Goose Island Fulton Street Blend Coffee Ale

One might expect a coffee ale to be dark-colored, and usually coffee flavoring is added to stouts and porters; I was surprised to see how light-colored this brew was. Fulton Street Blend is named after the street where Goose Island is located, as well as their neighbor, cofee brewer Intelligencia. Fulton Street Blend is a golden ale, pouring an apricot hue with a one-finger white head. At 20 IBU's there's not a enough hop bite to overcome the coffee flavor, which is frankly overwhelming. In addition to the strong coffee aroma, there's hints of cocoa and vanilla. The underlying beer is pretty decent though, similar to a pale ale. A bit strong for everyday drinking, but okay for holiday parties.

Abita Christmas Ale

I've never had an Abita Christmas Ale, but I really enjoyed this one. It poured a dark honey color with a scanty copper head. It's classified as a red ale, and tastes somewhat like a pale ale. Floral hoppiness blends well with a mild caramel-toffee finish. There's some hints of maple and ripe apples, as well as vanilla and a teeny, tiny bit of nutmeg. Pretty solid Holiday Ale.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Even though I had some New Belgium in the fridge, I was in the mood for a nice stout. (For those of you unschooled in beer styles, this is probably the dark beer that you don't like) and was unwilling to crack open the chocolate quad set aside for Friday. This beauty poured a deep, dark brown with a healthy tan head. Of course chocolate is the dominant flavor, but there is also vanilla, coffee and a little bit o' licorice. There is also a surprising amount of hop bite. This is definitely a go-to beer for the cold winter months that will surely arrive shortly.

ТРЕХГОНОЕ Trechgornoe

Guest review by Scott Knost, who actually consumed this beer in  Moscow

Golden lager with creamy head. Hoppy and slightly bitter finish. Hints of pine. Originated in Moscow around 1875. 4.9% alcohol. Rumor has it that people used to put salt on the rim of the canned version. Enjoyable beer for the price. I got a bottle for about 40 cents."

Beer Review: New Belgium Ranger IPA

Notes from October 2010

Clear and golden with a lacy white head. Pretty mild for an IPA, in fact I thought it tasted more like a regular Pale Ale instead of the usually hoppier India Pale Ale despite the advertised 70 IBU's. It did have the higher ABV, 7% which gave it a nice kick. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to try out an IPA for the first time.

Added notes December 14, 2015

Apparently they lowered the ABV to 6.5%, but the IBUs are still 70. I can't imagine why I thought that this was a mild IPA! It pours a reddish amber, with a bright white head, highly carbonated. In many circles Ranger is considered the standard against which all IPAs are measured. The hops are a balance, no, a battle,  among the Chinook, Simcoe and Cascade hops, with both pine and citrus notes. Floral notes round it all out.

Don't settle for run-of-the-mill IPAs!

New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale

I've reviewed many of New Belgium's beers over the years, but for some reason I have never reviewed their flagship brew, Fat Tire, amber ale. I'm not sure if I've ever even tried it before. Maybe I'm so on the lookout for exotic styles that I bypass the simple, basic beers that made all the exotic styles possible. Well here goes: Fat Tire pours a golden-copper color, with a nondescript two-finer head. There's a nice bite of piney hops right off the bat, with some subtle aromas of fresh baked bread and caramel. Despite the hop presence, there is also a nice sweet balance of maltiness. This is definitely a solid, go-to beer, even for my Budweiser and Pabst buddies!

Ben & Jerry's Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale by New Belgium

Picked up a New Belgium Folly 12 Pack today, and included in it was this oddball: Ben & Jerry's Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale. Pretty interesting, even though I usually am not impressed by the novelty beers. It's, as advertised, a partnership between two Colorado favorites: Ben & Jerry's, the progressive ice cream dudes, and New Belgium, the beer giants of the Rocky Mountains. I expected something a lot more obviously like a dish of ice cream, and I'm sure that a scoop of ice cream in a mug of this ale would be great, but it comes across as simply a well-crafted brew. It poured a chocolatey brown with a two-finger tan head. Aromas of chocolate and (as expected) and a strong chocoalte taste with a less-obvious hints of caramel. I'm not detecting any of the saltiness however. Overall, a strong contender, but ultimately just a novelty act.

