One Well Brewing Sweet Water Street

One Well Brewing Sweet Water Street

Brewed By: One Well Brewing in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Purchased: 32oz Howler from One Well Brewing; 2015 (poured on 08/26/15)

Style/ABV: American Adjunct Imperial Porter, 7.1%

Reported IBUs: ???

This was, by far, the second best Porter/Stout I had on my trip to Kalamazoo. This beer deserves a nod and shot out, because it is really fucking good. The brewery isn't too shabby either. About One Well Brewing: 

One Well Brewing is a nano/micro brewery based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The brewery was founded by home brewers Chris O’Neill and T.J. Waldofsky, and currently features a 3-barrel brewing system. The tap house is warm and cozy, with board games and a bar. The place was packed an hour before closing, and the staff was friendly. My biggest regret is that I discovered this place during my last day in Kalamazoo...

The Sweet Water Street is an Imperial Porter brewed with donut holes from Sweetwater's Donut Mill, and coffee from Water Street Coffee Roaster. Coffee is my life force, so while in Kalamazoo I had a chance to visit Water Street Coffee Roaster twice. The coffee is solid, and is locally roasted. 

So good...

The Sweet Water Street itself pours into a dark body kicking up a couple of fingers of dense, tan-brown head. It looks like every other genero-Porter until you dig into the aroma and get that rich chocolate coffee cake smell. This kicks up espresso and hazelnut and lots of fresh coffee, but the coffee stays grounded in the cakey malt base. This hints at macaroons and candy bars, and suggests so much more than a straightforward coffee beer. 

And the taste lives up to the aroma's hype, and then some and more so. At whatever percentage this clocks in at (7.1%???), the malt body stands up to the strong coffee flavors. This has a cake-like body with chocolate malts, trailing malt balls on the back end, rich espresso, hazelnut, and liquid coffee cake. 

The mouthfeel on this is full and expansive, and this beer has depth and density. This squeezes all the money's worth out of the 7.1%, and the malt body does not go to waste. The palate is full-bodied, and this has enough layers to beckon complexity. It has good duration too...each sip lingers. You get a lot of straight Porter in the front, but by the mid palate this drops coffee and chocolate. The back end rounds out with earthy coffee notes, hints of macaroons, and malt balls. This cleans up nicely too...you would expect loads of residual sugars and you really get none of that here. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. This is one of the best beers currently on tap in Kalamazoo, and you owe it to yourself to check this beer out. On top of that, One Well Brewing's other beers were good, and the vibe of their little bar is fantastic. Would definitely stop in again. 

Random Thought: The number one dark beer on my trip goes out to 18th Street Brewing...maybe more on that later. 

Spiteful God Damn Coconut Pigeon Porter

Brewed By: Spiteful Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015 (Batch #223)

Style/ABV: American Porter, 8.2%
Reported IBUs: ?

Mmmmm coconuts. About Spiteful: 

Spiteful Brewing was founded in January 2010 by Brad Shaffer and Jason Klein. Like many brewers, the duo started out homebrewing. As of today, the brewery houses a 2.5 BBL Brewhouse and 5 BBL Fermenters. Currently, as a nanobrewery, Spiteful Brewing is hand delivering to stores and bars. For more info, check out Spiteful's website, or their Facebook or Twitter. 

The God Damn Coconut Pigeon Porter is without a website page, but the bottle reads: "Pigeons gone wild! After a late night at the pub we flipped on the boob tube only to see those god damn pigeons flaunting their assets. We knew we had to get our hands on those coconuts for our porter. Beads were the answer, so we stuffed our bags with with 'em and headed south. The play worked like a charm. Brewed with toasted coconut, this pigeon porter will have you thinking you live on the god damn equator." 

Spiteful God Damn Coconut Pigeon Porter

This pours into your typical dark, cola-black body, with a finger of tan head. What is there to say about porters and stouts these days that hasn't been said.

The aroma on this is a nice fusion of coffee, chocolate, cocoa, toasted sweetness, and layers of complex roast. It's not a super complex beer, and I'm not getting much coconut in the aroma. BUT, it smells really good for what it is, and the aroma is bold with aggressive coffee, chocolate sweetness, and roast.

You do get some nice coconut in the taste, which is what I was looking for. This drops a rich mouthfeel with tons of chocolate and coffee, and then the back palate bombs you with sweet toast, complex roast, and layers of coconut. The coconut stays in the realm of sliced coconut with some toasted coconut, and never veers into pastry la-la-land like some more complex or barrel-aged beers do. And that's okay.

