Notable Moments in 2010 Beer Drinking

And almost a week has passed, but in that week I tried 14 new beers! By far my biggest week of the year fell, not coincidentally, on the same week as my beeriest uncle's visit. Fresh from a five-week high school Europe tour (his eighth running?), I was psyched to score a Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus, as well as a couple classic Cali IPAs. Not to be outdone, my Uncle Mike on my mom's side brought nine Thai beers back with him on his latest return trip; he lives in Thailand. Being known as the beer guy has its perks: I've accepted beer gifts from traveling friends, generous preschool parents and various extended family members. The beer crowd is generally a giving one. Now, if only I could land some presents from breweries, distributors, liquor stores...

Some other highlights of the year so far:

KBS.

My favorite beer of 2010 has undoubtedly been Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout. I had a 2008 bottle resting in my basement, and when beer spending ceased, those beers I'd been saving became fair game. It's hard to believe I'd gone this long without having this stout of midwest legend, but sometimes it's worth keeping some prize beers untried as long as you can. Luckily, there are so many thousands of pot-of-gold beers, I'll be able to spend my lifetime following rainbows.

The KBS was a perfect stout; better, in my opinion, than its Midwest counterparts Surly Darkness and Bells Expedition Stout, and even better, I thought, than Deschutes The Abyss. Of course, I didn't try these back-to-back. You'd be in trouble if you did. But I was licking my lips after every KBS sip, drumming on the kitchen counter with excitement, in the middle of one of those rare, perfect beer drinking moments. Motor oil black, with a rich, boozy blast of coffee, oak, vanilla and bourbon. The flavor sequence is magnificent: the roasted coffee up front, a sweet toffee vanilla coating as you're swallowing, and that oak-ey bourbon burn after it goes down. I loved the throat burn and nasal sting, and though it packed all these flavors, it was amazingly mellow, earthy and smooth. The only flawless beer I've had this year.

Beer in the hospital

We were told on our hospital tour that nurses had heard of people celebrating with beers in the delivery room, but had never seen it...She advised us that if we wanted to do it, do it with caution. No, I didn't ask about this in front of the entire tour group. She brought it up unprovoked. What, you think I can't go a night without a beer? Well, I went two nights, I think, but when we were told we'd be spending a couple more nights in that tiny, uncomfortable room, I could make it no longer. In came the beer, smuggled between bags of Funyuns and takeout dinner. First came Two Brothers Moaten, which I mentioned previously, then Harviestoun Old Dubh 12. The nurses were clueless, and I didn't mind drinking them out of Styrofoam cups.

St. Paul Summer Beer Fest

I won a pair of tickets to the June festival, held in St. Paul's Midway Stadium parking lot, and it's lucky I didn't realize they were VIP tickets until we picked them up ten minutes before the gates opened for the general public. Had I known we could have access to all those beers an hour early, I would have been a hurtin' individual the next morning. With a pace like the one I displayed that afternoon, an extra hour of drinking would have been devastating. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, though I was less than thrilled with the available samples. Somewhere in between a major geek fest (See: Firkin Fest) and a get wasted drunk fest (See: City Pages Beer Fest), this festival had a good enough number of breweries, 70+, but very few offered anything you couldn't find easily on any liquor store shelf or in house draught list. With that said, I managed to sample 32 new beers, and though I don't count them officially, I get a handle on the beers I'd like to try and those I'd like to avoid. The day's best: Surly Bourbon Aged Brown Eye and Great Lakes Nosferatu, both exceptions to the mass availability rule.

Six Months-a-Drinkin'

About time, don't you think?

Flash back to early 2010, when I felt lamely inspired by Julie and Julia to re-dedicate myself to my beer blog. I would take pictures! Expand my content! Have some goal-oriented project! And then, Kristie was put on bedrest. Money got tighter, housework piled up and I felt guilty--not just because I could drink and she couldn't, but because every time I went out, I knew she was home watching a rerun of Gilmore Girls and popping contraction-stopping pills. Blogging about beer was far from my mind.

But wait, there's more. We eventually had a child, in early March: you know, this pregnancy thing is finite and the end product is much more time-consuming than the journey. Show me a man who's increased his craft beer drinking after having a child, and I'll show you a negligent father.

Don't be daft, now. I kept drinking beer, and drinking good beer. I just drank at a much more relaxed pace, and often settled for 12-pack samplers (usually underwhelming) or 6-pack staples (usually IPAs). I bought virtually no bottles large in size, price or reputation. I dipped into my under-developed basement reserves. I skipped many tantalizing tastings, events and festivals. Times were a bit desperate, but you can't keep a man from his beer. With that in mind, here's a brief recap of the last half year of my drinking endeavors.

In the first six months of the year, I tried 92 new beers. That may seem like a big number, but it doesn't compare to 2008 or '09, when at this point of the year I'd enjoyed more beers than days. Still, those I tried were the tastiest, on average, of any year's beers since I started keeping track. Though I've only given one beer the full five stars (I'll touch on that later), more than a third of those I've rated I considered better than average on a craft beer scale. Translation: Budweiser, on my scale, is not an average beer. Budweiser is a one-star at best. I consider an average craft beer to be 3.5 stars on a scale that accounts for those skunkiest of skunk. It makes sense to me. Anyway, 37 of 92 garnered four or more stars, and another 20 checked in at the 'average' 3.5-star level.

OK, this is getting far too nerdy. I'm a stats guy, what can I say. So, in the early months of the year, many of those above average beers fell roughly under the Flemish/Flanders Red Ale category. New Belgium's La Folie calls itself a Sour Brown ale, but who am I to argue with Beer Advocate. A bold sour smell, like the one La Folie has, is the only invitation I need, and the dry, chalky finish is a crisp and refreshing way to subdue the potent sourness that dominates the tongue. Maybe the wordiest sentence I've ever written. Soon after, I tried Ommegang's Flemish offering, Rouge, at the Blue Nile and had a Flemish classic on tap at the Muddy Pig: Rodenbach Grand Cru. Without question, the end of winter meant the rise of the Flemish Red. These three are universally sour, and that is a pretty quick turnoff for some. I, on the other hand, can't get enough of them. I always tell people trying them for the first time that they must suspend their idea of what a 'beer' is, and enjoy what they're tasting on its own merits.

