Toaster Pastry India Style Red Ale

I don't know what "India style" is supposed to mean for a red ale. Just an IPA with slightly darker grain and maybe more malt forward, as many IPAs already are? And on top of that, is this going to taste like a Pop Tart?! Definitely bitter, and then, I'm not sure. There's something else, not really a grain flavor, but is that a fucking Pop Tart flavor. It is doughy but not grainy. It is not overtly malt sweetness I taste, but almost . . . a frosting flavor on the edges of my tongue?! I'm sure I've got to be making this up in my head. This might be a brewing experiment, or this might be a mind experiment where I'm tasting flavors only because it's printed on the label. OK, I'm done trying to figure that out. Bottom line: don't drink it too cold if you want to feel some of these flavors. And it's pretty damn good! MB

12oz can, 74 IBU, 7.6% ABV
21st Amendment Brewery
San Leandro, CA
purchased at Kenwood

Prairie Madness IPA

Mosaic and Since hops dominate the flavor of this brew. Another phenomenal hop head IPA. After buying so many beers with some hop crazy name or slogan, I can't believe that I found two really great hop flavor-forward beers on the same trip to the store. No wait, those were separate trips, but in the same week at least! Oh the joy of overt hop flavor! MB

16oz can, 100 IBU, 7% ABV
Hailstorm Brewing Company
Tinley Park, IL
purchased at Kenwood

Ruination Double IPA 2.0

Big hop nose gushing hop flavor. This is a hop head's IPA for sure. So easy drinking you'd never guess it to be a double. No booze sweetness. No grain backbone, but not thin. Just silky smooth liquid hop dream. When Stone started to retire great recipes I was worried. Much about nothing as they continue their home run derby of hop dominance! MB

12oz bottle, 8.5% ABV
Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, CA & Richmond, VA
purchased at Homewood Liquors

Hop Jockey Double IPA

Nothing special, just a grainy-tasting, double IPA that is easy to drink and will get you drunk! ID

12oz bottle, 8.2% ABV
Lakefront Brewery, Inc.
Milwaukee, WI
purchased at Homewood Liquors

Cherry Gose Imperial Sour Ale

"Imperial Sour Ale Brewed with Tart Cherry Juice". Still new to sours, but embracing them, this is a fucking monster! Sour as hell, but with a touch of sweetness and a boost of booze. Well worth your adventure into this genre. One of my favorite brewers hits a home run again! If you're into sours, don't pass this one up! MB

12oz bottle, 8.3% ABV
Southern Tier Brewing Company
Lakewood, NY
purchased at Kenwood

Beer To Drink Music To

Nope I'm not drunk, that's the name. As a Belgian, not my kind of beer. Even the never failing DFH can't sell me on this style.ID

12oz bottle, 9% ABV
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
purchased at Mariano's

2XSMASH Double IPA

Nice hop aroma and then bitter beautiful IPA flavor. Simple 1 malt 1 hop (Mosaic) perfection. ID

12oz bottle, 8.1% ABV
Southern Tier Brewing Company
Lakewood, NY
purchased at Homewood Liquors

Blueberry Pom Cyser

This is just so freakin' good! From the crew I buy my brewing stuff from, they make amazing mead! Fruity, carbonated, refreshing, and boozed up! I'd trade my New Years champagne for this in a heartbeat! MB

12oz bottle, 10% ABV
Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery
Chicago, IL
purchased at Binnys

24 Carrot Golden Ale

"A carrot cake-inspired Belgian-style ale brewed with carrots, cinnamon, raisins, & vanilla beans." I smelled skunk as soon as I opened this, but it's almost a year to date from its bottling, and thankfully this did not hurt the flavor. It is just wonderful! I'm not certain that I can taste all of the food this was brewed with, but I can say this has zero negatives. A fun, unique beer. MB

22oz bottle, 8.5% ABV
Home brewer Juli Golden Berg with Monkey Paw and Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, San Diego, CA
purchased at Homewood Liquors

Hopzeit Autumn IPA

Nicely bitter IPA on the initial sip, then a slightly sweet, malt finish. It just makes me feel fall! That's BS of course but this is just an all around, well crafted beer. A pleasure to drink, and refreshing. Good show! MB