Leinenkugel's Spiced Pear Shandy

Kind of like their pumpkin spice shandy; but with pears instead of pumpkins! There's some nutmeg and cinnamon and maybe a hint of apple too. I'm sorry that I'm not too loquacious with these shandy offerings...there is just not too much there...should be okay too drink while cooking tomorrow.

Leinenkugel's Cocoa Berry Shandy

Bam! Cocoa! Bam! Raspberry! Bam! Wheat! Bam! Bam!

Start off with a perfectly serviceable dunkelweiss (dark ale) add cocoa nibs and rasberry flavoring and this is what you get. Kind of taste like those chocolate candies filled with rasberry that you get a Christmas. Not very complex, but tasty nonetheless.

Boulevard's Imperial Stout Aged in Whiskey Barrels

Last one in the Great Eight box (excepting Tank 7, which I've had before). Did I ever mention that I really like stouts, especially in the colder seasons of the year? And if you're going to brew a stout, why not go all out, making it an imperial at 11.0% ABV and aging it in whiskey barrels? The stout pours a nearly impenetrable black, with an almost imperceptible tan head. You can really taste the whiskey here, augmented by the alcohol heat - this must be the first batch brewed with these particular barrels (the taste that the barrels impart gets weaker each time it's used). The taste is quite strong, redolent of milk chocolate and espresso. Hints of vanilla, figs, and black cherries. We may have our Joyce Family Christmas beer!

Boulevard's Tell-Tale Tart

The next offering from the Great Eight variety pack. I've gotten to be quite a fan of the sour beers lately. Goose Island has had a few on the market for several years, but they seem to be the new fad. Tell-Tale Tart pours a coppery red, with a small finger and a half head. The tartness is not overwhelming, and would be a nice introductory ale for the neophyte. In addition to the sour tartness, there is some cherry notes, with perhaps some strawberry as well. As it attains room temperature there is a suggestion of sour apple as well. Honestly, I've had better sours, but this one could be a great "gateway" tart ale.

Boulevard's The Calling IPA

The first (or rather second, because I've already had Tank 7) from the Great Eight 8-pack from Boulevard. The Calling is an 8.5% ABV India Pale Ale. It poured a golden hue with a three-finger pure white head. It has a slightly oily consistency and is heavy on pineapple and mango hoppiness, with some breadiness as it warms up. Pine hoppiness also starts to show up as the temperature rises. Pretty decent IPA.

Boulevard's Great Eight

I picked up this eight-pack at a grocery store that I'll likely never shop at again...I thought it was going to be eight different beers (I should read the label more carefully) but it's two each of four different beers, one of which I have tried many times before. Reviews to come

N'Ice Chouffe Belgian Dark Ale

The Brasserie d'Achouffe is a Belgian brewery based in Achouffe. It was founded in 1982 by two brothers-in-law, Pierre Gobron and Christian Bauweraerts, as a hobby. In September 2006, the brewery was bought by the brewery group Duvel Moortgat. Check out their website for some wild stuff about dwarfs or gnomes or fairies or some such: http://www.achouffe.be/en/brewery#history

The N'Ice Chouffe is a Belgian dark ale, pouring a deep, dark brown (ah hell, mahogany!) with a towering four finger beige head. A whiff of that 10% ABV wafts through the nostrils. There's a lot of complexity here: licorice, figs, black cherries, spices. A great ale for enjoying on a cool autumn night.

Boulevard "Funky Pumpkin" Spiced Sour Ale

I'm a big fan of sour ales and I'm a big fan of sour ales, but I believe that this is the first combination that I have sampled. The color isn't much different than your standard amber, perhaps with a tad more orange than usual. The pumpkin pie spice comes through in the aroma right off, and is nicely balanced by the tartness of the ale itself. Cinnamon and nutmeg predominate in the spice mix, with a little ginger as well. There's apple and pear as it warms up, adding a nice crisp touch. IGB recommends for the Autumn Beer Season.

