Brabant barrel aged wild ale.

here's a pic of a brabant horse to get you finding your own back story. Also try Belgium government or counties, this beer is too special for that discussion here.

ok here's the deal you don't need an filler about the brewery or the concept here this beer is amazing, and you'll find nothing like it ever. first it is barrel aged which lends street cred but doesn't mean it's special. then it is made with wild yeast. which means they made a batch they can't reproduce. after that it is a sour ale which is a rarity. And finally, it's a dark beer, and a dark sour ale is unheard of.

They apparently brewed only 694 cases of the stuff. so if you are lucky enough to have access go buy some. I am keeping this short because I want to enjoy a second selfishly and not worry about writing, but it has a slightly vinegar nose which is not the most pleasant, like a great cheese, smells bad tastes great. Mouthfeel is medium not huge but substantial. and most importantly the taste a deep malt hidden beneath a bright Sour flavor. The oak Zinfandel barrels provide unquestionable character which are only tolerable due to the dark sweet malt balancing them out. truly a special beer. get it now

flabbergasted,

dan

St Pete's old style porter

It is important to start this by discussing the origin of a porter beer. Porter has come to mean lower gravity than the stout, but still black beer. Porter came in to existence named after the English river porter a working man who wanted a fine beer. there is debate and compromise as to it's beginning as "threethreads" or a few beers mixed in a single pint. Or the fact that beer companies used to leave aging to bar keeps sending out boozed beer with no secondary fermentation and letting bars decide how long to sit on a keg. At some point it became popular to send an already aged beer from the brewery named porter, it was darker and stronger since it satisfied the drinkers who wouldn't go home when told the beer left was unaged and not ready. If this is the origin of the Porter it would undoubtedly become likely that the practice of cutting the aged beer with the new beer to meet demands was popular. No matter what porter is dark and like a Stout in some ways., but should have young unfinished beer flavours available which stout never should.
St. Peter's hits it directly, I think they in fact do mix old dark beer fully aged and ready to drink with a beer that is fresh and a bit "green" still. I can't prove that, but I believe i read that once. It is a truly wonderful beer even if that is bollucks. It's sweet after drinking but nice and dry in the mouth. There are these great carmel notes in the nose that fall away to the darker and harsher dry bark flavour, but it leaves again after the swallow yielding a mild sugar not quite vanilla but a tiny amount of rock candy just loosely cleaning up the mouth.
Also and not importantly but, this beer comes in this way cool old medicine bottle looking thing. it's a full pint bottle with this great old wide shape and rings on the bottom. The epitome of porter in my opinion. The other beers from st. Peter's are fine, but porter defines them as great and defines porter outright.

over the lips and past the gums
dan

first Oberon

Not a full post here just wanted to share my first Oberon of the season, the quintessential summer brew was so yeast clouded the bartender thought he ought dump it, but to me it was like somehow getting close to that beer in a normally unavailable way. check out the opaqueness of it!!

1554 from New Belgium

New Belgium's old Recipe enlightens us all.

New Belgium proprietors of Fat Tire make several other less known and less widely available beers. You can find them they aren't particularly elusive and I encourage you to do so no matter how you feel about fat tire. I for one am not a fan of the flagship they have chosen, but have yet to dislike any of the other beers they make.

My favorite is probably the 1554 enlightened black ale. I am downright smitten with this beer when i first discovered it i was almost as taken as when i first had bell's Oberon (i know a place where the wild thyme grows). For starters it's a dark beer i tend to swing that way. But, it throws the whole concept of dark beer on it's head. 1554 isn't a stout or a porter it's a crisp dry ale. Wait I'm getting ahead of myself the beer stats are worth reading but, check out the story.

This beer started from a recipe found in a library, but a flood in Fort Collins destroyed it. So the researchers at New Belgium, (think there is a college program for beer research, and if so do they the best parties or the worst i could see it working either way.) took off to find a recipe in Belgium and found some recipe written in ancient druidic language or something and dechipered it. can you imagine not only translating the words and sentence structure, but the wacky measurements. "16 ramms penises of hops must be thrown into the wert after two crows lengths and a flaggonsnarf of time after the greater bubbling begins". anyways after much trial and error, with I'm sure many tasty but incorrect batches that need drinking, were made

we come to 1554 huzzah! now imagine a pro beer researcher and a brew master are making incorrect trial batches that they share with the Belgian's in town. best party or worst party?