I had been saving a bottle of Westvleteren 8 for a special occasion, and there are none more special than the birth of a child, so it was soon after we returned home with her that I cracked it. I must say, I wasn't as blown away as I hoped I would be. Perhaps this was a case of me pumping a beer up so high that it had no chance of meeting my expectations. Reputation often dampens enjoyment, unfortunately. It was still great. It wasn't, however, the first beer I had as a father. That honor went to Two Brothers Moaten, another Flemish red, and a collaboration between the Illinois brewery and Urthel, a respected Belgian brewery. Like the Westy, expectations set by the three outstanding reds gave Moaten no chance to live up to its honor as the celebratory fatherhood brew. This time, it was more the case of Moaten being a below average beer, rather than one over-hyped into submission.

So, I've taken you into mid-March, and my unplanned and lengthy introduction is forcing me to split my mid-year recap into several posts. Hopefully, it'll be fewer days before my next post than it was months since my last.

The Best of 2009: #1

AleSmith IPA

Brewery: AleSmith, San Diego, California

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 7.25%

Rating: 5 stars


Since I've let these rankings drag well into 2010, the motivation to write extensive reviews is lacking. I've also been spending mucho tiempo preparing for imminent child birth, caring for my bed-resting wife and getting another blog up and running.

I'll give you a little background on where this one came from, though. We were in Phoenix in early December for a wedding, and I wanted to pick up a sampling of high-class West Coast brews we can't get here in the Great White North. I bought about a dozen bombers, including Deschutes The Abyss, Port Brewing Wipeout IPA, Lost Coast Indica IPA and Left Coast Hop Juice. Our free drinking time in Arizona was limited, so I had to smuggle five of them back in my airplane luggage. All five made it successfully.

So there I was, in my kitchen a few days later, with a tulip glass and a giant bottle of AleSmith IPA. This was very exciting. Simply put, it was the perfect IPA. Floral and lively, bitter and sticky, potent but drinkable. And fairly cheap!

If I was a Californian, though my IPA options would be massive, I'd find it difficult to make a pass through a beer store without grabbing one. Or more. I guess I don't have anything more to say.

The Best of 2009: #2

Surly Wet

Brewery: Surly, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 7%

Rating: 5 stars

Wet hop/fresh hop beers were all over the place this year, especially this fall, and though I may be a bit biased, Surly's was the best. For reference, here are the others I had and how I rated them:

Minneapolis Town Hall Fresh Hop 2009: 3.5 stars. Needed more balance, though I realize that's a difficult task for a fresh hopped beer. Tasted sweaty.

Two Brothers Heavy Handed: 4 stars for both Cascade and Willamette versions. Cascade had delicious burps. Willamette was a bit creamier.

Founders Dry Hopped Pale Ale: 4 stars. Lighter hops, metallic backbone.

Avery Dry Hopped IPA: 3.5 stars. Incredibly bitter. Smelled like clover.

Boulder Hazed and Infused: 3.5 stars. A good beer. As you can see, most of these are solid. But not that memorable.

Left Hand Warrior IPA: 4.5 stars. Easily my favorite beer from this brewery. Round flavor, lasting bitterness.

Great Divide Fresh Hop: 4.5 stars. "Better than Surly Wet? Close, but not quite. Delicious Delicious."

Deschutes Hop Trip: 3.5 stars. Sweetest of the bunch.

Like I said, fresh hopped beers were everywhere. So what separates Surly's effort from the rest? I don't know. Maybe it was because I was on hand for the beer's release. Everything tastes better when it's being unveiled for the first time. And accompanied by spring rolls. Maybe it's because I love that Surly touch; the grapefruit, the huge roof-of-your-mouth pull you get after every sip.

Perhaps, though, it was because this wet hopper, as opposed to most on the list above, improved as I emptied it. These beers have a tendency to wear me out after a full 12 or 16 ounces. This one had just the right amount of balance to accompany the big hop pulse. Don't get me wrong, I love my hops as much as the next guy. But this one didn't have the 'eating a hop plant' bluntness that many do. At the time of my first tasting, I called it a triumph. And I stand by that statement.

The Best of 2009: #3

New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red

Brewery: New Glaurs, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 5.1%

Rating: 5 stars


Prior to having this, I'd had two kinds of cherry beers: the incredibly sour kriek, and the cough-syrup sweet nastiness. I expected this one to fall into the sour category, but I was quite wrong. Not to say, obviously, that that was a bad thing.

This beer is brewed with handfuls of Wisconsin cherries, and the flavor is not that of a cherry-flavored beer, but a mouth-coating cherry spritzer that happened to have fermented. It tasted like cherry pie in a glass. By far the best fruit beer I've had, and one that I'd present to guests. Now, if only we could get New Glarus in Minnesota.

(These reviews are getting shorter the longer I let them drift. Top two coming this week, promise.)

The Best of 2009: #4

Town Hall Mango Mama

Brewery: Minneapolis Town Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6%

Rating: 5 stars

It took me far too long to give the mangoed version of Town Hall's Masala Mama a look. There was some initial hesitance: Kristie is allergic to mangoes and mango flavor (yeah, we don't get dessert that much), and therefore we never have them around the house. Also, mangoes aren't near the top of my favorite fruits list (pineapple is). And why mess with an already outstanding IPA? Masala Mama, sadly available only on location, is one of the can't-miss IPAs of the upper midwest.

The positive reviews kept pouring in from friends, though the online responses are strikingly polar. It seems to be a love it or hate it beer, with the haters citing the overpowering mango. More fruit than hops. You can see why this would be a concern of mine due to my distaste for mangoes. In fact, earlier in the year I got my hands on a Virgin Islands Tropical Mango, and compared the taste to paint chips.

Well, the first sip of Mango Mama eased my worries. The detractors' point is not lost: the mango is very strong in both the smell and the initial lip smack. It's big, but not bigger than the Masala hops, which carry the beer out the back of your mouth. An extremely pleasant finish.

How good was this beer? Near the end of our June patio stay, a moth found its way into the last swig of my beer. As it struggled, I weighed my options: give up on the final sip due to contamination fears, or fish the moth out and finish the beer, consequences be damned.

I finished the beer.

