Surly Coffee Bender

Brewed By: Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Purchased: 16oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Whole Foods in Chicago, IL; 2015 (canned on 02/20/15)

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 5.1%

Reported IBUs: 45

A coffee Brown Ale. Eh? About Surly Brewing: 

The Surly Brewing company is a brewery based out of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The brewery was founded in 2005 by long time homebrewer Omar Ansari with the help of Todd Haug (Minneapolis's Rock Bottom Brewery). For more info, check out the brewery's about page.

Surly Coffee Bender

The Coffee Bender is brewed with Pale Ale, Aromatic, Medium Crystal, Dark Crystal, Oats, and Chocolate malts; and features Columbus and Willamette hops, and English Ale yeast. The beer is also cold pressed with Guatemalan coffee that is roasted locally.

This is a pretty beer, albeit deceptively darker in low light. Bright light betrays the hazy, reddish body, and a cloud of yeast and sediment can be seen mucking up the beer. The head is fluffy and Guinness-like™, and there is good lacing and retention. 

This has an amazing aroma of cold pressed coffee, stale toast that has been sitting out for a few minutes, coffee sitting in the filter, hazelnuts, and a light but crisp hop aroma. The coffee elevates what is otherwise a fairly derivative style of beer, and I am reminded of New Glarus' banging, low-ABV, coffee beer, their New Glarus Coffee Stout.

same beer, with light

Kudos to Surly for basically turning a Brown Ale into iced coffee. This is a fantastic beverage, if you want coffee not beer. That's not a sideways compliment or passive insult. This is really nice, with cold pressed coffee, coffee in the filter, light creamer, hints of toast, hints of lactose, hazelnut, and light nuttiness. This is also somehow light and refreshing, with lots of straight and light hops providing a palate cleanse. 

This is medium-bodied, but light and refreshing at the same time. The beer has great palate depth and complexity for the style...really, this owns the Brown Ale category, and the 5.1% market. This is hard to top, and I think it edges out the New Glarus Coffee Stout by just a bit. This hits the coffee/toast breakfast combo hard up front, rolls into hazelnut and lactose coffee, and then finishes with sharp coffee and hops. Pretty rad.

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. This is pretty much as advertised, and you will be cold pressed (get it?) to find a better coffee beer in the 5.1% range. The coffee here is also clean without any acridity or weird earthiness or fruitiness. Pretty much for sure I will buy this beer again, and you should too.

Random Thought: I like you too, and don't call me Surly. 

Sapporo Stone Warrior

Brewed By: Sapporo Breweries in Tokyo, Japan (or wherever it's contracted)  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack gifted to me in Chicago, IL; 2015 

Style/ABV: English Dark Mild Ale???/Brown Ale?? EH???, 5.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Disclaimer, this beer sucks. About Sapporo: 

Sapporo is the oldest brewery in Japan; and was first brewed in Japan by German-trained, lager brewer, Seibei Nakagawa. Sapporo Premium beer was brought to the USA in 1964 to save sushi lovers like me. 

Sapporo Stone Warrior

The Sapporo Stone Warrior was a beer I first encountered while out to sushi. It was then gifted, generously, to me via a 6-pack. I enjoyed it upon first taste, but upon revisiting it 4 more times I've concluded that this is a mediocre beer and you're better off just getting the regular Sapporo stuff. 

This pours into an amber-brown, reddish body, kicking up a finger or two of tan-tinged head. It looks like a Brown Ale/Mild/Dark Lager. 

The aroma here is toast and caramel, with light grassy hops. The caramel is actually not that bad, with good kettle notes and some nuance...I guess I don't hate it as much as I remember. 

This still tastes a bit underwhelming, with lots of toast and caramel, unbalanced grassy hops, and unchallenged sweetness. It's one-dimensional and sweet and that doesn't play favorably. 

This isn't very complex, but it has good carbonation. It's drinkable and all that, but I was hoping for something a bit more refined. Palate depth isn't bad but this is unbalanced. It's just...not very intriguing for me. It's both one-dimensional and unbalanced but too sweet with caramel, toast, and hops that show up to attempt to rectify things but fail. I'm gonna leave it at that. 

Rating: Below-Average (2.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Light Below-Average. I'm giving this a .5 bump, actually, from a 2/5 to a 2.5/5. So it isn't swill by any means, but it doesn't intrigue me and it's really sweet. It was actually a poor choice to pair with my sushi, since the sweetness was just too much on top of the already sweet sushi rolls. You could do a lot better than this. 

Random Thought: I'm too tired for random thoughts. 

Goose Island Festivity Ale 2014

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled on 22SEP14 aka 9/22/2014)

Style/ABV: Brown Ale, 7.7% 

Reported IBUs: 50

It's another year, so that means another vintage of Goose Island's annual holiday/Christmas brown ale. This year, Goose Island swapped "Christmas" to "Festivity" for all the complainers that celebrate Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. This was totally unnecessary since craft beer is the next most white supremacist thing after the Klan and Nationalist party. If you can't pick up on those white privilege tones, you need to visit any micro-pub in the United States or Europe. About Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2013, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

The 2011 Christmas Ale was really good, but I wasn't as big of a fan of the 2012 vintage. I skipped the 2013 vintage, which was branded Sixth Day. What the hell, Goose Island? Just call it your fucking Christmas Ale. Anyway, the politically correct 2014 Festivity Ale is brewed with Special Pale, Bon Munich, Caramel-60, Caramel-120, Rice Hulls, and ECJ Sugar malts. The hops used for this beer include Pilgrim and English Golding. This one clocks in at 7.7%, and packs 50 IBUs.

This is a gorgeous beer, pouring into a hazy burgundy/maroon body, kicking up a finger of maroon-tinged head. The beer is well carbonated, and has good head retention. In bright light, the beer appears more ruby red, but I guess it doesn't matter anyway.

If you like malty smelling beer, you'll be in good company here. This takes the Brown Ale base, and adds some sweet toffee and faint fig and dark fruit notes. I'm getting a lot of toasted malts, some sweet candies, and sweet Twizzler notes. 

This is probably the best Christmas Ale that Goozie Inlets has rolled out since the 2011 vintage that I'm so partial to. This is a giant malt bomb through and through, with tons of toffee and toasted notes hanging in the back, along with some faint piney hops. The main flavor here are sweet malts, sweet sugars, and tons of sweet Twizzlers. The kiss of hop bitterness at the back end totally rounds out the experience, and elevates the beer. If you dig into the malts, you get some brulee and burnt brown sugar, which is just so nice.

At 7.7%, this is a big and sweet beer. I recommend letting this one warm up. This is a medium to full-bodied beer, but the carbonation keeps things moving along, and the hop bitterness on the back end is a welcomed contrast. This has good palate depth and complexity, with lots of sugars and toffee up front; toast and fruity notes in the mids; and more sugars and piney hops in the back. I'm actually really impressed with this 2014 Vintage, I'm happy I picked up the 6-pack and I would pick this up again this year. Between this and Brown Shugga', I think Chicago is covered.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. To reiterate, this is fantastic stuff...I would definitely pick some of this up if you see it on shelves. This is the perfect beer to pair with your holiday trimmings or a football game on a chilly night.

Random Thought: Seriously...I love being politically correct and sensitive to other people's needs but can we just call this the same thing we have been calling it for the past decade or whatever? 

4 Hands Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown

Brewed By: 4 Hands Brewing Co. in Saint Louis, Missouri

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Binny's in Naperville, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Brown Ale, 5.5% 

Reported IBUs: ?

This beer is proof that distributors hanging around in stores offering me free samples can persuade me to buy their beer. About 4 Hands Brewing Co.: 

4 Hands Brewing Co. are a brewery based out of Saint Louis, Missouri. The brewery was founded in 2011 by owner/president Kevin Lemp. The brewery features a number of brewers, including ex-Goose Island guru, Will Johnston. 4 Hands is all about hand-crafted beers, and they feature a barrel-aging program that uses wine and spirit barrels. Exciting stuff. Definitely check out their website or Facebook page.

The Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown is an American Brown Ale brewed with hefty malts. The bottle reads: "This is one robust brown ale. We use chocolate malts, roasted barley, and oats to give this beer that cast iron backbone. Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown pours a dark mahogany with aromas of dark chocolate and coffee."

4 Hands Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown

This is your typical Brown Ale affair: a dark brown, but not opaque body; two fingers of brown tinged head hanging around for the long haul. You could float a bottle cap on this head, probably courtesy of the oats. Yay, oats! Shining a bright light through the beer reveals that ruby red body, and there's some pretty active streams of carbonation cascading up. It's a Brown Ale, folks.

The aroma here is REALLY NICE. I cannot emphasize that enough. For this style, this is one of the best smelling Brown Ales out there. I'm getting knocked on my ass with huge waves of cocoa chocolate, caramel, toast and biscuit, Brown Ale nuttiness, and huge oats. There's some coffee-mocha-creamer in the mix as well. This is everything you want in a Brown Ale, and then some. It's a sweet aroma...and just yeah. Wow. 

The taste follows through with the aroma, with intense sweetness, a pillowy-smooth mouthfeel, and good vibes all around. I'm getting big chocolate, cocoa, coffee, creamer, mocha, toasted notes and biscuit, Tootsie chocolates, and even some hints of lightly floral hops on the finish. There's some nutty and toasty notes in here, and the whole thing just dials the execution up to 11. 

