Wild Plum Farmhouse Ale from Tallgrass

Tallgrass from Manhattan Kansas has consistently produced some fine beers, usually encased in the ground-breaking (for craft beers) 16 oz. cans. Wild Plum is a farmhouse, or saison, similar in style to a Belgian wit. It pours an apricot hued gold, with a six finger snowy-white head. The plum barely shows up - I wouldn't even know it as there if it didn't say so on the label. The style is closer to a Belgian sour ale than a typical farmhouse, so if you don't like the sours, stay away! I'm a big fan of them, for example some of Goose Island's beers, and would definitely sample Wild Plum again.

Millstream Back Road Stout

I've encountered a couple of pretty good beers from Millstream this past year, starting with Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Stout that I tried at Jake's last October, and the Schokolade Bock which I discovered around Thanksgiving. I'll throw my hat in the ring for Back Road Stout as well. Dark brown-black with a thick beige head, there was a fairly thick mouthfeel, as one would expect from an oatmeal stout. There was an immediate bite from the hops, balanced by the sweet maltiness. Lots of chocolate and coffee at the top, with some surprising black cherry and brown sugar as it warmed up. Great example of an oatmeal stout.

Deschutes Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale

Dark orange in color with a humble off-white head, comes off pretty hoppy for a pale ale, more like an IPA in my opinion. Lots of grapefruit in the mix as well as some pine. If you can get through the hop bite, there's some bready maltiness to Red Chair, and maybe some pepper and a leeeetle bit o'lemon. Pretty good overall, but just one at a time for me.

Runoff Red IPA by Odell's

When I saw this at the beer store I thought it was a new, offering, but alas, it is merely an old beer with a new name. According to some reviews on Beer Advocate, this appears to be a new trend - labelling formerly "Red Ales" as "Red IPA's". Check out the original IGB review from April 2011:

http://ill-gottenbooty.blogspot.com/2011/04/beer-review-odell-red-ale.html

Not much to add to the last review - pretty damn good beer!

Empyrean Beer Quest: Hawaiian Porter

Tried a pint of this today at Lazlo's South - thick & creamy, dark as night, the Hawaiian Porter is a great winter ale. According to the Lazlo's website, there coconut, chocolate, coffee and turbinado sugar. Ratebeer further describes it as having Kona coffee and cacao nibs. I'm going to have to go back and try another, since I didn't catch any of the coconut (thought there was some vanilla though). The coffee, however, was very evident. If you like your stouts and porters with coffee or chocolate added (as opposed to just getting the taste from the malted grain) - and I certainly do - this a beer for you.

KCCO Black Lager

A collaboration between Resignation Brewery and Red Hook, this schwarzbier or black lager, is pretty mild, with the heavy chocolate and coffee notes that you often find in black lagers, largely absent. There is some smokiness to it though, and a slight hint of dark fruit and even some vanilla. A good solid session beer.

Goose Island's Bourbon County Barleywine Ale

A few weeks ago I was enjoying some fine ales & lagers at Yia-Yia's with my two youngest sons and ordered a round of Bourbon County Stout. Alas, they had only two bottles left, which I passed on to the youngsters and enjoyed a Bourbon County Barleywine instead. This wonderfully stimulating brew poured such a deep, dark, mahogany, that it looked black at first, surprising for a barleywine, which tend to be a lot more transparent and usually a lighter hue. As with their stout, there is a distinct taste of the residual bourbon, even though they specifically state that it's third use barrels that they use to age the ale in. The bourbon imparts a velvety smoothness and brings out notes of figs, cranberries, dates and raisins - the dark fruits, and even a little apricot. As it warms up I detect vanilla, coffee, and a bit of chocolate. A very complex beverage.