Ok back to the specialness of this beer. It is made with a light lager yeast that imparts a crisp dry even refreshing quality. But, it is also made with dark malts black patent is where i would start homebrewers. It has a delightful chocolate tone to it's flavor. Really clean finish that is actually sweet, not the sweet and syrupy taste but just aftertaste like you had a desert a minute ago and no it lingers. oh man i get chills. It has a fairly present hop character for such a dark beer, but subtle and understated. as for the color it isn't quite black a dark mahogany tone with a Carmel head that doesn't stay long. the smell of Carmel and taste in the foreground of vanilla start this beer of gently. It's wonderfully complex, ultimately drinkable and unquestionably delicious. This falls into the small category of beers my sister probably likes, and even smaller category that we both like it!

they just don't write em like that anymore

dan

***special announcement***

goose island bourboun county stout was due up a few days ago. I've not forgotten friends but, In doing my research it was noted the beer should only be availible in november. I had had the beer last fall at GI brewpub on clybourn and enjoyed it throughly and was less impressed by my bottle purchase from a liquor store of decent reputation. until i can get a draft, some garunteed fresh beer bottles, or to the bottom of this mystery i will not be posting this review. we now return you to your regulary scheduled toutyourstout already in progress.

Rogue chipotle ale

I am going to reserve the right to revisit this beer at anytime and change my review. Now, I don't need to even say that it's my blog I can change anything i want anytime I want I suppose. But, as the poor shot to the right is to be entered as evidence item A. it is a bit fuzzy and my background is slipping of the rail. That's because this was beer six of the may 16th beer-a-thon and I was starting to to get a bit wrecked.

So the thing about Rogue that makes me always give them the benefit of the doubt is Dead Guy is really good. Many of the craft and micro brewed beers have an easy drinking boring beer up front. New Belgium for example has half a dozen somewhat available beers that are rather good to great, but the number one that every bar carries and even jewel and Dominick's (supplant big chain grocery here depending on region) always carry is fat tire which is mediocre at best. Rogue goes the other way dead guy has a great rye character and complex aroma, it is not for the masses. So I gave rogue's chipotle a shot even though hot pepper beer is something i have yet to be really excited about. I love spicy food, seriously love it. I had a local Indian restaurant remember me by name since i told them the vindaloo was not hot enough. The cook tells the waitress oh no that man does not get the white man spicy he has the tongue oh a Indian for sure. But, i don't understand the want for hot and spicy beer, I keep the beer there for when the spicy gets to me that's is how they go together, when the beer is the spicy i enter the vicious cycle of burn, sip, relieve, burn worse, sip. A real joker of a friend ordered me some very spicy habanero beer one night with out mentioning what it was after I was largely into some fairly spicy Texas chili. so i thought "this chili's got some kick to it great, a sip of beer will cool me for a second." and the vicious cycle begins with me confused as to how the second half of my chili is so much freaking hotter than the first. I may look smart kids but don't be fooled there is a pic of my face next to gullible in the dictionary.

The problem with any pepper beer and chipotle is no exception is the pepper can't really exist in the beer in your mouth. you don't get the salty tang a pepper provides, malt and alcohol the acid in hops all neutralize the heats qualities. But capsaicin hangs out in the mouth way better than those things. so what the beer doesn't beat is left to heat you up. to me this is like a parlor trick "here cool refreshing beer yay! what's that feel like you've been eating Mexican food? haha that's because there is magic spice in them thar beers!" OK so I've made my point time to stop beating the horse he's dead, simply the flavors don't play with each other the exist only in opposing forces like Hatfield's and McCoys. Beer is about Harmony and balance not competition. Rogue chipotle has a medium mouth feel, fairly malty but not so much as to be sweet, and pretty low in hops. a fine beer if nothing special, classic and enjoyable. but of course the aftertaste is dominated by this uninvited heat from out of the blue. In Rogues defense they tried to bring the heat down to a pretty reasonable level making it a interesting additional flavor not a searing heat that overpowers the whole experience. I recognize the attempt and think they succeeded, but it still doesn't work for me the flavor doesn't make much sense. It's like this I love Italian beef sandwiches. (those of you who live far enough from Chicago you don't know what this is you're missing out for real! and it is nothing like a Philly I don't care what people say) and there is no better drink to go with one, and I'm aware I'm departing from what I generally think to be the best drink, than lemonade. But if anyone ever starts making a beef and garlic flavored lemonade I'm not interested.

Now in there attempt to dial it down they also lost the one thing that attracts me to spicy pepper beers, the burn. I have yet to find one I like, but I find them intriguing and continue to try them because I'm a spice lover. My face hurts from the heat that's what I'm talking about! but chipotle ale doesn't get anywhere near it it's hot like medium buffalo wings or Tabasco on eggs, yeah heat but nothing powerful. Then why do such a wacky thing and not really go on a limb? I think a good choice for a pepper beer would be a sweet dark stout with real chocolaty finish, like Mexican hot cocoa. Now that is a beer I'll be excited to try.

