Crow Peak 11th Hour IPA

Hailing from Spearfish, South Dakota, Crow Peak brewery produces some fine beers, and this is certainly one of them. Pours a clear golden color, with a tall frothy head that maintains its integrity for several minutes, bestowing me with a great beer mustache. Hoppy, but not in the let's-dump-a-lot-of -hops-in-to-disguise-its-mediocrity manner that you often get with India Pale Ales. But beneath the hoppy surface there's a lot going on: lemons, orange, tangerine, and even a little tart apple. And for an IPA, 11th Hour is very drinkable, even sessionable. Look for more reviews on the Crow Peak family of beers.

Schell's Deer Brand Beer

For a while this variety was simply called the "original", but as part of the 150th Anniversary festivities they switched back to the original name and logo. Deer Brand is a Pilsner style lager. the first taste put me in mind of some of the great European lagers like Heineken, with that sharp hoppy aftertaste. Deer Brand poured a translucent golden hue with a fast dissipating white head. Plenty of carbonation and so clear that you could read a newspaper through it. Not a lot going on, but a good solid session beer that would go well after a hot day of gardening.

Guinness Black Lager

I've been putting off trying the relatively new Guinness Black Lager simply because I didn't want to risk buying a whole six pack if I didn't like it. I ordered a bottle with dinner at The Press Box tonight and it wasn't half bad. Frankly I've had better black lagers, but Guinness put together a decent brew. I don't know how many times that I've heard people say "I don't like dark beers", when their only experience with a darker beer was a Guinness when they were sixteen years old. As most lovers of a multitude of beer styles know, "dark" refers mainly to the color, and doesn't necessarily reflect on the taste. Guinness Black Lager does a good job of being appealing to the non-stout drinkers out there. If you're looking for a heavy, rich brew you'll be disappointed, but if you're after a beer that while cool and refreshing still has some body and depth of character, this beer may be for you.

Schell's Hopfenmaltz

I've been pleasantly surprised by Schell's over the years; they'd been around for decades before the craft beer craze hit the states, yet have consistently put out a variety of quality beers of various styles. In the fridge this week at Ill-Gotten Booty HQ we've got a few of Schell's 150th Anniversary offerings. Hopfenmalz is a pale lager, pilser-y in style, hops are in evidence, but not at the expense of smoothness. This pale amber brew has some light citrus notes, with a grassy, almost lemony back beat. Like all Schell's offerings, nothing fancy, just good ol' American beer.

Old Stock Ale 2009 Cellar Reserve

This was my favorite beer at last year's OctoBEERfest. North Coast Brewing puts out Old Stock Ale every year, but in 2009 they put aside a batch and let it age for two years in oak bourbon barrels. Aging premium ales in bourbon barrels has been kind of a fad lately, but not all fads are bad! I unveiled Cellar Reserve at the latest Joyce Family dinner last night and it received thumbs up from most quarters. We served it in some Jack Daniels whiskey glasses in small quantities with a desert of peach and strawberry-rhubarb pies. It poured a deep mahogany with a thin caramel head. The bourbon aroma mixed with fresh vanilla for the initial taste, with dark fruits such as fig and black cherries bringing up the rear. Despite the ABV in excess of 13%, there wasn't much extraneous alcohol heat to distract from the taste. Definitely a sippin' ale, wouldn't mind trying it again. It was fun to see the younger Joyces analyzing the tastes and giving themselves a break from mass-produced beers. I believe we were all extending our pinkies after the second glass!

Alimony Ale (IPA) from Buffalo Bill's

A proper IPA, 80 IBU's (International Bitterness Units), which means it's pretty damn hoppy! Pouring a slightly hazy butterscotch hue, with a small to medium lacy white head, Alimony Ale hits you with hoppiness like a court order to hand over half of your assets. Lots of citrus, not so much grapefruit, but an easy going orange-lemon citrus. There some definite sweetness, honey perhaps, that takes a little bit of the hop edge off. Another fine beer for the warmer months...line 'em up next to the grill.

Sweaty Betty Blonde Wheat

Pours the color of hand-squeezed lemonade with a fluffy white head. Cloudy with unfiltered sediment. Nice cool lemony taste to it, perfect for the hot, July-like April weather we're having. There's the characteristic wheat taste, but it's not hitting you over the head. Other tastes include banana and even a little bubble gum...kind of reminds me of some decent dunkelweizens that I've had the pleasure to experience. Now that we're heading into the bright half of the year, the light, refreshing beers begin to predominate...kind of like the mythos of the lager King and the Ale King...