Cali-Belgique IPA

A strange blend brew. The IPA bitterness is there, along with a kind of funky malt taste that eases a bit after several sips. I'm sure the bottle raves about the greatness of this brew as they all do from this brewer, but I'm thinking average at best. But as always, points for originality. ID

22 oz bottle, 6.9% ABV
The Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, San Diego County, CA
purchased at Kenwood

Chateau Jiahu

A crazy beer/wine hybrid. Sounds strange, but the taste is great, and exciting on each sip. A wne sweetness and aftertaste combined with the carbonation and bitterness of a beer. The sweetness is almost that "farmhouse" sweetness I'm encountering lately, minus the unpleasantness. Totally unique, and really tasty. Share this with a wine drinker who shuns beer, and you'll share a moment together. MB

25.6 oz bottle
Dogfish Head, Inc.
Milton, DE
purchased at Kenwood

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

Much darker than I expected from the title. My tastebuds are bitter-burnt from the previous ales I just put down, but I'll give this a go. Slightly sweet, but not in a bad way. Burnt-roasted flavor. And maybe this is just the previous beers on my tongue (but I don't think so) but this seems to have some big bitterness. Dark and bitter, you've got to be kidding. No, it really is bitter, read the bottle. A beer after my cold black heart. Really liking the unusual mix on this beast. Another brewery that doesn't disappoint, and they know it! Wow. My only complaint is that this brewery screen prints their bottles rather than printing labels which makes them a bitch to read, and these guys like to put a good story on the bottle. I'm gettin' old man, I need some visual contrast. Anyway, MB.

22 oz bottle, 8.7% ABV
The Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, San Diego County, CA
purchased at Kenwood

Resistance IPA

Finding a new beer from one of my favorite brewers on the shelf, and an IPA no less, a great feeling. Nice aroma, very bitter, and some slight aromatic hop flavors. Light and drinkable, and dare I say it maybe too bitter? The tastes on the tongue are complicated, not unlike the Brooklyn IPA I skunked. Maybe this is clashing with something I ate still on the tongue. A bit disappointed. ID

12 oz bottle, 6.9% ABV, 70 IBU
Two Brothers Brewing Company
Warrenville, IL
purchased at Kenwood

Mendocino Imperial IPA

A bit of hops on the nose with a smooth flavor that is just the right blend of bitter and malt. I feel like there are some hop flavors in this mix but they are very subtle, and I think this is an IPA that would have broad appeal. A little spicy on the back of the tongue makes an all-around solid ale. ID

12 oz bottle, 8% ABV
Mendocino Brewing Company
Saratoga Springs, NY
purchased at Kenwood

Hoptober Golden Ale

Drinking this a little too cold. Very light in color and flavor. A woman at the store who fancied herself a beer expert, but couldn't describe a difference between Blue Moon and an IPA, told me "if you like hops you'll like that one." Ok lady. A good bit of bitter flavor with some small amount of aromatic hops. A nice beer to drink in bulk. ID

12 oz bottle, 6% ABV, 40 IBU
New Belgium Brewing
Fort Collins, CO
purchased at Kenwood

Boulevard Smokestack Series Collaboration No. 2 White IPA

A bit of that sweetness that I now associate with a "farmhouse ale"? I'm seeing many of these that I never noticed until Joe (a hophead from work) mentioned them. I just had a 5 minute sneeze spell, so this rating is definitely suffering from an imperfect sense of smell. Very light in color with white precipitate in the glass. That farmhouse sweetness is in excellent balance with hop bitterness. Very drinkable. Not having much to compare to, I know I would not intentionally choose a white ale if there are other choices, but the IPA component saves this for me. Definitely some spices in here, the label mentions coriander, which is a spice I like, and in fact used with Taragon and apple juice tonight as a marinade for yellow squash as one of many flavors in a shish-ka-bob for dinner. I hate to be influenced by a label, but it also mentions pepper, which has caused me to notice a bit of heat lingering on my tongue. A nice all around drink for a complicated change of pace. I wanted to give this ID but after sipping for awhile I gotta go MB because this one is just so complicated that you need to have this experience, even if this is not the normal thing you would choose to drink. Each sip evokes a new flavor, and life should be lived through interesting beers.

25.4 oz champagne bottle with cork and guard
Boulevard Brewing Company collaborating with Deschutes
Kansas City, MO
purchased at Kenwood

Pursuit of Hoppiness Imperial Red Ale

Had this once before with Ed on New Year's Eve but didn't rate it nor remember much from that night. This exploded when i opened it, so i was ready for disappointment with a likely old beer. But the nose was a whiff of grapefruit, and the taste was even fuller with loads of hoppy citrus. This is as the name says. No sweetness or malt flavor gets past the aromatic hops on this one. Not overly bitter, and goes down smooth. For hopheads: when you want a beer that is nothing but hop flavor, this is what you must pursue. Of all the hoppy beers I've rated, this is the one that is pure hops, and nothing but. MB

25.4 oz bottle, 8.5% ABV
Grand Teton Brewing Company
Victor, ID
purchased at Kenwood

Newcastle Werewolf Blood Red Ale

As a fan of the original brown, I jumped at the chance when I saw this in the cooler. Smartly packaged in brown bottles rather than the traditional clear they use for the brown, this beer avoids skunkiness in its long travels. A slightly sweet smell and after taste, similar to the brown. This British ale is very light and drinkable, almost too watery, but that slight sweetness at the back of the tongue brings it home. I'm drinking it cold, though the label recommends "cool" as is expected in Europe. A fine refreshment to swallow after a night chasing the moon. ID

12 oz bottle
The Caledonia Brewery Company Limited
Edinburgh, UK
purchased at Jewel

Hog Heaven Dry-Hopped Barleywine-Style Ale

The type "barleywine" almost stopped me from buying this as i envisioned an overt alcohol taste. But I drink so many high octane beers now, and the label promised hops and bitterness so i thought, what the hell. Both sweet and hops on the nose and flavor. The first few sips were bursting with aromatic hop flavor, which pulled me in immediately. The sweetness and grain is a bit funky, but the bitterness keeps it a small part of the flavor profile and the aromatic hops round it out. The hop flavor seems to diminish halfway down the glass which is disappointing and why this gets ID.

