Second Chance from San Diego has just reached their first anniversary, and in celebration of that day they have released Festa Imperiale, a bourbon barrel-aged oatmeal Stout that is pegged at 9%. The beer itself pours with a dark brown coloration and a fair amount of tannish head. There are good amounts of brown sugar and vanilla that immediately present themselves in Festa Imperiale while the time that the beer…
It seems like the period beginning from October to February / March is the peak time for imperial stouts. North Carolina’s Aviator Brewing has created their Night Jump, an Imperial Stout that has been aged in Smooth Ambler barrels along with cocoa nibs; each of the flavors experienced with it is bold, brash and dense. The beer pours with a nearly black color and a bit of tannish head. Bits of…
Champion Ground is a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout, brewed with coffee, by Athens, Ohio’s Jackie O’s. Light amount of coffee flavor. The lacing on the glass is light tan to very moderate brown. The overall nose of Champion Ground has a good amount of coffee that is mingled with brown sugar and toasted malt elements. Perhaps most surprising about Champion Ground is how little of a head the stout pours with;…
The titular effort from Burlington Vermont’s Switchback pours with a hazy dark yellow/orange coloration. There is a fair amount of offwhite head that sticks around for a while. A little bit of malt on the initial nose of the beer. Toasted malts, grains, and a smaller amount of bitterness come up next. As one continues along with Switchback, the beer shifts to allow for more in the way of sweeter…
Ninkasi’s Tricerahops, a dry-hopped double IPA pours with an amber coloration and a bit of lacing. A bit of sweet note on the edge, much more of a West Coast IPA with bold flavors of pine and floral elements that immediately present themselves when one opens the 22-ounce bottle.
Perrin released two new offerings to their sour series, an Apricot Sour and an Amber Saison Sour. After a few months aging in their bottle,w e decided to crack open a bottle of their Apricot Sour. The beer pours with a dark orange coloration and a fair amount of white head that reluctantly dissipates. With the initial and early sips, imbibers will be impressed with the good amount of wheat notes that…
Jackie O’s is planning on going hard this weekend. On Friday (1/6) and Saturday (1/7), the brewery is inviting imbibers in for one of the hottest parties of the year. 64 taps are split between between the taproom, BrewPub, and the Public House. The sheer amount of rarities, new variants, and old favorites are enough that individuals should search out lodging and a taxi for the weekend.
Firestone Walker does not distribute in Ohio. It is a sad fact of life but it means that any time we make it to a state that has Firestone Walker distribution, we have to pick up a bottle. The company has just released the 2016 variety of their popular Imperial coffee Stout power up by Java. This beer which is pegged at about 13% ABV pours with a chocolate brown…
A number of breweries are trying their hand at finding the perfect balance between a low ABV and a strong hop forward flavor profile. Pyramid has offered up their Ditto, a session IPA which hits a number of the marks to make for a solid effort. There is a fair amount of floral and piney hop notes that are immediately present after the initial sip. A wheaty, grain-heavy backbone allows these more oily…
Saint Archer has released some stellar offerings in their Tusk & Grain imprint but it was not until their latest bottle released that we had the chance to try them out. The company has just released two variants of a Coffee Porter, a brew that comes in with a wallop. The Brandy barrel-aged version hovers around the 13% mark while the tequila and bourbon barrel-aged variant nearly reaches the 11% mark. This…
Night Marcher is Rivertown’s Brett-conditioned pale ale, and is one of the most unique beers that we have covered or even experienced this year. The beer pours with a pale yellow coloration and the head is lacking to the point that it does not seem to exist. The initial flavors that one will kick around their mouth is juicy, tying together orange and pineapple flavors with just a hint of hoppiness. While…
This IPA pours with a yellow to orange coloration and a fair amount of white head that is somewhat slow to dissipate. The nose of Orderville is very strong on the pine and floral aspects of the hop while including a bit of astringency from the alcohol of the beer. The drink-ability of Orderville is unparalleled; it is one of the first beers that is able to marry the West…
Everything Rhymes With Orange is an 8% IPA brewed by Midwest City, Oklahoma’s Roughtail Brewing. The beer pours with a dark yellow to orangish color, hazy as all get out with a fair amount of sudsy white head. Everything Rhymes With Orange is a good bridge between the traditional West Coast India Pale Ale and the juicier East Coast style that has began to dominate brewery’s hoppy efforts. This means that there…
Death Valley Shootout: Remus Revenge is a 14% ABV bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout which also includes bits of maple syrup and brown sugar. With our pour, we noticed an inky black coloration that was topped with an infinitesimally small head.
Minneapolis Brewing Company Indeed has released their fall seasonal Yamma Jamma during a period when many of the breweries are coming forth with pumpkin efforts. The decision by Indeed to utilize sweet potatoes and spices (allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg) into their beer seems to be a hit. The overall flavor profile is a bit more moderate than the pumpkin bombs that are littering store shelves throughout autumn. For those imbibers…
There are quite literally hundreds of different sour beers that have been released by different breweries over the course of the last year or so. It seems to be one of the hottest styles that is present when it comes to microbrewery efforts and Des Moines, Iowa’s Exile Brewing is trying their hand at an easy drinking sessionable sort of tart beer with their Beatnik Sour.
The overall saison style is something I can get behind. There is typically a good amount of wheat, hay, and pepper that can be discerned. We received Hieroglyphic from Raleigh, North Carolina’s Gizmo BrewWorks a little bit ago and finally had a second to test it out. Hieroglyphic is the first barrel-aged imperial saison we’ve reviewed; the brew needs a few seconds in a glass to properly breathe. When one takes…
Over the course of the last few years, we’ve had the chance to review a number of Destihl’s offering. However, I believe that Destihl has outdone themselves with their Tripel, a 11% effort that is able to go down easy while possessing considerable depth to the flavors that one will experience within each 500 mL bottle. There are hints of Belgian yeast dryness, sweetness, and bits of citrus fruit flavors…
Good Nature Brewing (Hamilton, NY) has a new line of beers named Funk n’ Barrels. Their first effort in this line, ACT 1, a bourbon coffee porter, is one of the most delectable brews we can covered so far in 2016.
Beginning today (6/18), Alaskan Brewing is entering the competitive Ohio beer market. The brewery is striking out further east than it previously had been distributed with a core bottled lineup that includes their Amber (an alt), their session IPA Kicker, and their India Pale Ale, Icy Bay. Alaskan will be available anywhere that stocks craft beer, meaning that one’s local Kroger, Giant Eagle or ACME supermarkets should have a place…