Kona Brewing Company Big Wave Golden Ale

I tried some Kona Brewing beers a few years back when I was visiting Thomas & Shana in Hawaii, I believe that I had Big Wave wehnwe went out to eat, but did not do a review. Big Wave is classified as an American Blonde ale, pouring a golden hue with a medium white head. Lots of lemon  and other citrus; fairly hoppy with both pine and grapefruit, but mostly pine. Decent summer ale, but nothing to get excited about.

Weyerbacher 20th Anniversary

This is the seventh Weyerbacher anniversary ale that I have reviewed, there have definitely been some fine beers in the collection. (Use the search function and type in 'Weyerbacher') and XX is no exception. as usual, the ABV is pretty high at 11%, which imparts some whiskey-like heat to the brew. It poured a maple-ey brown, topped by a thin tan head with an aroma of dark fruit as soon as the bottle was opened. The flavor of figs, raisins and especially figs dominates, with some brown sugar and maple sneaking up on you. Plums are standing up in the back waving for attention, elbowing aside the black cherries. The promised coriander is there, but shy and retiring. It could easily be classified as a Belgian Quadruppel, but maybe they wanted to retain the uniquness of their year-round Quad. Not a beer for quaffing...sip away my people, sip away.

Brickway Brewery's Hef

Nebraska beer! Nebraska beer! Nebraska beer! Hef is part of Brickway's 'Session Series', beers that won't knock you out with excessive ABV. This is a good example of the hefeweizen style, beer that is made with at least 50% wheat malt. It pours an apricot yellow with a two-finger white head. There's the characteristic bubble-gummy/banana/clove flavor, with a little bit of lemon peel on the back end. I've long been a fan of hefeweizens in general and this one gets my vote.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead

Just when I think that I've tried all the beers that there are to try (yeah, right!) another untried wonder comes along. I haven't reviewed too many from Shipyard (just one, I think). Pumpkinhead tastes like someone threw a heavily spiced pumpkin pie in the blender and pureed until it liquefied. Not bad if you're not too concerned about the underlying "beeriness", which is hard to discern. Think of a pumpkin-flavored Angry Orchard or Woodchuck and that's what this sort of tastes like (without the apple). If you're merely looking for something pumpkiny with alcohol in it, then you'll be okay; otherwise, you might be disappointed.

Brooklyn Brewery East IPA

I don't often get a chance to sample anything from Brooklyn Brewery, but I had a couple of these after the wedding reception in Poughkeepsie Friday night. East India Pale Ale poured a deep apricot gold with a scanty white head that disappeared fast. It had a bit of an oily consistency to it and seemed to have a fairly high IBU count, but it's only a 47, which is probably about where you want it to be - according to their website, Brooklyn Brewery is not "trying to peel the enamel off your teeth". The hops impart a piney aroma and as the beer reaches room temperature, other flaors, such as peach and maybe some lemongrass and caramel. Overall a very solid IPA

Zipline Nut Brown Ale

Another outstanding offering from one of Nebraska's premier craft breweries. Their nut brown ale is a fine example of a seasonally appropriate brew. Usually we think of Oktoberfests and Pumpkin ales, but brown ales are also a pretty good match for the cool days of Autumn. Zipline nut brown pours a deep mahogany brown with a thick tan head. The subtle aroma of chocolate and roated malt predominates, with some caramel and coffee showing up it warms up. IGB recommends for the rest of the Fall season.

Nebraska Brewing Wick for Brains Pumpkin Ale

From Nebraska Brewing Company in Papillion, here's one that I haven't seen (or tasted) before. As I poured it from the can to the glass it appeared to be the color of orange soda, but as it settled into the glass it took on more of the hue of a hazy copper with an orangey head that disappeared quickly. The pumpkin spiciness is somewhat subdued, but one can detect ginger, a hint of cinnamon, and an even subtler whiff of clove. If you're looking for a pumpkin spice ale that's not going to bunk you on the head like a thrown pumpkin on Halloween, Wick for Brains is your beer.