22 oz bottle, 9.2% ABV, 104 IBU
Avery Brewing Company
Boulder, CO
purchased at Kenwood

Imperial Hatter IPA

The picture makes this look a little darker than it is, but it is kinda dark for an IPA. Hops and bitterness on the nose. Very bitter flavor (a great thing) and the dry hopping adds some great aromatic hop flavor too. A worthy brew, but expensive at over $14 for a 4-pack. I want to give this the highest rating, but considering that I've had a number of great hoppy beers at seemingly lower prices, I think I need to strike this brewery for overcharging. Their similarly priced dragons milk, while a unique and worthy brew is also quite expensive. Piss and moan as I will, the $3.50 a bottle price tag is still comparable to what I'd pay for a Coors Light at a bar, so fuck it, let's reward American manufacturing jobs at small businesses: MB

12 oz bottle, 9.38% ABV
New Holland Brewing Company, LLC
Holland, MI
purchased at Kenwood

McSorley's Irish Black Lager

Kind of a Guiness aroma. Burnt grain flavor lines the edges of the tongue. But very light and drinkable, by my standards, certainly not the general BudLight public's. I tried, but didn't rate, Guiness' black lager, but from memory, I was unimpressed. I'm on a dark beer kick tonight (even though I snuck in an imperial ipa to be rated later) this one does it for me. Not to be mistaken for a true dark beer like the last, this is a lager, and has the hints of something mass-produced rather than crafted, but never the less I think this deserves a MB for its style. At roughly half the price of a microbrew this is definitely worth checking out.

12 oz bottle
McSorley's Brewery
Utica, NY
purchased at Kenwood
(paid $5.99 for sixer, and we paid "five-o-two" for much inferior brews back in the early '90's)

Life and Limb

Dark with a big head, coming from the fact that it was bottled with a champagne cork and guard. Dry at first, followed by sweetness. Normally that is a problem for me, unless it is balanced by huge bitterness or hop flavor. This is not, but the sweetness is not bad, and is unbelievably balanced with dryness. A very easy drinking dark with a great slightly warm sweetness on the back of the throat, which totally masks the huge alcohol content. You'd never guess the beer was this strong. I wasn't sure about this one when I picked it up with many strange ingredients listed on the bottle, but I gotta say this is definitely MB.

25.4 oz corked bottle, 10.2% ABV
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, collaborating with Dogfish Head
Chico, CA
purchased at Kenwood

Schlafly Brand Pale Ale

Grabbed this, expecting an American pale ale, but this is more of a British style. No hop nose or flavor, but the malt and bitterness are well balanced. Smooth, and goes down easy. Good, because I bought a sixer and can't pack up any leftovers for the ride home tomorrow. ID

12 oz bottle
The Saint Louis Brewery
St. Louis, MO
purchased at Walgreens in south suburbs of St. Louis

Appalachian Pale Ale

A slight citrus aroma and flavor. Light flavor with some hop flavor. The lightness is a plus on a hot day. ID

16 oz draft

Smokey Mountain Brewery

Gatlinburg,TN

purchased at Smokey Mountain Brewery Brewpub, Gatlinburg

Brooklyn Brand Brown Ale

I'm 1 for 2 with this brewery, loving their lager on draft, but panning the IPA while on assignment in Brooklyn. Actually that should be 2 for 3 as I had their Summer Ale both bottled and on draft (on the Coney Island Boardwalk) and it was good, just didn't take the time to write a review. So, the brown has the perfect color, and sweet roasted grain aroma. The taste? Sweet roasted grains but with excellent bitterness to balance that back, as I'm not a fan of too much sweetness. They got the balance just right. Glad I took the chance on this one. For me the perfect brown is this, but dry hopped so you have crazy hop flavor to boot. But I'm just hop stupid, and this one has no faults at all, well-earning an MB.

12 oz bottle
The Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn ( or Utica, I'm confused), NY
purchased at Kenwood

Stone Pale Ale

Pretty dark in color for a pale ale. Nice aroma blending malt and bitterness. The taste is full-bodied, more like a red ale. Definitely grainy with a refreshing bitterness as the after taste. Not what I expect in a pale ale, so much malt flavor, but it really tastes light at the back of the throat. An interesting beast, this one. No flaws here, just maybe incorrectly classified as a "pale" ale, but then again, this brewery thrives on defying expectations. ID

12 oz bottle, 5.4% ABV
The Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, San Diego County, CA
purchased at Kenwood

Little Sumpin' WILD Ale

After proclaiming Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale my new favorite ale, I think I sported a semi when I saw this on the shelf. A big hoppy citrus nose. And flavor to match. Really nice hop flavor, right up my alley. Perfect bitterness and hops. And light enough in color and taste to surprise you with the ABV it's packin'. Hopheads will love it. MB

12 oz bottle, 9.4% ABV, 72.51 IBU
The Lagunitas Brewing Company
Petaluma, CA
purchased at Kenwood