The Best of 2009: #5

Russian River Publication

Brewery: Russian River, Santa Rosa, California (collaborative: see below)

Style: Saison

ABV: 8%

Rating: 5 stars

That's me, enjoying my Russian River Publication at Denver's Falling Rock Tap House, the stop for any beer lover visiting the Rocky Mountain State. A great selection of draughts, and the most beer paraphernalia I've ever seen assembled in one place.

So here's the back story on Publication. Russian River owner and brewer Vinnie Cilurzo, along with members of beer bars Toronado (San Francisco), Horse Brass Pub (Portland), Brouwers (Seattle), Monk's Cafe (Philadelphia) and Falling Rock Tap House (Denver), formed a brewing group called the Publican National Committee. Publication, a strong saison modeled after Orval, is the PNC's inaugural beer.

I'm not sure I have all the details correct, so that's as much as I feel comfortable saying.

Now, it doesn't hurt that Orval is one of my favorite beers, so I went in assuming I would like it. And a draught only, limited release beer from Russian River--a brewery whose beers don't make it close to Minnesota? This I could not pass up.

The look certainly reminded of Orval: light, sparkling and highly carbonated. Some white grape and other delicate fruits, but the brett smell is the star. Live yeast, that is, for non beer jargoners. I promised to leave out the jargon, but you say brett and beer lovers can smell it instantly. Funky and champagne-like.

Easy drinking, especially for the bumped-up ABV. Again, the live yeast hits hard at the finish and is the lasting impression of the brew. A bit tart, sour, and with that lovely sparkle that makes it feel like a classy beverage. I can't say it was better than Orval (though I've had some bad Orval), but I'd love to be able to taste them back to back. Sadly, I don't see that ever happening.

This was the last beer I had on our five-day Colorado trip, and I'm glad I dragged the family to Falling Rock before we boarded the return flight.

The Best of 2009: #6

Struiselensis

Brewery: De Struise, Oostvleteren, Belgium

Style: Sour Ale

ABV: 6%

Rating: 5 stars

A gem find from a Christmas '08 trip to Sioux Falls. I had a handful of Struise beers to choose from, and randomly selected this sparkling sour ale.

Sour doesn't do this one justice. This is as tart as the tartest candy; enough to make your eyes water. Lots of funky yeast, too. The carbonation is great; I preferred it super cold, like a sparkling cold duck the kids drink on New Years. Floral, lemony and bright.

Yet with all these potent flavors and funks, it finished gently and was shockingly easy to drink. I like challenging my taste buds in all aspects of cuisine; whether it be a vinegar tart beer, a super spicy dish or pungent olive, and I don't mind a challenging sour. This one was not challenging, and I'd venture to guess that your average beer drinker might even enjoy a glass of this. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this bottle in Minnesota, though I haven't scoured the shelves completely. Hopefully I'll find it again soon. I've never driven as far as Sioux Falls just for a beer, but I'm not putting it completely out of the question.

The Best of 2009: #7

Three Floyds Alpha King

Brewery: Three Floyds, Munster, Indiana

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 6%

Rating: 5 stars

I was lucky enough in 2009 to get my hands on a few Three Floyds offerings, and Alpha King barely nudged out the Dreadnaught Imperial IPA as my favorite.

It's simply a perfect pale ale. It starts with a potent hoppy aroma--obvious Centennials and Cascades. The musky, unfiltered texture makes it creamy but smooth. At 6%, it's incredibly drinkable, and as far as drink-in-bulk beers go, this is by far the best I've had. There's enough depth and flavor to enjoy a single bottle, but if I had time and an empty stomach, a six pack wouldn't stretch my stamina.

The hops carry over to the taste, with a nice biscuit malt giving the beer balance and substance. Pale ales have a tendency to go one of two ways: hops overpowering the malt, or malt overpowering the hops. This one does neither and it's that balance that sets it apart from the standard, bland offerings you so often get from craft breweries.

I snagged my six pack on a summer visit to the Chicago area, but now that it's available just across the border, I see many more of these in my near future.

The Best of 2009: #8

Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's

Brewery: Oskar Blues, Lyons, Colorado

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 7.1%

Rating: 4.5 stars

Left: The sampler at the Oskar Blues Brewery in Lyons, CO.


You wouldn't think it possible that an influential, groundbreaking brewery could exist in a town like Lyons, Colorado. A town of around 1500, built along two parallel streets, Lyons is barely a blip on the route from Denver to the Rockies. Nevertheless, Lyons is home to Oskar Blues Brewery, the first U.S. craft brewery to package its full lineup in cans (I'm going to trust the brewery here rather than research).

So it was mid afternoon on an August Friday when I found myself alone in a dark basement bar ordering a sampler: OB's five year-round offerings: TenFIDY, Gordon, Dale's Pale Ale, Mama's Little Yella Pils and Old Chub; limited releases Woo Moon and One Nut Brown Ale; and specialty brew of the moment: Deviant Dale's.

A dry-hopped version of their popular flagship pale ale, Deviant Dale's was only available at the brewery and I felt lucky to get a taste. Side note: there are two OB breweries; one in Lyons, and one in nearby Longmont, home of Left Hand Brewery. All the beers from the Longmont brewery are shipped around the country. The Lyons versions stay in house. The bartender said there was a noticeable difference, and the Longmont offerings were less cared for. One sniff of my Gordon was all she needed to know this version had come from Longmont. Interesting.

But back to Deviant Dale's. This was definitely brewed in Lyons, and as a dry-hopped pale ale, it was by no means revolutionary. If anything, it was cliched. Everyone is dry hopping. But you know why everyone is dry hopping? Because it's great. Tasty. Aromatic. However, while many dry-hopped pales offer a much richer smell, many don't carry the difference through to the taste. I had experienced this just two days prior, when Avery's dry-hopped IPA didn't deliver the taste that the smell promised. Deviant Dale's did.

Lighter in color, and with a much bigger head than the original, Deviant Dale's looks like the beer that I love tasting: A little froth on the lips, a smooth glide down the throat, and the hope of a nice bitter linger. Hops teetering between grapefruit and pine, DD had what I like to call the bug spray finish. Stings a bit, gets into your nostrils.

After the sampler, I chose this as my featured pint. And I could have had pint after pint. But, being in Lyons, the shopping was limited, and the women of the trip joined me long before my drinking was done. Such is life.