Odell's Oktoberfest

I'd say on an Oktoberfest sacle of 1-10, this would be a 5.5-6. Nothing wrong with it - just doesn't have anything that makes it stand out from the pack of Märzens out there. Perhaps if they hopped it up a little; maybe there's just not that much one can do with a Märzen. I'd drink it again if it was offered to me, but I wouldn't seek it out.

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest (with Brauhaus Riegele)

In the IGB beer calendar, August begins the Oktoberfest/Pumpkin Beer season. Especially when we get a rare cool day (like today!). I've reviewed a precursor to this beer before http://ill-gottenbooty.blogspot.com/2014/09/sierra-nevada-oktoberfest.html but this is a new version in collaboration with the Brauhaus Riegele in Bavaria. After the first couple of sips I predict that this will be one of the best Oktoberfests of the season. Very much a Märzen in the German style, hoppy and not cloyingly sweet like many American Märzens. Hoppy, but not especially bitter, peppery notes with some breadiness as well; a little bit of honey and caramel. Absolutely one that I will go back to.

Sierra Nevada Kölsch

Inspired by the great beers of Köln Germany, Sierra Nevada hit the jackpot with their Kölsch. Pouring a bright gold color with a snowy white head, this ale-lager hybrid is probably the best representation of the style I've tried to date. Aroma of fresh bread, a little coriander and a sweet crispness that is refreshing, yet full of flavor. Three thumbs up

Millstream Raspberry Trippel

Oftentimes with fruit beers, the fruit overwhelms the "beeriness", while a well-crafted fruit ale balanced the fruit against the hops and malt for a complete brew. Lately I've just lucked out with fruit beers, or maybe I've just chosen wisely. Millstream's Raspberry Trippel is a Belgian Trippel in every sense of the word, nicely hopped, with that distinctive character that the Belgians made famous - copied in saisons and farmhouse ales the world over. It poured an amber hue, a bit lighter than I've come to expect from trippels, with the aroma of raspberries massaging my nostrils. There's abit of apricots and figs hiding in the back as well. Another fine brew that gets the IGB seal of approval.

Odell's Brombeere Blackberry Gose

Let's start with what a "Gose" is. A Gose is a regional beer style originating in Goslar Germany; it is a sour ale made from at least 50% malted wheat with coriander and salt added. While this technically outs it outside the traditional German beer purity standards, an exception is made due to it being a regional specialty. They also tend to be low in alcohol content, making them nicely sessionable. Brombeere poured a pale violet, with a small head into a bar pint glass. The aroma of blackberries was evident, but not overwhelming. True to the style, there was little hop bitterness. I didn't detect any of the coriander which was part of the mix, nor any particular saltiness. This was a very drinkable, light offering that I would definitely try again. I'm not usually one for fruit-flaovred beers, but Brombeere may have converted me.

Bottles or Cans? Always Pour Into a Glass

While at Lazlo's Beer Tour this past Monday night a question was posed to Jim about cans vs. bottles. Many of the newer craft beer companies are packaging their beer in cans, when it has been the practice over the last few years to go with bottles - so much so that, for many people, the experience of craft beer is connected to bottles, while cans are looked down upon and connected in the culture to "mass-produced". Part of the reason that start up breweries (until recently) packaged in bottles was that it was cheaper (until recently) to bottle as compared to cans. In the last few years this trend has reversed and it has become very affordable to can: the equipment is affordable and the cost of cans is much lower than that of bottles. Some brewers (including Sierra Nevada) have done controlled taste tests comparing canned vs. bottled beer and there is no discernable difference. There are several benefits to canned beer for the consumer. The main one is that the can protects the beer from UV light, the main culprit in "skunking" beer. Cans are lighter and pack more efficiently. They are easier to carry in and way easier to carry out when bringing beer to a picnic or camping trip. Since they crush when empty, they don't take up as much room in your trash. As a follow up to this conversation, Jim said that a bottle is a delivery package for beer, not something that you should drink it out of. Several things happen (or fail to happen) when you drink beer out of a bottle: not enough  CO₂  is released, affecting the taste; and you are cutting off your sense of smell, which, as any 5th grade science student knows, is a huge component of taste; you don't get a head, which, among other things, traps some of the aroma (and therefore flavor) in the bubbles. Drinking out of a can is somewhat better than a bottle, since you have that round flat surface of the beer separated by air from the top of the can, allowing some air flow. Jim's advice was pour your beer into something, even if it's a plastic cup.