This is a full-bodied beer that coats your mouth and has satisfying duration. At 8.2%, this feels bigger than it is, and consequently hides a lot of the alcohol. Palate depth is good, and this has good complexity. Up front is a lot of coffee and chocolate; the mids roll into coconut, dark fruit sweetness, and layers of roast; the back end trails with roast, coffee, shredded coconut, toasted coconut, and tons of yummy toasted notes. This is a good blend of an American-style Porter with coconut, and works well.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'll toss this a Strong Above-Average. Spiteful continues to do well with their God Damn Pigeon line of beers, and I'm happy that I picked this up. This isn't the most coconut beer I have had, but there is definitely coconut in the taste and it plays well with the strong base Porter. I could see myself buying another bottle to just sip on or pair with some coconut chocolate cake.

Random Thought: I hate not having laundry machines in-unit, ahhhh!!!

Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Brewed By: Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2015 

Style/ABV: American Porter, 5.2%
Reported IBUs: 30

The best part about hosting a party is being left with a fridge full of shelf turds. About Deschutes:

The Deschutes Brewing Company was founded by Gary Fish on June 27th, 1988, when they opened the doors to their Bond Street Public House pub. The brewery has since expanded, growing to be one of the top craft beer producers in America. The brewery also operates a pub in Portland, and has a dedicated brewing facility overlooking the Deschutes river. For more information, check out the brewery's website; their Facebook page; their Twitter; or Wikipedia. 

The Black Butte Porter is Deschutes' flagship beer, brewed with Cascade, Bravo, and Tettnang hops; and features Pale, Carapils, Chocolate, Crystal, and Wheat malts. 

Deschutes Black Butte Porter

This looks very much like an American Porter...coffee black with brown tones, a mocha-tan head that is leaving tons of lacing and has good retention. Appearance doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but the production suggests that Deschutes knows how to roll out and execute these simple styles (they do).

The aroma on this doesn't lean towards the heavy roast, but there are some nice coffee notes and a little hint of baker's chocolate. What's interesting about this aroma is the yeasty esters, as this has hints of banana...like...banana Runts. There's some other fruity esters I can't quite place, and lots of dusty coffee and cocoa notes. It smells fairly sweet as well.

This is sweet, easy-going, and fairly straightforward. It reminds me of a Milk Stout in some regards, with sugary-but-not-quite-lactose sweetness, lots of coffee, creamer, hints of vanilla, and lots of fruity esters that hint at bananas, berries, and some toffee sweetness. 

With a medium-body, good palate depth, and moderate complexity...I'm gonna say this is very much par the course. The sweet notes up front, yeasty esters, and coffee mids give way to nice subtle roast, creamer, chocolate, dark fruits, toffee, and berries. But it's nothing stand-out-ish, just very solid bang for buck.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Average on this. Not really a slight against this beer...but this once staple has a few other classics that can contend, including Great Lakes Edmund Fitz. I am happy to see it in the Midwest, and even happier to see it in my dad's fridge, but this probably wouldn't make it into my rotation. 2real4me. 

Random Thought: Black Butte reminds me of Black Betty all day. 

Sierra Nevada Porter

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: 12oz bottle from the 2014 Snowpack purchased at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled on 10/03/2014)
Style/ABV: American Porter, 5.6%

Reported IBUs: 32

DAE Cerro Nevarros? I do. For $14.99 the 2014 Snowpack was too cheap to pass up. This year's Snowpack features their Porter, Pale Ale, Boomerang IPA, and Coffee Stout. About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

The Sierra Nevada Porter has been around for a while. This beer is brewed with Aurora and Yakima Golding hops, and a malt base of Two-row Pale, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Black & Carafa. This one is available year-round, and is a classic example of the style.

Sierra Nevada Porter

As you'd expect, this pours into a ruby-red/brown body, kicking up a finger of caramel tinged head. Brown Ale or Porter, take a guess. There's good lacing...carbonation...blah blah.

The aroma here is actually really good. There's a lot of deep toasty notes, nuttiness, and lots of lightly roasted coffee. I'm getting a lot of hazelnut, light wood, light earth/tobacco, and some really nice dark grains. The aroma is not muddled, and stands out boldly.