The Best of 2009: #9

Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

Brewery: Founders, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Style: Old Ale

ABV: 9.8%

Rating: 4.5 stars



This is a repeat review from late March '09, so instead of trying to recreate that review cold, I'm simply going to repost the original. Lazy I know, but I like how the words spilled out in the original.

The appearance is akin to the most pleasing barleywines; ruby turning to magenta to caramel. Not much head, and none of it lasts. When I swirl the glass, it rocks and relaxes quickly, and doesn't seem like it will coat my mouth so my dinner winds up with a curmudgeonly aftertaste.

It's a bully of a sniffer. I dove in a half dozen times and each time found another layer. It's geekily layered; a Sufjan Stevens tune and a David Lynch flick. (Side note: you see what happens when I realize I'm no good at picking out specifics in a beer. I resort to wild metaphors and pointless side notes.) I'll try. There's brandy. Port wine. Obvious alcohol presence indeed. Sweet, intensely sweet, and more than just the clumped-together dark fruits and caramel. It smells stiff and warm, but has the life that a big stout might not.

I hoped the taste would recall memories of Bell's Third Coast Old Ale, and it does. It's just a beauty of a beer. Barleywine-ish? Yes, but this Old Ale business makes it sound so much more majestic and regal. The caramel (word of the review) stick is there, and it gets better as the beer gets warmer. Beer drinking for dummies advice of the day: let the beer warm. Drinking a beer at different temperatures is revealing and rewarding. There's the alcoholic surge that must exist in a nearly 10% beer, but it's delicately disguised. I feel it, know it's there, but can't find it. It passes the chug test, too. Drinking this one sip to sip is great, but a giant swallow doesn't overwhelm.

So easy to drink, this one. I planned on it lasting me through dinner, and it would serve as a wonderful dessert drink, but I don't think it will make it to either. Luckily, I've got a Fuller's Vintage I think I might pop tonight as well. Not sure what it is about this old ales; it's the combination of potency, drinkability and mystique that has me ball and chain. This one is dragging me.

January 2010 edit: Didn't have the '08 Fuller's Vintage Ale that night, but had it New Year's Day this year. Equally outstanding. Perhaps a review soon.

The Best of 2009: #10

Stone IPA


Brewery: Stone, Escondido, California

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.9%

Rating: 4.5 Stars




Unquestionably one of the most widely-sampled IPAs, Stone's had 2134 ratings on ratebeer at the time of posting. I'm certainly blazing no trails with this review. However, we still can't get Stone beers in Minnesota (I think??) and I had to cross into cheese country to get some. I'm almost positive I've had it before courtesy of Cali Uncle Mike, but not since this little project started. Want to know a cliched, embarrassing secret?

I watched Julie and Julia last night and became the seven millionth person to re-dedicate himself to his blog. I'm ashamed to admit it. But, looking back at 2009, I had a lot of great beer, 340 first timers to be exact, and sharing them with a pregnant wife isn't near as interesting as sharing them with my now 12 followers.

So, to the Stone. The standard IPA rates a tad lower than the Ruination IPA, which is stronger and packs a little more punch, but I prefer the regular ole IPA. This distinction is a good representation of what happened to my beer tastes in 2009. When I tried some of my first outstanding double/Imperial IPAs in early 2008 I was blown away. Obsessed. But, a year later, I felt the field was getting a bit watered down. Everyone was throwing copious amounts of hops into everything, and I thought the quality took a back seat to the quantity. I was vacuumed back to the straightforward, standard IPAs. Still with the big aroma. Still with the sticky, mouth-gripping bitterness. But not as super-sized.

I recall the point in my life where I didn't super size simply because it was 'the best value.' Sometimes, even though the 44 oz fountain Super America Coke is the same price as the 22 oz, you really only need 22 ounces. Sometimes I don't need the copious amounts of hops. And in the beer world, the double IPA does cost more than the regular.

Having trouble staying on task for this review.

The tasting dates back to March 5, 2009. From a bottle, obviously. On that day, I said: "The smell reminds me of the best: Furious, Two Hearted. Just want to keep smelling it." I can name 20 beers I've said that about that have thoroughly disappointed. This one clearly didn't.

As opposed to the often buttery, syrupy double IPAs, this beer was crisp and sparkling, with good carbonation and cleanliness. The citrus aroma carried through brilliantly, which is often the biggest source of IPA letdown. And the bitterness, I often describe it as a back-end grab, takes over when the flavor begins to subside. Back-end grab: the beer, after swallowing, reaches back to the roof of your mouth, grabbing the moisture and pulling it down your throat as its last gasp of life. It leaves your mouth dry and...bitter. It's the IPA's signature, and I love how it is a continuation of the tasting. The beer isn't over when you swallow.

The biggest reason that Stone's IPA falls here over the dozens of good IPAs I had this year, and the reason I prefer it to the Ruination IPA, is its drinkability. It doesn't overwhelm you, isn't difficult to choke down and is enjoyable from the first sip to the last drip. On that March tasting I said I "could drink one after another all night," and I thoroughly believe I could.

The Worst Beers of 2009

My favorite time of year: end-of-year-list time. It's not entirely easy to get motivated to write about my least favorite beers, you know with me not liking them and all, but it has to be done. Instead of ranking them this year as I did in 2008, I'm simply going to divide my least favorite suds into a few catchy categories. My apologies if I shatter your favorite beer's feelings. And no, Stella Artois and New Belgium Fat Tire, as much as I despise the idea of those beers (as well as the taste) aren't on this list.

To qualify, I must have tried a beer for the first time in 2009 (some beers I had had previously, but before journaling).

The Macro No-Brainers (I hesitate to even list them):

Miller High Life Light
Michelob Ultra
Strohs
Keystone Light
Coors

I mean really. What a waste of a)my drinking time and allotted calories, b)my typing time, and c)your reading time.

Some notes: Strohs got a full star because I was in a great mood at the time, night fishing in Lake Blanche. It's likely the last Strohs (was it the first?) I'll ever have. Thanks Uncle Dave for leaving that one in the cabin fridge.

Coors, while not being a great beer, sports one of the best cans in the business. And it was enjoyed on the golf course, so who am I to complain.

The non-macro scuzz:

Blue Diamond Lager. Early in the year, I confirmed what I had thought upon my first attempt at this gem. It is in all likelihood the worst beer of all time. For further elaboration, read that post.

Grain Belt Premium Light. Especially painful because I actually enjoy a nice cold Grain Belt Premium every now and then. It leaves all other cased-can beers far behind. The Light edition is painful.

Iron City Light. Apparently legendary in Pennsylvania, or so I'm told by Arizona relatives. Couldn't resist when a six pack hit the counter at a pre-wedding gathering in Phoenix. Not the worst light beer I've encountered; in fact, I probably would have slammed a few if I had to. Luckily, I didn't.

Around the World in Crappy suds:

Henninger Premium Lager. Bought this solely for the can. Knew it would be bad, but this was beyond disgusting. Probably would be 2nd on the worst of list behind BDL.

Presidente. Available everywhere in the Caribbean, I slugged mine before boarding the ship in the Dominican Republic. The best thing about this beer? The $3 accompanying dog toy ball.

Tsingtao Pure Draft. A common thread: purchased strictly so I could possess a bottle full of Chinese characters. Bought this one at an Asian marketplace outside Chicago.

The Craft Brewing Mistakes:

Leinenkugels 1888 Bock. Maybe I'm ignorant, but a dunkler bock sounds skunky right off the bat. I had zero relevant notes from my original tasting: "Utterly horrible. Took my best effort to finish it." Thankfully, it'll be the last one I finish.

Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier. The gold standard for syrupy, overly sweet fruit bombs. "Yuck yuck yuck. Cough syrup. Awful."

Left Hand Polestar Pilsner. Just a messy pilsner from a brewery I had no luck with this year. "Like gnawing on a sock. Bad even as a chaser. Dreadful." And these comments even with the built in vacation ratings boost.

Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale. Given to me for free by Ed from Heritage Liquor after I told him I was providing beer for a work gathering that would include women. "Sometimes they go for stuff like this," he said. They didn't, and it was I who suffered. "Tasteless and flat, like a sparkling water that's been left in the fridge."

Firehouse Hefeweizen. A stab in the dark sixer purchase gone horribly wrong. "Tastes like a Mich lite. Not a hefeweizen. If I wasn't so poor, this six pack would go down the drain."

If you found any of these delights in your stocking this holiday season, I'm sorry. Maybe you can enjoy them more than I did. If you've avoided them to date, continue to do so until impending Mayan apocalypse.

21st Amendment

What better night than a freezing Wednesday to try two of the newer beers to the Minnesota scene, 21st Amendment's Brew Free! or Die IPA and Monk's Blood. I have to force myself to type as I drink them, because my journal notes aren't thorough enough for a full post, and though I've had plenty of beers recently, I can't put together a coherent paragraph weeks after the sampling. So, for these reviews, I'll write what I think as I taste, and we'll see how that looks. I'll start with the IPA.

21st Amendment Brew Free! or Die IPA

Brewery: 21st Amendment, San Francisco, California (Contract brewed at Cold Spring Brewery in Cold Spring, Minnesota)

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 7.2%

Rating: 3.5 stars

The look: Classic cloudy melon IPA color. Almost like a glass of orange jello that's been dirtied up. Not much light gets through. Fair amount of head that dissipates soon after pouring. Good lace left on the glass, and yes, you should pour it into a glass.

The smell: Again, classic IPA smell. Big aromatic hops; citrusy and grapefruit. There's something here though that I can't quite pinpoint, and it's a detractor. Almost like rotten fruit. Let's hope it doesn't carry over to the taste.

The taste: Maybe if I could get that smell out of my brain, it wouldn't transfer to the taste. But it does. I even poured it into a different pint glass to make sure it wasn't the glass. It instantly latches onto my tongue, but luckily, doesn't hang around for much longer. Just tried a swig while plugging my nose. A little better. I will admit: this is the last beer from the six pack and the first where I've really noticed this off-putting aroma. I think I'll brush it off as an anomaly. Let's focus on the other flavors.

It's balanced. Bitter, but not the bitterest. Sweet, but not the sweetest. Floral, but not the floral...est. It definitely has a sturdy backbone that a 7.2% beer must, but it's the bitter bite that is the lasting flavor.

The mouthfeel: Fairly delicate for a beer of this content. Runs smoothly through the throat. There isn't much carbonation, so it's a little more flat and less sparkling than many beer drinkers might be used to. Overall, it's a pleasant visitor to the mouth.

The drinkability: If it weren't for the rotten fruit factor, I'd say high. It drinks fast and leaves a good lasting impression. However, we can't ignore the most prominent characteristic, and I think a rotten taste would discourage me quite considerably.

I liked the first four I had more than I liked the one I so closely scrutinized. Therefore, I can't pan it. I also know that it's a well-respected beer and of the reviews I read after writing mine, none mentioned a similar peculiarity. The one feeling many reviewers had was a hesitancy to expect a decent beer from a can. This is absurd. One of our favorite midwest breweries (easily the best in Minnesota), Surly, packages its beers in cans, and many breweries have gone to cans in recent years: Oskar Blues and SKA come to mind. Don't be afraid to love a beer from a can.

21st Amendment Monk's Blood

Brewery: 21st Amendment, San Francisco, California (contract brewed again)

Style: Belgian Dark Ale

ABV: 8.3%

Rating: 4.5 stars

First things first: a KILLER can. Although it's incredibly difficult to read the inscription (it circles the can in a small medieval font), it looks cool, and the monk's haircuts are spectacular. Let's crack this baby open.

Here's the description given: a Belgian-style dark ale brewed with cinnamon, vanilla oak chips and dried figs. We'll get to the smell and taste in a bit, but first the appearance. The color is outstanding; it pours a deep purple and a full tulip glass maintains the purple, but looks pretty black next to the can. It's not a thick stout black, though. It looks more like a soda, with visible carbonation and a silky swirlability. Little head and virtually no lacing.

The figs are the first and strongest smell. At first sniff, I wondered if I could distinguish it from a fruit beer, but upon further sniffings, the vanilla and the oak worked their way through. The figs are prominent, but they are subdued by the other elements.

From the first taste, I'm pretty sure I'll like this more than the IPA. It's so silky, and the figs are delicious. The vanilla and cinnamon give it a sweet creamy texture and the Belgian yeast is evident, but not overpowering. It's warm, pleasant and so drinkable. This does not drink like a beer of its substance. Even more than the slippery IPA, Monk's Blood slides down the throat effortlessly.

This is the first release in the brewery's Insurrection Series (aren't all breweries doing limited edition series right now?). It most certainly won't be around for long. Do yourself a favor, go to your nearest bestest liquor store, drop ten bucks, and be a happy drinker.

So what have I been drinking?

How about some November nuggets. Every time I post, I make a vow to become more consistent, and this time I really mean it. I've had lots of good stuff recently, from tasty porters and stouts to hop heavy fresh-hopped IPAs. November's been good to me, and here are some of the reasons why:

Michigan Stouts. In a three-day span I tackled New Holland The Poet, Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout and Bells Kalamazoo Stout. First time for each. Surprisingly, the blueberry stout took the honors for me. Surprising, perhaps, because anytime a fruit is mentioned in a beer's name, flags fly up the pole. I've had a lot of good fruit-infused beers in my time, but I can't help but conjure the horrifying thoughts that accompany Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat anytime I see a fruit on a beer label.

Subtlety is the key with Tres. And the fact that blueberry pairs very well with those rich stout flavors. The blueberry is quite present in the beer's smell, peeking out behind the malted wall of oats. The flavor is truer to a traditional oatmeal stout, with the blueberry shining on the back end of each swallow. Not overpowering, and a wonderful choice for a one-beer night.

The Poet gave me that classic silky oatmeal stout texture that goes down well on a chilly fall evening. You'd be doing these beers if you tried them in summer; the circumstances under which a beer is sampled factor largely into its reception. In this case, I picked the perfect night for the Poet. Well balanced sweetness to accompany the oats, with just enough bubble to keep the mouth lively.

The Kalamazoo Stout entered the unintentional derby as the favorite, and while it certainly didn't disappoint, it didn't pay out as its odds suggested. If this were a boxing title match, the pundits would be telling you none of these beers deserved to lose. What I liked about Kalamazoo: it's only 6% ABV, which is low by today's stout standards, so the complexity of flavors takes over. With the booze factor out of the way, you get a heavy dose of licorice and a nice vanilla sweetness. It has a very long, roasted linger that lets you keep tasting each sip long after it's gone. I also liked the earthy quality it possessed. Very different than the imperial stouts I've been trying, and part of me thinks I wasn't ready for that distinction. I'd like to have another.

What else excited me? Local upstart breweries, as in Fulton. Gives all of us homebrewers hope, doesn't it, that a couple garage brewers can make their way onto the tap list at the Muddy Pig. their debut, Sweet Child of Vine IPA, was a pleasant surprise. And a telling title: this IPA was especially viney--lots of garden fresh hops present. I swear I tasted basil, and strong. There are only five reviews thus far on this guy, and I seem to be the only one detecting that. I'm either getting better at flavor identification, or I'm still way off. Or I don't care. I like the cloudiness, and the hops struck me as a citrus/pine hybrid. Burps like a pale ale. In case you were wondering. All in all, a very nice debut. Next post: The Brewmasters Series/Single Batch/Unleashed/Unchained/Limited Release fad. Hits and misses.

Milestone Beers

After nearly a two month absence, the blog is back.

As is the great beer. September was a bit of a break for me, when I tallied only 13 new beers. That ranks as the fewest for any month since I started tracking in mid-February 2008. The reason for this? I was nearing my biggest milestone beer to date; beer 500.

I had the perfect beer in mind, though I'd have to wait until October 7 to try Surly Wet, their highly-anticipated fresh-hopped IPA. Typically, hops are harvested and dried before being added to your favorite beer. With a fresh or wet hop beer, the hops are harvested and immediately added to the brew, without being dried. A hop head's dream. Surly shipped in 1400 pounds of Washington hops for Wet.

The release party, held at Uptown's newest Thai restaurant, Roat Osha, was crowded, and it probably didn't help that it coincided with a Twins playoff game. The beer didn't disappoint, even if the elbow-to-elbow bar felt more like a Saturday night in Dinkytown than a Wednesday at a Thai joint.

The beer: classic grapefruit and floral aromas, instantly identifiable as a West Coast IPA. It had been a long time since I'd had a hoppy delight, I realized. The taste featured more pine than citrus, and the bitter finish was awesome. I like to describe that sensation as something that sucks the moisture from the roof of your mouth and buries it down your throat. I love that feeling. A nice, long linger.

I've had a number of fresh hopped beers (and I had a handful more this week) and I've found that they are rewarding for hop purists, but even I sometimes struggle near the end of a pint. I need balance. But Surly Wet got better with each sip, and stood up after several tastings. A week later, I tried it along side four other fresh hop beers: Left Hand's Warrior IPA, Cascade and Willamette versions of Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA and Town Hall's Fresh Hop 2009. Surly was still the best. Not that I'm biased.

I'd finally matched the accomplishment of drinking 500 different beers (in 21 months) with a deserving beer. I knew I'd struggled with this in the past, often forgetting when milestones were approaching or losing track of the beers I'd had. This time I nailed it.

Or so I thought.

Tonight, I re-calculated my archives to determine beers 100, 200, 300 and 400. Somehow, along the way, I lost track of a couple beers. Surly Wet was beer #502.

The milestone beers to date:

100: Michelob Ultra Tuscan Orange Grapefruit. What a mistake, but one that was entirely intentional. One must tour the basement before graduating to the penthouse. .5 stars

200: Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Marzen. I don't particularly enjoy traditional Oktoberfests. 2.5 stars

300: Medalla Light. Puerto Rico's macro! Whatever. I was drinking a beer on a patio in Puerto Rico. 1.5 stars

400: Tyranena Bitter Woman in the Rye. Ooh! A chance here. But no, a major disappointment in my opinion. 3 stars

500: Sam Adams Oktoberfest. Blah. 2.5 stars

There will be more milestones to come, for sure, with the next biggest being my 1000th. I've got Surly penciled in for that one.

Colorado: Day 4

I will finish this project, though a few happy hours may pass in the meantime. On to day 4, which was brewery-free and when I became 'that guy,' stumbling around the deck and spraying beanbags as accurate as my steps.

I still had a healthy stable of beers I needed to slug, so this night fell on the binge-drinking sword. As you might conclude, the reviews became quite brief toward the end of the night. No matter; I didn't expect any of these to blow my mind. They simply made the cut by being obscure or from a state I hadn't sampled or something I was sure I couldn't get at home.