Lagunitas DayTime Fractional IPA

Yes! A sessionable IPA that is also high in hop content. DayTime crosses the finish line at 54.2 IBU, but only 4.65% ABV. This was truly tasty IPA, with a nice mix of grapefruity and piney hops with just the right amount of bitterness. Some citrus in there as well. Lagunitas does it again!

Oskar Blues: Old Chub Scotch Ale

The final beer in my three-beer Oskar Blues fest on July 4th. Completely different than the other two. A good representation of the Scotch Ale style, Old Chub and a rich, creamy consistency and a flavor profile redolent of coffee and chocolate. A breath of smoke hiding out in there as well!

Oskar Blues: Pinner Throwback IPA

Another offering from Oskar Blues brewery in Longmont Colorado, also at 35 IBU, but a much richer, fuller flavor, with the hop character coming out much more obviously than with the pilsner. Lots of tropical fruit, including mango and pineapple and a hint of spiciness that would go well with some chili and even some curry.

Oskar Blues: Little Yella Pils

Small batch pilsner, made without any of those adjuncts like corn and rice which you'll find in the mass-produced pilsners. I tried it in a can (as I did the next several reviews) so I can't adress the hue or head quality. Pretty refreshing - it went well with the Fourth of July fare at Nick Kelso's annual bash. Fairly hoppy at 35 IBU, which in reality what a pilsner should weigh in at, but what you don't see in the mass-market lagers. Low-to-medium ABV, making it a great session brew.

Schaben's Pilsner from Thunderhead Brewing

Thunderhead Brewing is another one of those fine Nebraska brewers producing fine ales & lagers for our beer drinking enjoyment. Thunderhead has always been about 6 or 7 on a scale of 10 in my opinion, pretty good, but not damn good...know'msayin'? This pilsner is decent, but isn't lighting the world on fire; but maybe a beer doesn't always have to do that. If you're looking to support local business, but aren't out for a unique, flavorful brew, this may be for you. Low hops at 20 IBU, 5% ABV and not much in the way of flavor. Inoffensive.

Blue Blood's Kompagnon Kölsch

Kölsch,to remind those who are not obsessive about beer styles as I am, is a hybrid style: brewed with ale yeast and warm fermented as ales are, but then lagered, i.e. set aside in cool temperatures as lagers are. Altbier is the other main hybrid style. Altbiers, however, tend to be a medium dark in hue, with a nutty, or sometimes chocolaty flavor, while a Kölsch tends to be golden in color and much lighter in body, closer to the lager side of the family. While I question whether this is a true Kölsch, Blue Blood has done a pretty good job of replicating the taste and feel of the style. It pours crisp and clear with a bright white head. There's flowery and fruity notes and an unobtrusive sweetness. Low IBU and ABV, making for a good beer for the hot days of summer. 

Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA

Alright, this is something different, an IPA made with distilled hop oil. The idea is to give the beer a more hoppy aroma. They succeeded! The hop aroma assaults your nostrils right off the bat. It pours a very light golden hue, with a healthy white head. The aroma and taste is very piney. My personal taste for hops runs to the grapefruity variety, this is a little too intense for me.

Samuel Adams Rebel IPA

Of the three beers in the "Rebel Family", I think I like this one the best. Kind of like Goldilocks: not too hoppy, not too little ABV...just right. The taste profile is similar to the other two, a little pine, a lot of grapefruit and a nocely balanced hop character. The IBU's are the same as the session IPA: 45, but at 6.5%, not quite the beer for a drinking party. Overall, a good series.