The taste is a good extension of the nose: there are rich dark grains present, with lots of coffee, hazelnut, toasted notes, a good amount of woody/earthy/tobacco/chocolate notes, and some grassy hops. 

This is a very straightforward and classic example of a Porter, but the execution here is top-notch stuff. Like many of Sierra Nevada's beer, this one could serve as a standby or a regular fridge stuffer. This is medium bodied, with spot-on carbonation, good palate depth, and good complexity. The carbonation is what you'd expect from a Porter, Brown Ale, Dry Stout, or regular American Stout. It's really a fantastic beer, with lots of coffee and hazelnut up front; some chocolate and earthy tobacco in the mids; and more coffee and some hops in the back. I could drink this shit all day long, and at 5.6% you should.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. What a fantastic beer....I really like Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale, Stout, Porter, and Hefe. You have to hand it to Sierra Nevada, they know how to roll out these classic styles. The sweeter coffee notes in this porter beg to be paired with some pork. I'm thinking dried ribs or a pork roast. You could also pair this with some beef ribs or beef brisket. Yum.

Random Thought: I <3 Winter Beers. 

Spiteful God Damn Peanut Butter And Jelly Pigeon Porter

Brewed By: Spiteful Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (Batch #166)

Style/ABV: American Porter, 8.2%
Reported IBUs: ?

As my significant other would say, "It's peanut butter jelly time." About Spiteful: 

Spiteful Brewing was founded in January 2010 by Brad Shaffer and Jason Klein. Like many brewers, the duo started out homebrewing. As of today, the brewery houses a 2.5 BBL Brewhouse and 5 BBL Fermenters. Currently, as a nanobrewery, Spiteful Brewing is hand delivering to stores and bars. For more info, check out Spiteful's website, or their Facebook or Twitter. 

The God Damn Peanut Butter And Jelly Pigeon Porter is without a website page, but the bottle provides a detailed description: "Normally we HATE gossip, but listen to this. Colin told us the Raspberry Pigeon and Pirate Pigeon were getting hot and heavy at the Chocolate Banana Pigeon's party. In fact, we heard they GOT IT ON! What you hold in your hands is their love child, bearing notes of peanut butter and tart raspberry. Unfortunately, this means more F-ing pigeons!"

Spiteful God Damn Peanut Butter And Jelly Pigeon Porter 

This pours out like a Stout/Porter, but the head crackles away into something reminiscent of cola. The body has those rooooby rad tones, and this is surprisingly thick all things considered. To me, this beer is oily and Stout-like, not like your typical light porter affair. 

On the aroma: peanut butter and jelly. Wow. Spiteful nailed this one on the nose. The peanut butter is really coming through the nose with assertive force. I'm getting some Porter-y notes, but they hint at bread crust, whole wheat bread, and cafeteria peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The jam is descriptive and raspberry. If you've had a lot of beer and know the ingredients, you can deconstruct this into notes of roast, fruit, and coffee...but honestly, this smells like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The secondary thing I'm getting on the aroma is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  

Oh wow. This is fantastic. This is an amazing fusion of peanut butter and jelly on a relatively non-intrusive Porter backdrop. Again, if you drink a lot of beer you'll be able to deconstruct some of the base with its roast, coffee, and cocoa notes...but then the beer goes all Ken Griffey and slams you with legit peanut butter, Reese's peanut butter candies, and jelly. This tastes like peanut butter and jelly. The raspberry notes in here are constrained and nicely done. This isn't too sweet or too thick...it's just right. 

I give a lot of love to Pipeworks, but Spiteful have been flying under the radar for whatever reason. This is a perfect example of a fantastic, local, Chicago beer. At 8.2% this is medium-bodied, well carbonated, and surprisingly refreshing and drinkable. I think a lot of that falls on the raspberry addition. This has fantastic palate depth for a Porter. Porters sometimes fall of in one area of the palate or another...this one provides a full ride without cheating (it's not Stout-like). This also has good complexity. If you can't tell, I'm quite smitten with this beer. It's a nice progression with raspberry, roast, and coffee up front; the essence of the Porter then shifts into huge peanut butter, with peanut butter, Reese's candies, and more jelly; the back end just dials up the peanut butter and jelly, with hints of bread fusing the two flavors together. The finish lingers the P&J with some hints of coffee and roast. It finishes clean too.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm going to go with a Strong Above-Average on this. Not only does it deliver the promised peanut butter and jelly that is advertised on the bottle, BUT it is also a really good Porter. I'm not a huge Porter guy...I prefer the denser, bigger, roastier, Imperial Stouts. But this is really working for me. This is clean and drinkable...but flavorful and expansive. I would pair this beer with a gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Or maybe a Monte Cristo. Dammit, now I want a Monte Cristo. 