This is one of the better American Brown Ales I have had...I don't seek out this style very often, but there you go. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, and smooth as hell. Palate depth is phenomenal, but the complexity could maybe be a little higher. Or could it? I don't know....at 5.5% this plays things straight, and I like that. Up front: tons of cocoa and velvety smooth chocolate, oats, coffee creamer, coffee, mocha; the mids hit a biscuit and toast note, with more creamer and coffee, lingering cocoa sweetness; the back end continues to dust your palate with malt sweetness, faint hops show up to balance things out, and the finish is all malts. Fat, stupid, delicious.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. This is one of the best American Brown Ales I have had...at least the best one that doesn't cheat too much. Yeah, the oats are an adjunct and they help to beef things up, but this isn't an Imperial Brown Ale or some Christmas release. It plays things straight, and that's cool. 

Random Thought: 4 Hands, you seem cool. I might buy more of your shit. 

[Cellar Review] Mission St. 2012 Anniversary Ale (Vintage 2012)

Brewed By: Steinhaus Brewing Co. (Firestone Walker) in Paso Robles, California  

Purchased: Big 650ml bomber (22oz) bought at Trader Joe's in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 8.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

Oh snap...I bought this beer back in early 2012, making it just over two years old. This is one of Trader Joe's beers...but Trader Joe's doesn't actually make beer. They contract brew all their beer with various companies, including Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Unibroue (Sapporo), and the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company. Tonight's beer is all Firestone, bby. About Firestone: 

Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery was founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone (son of Brooks Firestone) and David Walker (husband of Adam's sister). The brothers brewed their first beer in 1996, in a small facility rented from the Firestone Vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. In 2001, the brothers-in-law purchased SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA, and set up camp. Despite being relatively new to craft beer, the brewery has a ton of accolades, and is known for their Reserve line and their oak barrel brewing system. You can learn more about the history of the brewery here and here. 

As noted...I did review the Mission St. 2012 Anniversary Ale back in 2012. The bottle states: "The 2012 Mission St. Anniversary Ale showcases complex malt flavors with roasty notes layered in and medium hop character. it is a blend of three incredible brews carefully blended for maximum aroma and flavor. We affectionately call this brew an Imperial Brown Ale." And that's all they wrote. I guess...into the glass we go.

[Cellar Review] Mission St. 2012 Anniversary Ale

This one pours into a dark brown, dark red color, and kicks up three fingers of tan head. The head isn't quite mocha, it's not gray/sandy...it's a yellowish-reddish-amber color. When you shine a bright light through the beer, the beer is textbook ruby red. There's numerous streams of tiny bubbles rising upwards, and a finger of foamy head is hanging around. There's also some nice lacing. It looks good, especially with the age on it. 

The aroma here is really nice...and mellow. I'm getting HUGE Twizzlers and licorice. There's some pine sap in the mix, wood, smoked malts[?], and big Doppelbock-like sweetness with toast, toffee, and dried out dark fruits. The aroma is simply sublime at this point in time. 

Like the taste, this is all but mellow and smooth; titty sprinkles. I'm getting big blasts of malty sweetness, dried berries and dark fruits, Twizzlers and licorice, toffee, and some pine sap. There are still hops in the mix, believe it or not, showing up as slightly resinous and bitter pine towards the back. I'm getting some light pine and orange/tangerine. It's just...a fantastic sleeper with dominate Bock-esque sweetness and giant Twizzler notes to make you feel like you are twelve.

This is a medium-full to full-bodied beer. The mouthfeel is perfect, with tons of carbonation, and big gripping malt sweetness. This has fantastic palate depth, and moderate complexity. It's held up well over the last two years, but I did take care to cellar it properly. At 8.5% this is worthy of sipping on...but you can also take it a bit faster. Given the fact that you can't buy this beer any more, I intend to sip on it. Up front: dried berries, floral/UK hops, pine sap, and big Twizzler/licorice, toast, toffee; the mids dial up the toast and toffee, and slap you with almost fruitcake-like Twizzler/licorice, and Bock sweetness; the back end finishes with lingering malt complexity, some burnt sugars, brown sugar, muscovado, and dried berries. The finish is perfectly dry, and I just want to sip on this all night. Damn what a stunner for such a bargain beer.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. Maybe higher? This is seriously fucking awesome. This is why you cellar beer...and this was a great candidate for the cellar. I'm also pretty sure this 650ml bottle cost me well under $10, making it both a delicious beer and a serious bargain. If you have a bottle of this laying around and you plan to dust it off, pair it with fruitcake, berry pie, cake with fruit compote, or bread pudding.  

Random Thought: As you can see, I'm in the process of clearing some shit out of my cellar...woo. 

