Olde School Barley Wine Style Ale

Always happy to find a new DFH beer. When i got this home and saw it was barley wine I cringed a bit. I like high-octane brews but barley wine has always been a bit much. A very sweet alcoholic nose on this one. The taste is sweet and acrid like a watered down scotch. But dry with some good bitterness, so i have to choke this down a bit, but it isn't altogether terrible for what it is packing. The first night I had this, the cops came to my house, twice, and I have no recollection as to why! Granted I drank a whole lot more than just this that night, but all the same this treat can serve as the Mr. Clean mind eraser. ID

12 oz bottle, 15% ABV
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
purchased at Kenwood

Torpedo Extra IPA

Smells mass produced. Taste is pretty clean and bitter, but a slight aftertaste hints of factory rather than home cookin'. Flat and dry, but I could pound these, and I have, rating the last bottle of the sixer. Gotta give this brewery their props for being instrumental in my development toward being a big hop lover. This brew is bitter as all hell, but I'm missing the hop aroma and flavor. ID

12 oz bottle, 7.2% ABV

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Chico, CA
purchased at Kenwood

Argus Pegasus IPA

Didn't hear of this Chicago brewer until I had a steam beer from them on draft at the James Joyce last week after the Blackhawks home opener. I liked it, so when i saw this today, I decided to give it a try. I'm drinking this very cold since I left it in the freezer too long. It is very bitter (in a good way) and light, I'd even say a bit watery, so refreshing. Would be great this way on a hot summer day! I'll have to drink another soon at proper ale temperature to see if there are some complex flavors, but I like it so far. ID

12 oz bottle, 6.5% ABV
Argus Brewery
Chicago, IL (on 113th this South-sider is close to home!)
purchased at Kenwood

Black Cauldron Imperial Stout

A perfect sounding beer for October! Black silk with just the tiniest hint of sweetness. Just smooth and dry. Maybe the perfect dark beer. The smell might be grain, but my mind interprets it as what "black" should smell like. The only defect is I feel a bit of sourness on the edges of my tongue. It just may be clashing with the IPAs I had previously, so i won't count that against it. Solid all around. MB

25.4 oz bottle, 8% ABV
Grand Teton Brewing Company
Victor, Idaho
purchased at Kenwood

Our Own Bavarian-Styled Doppel Weizen

The smell and taste of a wheat with a hint of sweetness, but not at all bad. A bit of sourness at the back of the throat, again not bad. Balanced well altogether. I generally don't go for wheat beers because the flavor must be perfect or nothing, and because the alcohol is usually pretty low. This has good flavor overall, and what?! This has 9% alcohol! Wow, wheat beer of the year if you ask me. If you like wheat beers at all, MB.

22 oz bottle, 34.2 IBU, 9% ABV
The Lagunitas Brewing Company
Petaluma, CA
purchased at Kenwood

Southern Hemisphere Harvest 2011 Fresh Hop Ale

Definitely light and easy drinking. Bitterness abounds along with a strange flower taste. Maybe that is a really fresh hop, as hops are considered flowers I think. The bitterness is almost a bit funky, but this goes down good, so ID.

24 oz bottle, 6.7% ABV
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Chico, CA
purchased at Kenwood