Random Thought: I realize the irony of me giving high marks to an adjunct Porter after I submitted the DDB article about bitch palates to Reddit. Oh well. Ain't no shame in being a hypocrite. 

Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: American Porter, 5.9% 
Reported IBUs: 53

Tonight's beer was just sitting on shelves, saying "tick me, bro." I've already dabbled wit Stone's Smoked Porter, which is really good. The Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans is even better. About Stone:

Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. Also...farking woot and fizzy yellow beer is for bitches. 

The Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers is the brainchild of Chris Carroll, who in 2006, suggested producing a one-off version of the Stone Smoked Porter brewed with the addition of chipotle peppers. Stone describes this beer as a "deep, roasty quaff," which is also how I describe going down on Serena Williams. Let's get this into a glass and do that adjunct bench press. 

Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers

This one pours out like a Porter or Brown Ale. The shocker here is the three-fingers plus of dense, sustaining head. The head takes on root beer float consistency, and has that cola-brown color. The body of the beer is also hinting towards a dark brown or ruby red in low light. In bright light the beer is a just slightly hazy reddish-orange color, it's kind of murky and swampy, like port side storage containers. The head is hanging around, and there be lacing ahead. 

This one smells surprisingly sweet from the onset. I'm getting big toast, dusty cocoa, lactose chocolate, nuttiness, nutty coffee, hazelnut, and coffee sweetness. There's also an earthy element to the coffee aroma which is nice. There's a hint of earthy ash and smoke on the aroma as well. Noteably absent on this beer's aroma is the smell of chipotle or pepper. I'm not getting any in the aroma. If you handed this to me blind and told me to judge it based on aroma alone, I'd be SOL. 

Mild spice is the name of the game here, with tingly chipotle massaging the sides of your tongue and building towards a peppery finish that drops salty jalapenos, green peppers, and chipotle goodness on the back of your throat. It's a blast of refined and constrained pepper to your tonsils, if you still have them. The base beer is given plenty of room to do its thing, with lots of Brown Ale/Porter-esque goodness. There's plenty of toast, caramel, cocoa, sweet chocolate, nuttiness, and subtle coffee notes at work here. The peppery heat is a nice counterpoint to this beer's somewhat one-dimensional sweetness, but those are the ropes in Porter country. 

As a general rule of thumb, I am better than everyone. People complaining about this beer's heat are wrong and should try some of Stone's Crime. People complaining about this being too light should note that this is a gentle beer, really. The 5.9% goes undetected, and I'd almost dare say this is pretty accessible both in terms of drinkability and sessionability. I don't want to jump the gun on potential food pairings, but this beer seems like it would really go well with some chocolate cake, mole sauce, bacon, chili, clam chowder (per Stone's website), ribs, grilled meats, and big ass burgers. It's kind of a foodie beer, certainly a beer with purpose. It's the adjuncts. Anyway...palate depth and complexity are both pretty good, and this one has that medium-light mouthfeel with nice carbonation and tingly pepper heat that moves things along. If there was ever a case for Ales > Dunkler Bocks, this beer might be it. Up front: rich cocoa, dusty chocolate, nuttiness, coffee; the mids roll into more cocoa and coffee, toast, growing pepper heat; the back end continues with the cocoa, nuttiness, earthy coffee, ash, and big green pepper, jalapeno, and chipotle show up to punch the back of your throat. I'm digging this.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a very Strong Above-Average. This is the perfect example of how you can balance adjuncts against a really solid base beer. Both the Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers and the Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean are an improvement over the base beer, in my humble opinion. This is a somewhat mild and manageable beer, but I suspect it will really work with the aforementioned food pairings. If you appreciate pepper heat, check this beer out. Yeah, it's somewhat spicy. But it's nothing like the abominations that Crime and Punishment are. This is a solid Porter, and you could do much worse at around $5.99~7.99 per bomber.

Random Thought: I debated drinking this tonight because I picked up some hoppy beers that I don't want to camp on for too long, but I think I made the right choice. I'm not sure how chipotle peppers hold up with time, but I have to image they drop off. 