Gnarly Oak Hazelnut Dark

Brewed By: Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 22oz bomber from an $8 dollar gift set bought at Walgreens in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Amber Ale, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 24

Hazelnuts? Yarrr. After last night's mediocre Minhas offering, I'm happy to crack open tonight's beer and put this one to bed. About Minhas: 

Minhas is the oldest continually operating brewery in the Midwest, and the second oldest brewery in the United States. As you can see from the brewery's history page, the brewery has been owned by many different people, and rebranded numerous times. The brewery began in 1845 as the Monroe Brewery when it was opened by Mr. Bissinger. In 1906, the brewery changed its name to the Blumer Brewing Company. And in 1947, the brewery was purchased by Joseph Huber and the brewery became known as the Joseph Huber Brewing Company. In 2005, the Minhas Family purchased the brewery, and in 2006 the brewery changed its name to the Minhas Craft Brewery. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

The Hazelnut Dark is billed as an "Ale brewed with natural hazelnut flavor." The bottle says: "Hazelnut Dark is a reddish amber ale that has an impeccable balance between its carapils and caramel roasted malts and centennial hops. We add just a touch of hazelnut to give a rich nutty flavor and aroma." I can only hope the hazelnut flavoring added to this beer isn't artificial and crappy.

Gnarly Oak Hazelnut Dark

The Hazelnut Dark pours into an orange/amber body. The body seems mostly transparent, and some streams of small to mid-sized carbonation are visible. The beer kicked up three fingers of amber-tinted head, and that has dropped into a consistent pinky of head. There is lacing if you swirl the beer, and the beer is bright orange when held to a bright light.

The aroma here is actually a bit of a departure from the Winter Bock and Chocolate Stout. I'm getting big Carapils malts and cereal grains on the nose, malt sweetness and fruity molasses, coffee, and hazelnut. There's a slightly buttery quality to the hazelnut aroma...and I'm getting some Cream Ale vibes from this.

This tastes a lot like a moderately hoppy Brown/Amber Ale spiked with hazelnut. The hazelnut doesn't taste too artificial...but there's a slight burnt and butter thing going on in here. Otherwise, I'm getting lots of toast, bread, unprocessed Carapils (which are fucking delicious so whatever), pretty clean hop notes that are floral and spicy, and lots of hazelnut. The hazelnut has some nutty and coffee character. This is actually okay.

As is the trend...this one is medium-bodied and probably a bit too heavy for 5.5%. BUT, you can forgive it because of the bitterness and carbonation that balances things out. This isn't even that hoppy, but the toasted character and Carapils provide additional bitterness. It's drinkable. The palate depth is good, and the complexity is aight. Up front: sweet molasses, hazelnut, and then some toast; the mids hit floral/spicy hops, toast, Carapils, and the beer cleans up; the back features lingering hops, and this one finishes dry and clean. It's almost like they used analytics and shit to brew a beer that has some thought and balance. They probably used BeerSmith for this. 

Rating: Strong Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. I like this...I would buy this again if it came in a 6-pack or if I could find single bombers for three dollars. I can't overlook the slightly burnt/buttery aroma, but in terms of the taste, this is definitely the most balanced of the Gnarly Oak beers. This beer has some nuance and progression. There are things like sugars, malts, and then hops. And when you combine them the right way, you get things like a nice palate progression and balance. I dunno. Whatever. Don't care. Food pairings: American bar food, chicken satay, ribs, pulled pork, pork, anything with pine nuts, YARRR

Random Thought: And that concludes my little $8 Walgreens adventure. All-in-all, not a bad deal....I've spent more than $8 on a single 12oz bottle of beer.

Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar

Brewed By: Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 6.2%

Reported IBUs: 33

I had no plans to pick this one up but it caught my GF's eye so yeah woo. Beer. About Rogue:

Rogue has been around forever, and if their beer was more widely available, and not so damn expensive, I'd probably drink more of their stuff. The brewery was founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon by Jack Joyce, Bob Woodell, Rob Strasser, and home brewer Jeff Schultz. Due to increasing space and distribution limitations, Jack Joyce went searching in Newport for a location for the new Rogue pub. It was at this time that he met Mohave Niem, founder of Mo's Clam Chowder. She offered Jack space to brew in her building, and in 1989 the Bay Front Brew Pub was built. Rogue's headquarters currently reside in Newport to this day. In May 1989, current head brewmaster, John Maier, joined Rogue after a brief sting brewing with Alask Brewing. John was a former Senior Technician with Hughes Aircraft Co, and a graduate of the Seibel Institute. To learn more about Rogue, check out their website HERE.

The HazelNut Brown Nectar is a European-style Brown Ale brewed with Great Western 2-Row, Munich, C-15, C-75, C-120, Kiln Coffee, Brown, Rogue Farms Dare & Risk Malts; Rogue Farms Revolution & Independence Hops; and Hazelnut Extract, Free Range Coastal Water, and Rogue's Pacman Yeast.

Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar

This one pours like a stereotypical Brown Ale: a dark brown/reddish, slightly hazy body, and a finger of bready, toast-colored head. A centimeter of head is hanging around, there is some nice lacing, and there is some dotty carbonation in my glass. Brown Ale all the way.

The aroma on this beer is awesome, with huge toast, nuttiness, intense caramel, melanoidins, and big raisins, dried fruits, and Twizzlers. Wow..the raisins and Twizzlers note is almost Doppelbock-esque, and this beer is giving off deeply rich aroma vibes.