Renegade Brewing Co. - Hiatus Oatmeal Ale

I thought this was a stout....I was wrong

Beer Advocate lists it as a Brown Ale, Renegade's website lists it as an oatmeal ale; what's clear is that the cold-brewed coffee which Hiatus is infused with is what is overwhelmingly present. I'm really having to dig for something other than coffee amid all the...coffee.

Hiatus pours the color of a milk chocolate candy bar, with a skanty brown head. The mouthfeel is about what you'd expect from a decent porter - must be the oatmeal. The ABV is midrange, about 6.5% with 40 IBUs, about what you'd expect from a weak IPA or a strong pale ale. Despite my nitpicking, this is a really solid beer, tasty too!

Blue Moon White IPA

What the hell? Despite being a mass brewer (part of Miller Coors) Blue Moon brews are usually fairly good - often a "training wheels" version of what you would expect from a true craft brewer; but there is nothing about this beer that says "IPA"; I can't detect much hoppiness; there is barely anything about it that says "White" (generally "white" means a Belgian-style IPA) - there just isn't much truth in advertising going on here. It's as if Blue Moon is trying to capitalize on the popularity of IPAs without the beer actually being an IPA.

Nah. Who would ever do that?

Now, let's pretend for a minute that they called this beer: Blue Moon Summer Ale. If that was what this was, I would have started this off differently, like so:

Blue Moon Summer Ale pours a pale, nay, even a lemonade hue, calling to mind (since it's Blue Moon) the oft-repeated musical trope, "pale moonlight". The head is magnificent, not one, not two, but four fingers of fluffy white cumulus. What other flavors lurk within? Thank you for asking; we have orange peel, we have coriander, what? we have even have some ripe melon!

Outstanding summer ale...just ignore the label.

Samuel Adams Rebel Rouser Double IPA

Holy carp! (Yup, the fish) 85 IBUs, 8.4% ABV, a big and bold, butt kickin' IPA. You can smell the hops long before the beer gets anywhere near your lips. It pours a hazy burnt orange, with a towering, three-finger white head. Resinous, piney hops framed by citrus notes that dance around your taste buds. A standout in the double IPA category.

Samuel Adams Rebel Rider Session IPA

Apparently there's a "Rebel Family" of Sam Adams IPAs and this is one of them! I've seen the Rebel West Coast IPA but haven't tried it yet. "West Coast" typically indicates "real hoppy", but Rebel Rider, while hoppy enough at 45 IBUs isn't what I'd call overly hoppy. Honestly, while I generally like what Sam Adams puts out, sometimes I think it's just too much and they're stretching themselves too thin. Yes, I know you have to compete, but geez, pick something (or a core group of somethings) that you excel at and stick with it. That being said, even at 45 IBUs, Rebel Rider tastes pretty hoppy. There's some astringent pine-tasting hops, mixed with some citrus and some orange peel. At 4.5% ABV, it lives up to the "session" appellation, and while I don't find it to be outstanding, it's definitely worth a second look.

Zipline Country White

Before I had taken my first sip the aroma of Belgian yeast tickled my olfactory sense. Zipline bills Country White as a sessionable Farmhouse Ale - "farmhouse" being equivalent to "Belgian Wit" or "Saison". Zipline is one of a few up and coming small craft brewers in Nebraska and I can't say theyve ever steered me wrong. Country White poured the color of ripe apricot with a small white head that quickly dissipated. As previously stated, the aroma was strong and the taste was as well. In addition to the traditional farmhouse flavor, I could also detect some lemon zest, a hint of coriander and some pear and apple as well. In the Ill-Gotten Booty Big Book of Beer, farmhouse ales are great for the summer, especially at the end of a sweltering hot day as the sun is going down. Country White s no exception...hopefully it will be available all summer!

Shiner Prickly Pear

I'm not sure what to make of this one. Spoetzl Brewery in my opinion is kind of hit and miss. Shiner can brew the best beer in the world and they also can create the most awful tasting swill. This one falls somewhere in the middle. I'm not sure if they added the prickly pear after the fact or it was part of the whole process, but the prickly pear, a kind of cactus, is prevalent in the mix. And don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good taste and an appropriate add-on for a beer, but the base beer isn't that strong. So, try it for the experience, but I would advise against a six pack.