Surly Smoke Lager

Brewed By: Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Purchased: 1 Pint 9.4oz (25.4oz) GRAY WAXED bottle bought at Whole Foods in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 2013)

Style/ABV: Smoked/Baltic Porter/Oak Aged Smoked Baltic Porter, 8.2%

Reported IBUs: 50

Baltic Porters are the weird step-cousins of Imperial Stouts. These non-hoppy, malt bombs of a Lager are similar in style to both English Brown Porters and Schwarzbiers. The style was traditionally brewed by countries bordering the Baltic Sea, and is most similar to English Porters but was influenced by Russian Imperial Stouts. Tonight's beer takes the Baltic Porter format, and ratchets it up a few notches. 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.

Tonight's beer, the Surly Smoke Lager, is massive in all the ways that matter. The bottle (and website) reads: "Ebony-hued, Smoke wafts out of the bottle and into your senses, borne on the wings of European traditions, wrapped in American innovation. Lager-brewed, like any true Baltic Porter, with smoked malts from Bamberg, Germany, the home of Rauchbiers, then mellowed by oak-aging. Black malt flavors mesh with notes of raisins, plums, figs and licorice with the subtle smoke on the side, for a complex and luxurious, yet silky smooth drinking experience. It's a sipper at Alc. 8.2% by VOL., but everyone knows you can't have Smoke without fire!" This one features Pale Ale, Smoked, Black, and Oat malts; it uses Warrior hops; the beer is fermented using German Lager yeast; and the beer is aged in or on oak. At 8.2% ABV and 50 IBUs, this one is sort of within the style guidelines.

Surly Smoke Lager

The Surly Smoke pours into an opaque, dark black/brown/reddish body, and kicks up three fingers of pretty dark mocha/brown head. There's a centimeter of hazy head hanging around, probably courtesy of the oats. Bright light confirms the same stuff...I'm okay calling this beer dark brown. It's opaque as they come.

The aroma here is big Bamberg/beechwood smoked malts, meats, ham/bacon, cherrywood, sauna, and dusty cocoa. SWIRL THIS BEER! When you swirl the beer in the glass, you unlock the mystery of dark grains, coffee, molasses, dark fruits, cherries, fruity alcohol, and big oak sweetness. The oak sweetness is woody and nutty and reminds me of the Two Brothers Atom Smasher.

The taste is intense, with big Rauchbier-esque smoked malts. I'm picking up beechwood, sauna, dark grains, cherries and boozy dark fruits, and layers of oak/wood/booze. Between all the smoke and fruity booze is some hints of molasses, coffee, and chocolate. There's a mild salty character here too.

This isn't as complex as I was expecting it to be...but that is not a serious knock against the beer. The beer is medium to full-bodied, depending heavily on the temperature that you drink it at. As it warms up, it starts to thicken up. The mouthfeel has added sustenance thanks to the low levels of carbonation. At 8.2% this is very drinkable, but you do get some nice, subtle booze in this. It adds a layer of needed complexity, and goes well with the dark malts and smoke. This is a Lager through and through, so a lot of the complexity comes from the malts, smoke, and oak. Speaking of: Up front is rich sweetness, dark fruits, molasses, chocolate, cocoa powder, coffee, and smoke; the mids roll into big sauna, beechwood, cherry wood, coffee, legit Bamberg Rauchbier-esque smoked malts, meaty hints, smoke, oak/bourbon/whiskey, more dark fruits; the back continues to bounce between oak/alcohol/bourbon/oak/dark fruits/etc. There is lingering molasses and smoke. The finish isn't super dry or sweet...very clean...hints of Lager spice. Like a Lager should be.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Decent Above-Average for me. I enjoy the boozy fruits, coffee, and subtle oak that elevate this beer above just being a smoked Baltic Porter. It's a very well-made, clean beer too. It's kind of...like...an embodiment of Surly, to be honest. They make aggressive but clean beers that you can quaff all night long. I'd maybe pick this beer up again...it's hard to say with the $17 or $18 price tag. Food pairings here are pretty much smoked meats, bacon, BBQ sandwiches, chili, strong cheeses, ribs, burgers, and yeah. This is good stuff. Also, dat bottle art/wax. 

Random Thought: For whatever reason, this week just keeps going on and on. It's like the longest week ever.

Mikkeller drumBAR Black Sap

Brewed By: Mikkeller in Copenhagen, Denmark (brewed & bottled at De Proef Brouwerij, