there was an air of pretension surrounding me and I wanted to crawl out of my skin and slap my own face.  I will allow Mark Greif to explain a little:

One hipster subgroup’s strategy is to disparage others as “liberal arts college grads with too much time on their hands”; the attack is leveled at the children of the upper middle class who move to cities after college with hopes of working in the “creative professions.” These hipsters are instantly declassed, reservoired in abject internships and ignored in the urban hierarchy — but able to use college-taught skills of classification, collection and appreciation to generate a superior body of cultural “cool.”

They, in turn, may malign the “trust fund hipsters.” This challenges the philistine wealthy who, possessed of money but not the nose for culture, convert real capital into “cultural capital” (Bourdieu’s most famous coinage), acquiring subculture as if it were ready-to-wear. (Think of Paris Hilton in her trucker hat.)

Both groups, meanwhile, look down on the couch-­surfing, old-clothes-wearing hipsters who seem most authentic but are also often the most socially precarious — the lower-middle-class young, moving up through style, but with no backstop of parental culture or family capital. They are the bartenders and boutique clerks who wait on their well-to-do peers and wealthy tourists. Only on the basis of their cool clothes can they be “superior”: hipster knowledge compensates for economic immobility.        

I don't fall into any of these categories!!  What the hell was I doing there? 

It took a conversation with my father to really open my eyes to the whole matter.  When I thought about it, I've been spending most of my adult life in the pursuit of coin.  I'm an accountant, working in the professional world but toiling away in a disappearing American middle class.  I wasn't afforded the opportunity to get a liberal arts degree, don't have a trust fund, and don't have to tend bar to make a living.  I never cared about fashion but I cared about appearance.  To participate in "hipster" culture it seems to me you have to have money because "damning the man" is not cheap.

What does this have to do with beer?  Quite a bit if you think about it.  Just by embarking on this blog I open the door to the "hipster" label.  Why can't I just stick with the Miller Lites I love and leave it at that?  Home brewers decided they could build a better beer.  And through my eyes, Jim Koch and Samuel Adams put the "microbrewery" on the map.  He did it to get rich.  As much as home brewers want to savor and share their beer with those who'll enjoy it, I bet they all want to get rich.  I have no problem with that dream (why do you think I put ads on this blog?).  But I refuse to be labeled a hipster because I drank a beer I really liked and decided to try other beers to see if I can find one better.

To defend myself, I'm in it to enjoy the beer and not to damn the man.  As for the rest of the craft beer crowd, I'll let you know.

Porter

Brewer: Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, New York

Alcohol Content: 5.8%

Official Description from Brewer:

"Porter is our darkest beer, but not necessarily our strongest. It is widely held that the darker the beer, the stronger the beer, but this is summarily false. The contribution of color comes directly from the color of malt that we use. Some malt is roasted to achieve dark color and coffee-like flavor which in turn get transferred to the beer. Our Porter is richly complex with overtones of chocolate and espresso beans followed by a subtle flavor of hops. It’s a nourishing beer without being too sweet or filling."

Wilk's Take:

I know I had promised a week's worth of hop heaven, but when a beer is given to you for free you do not turn it down.  So after a visit with my brother I pilfered (with permission) a 12oz. bottle of Southern Tier's "Dark Robust Porter" out of the two six packs from his kitchen.  I was told I would like this beer.

As always, we start with the pour.  Not unusual, the porter flowed like motor oil and offered very little head.  The motor oil in this case is used conventional and not synthetic.  If you know your motor oil that does make a difference.  For simplicity's sake, the beer is dark.  Surprise!  Southern Tier reminds us that the color comes from the roasting of the malts and for their porter they use 5 different malts.  I couldn't tell you which ones, but then again I'm not an expert enough to know what the difference is.

Porter smells like stale coffee.  I was searching for the chocolate overtone but I came up empty.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing.  A good porter doesn't need to remind you of sweets.  The coffee aroma was a little strong but it did not affect the taste of the beer much, at least I don't think it did.  Porter sits on your tongue with a little bit of a syrupy consistency.  It's not as smooth as some of the other dark beers I've tried before.

Southern Tier is right when they tell us that the beer is not sweet or filling.  You can easily go through a six pack in a night and not feel the heaviness of having consumed six porters.  The hop balance prevents that overall sweet sensation some porters can give and the aftertaste isn't nearly as potent as YETI yields so you can enjoy the buffet after consumption.  As far as nourishing?  Well, don't think of it in terms of the nutritional content.  I'm sure the folks of western New York cherish this porter as a local favorite.

Suggestion: If you don't like porters, this might be one to avoid sticking a toe in the water.  If you like porters, you will be pleasantly surprised by how easy this one is to drink.  It might disappoint you too.  I was told I would like it and I did.  But fortunately for me, it was free.  Would I spend money on it?  Not sure, depends on the price.

Value:  See above.  Free is always a good value.  I might amend this post in the future if I can land a price tag for you.

Michelle Factor:  Poor Michelle missed out on this one.  She was out at the movies with friends and I had just come back from fishing and decided to have a cold one.  I promise I'll get her in on the next one.

Beer, so much more than drinking

As I progress down the path of beer enlightenment, I find myself inching steadily closer to the imaginary line where I cross over into beer snobbery.  My seemingly innocuous attempt at introducing my little world to some pretty awesome brews apparently spits in the face of the new craft beer movement.  Maybe.

Unbeknownst to me, my take on the beer I consume tends to factor in the the five critiques that most beer tasters will comment on when pouring a new beer: look, smell, taste, mouthfeel, and overall.  Amazing that anyone would want to capture every human sense that goes into drinking a beer!  My description also tend to walk the same line as others, but I'd like to think that my added dash of humor is what keeps my reading public so entertained.

There is a subculture out there that threatens this simplicity.  One that, for a fee, allows you to get certified to be a beer god!!!  Hyperbole aside, there are multiple sites out there threatening the joyful existence of a simple beer drinker like myself.  Cicerone.org, BJCP.org, and others don't necessarily offer to train you, but will gladly administer a test that will make you become either a certified beer server or a certified beer judge.

So I ask my readers, and respond by comment if you would please, should I take the leap into beer snobbery and become a certified beer know-it-all?  Or should I just keep doing what I'm doing and not ruin our future nights out by commenting on every beer I drink?

Newport Beach Chronicles Concluded

Move over Wise Guys.  You've got nothing on BevMo.  It could be because of the availability of craft beer out west far outweighing that here in Northwest Indiana, but BevMo walking down the aisles of the BevMo beer section I could almost feel the wispy haze of fog you would get in a dream.  It just does not end.  Domestics down one aisle, imports down another, all the while brewers you'd maybe heard about in a past life lined the shelves.  And the price!  Seven 22 ounce bombers for under $40!  RIDICULOUS!!!  Seven, being a heavenly number, I finished my last night in Newport in style with Dave, the Todd, and Dennis.



Samuel Smith Taddy Porter


What?  Another import?  Wilk what are you doing?  We're good ol' Americans and want good ol' American beer!!!  I couldn't help it with this one for a couple of reasons: 1. I love porter; 2. The Todd swears by it.  How could I argue with that logic?  As I said yesterday he has been into the craft beer scene longer than I have so I trust his judgment.  He wasn't wrong.  The beautiful pour reminded me of dark Brazilian walnut wood and the roasted barley malt danced deliciously along my taste buds.  If you can find Samuel Smith near you, buy it, you will not be disappointed.

Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale

Two imports in the same sitting?  You've got to be kidding me?!?  If you recall, nut brown ale had already been sampled on this trip and you need a basis of comparison.  It is a little unfair however to truly put this side-by-side with the Glenwood Canyon No Name Nut.  You have to realize the growler was poured cold, warmed in transit, rechilled and then served.  Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale was purchased from BevMo and refrigerated before consumption.  And believe me, that was a good thing.  The brew was so incredibly smooth and nutty that any other brown ale I had in the past week paled in comparison.  Beautiful color and aroma and a clean finish that had me begging for more.  Too bad I was sharing.

Firestone Walker
Double Jack IPA

You'll see as this series of beers progresses that I had to be out of my mind to weave in and out of dark, light, smooth, bitter, and a random beer selection that probably makes no sense to anybody.  Remember, I had help with these and as good times go you lose your way in conversation.  Firestone is brewed in California and the west coast hop difference the Todd kept alluding to was certainly prevalent in this beer.  The amber color contradicts the pale ale moniker and the malts enhance the bitterness offered with the hops.  The grapefruit undertone is here but it is tempered by a sweeter hop flavor that made me enjoy this IPA over any other I had tried to this point.








Grand Teton Brewing
Pursuit of Hoppiness

 Went out of the California brewery scene for this gem.  The 750 mL bottle beckoned me on the shelf and my new found desire to try as many hop-tastic beers as possible to train my palate made grabbing Pursuit an easy decision.  It was damn good.  The beer does not advertise itself as an IPA, rather an Imperial Red that tempts your bitter taste buds.  The color was spot on after the pour and the finish was dazzlingly brilliant.  With Pursuit, I feel I crossed the hop threshold that had been holding me back.  The pineapple flavor of hop started to come through with this beer and I decided right then and there that next week's reviews would be nothing but IPAs (or something akin).







Stone Brewing Company
Sublimely Self Righteous

 I had previously shown some disdain for Stone in the way in which they describe their beers.  With Self-Righteous they attempt to err on the side of modesty which is a little oxymoronic given the name of the ale.  Having said all of that, this beer is fantastic.  Of the carousel of beers that evening this was Best-in-Show.  What was more shocking than anything was that the Todd, a life-long southern California guy, never encountered this brew before and he was loving it.  Self-Righteous is a wonderfully dark, hop heavy brew that pairs bitterness and smoothness in a way never before tasted in beer (at least in my short-lived craft beer life).  Hop beers, Wilk.  Wilk, hop beers.  Nice to meet you.






Bear Republic
Big Bear Black Stout

 To be fair, Bear Republic is more well known for an IPA called Racer 5 that has won more awards than I wish to label here.  Since we were hop heavy already and I had my biases while still perusing beer upon beer, I opted for the stout here.  Needless to say, I was not disappointed here either.  The black stout had won some awards in its own style category and it surely tasted like it deserved it.  The caramel undertone was tempered by the hoppiness of the brew.  I was actually surprised by the bitterness that hit my tongue but it was a welcome surprise.  At 55 IBUs this was probably the hoppiest stout I had encountered.  Not available in Indiana, but available across the border in Illinois, I may make a few runs to try what else Bear Republic has to offer.






Anderson Valley Brewing
Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

 Save the best for last?  Maybe, maybe not.  I've already declared that the Self-Righteous was the best beer of the night.  This was a very close second, especially for a stout lover like me.  If you can end the night with any beer, I would still go with YETI or B.O.R.I.S.  But your second to last beer of the night should be the Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout.  If you can blend chocolate with beer you'd get this beer.  The color, the pour, the flow, the taste, the finish, all perfectly blended in beer and chocolate notes.  Deliciously smooth and only a hint of bitterness allows you to spend your last hour savoring a quality dessert beer.  Not sure I'll be able to find this beer close to home but I will certainly search for it.


Newport Beach Chronicles - Volume 3

Logo used with permission

We drove out along the Balboa Peninsula to Commonwealth Lounge & Grill and parked our behinds on the second floor balcony overlooking all the beautiful boats we couldn't afford but dreamed of owning.  The restaurant had three boats docked out back and all of them had the square footage of my house.  It's moments like that where you can feel luxurious rocking out in your Old Navy flip flops and Las Vegas t-shirt.

