Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot: Barleywine Ale

With the paucity of Bocks out there, I've decided to move on to Barleywine Ales, high alcohol content, smooth and fruity. Blithering Idiot pours the color of whiskey, without even the hint of a head. My first impression was of cream soda, with some alcohol fumes tickling the back of my nose. I'm catching the taste of figs, raisins and even a whiff of concord grapes. There's not much carbonation, and a hint of scotch to go with the hue. A high class brew for high class drinkers!

Steel Toe Milk Stout

Ska Brewing provided what may be the last stout of the season, and of course it's my favorite stout: a milk stout. Not much of a head, but pours a silky, velvety black, and although it's not a nitro, it has the low-bubble smoothness of one. There's predominantly coffee bean aromas, but a little dark chocolate as well. As the level decreases, there's some sweet caramel..overall the effect is like a beer milkshake. Good beer for the tail end of winter.

Cathedral Square Hail Mary Belgian-Style IPA

70 IBU's, Belgian style yeast...what's not to like? Pouring the color of a ripe apricot, along with a healthy two-finger head, there's an immediate aroma of dark fruits mixing in with the piney/grapefruity hops. As we get to the halfway mark, some strong lemon and orange peel comes through. Not a beer for the faint of heart, these hops are assertive, demanding attention and then smacking you around a bit.

Lagunitas Pils: Czech-style Pilsner

With all the ales and über-ales out there, with styles proliferating and breweries making beer flavored with everything but cabbage, it's nice to sample a well-made Pilsner. Smooth and, as the big boys say, drinkable. Some herbal/flowery notes and some light sweetness. The hops are just right for the uninitiated; present, but understated, bitter, but pleasantly so, carbonated, yet smooth. Pretty nondescript, but it is a lager.

Widmer Brothers Columbia Common

"The California Common, or Steam Beer, is a unique 100% American style lager. It's usually brewed with a special strain of lager yeast that works better at warmer temperatures. This method dates back to the late 1800's in California when refrigeration was a great luxury. The brewers back then had to improvise to cool the beer down, so shallow fermenters were used. So in a way the lager yeast was trained to ferment quicker at warmer temperatures. Today's examples are light amber to tawny in color, medium bodied with a malty character. Mildly fruity with an assertive hop bitterness. 

Anchor Brewing Co. trademarked the term "Steam Beer" and as such all other beers must be legally referred to as "California Common." from the Beer Advocate web site

Cracked open a Widmer Brothers common tonight after a tough night of house cleaning on the first day of vacation. It poured a clear coppery color, with a minimal head. Pretty well carbonated. There's a flavor evocative of rye toast, and maybe a little apple. Pretty good session beer; you don't see too many steam beers out there - somebody should make more! 

Genesee Cream Ale

Like the logo says: since 1878, Genesee is one of those local breweries that survived, albeit now as part of a larger entity, Labatt's USA. Deceptive in its apparent plainness, yet with some great flavor and hidden complexity, this Rochester New York favorite would make a great session beer, lawnmower beer, barbecue beer...just a damn good beer. Pouring a bright golden hue  with a medium-depth head, Cream Ale is in fact creamy, with some similarities to good vanilla cream soda. Not too hoppy, not too malty, something an old-time beer drinker would like. Great way to start of Cu Chullain Day.

Bancreagie Peated Scoth Ale

Beers of the British Isles, this time from Scotland. Bancreagie pours an earthy brown with a smoky, malty taste and aroma. Not a lot of auxiliary flavors, but who needs 'em anyway! This would be a good one to have with the corned beef and cabbage (even if it's not Irish)

Pandora's Bock from Breckenridge

Why aren't there more bocks? Bocks say "Spring is Sprung" like no other style. And there aren't too many brewers out there as consistent as Breckenridge. A beer company employee ventured an opinion regarding the paucity of bocks, simply stating "people don't buy them"...and that's a shame. They're quite a nice transition from the heavier stouts and porters of the winter season and the lighter ales and lagers of summer. Perfect for the last couple of days where we went from blizzard-like conditions to warm sunshine in about 24 hours. Pandora's Bock is sweet and malty with an interesting mixture of pumpernickel and dark fruits such as black cherries and figs. Head on over to your second favorite beer source and get some today.

Shiner FM 966 - Farmhouse Ale

As ubiquitous as Shiner seemed to be when I was down in Dallas and San Antonio this past December, it doesn't dominate up here in Nebraska, but you can usually get their seasonals and special brews, like this Belgianesque farmhouse. Sweet, like the style would suggest, with hints of mango and apricot and even a little of that banana-bubblegum flavor that you get with weizens. Like most Shiner offerings, pretty solid and sessionable...and recommendable.

Red Rambler Ale

Never heard of this beer before last week: I've missed out. I paired this red ale with some spicy stew that my lovely bride Susie prepared tonight. Perfecto! The first thing that I noted was the head. It was easily 2/3 of the glass right after pouring and it never really went away. Fairly low IBU of 35, but it came across like a strong pale ale with a bready aroma, backed with some spice notes. Nothing complicated, but a good solid beer that paired well with the hot food. Well played Rambler, well played.

Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler

Canoe Paddler is a Kölsch-style beer, a variety of beer that I usually associate with summer, due to its light crispness and the inimitable way in which the style blends the best of lagers and ales. It's billed brewed with rye, but I can't really detect anything that signals the presence of rye in this brew. Pretty inoffensive, but really, nothing special. Leinie's does so much better with the darker, heavier brews. Canoe Paddler disappoints. 

Lagunitas Sucks Imperial IPA

What a stupid name for a beer. Stupid name, good beer. Lagunitas, new to the Nebraska market has consistently put out some good stuff. "Sucks" pours a deep amber hue with a tall, quickly disappearing head. There's lots of grapefruit and pine from the hops, but it's also very sweet and malty, a good balance. Plenty of orange peel bringing up the rear as well. As I drink it down honey and tangerine are emerging from the overall generic sweetness. Fairly full bodied. Goes down nicely on this pre-Spring day.

Single Track Copper Ale

A thought just entered my head: review a different beer very day for all 365 days of the year - I'd bet that I would not run out of beers. New beers pop up all the time, they never run out. I just spotted this little beauty the other day, and in keeping with my red ales, beers of the British Isles and Bocks, I had to give it a try. In broad strokes, it's a pale ale, hoppy, carbonated, with a sweet aftertaste, with some malty smoothness. There might even be some rye hiding behind the hops. It might be appropriate for a Cuchulain's Day celebration.

Sam Adams Double Agent IPL

IPL = India Pale Lager. The third new offering from the Spring Thaw seasonal 12 pack. It's getting late, and it's been a few hours since I had this beer with dinner (it's end of the month accounting time for the Beyond Illusion family of businesses!) but I gotta say, Double Agent is the best of two worlds: the crisp refreshing taste of a classic American lager and the hoppy bite of a good India Pale Ale. Sam Adams has done it again!