Cucapa Chupacabras Pale Ale


Brewery: Cerveceria Cucapa, Mexicali, Mexico

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.8%

Rating: 3 stars




The best Mexican beer I've had. Certainly more flavor than any I'd previously tried. Good sweet smell, with a nice balance of hops and malt. Hints of Summit's flagship EPA, but is a bit sweeter and lacked the back-end bite that I enjoy. Sips were filling and thick, but the beer itself went down quite easily. Doesn't hurt that I love the chupacabra.


Green Flash Hop Head Red

Brewery: Green Flash, Vista, California

Style: Amber Ale

ABV: 6.3%

Rating: 4.5 stars


This is not your average amber ale. Hops are incredibly aromatic and it has the hazy ruby appearance of a sturdy IPA. Really nice amarillo hops, which I believe are grossly underused in the juiced hops era. Does have a sweet malt backbone akin to an amber ale, but the big hops on the lips are the story. I'm starting to like these hopped-up reds; recently had Pizza Port's Shark Attack Triple Red and loved that as well. Liked this equally, if not more, than the brewery's West Coast IPA.


Kona Wailua

Brewery: Kona, Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Style: American Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 5.4%

Rating: 2.5 stars




Assumed this one wouldn't be great when I bought it, but I'd never had a beer brewed with passion fruit before. Nor had I ever had one with a waterfall-bathing beauty on the label. Oh, and it was my first Hawaii beer. Real fruity sweetness. Wouldn't be able to tell you it was passion fruit but I'll take their word for it. So fruity, in fact, ratebeer classifies it as a fruit beer. Of the American Pale Wheat Ales I've had, certainly not my favorite.



Left Hand Sawtooth Ale

Brewery: Left Hand, Longmont, Colorado

Style: Extra Special Bitter

ABV: 4.75%

Rating: 2 stars




Maybe I had it out for Left Hand Brewing (much like I did for Boulder Beer), but I did not like this at all. Smelled musty and dirty. And this coming from a guy who typically enjoys ESBs. Very bland flavors. Not much to report. Like I said, the reviews shrunk as the night lengthened.



Bridgeport ESB

Brewery: Bridgeport, Portland, Oregon

Style: Extra Special Bitter

ABV: 6.1%

Rating: 3 stars

Much more pleasant than the Sawtooth. Had a brighter, more lively smell than most ESBs. I noted it was "real smooth at this hour." Sure, maybe I shouldn't have been reviewing this many beers in one night. I'll give you that.



Cooper's Pale Ale

Brewery: Coopers, Regency Park, Australia

Style: English Pale Ale

ABV: 4.5%

Rating: 2 stars


Again, purchased knowing it wouldn't be enjoyed. Tasted like grass. A fair amount of hop flavor, but hops that tasted like grass. Worst beer of the night.

After four days:
34 new beers (16 samples, 12 bottles, 3 pints, 2 cans, 1 half pint)
Best beer: Green Flash Hop Head Red
Worst beer: Left Hand Polestar Pilsner

Colorado: Day 3, Part 2

Lost a little steam last night and couldn't finish day 3, which, incidentally, is sort of how day 3 itself felt.

After the Avery excursion, I still had enough juice to cram in a stop at Boulder Beer, but was apprehensive, knowing that the product probably wouldn't match. Maybe I set myself up from the start, but despite its grander exterior, larger tap room and more global following, Boulder Beer is no Avery.

Nine samples for $11. Not bad. Of the nine, I'd had only two (the Singletrack Copper Ale and the Buffalo Gold Ale, both average), so this was a quick way for me to add seven new beers to my index. And of those seven, only two again were above average. A very disappointing collection. So disappointing that it was all I could do to muster some bullet-pointed, four-word reviews of each. In the order that I drank them and with the words used and ratings given at the time:



Pass Time Pale Ale: "Graham cracker? Sweet, but not good. Whatever. 2.5"


Sundance Amber: "Nothing to say. 2.5"


Sweaty Betty: "Frozen pea aftertaste. Banana is there. 2"


Hazed and Infused: "38 IBUs for dry hopped? So subtle. 3.5"


Planet Porter: "Yes coffee. Nothing else. No depth. 2.5"


Mojo IPA: "Tangy orange tangerine. 4"


Cask Planet Porter: "Bigger head. Flatter. Warmer. Less flavor. 2"




So there you have it. Boulder Beer may as well rename itself Boulder Below Average Beer. I'd like to get a bottle of each of these and systematically refute the brewery-given descriptions of each. Ugh.


Maybe I'm giving Boulder Beer a hard time. They were one of the first microbreweries and obviously have had tons of success. The Mojo was delish. They've probably had other specialty beers throughout the years that are worthwhile. I just haven't had any of them. Have and of you?


One final stop for the night at the Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery for dinner and what turned out to be just one half pint of suds. I was stuffed with beer, a bit worn out from the heat and ready for a nap. There were plenty of options to choose from, and I took a stab and went with the nitro tap Illusion Dweller IPA. The results were not what I had in mind. This was not an American IPA, and there was not literature telling me so. Had the sweetness of a British IPA and was flat as could be. There was a certain amount of dry bitterness, but it couldn't offset the sweet flatness. A disappointment and not how I wanted to remember a well-reviewed brewpub.


With that said, the staff was incredible and accommodating, we were greeted with a free appetizer, and though the service and speed were fine, the manager knocked a third of our bill off because of some minor, everyday mishaps. I would go there again if I found myself back in Boulder. And do a little research beforehand.


After three days:
28 new beers (16 samples, 6 bottles, 3 pints, 2 cans, 1 half pint)
Best beer: Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine
Worst beer: Left Hand Polestar Pilsner

Colorado: Day 3, Part 1

Brewery day, with both Avery and Boulder getting a visit. For those who want to glamorize breweries, Avery is a reality check. Located well off the beaten path in an industrial park on the outskirts of Boulder, the brewery would be difficult to distinguish from any other mid-size factory. The tap room was basically a garage.

Luckily, the beers aren't as generic. At $1 a sample, it's also realistic to imagine trying each of the dozen or so beers they happen to have on tap that afternoon. I tried six, plus a pint.