All in all Rogue took a shot at something it wasn't a big success, but it doesn't suck. It is still clearly a quality beer brewed by knowledgeable and skilled people, but they failed this time. That said you may have noticed some red text, it is my visual review, this like pepper in the beer is the part that really doesn't belong in the beer review. so I'll finish up completely of topic and just let everyone know this past week i got stock on a motorcycle that i was trying to drive through a doorway. My small person on a giant bike stuck face and fairing in the door but and taillights on the sidewalk, legs pinned to the engine and nobody around to help me. I was quite a laugh for passers by. For your info I am safe as is the bike not so much the door. so feel free to laugh at the mental image as much as you like.

and for my next trick a beer that tastes like pickles

dan

Midas Touch Handcrafted Ancient Ale

This isn't your momma's beer, it's your great great great great great great great.............. grandma's beer.

First if you don't know the story of dogfish head go to their website and read they are the little engine that could. they were brewing like 20 batches a week in kegs on burners in the beginning and that was supporting a brewpub not a small bottle operation. So for dedication to the sport alone I always enjoy their antics. Furthermore, they brew the wackiest stuff available from malt and hops. One of the new ventures is a "sah'tea" beer which borrows from a wild Finnish (that's the country not a typo) beer style with a huge array of grain and juniper berries heavily involved, and they are utilizing a technique the fins share with German rauchbier wherein hot rocks import heat to the wort. These cats are just beer crazy.

Midas touch is no exception, it is apparently the recipe of the oldest known fermented beverage, some 2700 years old; PhD's, carbon dating and spectrum analysis were involved in the production of this recipe. (for serious kids.) As such this beer is about the journey not the bottle. There have been several reviews of this beer that just tear it down. This beer is worth praise for it's ingenuity alone. First It's barely a beer at all really, somewhere between barley wine and mead, made with raisins, honey and saffron it can't be judged by normal beer standards. That said it has unquestionably won awards in beer competitions.

So, how should we rate it. First plan to rate it after you've parked for the evening, it's 9% booze and really i think it hits a little harder than that. I'm aware of the physics that an ounce of ethanol is and ounce of ethanol. But i know gin makes me angry and bourbon makes me wanna hug people. So, Midas touch makes me drunker than 9%. Light in color and just a wee bit cloudy, it serves very well in a goblet or bowl vessel. This is too sweet to delicate for a pint glass or a stein. It's head is very light so pour with vigor and get some aroma going. It is however rather carbonated. Not scary soda (coke for the southerners) carbonated but more so than most craft brews of high caliber. It works out here since it is a fairly sticky and sweet beer. the bubbles keep it clean enough to enjoy. Most beers ought warm up for ten minutes from the fridge. This one go for, not because you'll want it cold to stamp down on it, but you'll need time to handle this one. If you haven't the time to sip and pay attention walk away.

This beer is high in the fruit notes area, most notably grape of course, but also something Bing cherry and cantaloupe. There is an earthy quality to it, not so much like dirt or clay but just a weight that keeps it from being a series of high notes with a sweet dreggy bottom it owns and earns it's bottom end. The saffron is to be honest lost on me for such an expensive priced ingredient it ought be there. That said i haven't a clue how to make such a low key spice show up in beer my self. there is also this somewhere between wonderful and terrifying thing at the back of the palette on the finish it is like flaming sugar right as you swallow, it's brief. if it lasted I'd describe it as toxic, and if it were shorter I'd be annoyed by it's missing the mark, but it is a lovely fiery and sweet finish that makes more of such a sweet beer necessary

All in all, this beer is not for casual drinking don't pack a cooler full for the fishing trip. Sit back pay attention and you might find some amazing stuff in here but you have to be ready to work at it, this beer is a prima donna. A prima donna who I will dutifully sing the praises of, but recognize she is a Prima donna.

Gilgamesh was here

dan

Wacko summer seasonal from magic hat

Magic Hat turning things on their side.



Ok, it's summer, well more accurately it promises to be summer here in Chicago. And since my entire life June is when the days so hot I want to shave my head start, it's also summer seasonal beer time. crisp citrusy and hoppy beers beers that taste clean and cool; kolschs, I.P.A.s oddly unbelgian whites, honey wheat, berry beers, and those German rattlers. All very well and good, but they tend to leave me either; A. wondering why my beer needs less flavor in the summer, or B. wondering why my beer has been mango infused and ought have a lime in it. My dad told me when i was a young man lime in your beer is for sissies. I listened pop, (note he said nothing about oranges and probably had no idea what a white beer even was.) Summer beers are supposed to be, cool and refreshing sure I'm for that but it still needs to be a flavorful and complex beer.