12oz bottle, 60 IBU, 7% ABV
Deschutes Brewery
Bend, OR
purchased at Mariano's

Purple Haze Raspberry Lager

Grainy nose. Nice, light, raspberry flavor. The recipe reminds me of my Winter Willow, though I never tried using raspberries as the fruit. ID

12oz bottle, 4.2% ABV
Abita Brewing Company, LLC
Abita Springs, LA
purchased at Binnys

Bourbon Barrel Stout

"Malt beverage aged in Wild Turkey barrels". Oh fuck, this tastes like watered down whiskey. My favorite thing to hate. Otherwise the stout is dry and drinkable, but for the tiny booze it's carrying, this is a beer for strung out alcoholics. Not something I want to have again. ID

22oz bottle, 6.9% ABV
Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Boonville, CA
purchased at ?? Gift of Joel Starzyk

Mango Magnifico con calor 2016

A "mango ale brewed with a hint of habanero". On the first sip, yup, it's all there! A unique and dominating pleasant fruit sweetness, then a gentle but lingering heat on every surface of your mouth and throat. This is pretty wild! I think I like it. Definitely the best of the pepper beers I've tried. Credit for uniqueness! My final judgment on this will have to be based on how bad the heartburn is later. ID-MB 

Update: heartburn not bad, and I already have another bottle in my fridge! The MB rating stands!

25.4 oz (750 mL) bottle, 10% ABV

Founders Brewing Company

Grand Rapids, MI
purchased at Kenwood

Vanilla Bitch Slap Red Ale

Well, it is not a slap. I like me some crazy strong vanilla, but this is subtle. So this is a straight up, nice bitter red American ale, with a tiny hint of vanilla. It's good. ID

22oz bottle, 5.5% ABV
Pig Minds Brewing Company, Inc
Machesney Park, IL
purchased at Kenwood

Mocha IPA

A very unusual combination: double IPA, cacao, and coffee. Those ingredients in stout or porter, sure, but in an IPA?! That's fucking weird. I'm not sure if this works or not, and I've had like 5 of these, not all today, of course. The coffee aroma is very strong. As it warms, the chocolate taste comes out strong. There is an IPA under those dominant flavors somewhere, hiding, but packing a wallop. I guess I like it, but it is so different, it is a truly hard call to make. ID

12oz bottle, 9% ABV
Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, San Diego County, CA
purchased at Kenwood

Pale 31 California Pale Ale

Hoppy, smooth, and nonconfrontational, as a pale ale should probably be. Just a good simple drink. With a tad of flavor. ID

12oz can, 4.9% ABV
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Paso Robles, CA
purchased at Binnys

Prairie Artisan Ales BOMB! Imperial Stout

Aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and chili peppers. Has a complicated aroma. This has some thickness to it. The chocolate flavor is very pronounced. The coffee is subtle. The vanilla is completely absent to my taste. And at the end of each sip is the spice of the chili peppers: not too hot, but definitely a spicy character. A guy at the store raved about it, saying other places can't keep it in stock, that this is the "best" stout. There is something that I'm going to call sourness, that is ruining it for me. And then there's the slightest tinge of heartburn. Oh man, and definitely peppers on the burp! For the $8.99 per 12oz that I paid (and lucky was I to be privileged enough to buy it!), I'm calling BS on the super rating. This is ID to me, and I won't buy it again. Something different, and I like to experiment, but this continues to confirm my suspicions over pepper in beer. Does hide the big booze level well, though.

12oz bottle, 13% ABV
Krebs Brewing Company
Krebs, OK
purchased at Kenwood

Vamplifier Hoppy Red Ale

How can you turn down a beer named/packaged like this as Fall sets in? And I love a hoppy red! This is hoppy only in the sense of bitterness. Smells like a lager, even. I like it bitter, but I'm against anyone calling a beer "hoppy" when it doesn't have hop flavor. ID

12oz bottle, 5.2% ABV
Magic Hat Brewing Company
So. Burlington, VT & Rochester, NY
purchased at Mariano's