2011 Day 56: Revolution Working Woman Brown Ale

Name: Working Woman Brown
From: Revolution Brewing, Illinois, USA
Type: American Brown Ale

I've been looking forward to trying Revolution Brewing's beers for some time now. Almost all of the feedback I've heard has been "Great beer, great food". Katie and I had dinner there last night, and I sort of have mixed feelings about my experience. I'd hold off on my thoughts on the other brews, in case I make it back there this year, but the Working Woman brown was interesting, to say the least. I got it on cask - and it had a surprisingly dense and fluffy head for a cask ale, but the temperature was perfect for cellared beer, which I appreciated. I was shocked at the amount of citrus hops in the aroma and taste of this one. It reminded me much less of a brown ale and much more of a brown ipa....sort of like DFH's India Brown Ale. The bitterness wasn't very well balanced - the citrus sort of sat on top of all the other flavors, and left a long, lingering hop bitterness behind on the finish. Katie was drinking their First Anniversary ale (an India Black / American Black Ale) and the flavor profiles were VERY similar. I'd go back, but I was hoping for a little more from these guys.

2011 Day 55: Lakefront Organic ESB

Name: Organic ESB From: Lakefront Brewing, Wisconsin, IL Type: Extra Special Bitter (ESB)

I wasn't feeling well Thursday (or Wednesday to be honest), but I also wasn't going to let a little sickness ruin my beer a day quest. Because my nose was pretty stuffed up, I thought I'd go with something "ordinary" like an ESB. I like this style, but they're usually pretty mild and muted, which was what I wanted. Organic ESB is pretty good, certainly my favorite out of the Lakefront Beers I've tried so far. Nice and balanced, with earthy hops and a nod to the English brewing traditions. I'll have to try this one again at 100%, but I liked it, even a little under the weather.

2011 Day 54: Half Acre Callow Knife

Name: Callow Knife
From: Half Acre Beer Company, Illinois, USA
Type: American Pale Ale

This is a fantastic beer. Sadly, it's limited edition and they're not even bottling it, but if you live in Chicago you should get your hands on it while it's available. Callow Knife has a ridiculously fabulous hop aroma (they used new Citra and Falconer varieties) and enough malt backbone (I was told these were Belgian malts) to balance out the taste. Hoppy, but not overwhelming, and low ABV (4.2 I think) so you can have a few of these full-flavored beers without feeling wrecked. I wish Half Acre would consider brewing this on a regular basis, it's like Daisy Cutter's sexy older cousin.

2011 Day 53: Lakefront Fuel Cafe

Name: Fuel Cafe
Type: American Stout
From: Lakefront Brewing, Wisconsin, USA

Once again I'm behind on my posting, but not on my drinking. The last beer I reviewed was my 3rd Biere De Garde. This is my third coffee stout. This beer wasn't terrible, but was pretty weak. The coffee was too faint, and the roasted grains were a bit too bitter, and it didn't interact well with the bitterness of the coffee. Tasted like a pretty decent base beer, but all and all I wasn't super thrilled with this one. Better options out there.

2011 Day 52: Lakefront True Evel

Name: True Evel
From: Lakefront Brewing Company, Wisconsin, USA
Type: Biere De Garde

Hmmm....Mid-February and this is already my third Biere De Garde, which I consider to be a pretty under-represented style. Interesting. We visited Lakefront Brewery, hoping to catch a tour, but they were sold out for the day. So instead we grabbed some to go, including a 22oz bomber of "True Evel", a tribute beer to Evel Knievel. Why they decided to go with a French-style farmhouse ale to show their love for an American badass, I don't know. The most exciting thing about this beer was that I only paid $3 for the bomber. What a deal! The beer itself was only okay...the grain bill tasted similar to those found in German lagers, but the yeast did give it a slightly bubble-gummy quality that interacted well. Not even remotely funky (boo), but crisp and easy to drink. I wouldn't mind having another bottle around, at least not for $3!