I'm ranting, I know trust me I just erased the second half of that you will never be subjected to, I can get a bit judgmental. Now on to the matter at hand. Magic hats Wacko says right on the label "a beer with beet juice color". I didn't get it, I didn't believe I don't know, but when the bright pink beer foamed in my glass I almost dropped it. I still didn't believe the label "a beer with beet juice color", after i saw it i thought oh crap it's gonna be raspberry flavored. But, lo and behold it tastes like beer! A clean beer a crisp beer but beer and not a water tiny beer!! Now i will say it took me the entire first beer to stop expecting it to taste like a raspberry. And most of the second beer to stop calling friends and saying you gotta look at this it's amazing.



Down to the nitty gritty. This beer is absolutely a summer brew, slightly fruity notes but nothing overt, no specific fruit. also there is something almost minty about it that really makes it easy to drink more of, really very clean after taste. There is also something very earthy about this beer that neatly balances that fruitiness. This beer balances high and low notes the way do wop does simple the part harmony clean yet subtle, full of surprises. It could easily be consumed all afternoon long while playing baseball and paying way more attention to the cute girl on third than your beers taste. But, when you are sitting with friends around the fire and have mental space for "how does this beer taste" it will be right there waiting a complex ballad of summertime flavors. Fresh fruit, fresh herbs and fresh beets from the backyard.



Oh yeah and it is bright pink. which to me is a boon all around. First, it reminds me of my pal Jon who has painted the handles of all his tools bright pink. He's a tough guy from the "old neighborhood." When he goes on a job he never worries anyone else is gonna steal his tools, who else is gonna want to be rodding a sink with a bright pink snake. Also, as soon as I sent an old friend of mine a picture of it she said "I want a pink beer." (and trust me guys this lady you'd want to share your beer with) So, ladies if you know where toutyourstout headquarters is ring the bell i have a "beer with beet juice color" waiting for you.

Magic hat is a fine company, I'm glad to see no. nine being so widely available. They have always felt like a local beer to me even though they aren't local to me. I have a toutyourstout on the scenes reporter trying to assess their brewery tour. (as long as she stays sober enough to remember it) I am really happy to see the summer seasonal which can be such a stumbling block for so many good companies pass my test with flying colors.

beer ball sun at 230 whose in?
dan

Camo Black Ice xxXxx

Holy crap is this beer bad! I know that simply by examining the name we can tell it's going to be bad. Any beer containing the word ice in the title is probably on the bottom end of the spectrum. That said , this can of vile liquid truly takes the cake. I have unquestionably become a bit of a beer snob. But, as a young lad I had plenty of crappy beers (including lots of stroh's on ice since mike's mother let us drink beer but not keep it in the fridge) and still often find the high life in my hand, it is the champagne of beers after all. So i feel i have had enough garbage beer to say hands down this is the worst beer ever made.

It has two things going for it in theory.

One is the promise of camouflage. I figure a can that is camouflage could come in handy if you are hiding from the police in a wooded area and still need to drink so it might be a boon. But this sewer water can't even pull this off. The "camo" print that runs around the can is just a cell phone picture of shrubs growing outside the chemical plant that makes this stuff from it's byproducts.

Two is the ABV. and on that they actually deliver. That is what this beer is about. A 24 oz. can cost me under two bucks. With a whopping 10.5% booze that is about four and a half beers drunk for a buck seventy five. But, in the world of drinking cheap you'll always win with absolute bottom of the shelf vodka at 11 dollars for the 1.75 liter you can drink till you pass out twice for ten bucks.

What this beer has going against it is everything else. It has a distinct three part harmony of dissonant taste. It hits the tongue like aluminium. that terrible "wait how long ago did you buy this can of soup?" taste. Which is what I blame the instant headache on, although my drinking buddy from the night before suggests the empty bottles of Czech beer on his coffee table might be the culprit. Shortly after that taste fades and yields a standard garbage beer taste. Lots of corn sweetness, no hops and unnecessarily carbonated. But, then it finishes up with the real kicker. After choking it down and before the vomit comes, if you intend to drink much because it seems inevitable, there is dial soap. Not a tinge of dial the "oh i got some tingle on my tongue from washing my face." but, the "keep this in you mouth for till I get back ralphy" dial taste.

This at the seventeen year old who is going to join the army on his eighteenth birthday, the street drunk, and the alcoholic whose taste buds have been burned away by a terrible goldschlager fire blowing incident. if your in that category go nuts! you'll love this beer and you'll be blasted under six dollars into your night! If you're anybody else drinking this is to be reserved for the to be reserved for penance. Bless me father for i have sinned.... say two our fathers and drink two camo black ice. I know for many of us myself included when someone says things like " oh wow! that is so awful!" we are going to run out and find it just to say "oh yeah man that is totally shitty." Please for your own sakes trust me this time don't do it let me be the sacrifice I have ventured into the darkness and come back to tell of the horrors. please don't follow my path. I am gonna go drink some carburetor cleaner now just to remove this from my palette.

smell y'all on the flip side,

Dan