Commonwealth offers only craft beers on the menu.  You cannot order Miller or Budweiser in this bar.  The rotating stock of beers is a good mix of foreign and domestic craft beers offering a good selection with or without hops.  The night before, I had the pleasure of meeting co-owner Dennis Gaughan and when he discovered my affinity for beer variety he recommended Liefman Cuvee Brut, a big seller at Commonwealth.  Naturally that was the first beer I ordered.  Much like the barrel aged beer from Newport Beach Brewing Company, this beer had a distinct sour start, however it was very sweet and reminiscent of cherry soda without too much carbonation.  The red hue was overpowering and I am even hesitant to refer to this as beer.  I hear "brut" and I think champagne.  So maybe this was sparkling red wine!

After downing the Cuvee Brut I went to something more in my wheel house, the Stone Smoked Porter.  Brewed by the Stone Brewing Company in San Diego, CA, the description of this beer has the same ostentatious aura as the description of all their other beers.  They think they are the best.  After tasting this porter, I can believe it.  The beautiful, dark beer was teasing me all the way from the bar to my table and the smoky aroma that was present in the glass was very inviting.  I must digress here for one second.  The decor of Commonwealth could easily cause one to think they are in a downtown Chicago martini bar.  It is a very classic design with some modern elements.  To me, a smoked porter deserved to be served here, and not some hoppy IPA or anything with the word pale near it.  The new quest is to find Stone brews closer to home.

At this point Dennis actually joined us on the balcony and I was treated to a nice history lesson of the restaurant and Newport itself.  It was a wonderful experience, regardless of the fact that the Todd and Dennis determined to break my Hoosier spirit down and convince me to uproot myself and Michelle for the sweet, sweet life of southern California.  After a few pints not much convincing is needed and you can well imagine the grandiose plans you devise with liquid encouragement.

My final beer of the afternoon was Dr. Tongue, a hop heavy brew from Bootlegger's Brewery in Fullerton, CA.  Unfortunately they don't distribute beer outside of southern California so don't bother looking for it.  As the Todd explained to me several times West Coast hops are unlike Midwest or East Coast hops.  He's been into craft beers for much longer than me so I trust his judgment.  The Dr. Tongue was so intensely bitter and it should have because it was advertised at over 100 IBUs.  Now, the palate doesn't really distinguish anything above 50, so imagine biting into a head of arugula and you'll get the taste of Dr. Tongue.  Ok, that's not entirely true.  What I can tell you is there is a distinct hop difference in California.  Hops locally remind me of grapefruit; hops in California remind me of pineapple.

For those of you who read this and find yourself around Newport Beach California I implore you to visit Commonwealth.  I was heart broken to discover that I was going to miss the big beer dinner they were having in conjunction with Firestone Walker Brewing Company.  Marvelous idea so I'm sure it was a smashing success.

Newport Beach Chronicles - Volume 2

There is such a laid back atmosphere in southern California, especially on the weekends, that makes you want to spend every waking moment there.  We were in no hurry at all to move anywhere, which is a little disturbing for me because I knew there was a microbrewery waiting to be explored.  But, patiently I waited as we dined on some Poke salad, bbq oysters, and a Cajun Opah sandwich.  After all, I wasn't just there to sample only west coast beer!

The Newport Beach Brewing Company was a brief saunter from lunch and the weather was perfect for the 2 minute walk.  Due to the holiday weekend and the pilgrimage of inland Californians to the beach, we skillfully swooped into a table that had just been vacated and kept our elbows off until the server could sanitize it with her oft used dish rag.  I perused the menu and landed on a special barrel aged brew that just happened to tap out.  So I was left with a sour beer alternative.

Without a name I can't give any recommendations one way or the other.  I can honestly say that I would venture back to Newport Beach Brewing Company on any return trips to the area based on the quality of this beer.  It starts with a jolt of sour on your tongue.  I can't compare this to a sour cherry, apple, or candy flavor, it was just sour.  The finish of the beer was anything but.  It was sweet, daringly sweet at that, but it was nice and cold and refreshing when the southern California sun is on your face.

We only stayed at the brewing company for one beer as the meter was about to expire and there was a different scene to take in on the peninsula.  If you can get some Newport Beach beers, let me know what you think.  As far as their one-off's this one was pretty damn good.