Empyrean "Carpe Brewem" Imperial Mango IPA

I've had this one on tap a few times down at the restaurant; I brought a four-pack out to Wyoming this week and it was a big hit. It pours a pineapply hue with a dense white head - after the visual introduction the first thing that you notice is the mango aroma. But does it overwhelm like many fruit-infused ales? Absolutely not! The mango sweetness (joined by a chorus of pineapple, pear, peach and passion fruit) is balanced by the tart hoppiness...90 IBU! This a great summer beer: at 7.8% ABV strong, but not overpowering...still good for a couple after a hot day.

Upslope Brown Ale

My first beer in Wyoming! Thanks to Andy Nice for providing this fine beer for my beer drinking pleasure. Brown ales in my opinion have tended to be somewhat bland, but Upslope was an exception. Made with (among other things, like snow melt!) brown sugar, adding a touch of sweetness on top of the basic sweetness of the malt. There was also a hint of vanilla nd a faint whiff of chocolate. I'd recommend having a second...which I did!

Boulevard Spring Belle

Billed as a Saison with chamomile, rose petal and elder flowers, I drank it out of a bottle, so I'm unsure of the color and the quality of the head. As all Boulevard beers are, Spring Belle is a quality brew. The distinctiveness of the Belgian-style yeast gives it a refreshing summery quality which the floral additions only add to. I can imagine pairing this with some pasta salad or even a light salad of greens. Apples & sharp cheese would go well also. Pretty darn good beer.

Boulder Beer Company - Emergent White IPA

Of all the myriad IPAs out there, white IPAs are my hands-down favorites. Once again (or still) at Yia-Yia's, trying out another sensational beer on tap. Grapefruity hops, but not overwhelmingly so, with some (surprisingly) melon-y taste. I'm detecting some coriander and orange peel as well. Great Belgian yeast character! Good choice for the (hopefully) upcoming summer

Empyrean Brewing Barrel Aged Porter

Had one of these at Yia-Yia's. It's got everything the regular Dark Side Vanilla Porter has, with a nice addition of high-alcohol heat & smoothness. They are not really clear what kind of barrel this was aged in, but it tastes like some kind of wine. I'll have to ask Jim or Rich the next time I'm down there. The vanilla isn't very evident at first, but becomes more pronounced as it heats up. Not for novies.

Brickway Brewery: Session Series Pils

If these are true lagers and not ales that they are calling IPL and Pilsner, I will be impressed. Mainly because of the difficulty producing lagers due to cold fermentation and the additional "lagering" that these beers need which causes the equipment to be tied up longer. The turnaround is much better with ales.

This particular pils is really good. Nothing fancy, but good, solid drinkability, with a "grainy" flavor and minimal hoppiness.

Brickway Brewery: Session Series IPL

As I was enjoying a delicious craft beer from a can the other day, a co-worker expressed surprise that I was drinking beer from a can - so ingrained is the idea that "good beer" only comes in bottles. But more and more new breweries are using cans. Canning has not only become cheaper than bottling, but the can protects the beer from harmful UV radiation, which "skunks" the beer. Brickway's IPL is a fine session beer, hoppy enough to be interesting, yet with a low enough ABV to make multiple trips to the trough possible. It shows quite a bit of flavor for a lager, while still retaining the crispness and drinkability that one would expect from one. There's some nice bready flavor with some subtle floral notes. Pretty cool for a hot summer day.

Boulevard Tasting Room Series: Red IPA

Yes, my disciples, you have heard me in the past bemoan the tendency to call everything with a little hoppiness to it an IPA; you have heard me decry the crass commercialism of unabashed branding. Well, not today.

Boulevard's Tasting Room series has produced a red IPA that is worthy of the appelation "India Pale Ale".

The thin white foamy head rests atop a reddish-brown body with hoppy fumes emanating from it. Lots of piney hops with a bit of astringency to it. Could possibly strip the paint off your car.