My mini reviews:

White Rascal: A Belgian White or witbier. Hazy lemonade, a very light color for a craft beer. One word to describe: EASY. This baby flows smoothly. Not over-spiced or packed with intense flavor, which was refreshing for this style. One of my favorite wheats I've had this summer.

14'er ESB: Hooked on the first sip. Dirty malt smell, with that English bitter hook. Tremendous lingering metallic hop flavor. A pungent punch after the light Rascal.

Hog Heaven Barleywine: 104 IBUs? Quite hoppy for a barleywine, and it's evident from the start, because it is also dry-hopped. Earthy vegetable tasted, and much more bitter, as you may have guessed, than a traditional sweet barleywine. The hops snuff out the sweetness and you get a quite potent, almost imperial IPA aftertaste. Without the syrup. Here's an interesting side note: I didn't recall that I'd had this beer before, and was giving it the keen attention as if I hadn't. I ended up giving it 4.5 stars at the brewery, making it the highest-rated beer of the first three days. I loved it. When I got home, though, I checked my records (I also wasn't sure if I'd had the IPA) and found that I gave the Hog Heaven a lukewarm review when I first had it in March.

So do I scribe another review in the journal? Treat it as new? Disregard my clearly off first opinion? I'd rather not go down that road. Once a beer is reviewed, it's official. However, it's obviously fine to change your opinions of a beer without changing the initial review. It's quite common to see revised reviews on both beer rating websites. I'd simply rather not have two entries for one beer on opposite pages in the same journal. A potential solution: an entirely separate journal with new reviews of previously sampled beer. It would be interesting, I think, to see how my taste buds and preferences change over time. I could do this by comparing beers of similar styles from year to year, as well, but I think i may give this idea a try. A sort of second chance journal. Back to the beers.

Fourteen: Avery's 14th anniversary American Strong Ale. Replacing the recently-cashed sixteen on tap. Chocolate malt sweetness, and am I picking up a tiny mint smell? Tastes of figs and cocoa. A pint of this would knock me out. Quite good.

IPA: Fairly subtle and straightforward. I took note of the particularly strong lacing this one left on the glass. Centennial hops come through, but not as favorably as say, Founders IPA. Not the best IPA I've had, but still a nice beer.

Dry-hopped IPA: A special tap room only offering. Much cloudier than the regular IPA, and much more pungent. Smells exactly like clover. Like a weedy garden. One of the most unique smells I've found. The weeds provide for a pretty strong aftertaste as well. Really bitter finish. Not really much better than the regular, which surprised me a bit.

The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest: Tapped for the first time this year while we were there, which is fun. Not a lot of liveliness here--very low carbonation. Sweet, malty smell, with a really creamy mouthfeel. Strong aftertaste of Euro hops. Has a very strange sweetness as well, almost grape. Unusual beer. I think a pint of it may be too much for me.

No duds at Avery, that's for sure, and several interesting options worthy of conversation. I passed on the Maharajah, a beer that I've had several times and love, and wasn't really interested in the brown or the porter. All in all, I was happy with the samples I tried, and would have stayed for more had I not felt it necessary to leave room for the imminent stop at Boulder Beer.

Colorado: Day 2

The longer I let this trip get away from me, the more fuzzy the beers become and the less likely I am to care about documenting them, so I'll do my best to sketch out another day. Luckily, I have my notes, but I've found that I'm pretty bad about consciously taking them when I should be. It took me until day 5 before I really started gathering observations about ambiance and setting; people and conversations. I get so caught up in the beers I'm tasting I almost forget I'm on vacation and should be soaking in every aspect of the moment.

With that said, I wouldn't give Estes Park Brewery high marks for ambiance in the first place. Most breweries, no matter how great their beers are, are not picturesque or elegant. They are warehouses, in strip malls, or in this case, a giant white barn complete with red football jersey lettering across the top. Classy.

Actually, the building pretty much sums up what we'd taste inside: blandness. I don't fault the brewers for assembling a lineup of cookie-cutter craft beers. In fact, that's probably their intention. Estes Park is a resort town, one that attracts thousands of people from all corners, and I imagine the brewmasters at EP Brewery would rather create boring beers with mass appeal than attempt amped-up craft mastery.

They did have a free tasting bar. With stale pretzels.

I decided to sample all ends of the spectrum (passing on the raspberry wheat), and started with the Stinger Honey Wheat. The wheat was simply overpowered by the honey, and while I enjoyed the departure from the classic wheat ale trap, I wasn't exactly looking for a sticky swallow of honey. This is all the analysis I can give nine days removed from a 4 ounce sample.

In fact, let's dispense with the analysis altogether. From there, I tried the Trail Ridge Red, Staggering Elk Lager and Samson Stout. Each one was more average than the previous. I could see these as being gateway beers for people interested in trying different styles, but why go to Estes Park to do it? Go to New Ulm.

The second night was similar to the first: slug as many new beers as possible while maintaining beer-rating integrity. This evening I started with the second can of the week, Upslope Pale Ale. I knew this brewery was young, but wow--they first started brewing just last October. This beer bragged of its "Patagonian hops," which I hadn't come across before in my tastings. Someone help me out--Patagonian hops? Either way, the flavor was light, like a subtle Centennial. A pretty easy drinker, one you could convince your macro friends to try, if not only because it comes in cans. Not going to overpower any experienced craft drinker, and not as pungent as a European Pale Ale, but drinkable. It is a nice looking can, too.

Next was the Uinta XVI Anniversary Barleywine, my first ever beer from Utah. What a surprise! A 10.4% beer from Utah?!?! How'd they get the permit? Who cares, because this was a delicious beer. Dark fruits and roasted coffee everywhere; reminded me of a mincemeat pie on a cold December night in London. Though it has been a while. Regardless, this one is in the mix for the best of the first two days with the SKA Modus Hoperandi.

From there, I had solid style representations in Deschutes Black Butte Porter and Odell 90 Shilling Ale (a Scottish Ale). I've run out of steam, though, and can't find the keys to describe them in any more length than that.

After two days: 13 new beers (6 bottles, 2 cans, 2 pints, 3 samples).
Best beer: tie--SKA Modus Hoperandi and Uinta XVI Anniversary Barleywine (both 4 stars)
Worst beer: Left Hand Polestar Pilsner