The first thing I'm noticing on the taste that is a total surprise is the big hop note: there's a huge pine character that borders on pine sap, maple syrup, and Christmas. It's very Barleywine-esque. I'm getting pine nuts, nuttiness, caramel, raisins, dried figs, and some juniper in the taste. There's some caramel, toffee, and toast as well. The taste is very clean, with the nutty-pinenut-hops coming out first, and then the dark fruits and caramel flavors expanding next.

This has a medium-light body, supported by lots of carbonation. The palate depth is okay, and complexity is very high for the style. As this opens up a bit and warms up, you pick up a faint roast character. At around 6%, this is very drinkable. Up front: pine nuts, nuttiness, pine sap, maple syrup, juniper. The mids feature some toast, complex toasted malts and melanoidins; the back end is lingering toast/roast, and big raisins, Twizzlers. It finishes piney and dry.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. This is a really stellar Brown Ale, with some serious pine nuts and pine sap character that just makes the beer pop. This would be the perfect late Autumn, early Winter beer. I could see myself cracking into one of these in November or December. I could see myself pairing this beer with a hearty stew or soup, duck, and pork roast. Really good beer, I'll pick this up again in the 6-pack format.

Random Thought: See? Rogue also makes good beer; I'm not biased against Rogue, I'm just honest.

Engelszell Benno Trappistenbier

Brewed By: Stift Engelszell Trappistenbier-Brauerei in Engelhartszell an der Donau, Austrian

Purchased: 11.2oz/333ml bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2013 Vintage)

Style/ABV: Trappist Ale/Belgian Dubbel, 6.9%

Reported IBUs: ???

Tonight's beer is unique enough, and I was happy to find it sitting on shelves in Binny's. The beer came in one of those holiday gift packs, and the gift pack included two bottles of beer and a sexy Engelszell glass. Without further ado, let's dig into Austria's Trappist brewery. About Stift Engelszell:

Stift Engelszell is the only Trappist monastery in Austria, and was founded in 1293 by Bishop Bernard (Wernhart), and was technically settled in 1295. The abbey suffered spiritual and financial decline during the Protestant Reformation, until it started to receive support from the Wilhering Abbey from 1618 onward. In 1699, the abbey suffered a disastrous fire, and from 1720 to 1746 the abbey fell into the hands of various administrators. In 1746, Leopold Reichl, the last of Engelszell's abbots, began to rebuild the abbey. In 1786 Engelszell was dissolved by Emperor Joseph II.

According to Wikipedia, in 1925 Engelszell was re-founded as a Trappist monastery by refugee German monks who were expelled from the Oelenberg Abbey in Alsace after World War I. In 1931, Engelszell was again elevated to the rank of an abbey, but in 1939, the abbey was confiscated by the Gestapo. Four monks were sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp, and others were imprisoned or drafted. At the end of the war, only a third of the community returned to the abbey. Sine 1995, the abbot has been Marianus Hauseder, and there are nine or so monks in the community.

In May 2012, the abbey was approved by the International Trappist Association to become the 8th producer of Trappist beer. For more information, check out the abbey's website, or this lovely Wikipedia article.

The Engelszell Benno Trappistenbier is a Trappist Dubbel that punches in at 6.9% ABV, and is sold at the brewery or at their online store. Evidently it gets imported into the states as well via bottle, and I've had the Engelszell Gregorius on tap. It was tasty. The Benno (here now pronounced "Beano") is brewed with water, malted barley, honey, hops, and yeast. 

Engelszell Benno Trappistenbier 

The Benno pours into a hazy, honey-amber/dark orange/brownish body, and kicks up three fingers of orange/amber-tinted head. The head is dense and fluffy like a wheat beer, and as it departs there is some nice lacing. Head retention is great. Bright light confirms the swampy and murky but radiant orange beer. It's reminiscent of a Dubbel. There's some nice carbonation storming upwards in this.

This has a really nice, rustic aroma. The aroma is pretty raw and funky, with some dusty leather, Belgian yeast spice phenol, banana, bubblegum, clove, light cinnamon and ginger, wheat malt, some toast, and some peppery spice phenol. There is some fruit aroma lurking in here. Along with the banana, white sugar, and wheat is some cherry, peach, golden raisin, and stone fruit.  

I did pour the yeast into my glass...but I've let it settle for a bit, and I'm still getting a lot of medicinal and herbal twang. This one tastes quite peppery, with tons of peppery phenol, cinnamon, cumin, some Saison-like peppery phenol, and some nice funky leather. I'm sort of reminded of the wacky Saisons from Fantôme, and that's not a bad thing by any stretch. This one is bitter too, with good floral bitterness, bitter peach, and some citrus. The honey does show up, mostly in the back and as part of the body.