2011 Day 51: Victory Yakima Glory

Name: Yakima Glory
From: Victory Brewing, Pennsylvania, USA
Type: American Black Ale

This is a relatively new style of beer - which BeerAdvocate has apparently dubbed "American Black Ale". I've also seen them called Black IPAs and Cascadian Dark Ales. Whatever you call it, they're malty, highly hopped brews. They seem like something I'd be really into. I love porters and stouts, and I love American IPAs. But I've never found one of these that really gets me going. Something about the interplay between the bitterness of the charred/roasted malts and the bitterness of the hops makes it sort of trying. Don't get me wrong, this is a well-done brew. The hops are complex and really come through in both aroma and taste, and it's balanced in a pleasing way, but the sum of the parts just isn't quite there for me. Certainly worth trying though.

2011 Day 50: Pull Chain Pail Ale

Name: Pull Chain Pale Ale From: Milwaukee Brewing Company, Wisconsin, USA Type: American Pale Ale

Alright, Day 50! Only 315 to go. We were in Milwaukee this weekend to see a live performance by most of the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000. They go by Cinematic Titanic now, but it's the same concept. The show was great, and I really like Wisconsin. I took the opportunity to bring home some mixed cases of out-of-market beer, and also tried Pull Chain Pail Ale at a local brewpub. Terrible name aside, this is a pretty decent ale. Nice citrus hop notes and some caramel to balance it out. It had a tiny touch of the "homebrew taste" (i.e. off-flavors) but overall I came away happy.

2011 Day 49: Sam Adams Winter Lager

Name: Samuel Adams Winter Lager
From: Boston Brewing Company, Massachusetts, USA
Type: Bock

This is one of those beers I don't have much to say about. It's okay. A little chewy, with some spiciness to it. You wouldn't find me turning one away, but I wouldn't seek it out either. As the kids say these days, "meh".

2011 Day 48 - New Holland Envious

Name: Envious

From: New Holland Brewing Co, Michigan, USA

Type: Fruit Vegetable Beer

This was a good one! Smelled like a brown ale, with some raspberries in the nose, as well as brown sugar. Taste wasn't massively complex, but it was a well balanced beer. A little sweet, a little tart, (I expected more sourness) with the raspberries in the background, as well as some woodiness (I'm guessing from the oak aging). Nowhere near as good as the New Glarus Raspberry Tart, but a solid, tasty beer that has a few interesting things going on without any one of them overpowering the rest. I've heard really bad things about this one out of the bottle, but I had a draught, and enjoyed it very much.

2011 Day 47: Half Acre Gossamer Golden Ale

Name: Gossamer Golden Ale
From: Half Acre Beer Company, Illinois, USA
Type: American Blonde Ale

Half Acre is my local brewery. By local I mean it's literally brewed and canned a mile from my apartment. They also happen to make damn fine beer. I decided today I'd use one of their offerings I don't drink as frequently as others - Gossamer. This is a fairly light, clean tasting beer with a biscuity smell and citrus hop notes. Most Half Acre beers have a fairly unique scent - like I said, I don't drink this one too often, but I think it you blindfolded me and put it under my nose I'd be able to tell you it was from Half Acre - there's just something about it. This isn't my favorite style, and to be honest this beer is a bit on the dull side, but I'll be raving about their other beers soon enough. I'm finally caught up on my posts, so now I can sit back, relax, and have another Gossamer. Cheers!

2011 Day 46: Harvey Lewes Castle Brown Ale

Name: Harvey Lewes Castle Brown Ale
From: Harvey & Son, LTD, England, UK
Type: English Brown Ale

Wow, I think this is the first cask beer I've used for beer of the day, which surprises me, because I love beer on cask and drink it whenever its available. For those who don't know, cask means the beer is naturally carbonated through fermentation instead of being force-carbed with Co2 in a keg. The English call them "real ales". They're usually a little warmer and flatter than other beers on tap and the natural carbonation gives them a smooth mouthfeel and complex, changing flavors. This was a tasty beer - nice malts that tasted bready, with a touch of spicy rye and maybe even anise. People in the states love to rip into English beers, but I think they do them right more often than they don't, and this is no exception. Good beer.

2011 Day 45: New Glarus Raspberry Tart

Name: Raspberry Tart
From: New Glarus, Wisconsin, USA
Type: Fruit/Vegetable Beer

I broke out this treasure for Valentine's Day. New Glarus doesn't distribute here, and I got this one in a trade. This is one awesome beverage, and I think it has a wide appeal. Beer geeks will love it, but so will people more likely to enjoy a glass of wine when they feel like imbibing. I poured this one into two champagne flutes. It's a beautiful color, smells great, and tastes phenomenal. It's tart, but not too sour and has a touch of sweetness without being cloying or medicinal. The raspberry taste is full and bright, and the champagne-like carbonation makes it dance on your taste buds. This is quite simply a superb beer. If you ever see it, get it!

2011 Day 44: Hanssens Oudbeitje Lambic

Name: Oudbeitje Lambic From: Hanssens Artisanaal bvba, Belgium Type: Lambic - Fruit

Ahh, this beer. I first drank one last December when I was discovering wild ales, and it absolutely pummeled me with sourness and funk. I was shocked a beer could taste like it did. So when Pat took me to his local beer store (which puts almost every Chicago beer store to shame) I was stoked to see it for $5 a bottle - it runs $10 up here. I was also excited to make Pat try a new style of beer. This beer pours almost flat - no head, and just a few tiny bubbles. The smell is crazy - barnyard funk, strawberries, and old milk (??). The taste follows suit, it's pretty intensely sour, with a frutiness that isn't sweet, with plenty of funky, funky notes. A sipper for sure, and much better at cellar temperature than it is right out of the fridge. I remember it being even more sour the last time I had it, but I was glad it wasn't completely overwhelming, because I could tell Pat was struggling with it a little. A quirky, strange beer. Try it if you dare.

2011 Day 43: Bitburger Premium Pils

Name: Bitburger Premium Pils
From: Bitburger Brauerei, Germany
Type: German Pilsener

This one has a nice story to it. 5 years ago my friend Pat and I recorded a remix of a song originally recorded by a rapping cat (don't ask) with a bunch of video game samples and clips stolen from Ron Popeil infomericals. While we worked on it, we put back a ton of Bitburgers, and ended up calling the project "Bitburger Murders". Well, 5 years later we were at it again, this time recording a cover of a song by my favorite band, The Fall. So once again, I found myself drinking some Bitburgers as we listened to drum tracks over and over again trying to get the levels right. It's a pretty good beer - it's got that hay/barley smell and taste common to German Pilseners. Clean, crisp, and refreshing. But really this one is all about the connection between this beer and great times and ridiculous remix projects. It's funny to have a sentimental attachment to a beer, but it's the truth. I can't wait until the next time I'm back in Missouri making music and drinking this beer with good friends.

2011 Day 42: Schlafly Coffee Stout

Name: Schlafly Coffee Stout
From: Schlafly Bottleworks, Missouri,USA
Type: Oatmeal Stout

I was in St. Louis this weekend to work on a music project with some old friends. Friday night we figured out what we wanted to do, then had a few beers. Schlafly Coffee Stout is a mighty fine beverage, I definitely liked it better than Bell's Java Stout (reviewed earlier this year). The oatmeal gives this one a nice creaminess, and the coffee is perfectly balanced with the rest of the brew. I'd keep a few of these around for sure if it was distributed to my area. For now, I'll look forward to this one when I visit my hometown. Definitely recommended.

2011 Day 41: Rogue Old Crustacean

Name: Old Crustacean
From: Rogue Brewing, Oregon, USA
Type: American Barleywine


I'm usually pretty good about how much I drink. I have an office job and it's not fun or easy to do it with a hangover. So usually it's one or two a night, spaced out nicely. Last Thursday was not one of those nights. Katie and I met two friends at a local bar (The Long Room - easily one of my favorite places in Chicago) and to make a long story short, I got completely hammered. My first beer of the night was Rogue's Old Crustacean Barleywine. At nearly 12% ABV, obviously not a great choice for a long night of brews, but I was feeling adventurous. This is one of the most intense beers I've ever had. I know Barleywine's are good for aging, but I had this on tap from a fresh keg and it nearly knocking my socks off. The bitterness was completely over the top, and the malts were thick and bready. This beer is huge in every way, and was definitely a sipper. As it warmed I got more out of it, but still it was mostly just a hot boozy slap in the mouth. I'm glad I tried this one, but this certainly isn't an everyday beer. Wow.

