North Coast Brewing Old Stock Ale 2011

Picked up a bottle of the 2020 version - it still holds up

A version of Old Stock Ale 2011, aged in oak bourbon barrels, was my personal choice for best beer at the 2011 Lincoln Okto Beer Fest a few weeks ago. While this incarnation doesn't have the silky smoothness of its cooler big brother, it's certainly no slouch.

Cloudy, dark apricot-orange in color, not much of a head. Technically a barleywine, it undoubtedly shares some characteristics with its grapey cousins. Very strong raisin tastes, maybe some plum, and lingering on the borders of perception...figs. Hold on; I think that I detect some black cherry on the back of my tongue. Almost syrupy in consistency, similar in feel to those "nectars".

Very tasty; but be careful, 11.9% ABV makes this a sit-at-home-and-don't-operate-heavy-machinery brew.

North Coast Brewing Old Stock Ale 2020

Picked up a bottle of the 2020 version - it still holds up

A version of Old Stock Ale 2011, aged in oak bourbon barrels, was my personal choice for best beer at the 2011 Lincoln Okto Beer Fest a few weeks ago. While this incarnation doesn't have the silky smoothness of its cooler big brother, it's certainly no slouch.

Cloudy, dark apricot-orange in color, not much of a head. Technically a barleywine, it undoubtedly shares some characteristics with its grapey cousins. Very strong raisin tastes, maybe some plum, and lingering on the borders of perception...figs. Hold on; I think that I detect some black cherry on the back of my tongue. Almost syrupy in consistency, similar in feel to those "nectars".

Very tasty; but be careful, 11.9% ABV makes this a sit-at-home-and-don't-operate-heavy-machinery brew.

Fog Breaker IPA from Anchor Brewing

About 20 years ago I drank a fair amount of Anchor Steam Beer. Anchor Brewing from San Francisco was one of the early craft brewers, with a history going back to the California Gold Rush. There's a lot of things that Anchor does differently, as you can read at this link:
https://www.anchorbrewing.com/brewery/our_craft
But, let's move on to today's beer:
Fog Breaker's hue is what I call a ripe-pineapple color. It poured with a two-finger cottony white head. There's 6.8% ABV, which translates to a little bit of a kick, but not an overwhelming alcohol content. The 49 IBUs are not excessive for an India Pale Ale, but it's still a respectable level of hoppiness. (I have previously commented on the tendency for virtually anything with a decent amount of hops to be called an IPA, when it might be more realistically classed as simply a Pale Ale) The hops impart a one-two bitterness punch, pine notes, as well as hints of tropical/citrus.

This is a solid example of the style, but doesn't really stand out from the crowd. But let's call that a good thing - brewers are so intent on making their ales unique, adding flavorings and adjuncts that they neglect the underlying "beer-ness". I'll give it 6.5/10 on the IGB scale.

Kros Strain Helles Creek Lager

I usually don't have a lot to say about lagers. They don't have the flavor palette that you find with ales, due to the cold fermentation style of brewing, however, if you you tune your taste buds (and expectations to "subtle" you'll get more out of the experience.

Helles is a specific style of lager that tends to be sweeter and "breadier" than your typical lager. The word "helles" means "pale", and helles lagers are indeed pale in hue. Helles Creek is a bit fuller in body that your run of the mill lager. There's a hint of spiciness, nutmeg and cinnamon...a hint...barely noticeable. There's definitely some sweetness, maybe honey-ish. If you're looking for big "hey, look at me!" flavor, you'll be disappointed, but if you're willing to let the taste come to you, this is worth the time.

Kinkaider 'Frame the Butcher' India Pale Ale.

Nebraska brewer Kinkaider does a great job with their various beers, and Frame the Butcher IPA is no exception. It pours a coppery amber with a towering four-finger fluffy white head. There's no added flavoring, but the various hop varieties (Chinook, Cascade, Palisade & Centennial) add citrus and pine notes. There are also pineapple and grapefruit aromas with some subtle brown sugar and orange peel. The 65 IBUs impart the crisp bitterness that we've come to expect from an IPA. Not a bad IPA, but more average than exceptional.

Kros Strain Mele Kalikimaka Spiced Winter Ale

Yes, yes, I know, it's a winter ale, and it's not winter any more (notwithstanding the damn snow on Thursday) but it's what's left in the fridge.

This l'il baby poured a copper hue with a one-finger white head. Despite the spices flavoring the beer, there's an underlying hint of Belgian-ness, despite the 7.5% ABV it has the feel of a quad (which typically clocks in north of 11% ABV). Back to the spices: like most winter warmers the spices include nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and ginger - they blend together so that no one overwhelms the rest. There's even a pinch of lemon in there. Overall, a good winter warmer, that I'll have to remember for next winter.

Hypnopompa Imperial Stout

Let's start off with an admission: I'm not a huge admirer of weird flavored beers, and this one, in addition to uncontroversial vanilla flavoring, there's marshmallow flavoring.

Fortunately, marshmallows really don't have their own flavor. Marshmallows always have the flavor of whatever you flavor them with, "regular" marshmallows are flavored with vanilla.

So, what I'm saying is that the beer doesn't really taste like marshmallows because marshmallows don't taste like anything.

After those brief introductory remarks...Hypnopompa pours a deep, deep, mahogany-ish almost-black. The head is a nice healthy, frothy, two-finger tan head.  No marshmallow, but a very obvious vanilla taste, since, you know, they brewed it with vanilla beans. But the tastes that result from interplay of the malt and the hops include brown sugar, caramel, dark chocolate, and molasses. The 11%+ ABV doesn't really overwhelm the tastes, but you can feel a bit of heat at the back of the palette.

We all thought Spring was hear and that it was time for lighter beers, but it was winter today, so I'm glad that I had a stout in the fridge.

Empyrean Brewing Good Life Lager

It's been a while since I've had one of Empyrean's beers, probably the Summerfest that I had at the 2019 Zoofest, but before I get to this offering, a quick reminder of the difference between lagers and ales.

Most craft beers that you will encounter, especially in small batch breweries, are ales. Ales are brewed using top-fermenting yeasts and are fermented at relatively high temperatures, generally 55˚ - 77˚ F.The heat releases the various flavors hidden within the malts and hops. An ale might taste like dark fruit, or coffee, without having any added flavorings. A lager is brewed using bottom-fermenting yeasts at lower temps, 40˚ - 52˚ F. Lagers (which include pilseners and bocks) tend to be clearer, as opposed to the cloudiness of unfiltered ales. They often are described as having a crisp, clean taste. Most of the major breweries' (Budweiser, Miller, Coors) main products are lagers. In addition to the cooler fermenting temperatures, lager, after fermentation are stored in a cool environment (lagering). This process isn't real convenient for small brewers, who cannot afford to tie up their equipment while their beer lagers.

Good Life Lager is a tip of the hat to Nebraska being known as "The Cornhusker State", and is brewed with corn. This isn't as unique as one might think. Most mass distribution lagers are in fact brewed with some corn, in addition to barley, which is typical the main grain used. Corn has the effect of lightening the beer, both in appearance and taste. It also tends to sweeten the finished product. Good Life is indeed slightly sweet and pours a transparent golden hue. There's a subtle creaminess. It packs a respectable 7+% ABV and the bitterness clocks in at 24...so not too hoppy. Even though it's not overflowing with competing flavor profiles, there's enough complexity to make this not a guzzle-it beer or something to "wash down" your food. It's a taste experience all its own.