This beer is oddly complex, and again, I'm reminded of a Fantôme Saison with the bitter medicinal/herbal/peppery kick, and hints of Belgian funk and leather. This has no wild yeast or Brett in it (as far as I know or can tell). Palate depth is good, complexity is good...it drinks medium-bodied with good carbonation, and the 6.9% is hidden minus some mild warming. You get fruity peaches, Saison-like floral notes, some stone fruit and citrus, and burgeoning phenol and spice up front; the middle rolls into huge phenol and spice, with tons of herbal/medicinal, pepper, funky Belgian yeast, some leather, earthy; the back end continues with the bitter, medicinal, peppery funk...fade to dry. Honey character in the back and in the mouthfeel. Pretty unique...

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I really don't know...I'm gonna go with a Light Average, but honestly, I think I might rate this higher and I'll have to revisit this. This is an oddly compelling and unique beer...it's very earthy, spicy, herbal/medicinal, and it has that rustic and wild Fantôme funk with unchecked Belgian yeast and dusty leather. It's kind of...an ugly duckling beer, like a Rottweiler or Pitbull. This beer really does have a ton of character, and the biggest sin here is calling it a Dubbel. A Dubbel...this is not. There's no plums or brown sugar or any of that shit. Yup. I'm gonna quit now, but definitely pick this up and hey, let me know what you think if you happen to read this. Food pairings: rustic, peppery foods. Treat this like a peppery Saison. Peppery turkey, chicken, duck, potatoes, carrots, etc. This is like some Medieval times beer. Recommended. 

Random Thought: I cannot emphasize enough how intrigued I am by this beer...and the Engelszell Gregorius isn't too shabby either. I have another bottle I'm camping on, and I'll check this out again in a few months for a possible re-review. 

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry, and Chocolate Ale

Brewed By: Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon  

Purchased: 750ml (1 pint, 9.4oz) bottle bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2013 bottle?)

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 5.4%

Reported IBUs: 31

Tonight's beer is another attempt at finding enjoyment from Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut beers. Their Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale just kind of sucks and was underwhelming, but I am optimistic that tonight's beer will be a little better. About Rogue:

Rogue has been around forever, and if their beer was more widely available, and not so damn expensive, I'd probably drink more of their stuff. The brewery was founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon by Jack Joyce, Bob Woodell, Rob Strasser, and home brewer Jeff Schultz. Due to increasing space and distribution limitations, Jack Joyce went searching in Newport for a location for the new Rogue pub. It was at this time that he met Mohave Niem, founder of Mo's Clam Chowder. She offered Jack space to brew in her building, and in 1989 the Bay Front Brew Pub was built. Rogue's headquarters currently reside in Newport to this day. In May 1989, current head brewmaster, John Maier, joined Rogue after a brief sting brewing with Alask Brewing. John was a former Senior Technician with Hughes Aircraft Co, and a graduate of the Seibel Institute. To learn more about Rogue, check out their website HERE.

The Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale comes in a captivating pink bottle, like all the Voodoo Doughnut beers. The back of the bottle says this beer is "dedicated to Tres & Cat Daddy, The Rogues of Voodoo Doughnuts." This beer is brewed with 14 ingredients: 2-Row, Munich, C120, Chocolate, Black, Kiln Coffee & Rogue Farms Dare and Risk Malts; Rogue Farms Rebel Hops; Pretzels, Raspberry Extract, Chocolate, Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water. It's a tall order calling your beer a "Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale." Those are familiar flavors, and you practically set yourself up for disaster. Also, where is the Oxford comma. 

 Rogue VD Pretzel, Raspberry, and Chocolate Ale

The beer pours into a dark brown, cola-esque body, with brown and red tones. The beer kicks up two fingers of thick, bready, brown head, and head retention is nice with some good lacing. The beer looks good.

I have yet to unravel the mystery of the Voodoo Doughnut series of beers, which all have a dusty cocoa/chocolate aroma, with some maple syrup in the mix. You definitely get that on the aroma. I'm also getting some raspberry-chocolate and cherry chocolate on the aroma, with some malty biscuit and bready notes. The Munich malts really stand out, and I could see where you could interpret pretzel on this beer's aroma, but I probably wouldn't place it in a blind aroma/tasting. Lots of chocolate-raspberry and big fruity presence.

Annnnnddd...the taste runs into the same problems that the Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale ran into. This beer is front loaded with flavor, and kind of fizzes out. Although, this is a lot better than the Bacon Maple Ale. I'm getting tons of caramel, bready, sugary Munich malts in this, with big toast and biscuit. There's tons of dusty cocoa and chocolate sweetness, with hints of dusty raspberry, earthy/ash/espresso/dirt, and roast. This beer kind of reminds me of a Dunkler Bock with some raspberry thrown into the mix. The yeast is super clean, maybe to a fault, and the mid and back palate aren't particularly flavorful, with lingering toast, bread, and malt sweetness. Lots of chalky and dusty chocolate.

I feel like the biggest detractor to this beer is in the name. This beer implies so many good things: Pretzel, Raspberry, Chocolate. And it comes in a bright pink bottle that screams: "Bold." This beer is really anything but, dialing up moderate flavors with a disappointing palate depth and a serious lack of complexity for something that has had 14 ingredients thrown at it. The 5.4% ABV is a welcomed change of pace, and the beer is unique...I just want more for a beer like this. The beer has a medium-bodied mouthfeel with good carbonation: the first part of the sip is the best, with tons of bready biscuit, pretzels, toast, dusty cocoa, chocolate, Munich malt complexity, and an injection of raspberry up front; mid-palate starts with lingering raspberry, and dials up the bread, toffee, toast, and malt aspects, dusty cocoa; the back trails off those same flavors, with a dash of watery nothing, and then fade to black. Just okay.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this. This beer promises so much, and basically tastes like a pimped out Dunkler Bock or Marzen or something. It would make a great Fall seasonal, but I think Rogue was going for something a bit more bold here. Bold this is not, but it's not a total mess like the Bacon Maple Ale. These bottles are expensive though, retailing at around $12-15 per bottle. Maybe not worth it. Food pairings: evidently doughnuts, maybe I'll try that. In fact, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pick up a doughnut to pair with the remainder of this beer tonight #YOBVDO (you only buy voodoo doughnuts once).

Random Thought: The Binny's off Clybourn is a total clusterfuck. What a nightmare. Too many people, too popular. Don't got there on weekends or during peak hours. Support your mom & pop shops.

New Glarus Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale

Brewed By: New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Woodman's in Kenosha, WI; 2013

Style/ABV: Brown Ale, 5.5% 

Reported IBUs: ?

The New Glarus train just keeps on rolling... About New Glarus:

New Glarus is the rare, gorgeous "Midwest" brewery, founded in 1993 by Deborah Carey, the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States. She raised the capital for the start-up as a gift to her husband, Dan Carey, who is New Glarus' brewmaster and co-owner. Dan Carey has a long history working in the brewing industry, including an apprenticeship at a brewery near Munich, Germany and a job as the Production Supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. The brewery began as an abandoned warehouse using old brewpub equipment. In 1997, Dan Carey purchased coper kettles from a brewery in Germany. In May 2006, New Glarus opened their new (current) facility on a hilltop in the village of New Glarus. The facility looks like a Bavarian village, and is gorgeous. The expansion has allowed the brewery to continue to increase their production, and expand their operations. For more information, check out their brewery page or Wikipedia. 

The Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale is inspired by....fat squirrels. I guess that makes sense. Brewed with six different malts, all from Wisconsin, and featuring hops from Slovenia, Bavaria and the Pacific Northwest, this bottle conditioned beer is described as having clean, nutty notes. 

New Glarus Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale

This one pours surprisingly dark...like a dark brown with some red and mahogany tones. I kicked up a finger of off-white head. In bright light the beer is a semi-transparent orange color, with an amber head that is sustaining nicely and depositing some nice lacing. There's some nice carbonation rising upwards as well. 

The aroma smells like a Brown Ale. I'm getting a lot of nuttiness, some faint cocoa, a little toast and light caramel/toffee and molasses. It's a clean nose, and there's a hint of hops on the aroma as well. 

I'm getting a lot more hops in the taste, with some floral and even mildly bitter flavors coming through. There's also a ton of nuttiness in the taste, with some added toast and toffee/caramel-malt sweetness as well. It's clean and refreshing, but quite sweet. 

This is like your typical Brown Ale...the palate depth is great, and the boutique of flavors is good, but the complexity is a bit 1-D. It's drinkable and good, and a good representative of the style. It's not a Brown Ale whale. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and has good density, but is supported by spot on carbonation. You get sweet malts, nuttiness, and dusty cocoa up front; that rolls into more sugars, some hops, more nuttiness; the back end trails the hops, and it lingers with toast and toffee/caramel. 

Rating: Strong Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. This isn't a bad beer, it's just a Brown Ale. I feel like there are more interesting Brown Ales out there. What this beer does have going for it is the clean yeast profile and the relatively clean profile of the beer overall. Also, despite being a bit 1-D, the flavors present have good depth. I'd buy it if I lived in Wisconsin, but I'm not ISO for this. The cocoa overtones would pair well with dry ribs, barbecue, and dry chocolate desserts. 

Random Thought: One more to go for the night...

New Glarus Apple Ale

Brewed By: New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Woodman's in Kenosha, WI; 2013

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer, 4.0% 

Reported IBUs: ?

It's Sunday night (or Monday morning, technically). The Bears just got gashed. I have to work today. I need a sweet, sweet nightcap. About New Glarus:

New Glarus is the rare, gorgeous "Midwest" brewery, founded in 1993 by Deborah Carey, the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States. She raised the capital for the start-up as a gift to her husband, Dan Carey, who is New Glarus' brewmaster and co-owner. Dan Carey has a long history working in the brewing industry, including an apprenticeship at a brewery near Munich, Germany and a job as the Production Supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. The brewery began as an abandoned warehouse using old brewpub equipment. In 1997, Dan Carey purchased coper kettles from a brewery in Germany. In May 2006, New Glarus opened their new (current) facility on a hilltop in the village of New Glarus. The facility looks like a Bavarian village, and is gorgeous. The expansion has allowed the brewery to continue to increase their production, and expand their operations. For more information, check out their brewery page or Wikipedia. 

The Apple Ale is part of the New Glarus' 2013 Thumbprint Series, and rolled out in November and December. This beer began as a brown ale, and features Wisconsin-farmed wheat and fresh picked apples. 

New Glarus Apple Ale

The beer pours into an amber/cider looking body, and kicks up a finger of off-white head. Bright light confirms the hazy, cider-like body. The head drops off leaving a ring of white lacing around the glass, and there's some carbonation lazily rising upwards. It looks like apple juice.

The aroma here is huge cider and juicy apples. I'm getting big apple juice, some hints of spice like cinnamon, and some malt-bread aroma that reminds me of pie crust and apple pastries.

The taste mirrors the nose, with sweet, slightly tart apples driving this beer. Behind the apples is some nice malt sweetness, with some hints of bread and sweet caramel. There's also some wheat in the mix. I'm getting a lot of apple juice, apple cider, and freshly squeezed apples. It's very refreshing and super drinkable.

Yeah, this is good. The malts bring the body to a medium-light mouthfeel, but the carbonation and fruity nature of the beer make it super drinkable. You won't have any problem drinking two or three of these in one sitting. This would be the perfect Summer or Fall beer. It's very cider-like, and although the complexity is low, palate depth is great. You get big cider and apples up front; that rolls into some malt/bread density, apples, apple spice, wheat; the back end is lingering wheat and apples, and it finishes a bit dry. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this. I think this is everything you can ask for with an apple beer, and maybe a little more. Aside from going in a sour direction, I don't think there is a better apple beer out there. This shit is just straight up legit. It's so good I hesitate to recommend food pairings. Like...you could pair this with apple desserts or Fall/Autumn dishes, but this is a beer worthy of being sipped on after dinner. But it also has that drinkable thing going for it, so maybe pick up a case. I have only good things to say about this beer. Highly recommended.

Random Thought: The Bears defense is bad, but oh lawdy, they really shit the bed tonight.

Two Brothers The More the Merrier

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable, 6.9%
Reported IBUs: 18.2

During tornado/Ravens weekend, my girlfriend and I had dinner at the Two Brothers Roundhouse. It was delicious, and you should eat there. About Two Brothers:

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant. If you get the chance, swing by and check out their Roundhouse. It's an awesome joint, and needs all the love it can get.

Tonight's beer, The More The Merrier, is a chocolate coconut ale. Ummm...well, that's kind of helpful, I guess. 

Actually, I don't even know what the fuck is going on. The beer pours into a slightly hazy, caramel/amber/orange-brown body in low light. It looks like the Pipeworks "White Russian Stout" thing. I kicked up two fingers of tan/khaki head. The head dissolved leaving some lacing, and in bright light the beer is an orange-ish color with clear yeast sediment suspended in the body. Mmm, conditioning. There's some nice carbonation in this.

Two Brothers The More the Merrier 

On the aroma: chocolate, cocoa, sweet stuff. I do actually get some coconut and toasted coconut on the aroma, along with some elusive raisin-like fruitiness (white grapes; saffron?). There's some grain on the aroma as well, along with some nuttiness. 

The taste is very much a follow-through of the aroma. I'm reminded of Kona's instant classic, their Koko Brown. What a great beer. I'm getting tons of faint chocolate and cocoa, lots of coconut, toasted coconut, light grain, sweet caramel malts, and lots of nuttiness. It's earthy, rich, and sweet...truly an island brew, and one of the more fun beers I've had from Two Brothers as of late.

This is pretty easy-going, even at 6.9%. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, with lots of supporting carbonation. Palate depth is good, and complexity isn't far behind. I had some concerns that this would be too sweet or not attenuated enough, but both of those concerns were unfounded. What we have here is a very solid beer. You get lots of malt sweetness, chocolate, and coconut up front; that rolls into some toasted coconut, layers of toast and nuttiness, and grain; the back end kicks the grain up, with lingering coconut. If this is a Brown Ale, it's damn near as good as the Koko Brown, and would pair well with bikini bras and Sharknados. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Above-Average. Surprisingly good stuff, and I wasn't expecting this. I feel like you can go down two paths when considering food pairings for this beer. Path one involves things like hotdogs, spam, ham/pork, pineapple, and your bong. Path two involves savory dishes with chocolate, toasted coconut, or dessert dishes with similar ingredients. Either way, this beer is getting the job done. Grab a bottle while it is fresh, especially at the retail price of around 7 bucks a bomber.

Random Thought: Real talk: I'm praying to the biiiieeennnnyyyy's gods that I'll be able to snag some coconut BCBS.