2011 Day 40: Dogfish Head Midas Touch Golden Elixer

Name: Midas Touch Golden Elixer

From: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Delaware, USA

Type: Herbed/Spiced Beer

I stopped in the bar near the train station on a particularly nasty night to grab a quick beer before heading home, and opted for Midas Touch. This beer is based on an ancient recipe, and made with honey - as well as saffron and a few other strange ingredients. It was served way too cold to taste anything interesting at first, but as it warmed, I could get a lot of interesting, odd flavors out of it. It had aspects of the taste that reminded me of a white wine (although I don't know if any grapes went into brewing it). I like beers brewed with honey....it doesn't make them sweet (the sugar ferments out) but it leaves a dry "polleny" taste that I love. In general, this wasn't a beer so delicious I'd go out of my way to try again, but it was interesting, and I'm glad I tried it.

2011 Day 39: Ithaca Cold Front

Name: Cold Front

From: Ithaca Beer Company, New York, USA

Type: Belgian Dark Ale

It's been quite a while since I've updated the actual blog, but rest assured that my beer quest has continued unhindered. Although it was nearly a week ago I put this one back, I'll have no trouble writing about it because it sucked terribly. I'm not going to get into great detail, but it just had loads of off flavors. Katie took a sip and thought it was a bad batch of homebrew. This was the second beer from a package I got from a dude in NY, and I'm starting to wonder if maybe it sat outside too long and froze, because both of the beers have been odd. The first one (Hurricane Kitty) was decent, but this one was just bad. I actually had trouble finishing it. A definite one to avoid.

2011 Day 38 - Brewdog Rip Tide

Name: Rip Tide
From: Brewdog, Scotland, UK
Type: American Imperial Stout

Today after work I go and buy a shovel, bring it home on the train, and go to work freeing my car from its icy prison. 90 minutes later I'm still not done, but things are looking a lot better, even if one of my door handles DID happen to fall off. I finally came inside because my shoes were soaked through and my feet were frozen. I ate a slice of pizza, drew a hot bath, and cracked the heartiest beer I had cold - Brewdog Riptide. Imperial Stouts aren't my favorite style, but when you're frozen to the bone there's nothing better. This beer pours a little darker than a coca-cola, and with minimal head and lacing it sort of looks like a glass of flat soda. At first the smell was just charred grain and booze, but as it warmed up I got a lot more - dark chocolate, licorice and figs. The taste was similar - it's pretty boozy (8% ABV), but there's a lot going on besides that. It's not overwhelmingly roasty/smokey like a lot of imperial stouts either. I can't see myself getting this one often, but I was really glad to have a bomber of it in the house today.

2011 Day 37: Goose Island Mild Winter

Name: Mild Winter
From: Goose Island, Illinois, USA
Type: Rye Beer

This is a brew I've enjoyed over the years since moving to Chicago, and always look forward to seeing it come wintertime. Today was Superbowl Sunday, and I have to admit most of my alcohol intake was made up of a gelatin vodka lobster (pictured), but of course I found time for a beer. This is a dark ale, and there's a little sweetness to it, but it's well countered by the spiciness of the rye. The ABV is reasonable, and it's not very hoppy at all, so it goes down really easy. This is a great option when you want something a little heartier but aren't in the mood for a porter or a stout. Drink up.

2011 Day 36: Flying Dog Garde Dog

Name: Garde Dog
From: Flying Dog Brewery, Maryland, USA
Type: Biere De Garde

After my excellent experience with Jolly Pumpkin's Oro De Calabaza, I was excited to try another Biere De Garde. I have two main places I frequent when buying beer, but neither of them is really a close walk. Because my car is buried under two feet of black ice, I've been hitting up closer options. One of them is usually good for a couple of interesting beers I don't see other places, and I happily grabbed a sixer of Garde Dog when I saw it. I'm glad I did! This was a very enjoyable beer for me. It's really light, a bit fruity, and smooth. It has hints of Belgian-y flavors but everything is pretty muted and balanced. I think it would be more appropriate in spring or summer, but I had no problem knocking back a few of these on a nasty, blustery winter night. While nowhere near as complex or flavorful as the other Biere De Garde I had (definitely not as funky by a longshot), it was a fun interesting beer, and much more affordable. I look forward to drinking this one again.

2011 Day 35: Founders Double Trouble

Name: Double Trouble
From: Founders Brewing Company, Michigan, USA
Type: Double India Pale Ale

I didn't mention it at the time, but a few days ago there was a blizzard in Chicago. I even got a day off of work. The novelty of the snow has started to wear off. Today as I walked home from the train station, I watched grown adults scream obscenities at each other over a stuck car. Pathetic. It was nice to crack open this excellent Double IPA. More grapefruity than Hopslam, but less tropical. Maybe a bit less malt too and more sharpness to the bitterness. Founders is an excellent brewery and this is an admirable beer.

2011 Day 34: Keegan Ales Hurricane Kitty

Name: Hurricane Kitty
From: Keegan Ales, New York USA
Type: American IPA

This is billed as "A Coppery India Pale Ale". I'm not sure if I got a bad bottle, but this was straight up brown, and it smelled like Whoppers. Not Burger King Whoppers, malted-milk balls that come in a carton Whoppers. Strong chocolate scent, as well as a big blast of hops. Taste was similar, much darker than a typical IPA...I'm wondering if I got an infected bottle. I'd like to try another bottle of this to see if it's "supposed to taste like that". Not great, but interesting.

2011 Day 33 - Captain Lawrence St. Vincent's Dubbel

Name: St. Vincent's Dubbel

From: Captain Lawrence Brewing Co, New York, USA

Type: Dubbel

Hmm...okay. Well, I drank this. But I probably wouldn't drink it again. This didn't smell or taste anything like I thought it would. No dark fruit flavors, no banana/clove/candi sugar smell, no spicy yeast. Instead a weird sour smell mixed with some barnyard funk, but not really in an appealing way.

Taste is similar, some tartness that mixes unpleasantly with the base beer. Some interesting black pepper flavors come out, but they just don't mesh with the other stuff that's going on. None of the boozy sweetness I'd expect from a Dubbel. Interesting and unique, but not a hit for me, and I say that as someone who usually enjoys funky/sour beers.

2011 Day 32 (Feb 1) - Hofbrau Dunkel

Name: Hofbrau Dunkel

From: Staatliches Hofbrauhaus, Germany

Type: Munich Dunkel Lager

February started off on the right foot with this dark German lager. This is damn good stuff. It's crisp and clean, and has nice caramel malt notes along with a little hay in both the smell and the taste. The hops are smooth and earthy, providing a nice balance. Goes down way too easy, I could pound this stuff all day. A delicious beer I'll absolutely get again.

January: The month in review

The first month of my beer a day challenge went very well - as one might expect, as all opportunities are still available. I did my best to not exhaust my go-to beers but instead spent a lot of time on brews I wouldn't normally try.

Stats:

Beers reviewed this month: 31
Beers reviewed so far this year: 31
Styles tried this month (per BeerAdvocate): 21
Styles tried so far this year (per BeerAdvocate): 21
States represented this month: 11
States represented so far this year: 11
Countries represented this month: 6
Countries represented this year: 6

Best Beers of the month: Bells Hopslam, Jolly Pumpkin Oro De Calabaza, New Glarus Crack'd Wheat

Beers to Avoid: Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion, Brooklyn Brown Ale, Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen

2011 Day 31: Bell's Hopslam

Name: Hopslam

From: Bell's Brewing, Michigan USA

Type: Double IPA

On the last day of each month, I'm going to try to highlight excellent beers. Our first installment is Bell's Hopslam. Double IPAs are a dime a dozen, but this one really stands out. You can smell the massive aroma of citrus and pineapple from across the room and the taste almost lives up to the smell. The 10% ABV is well masked, and the dryness that comes from brewing with honey gives this a great finish that counters the bitterness. A bit pricey, yes ($16 for a 6 pack) but a fantastic beer worthy of the hype. Delicious.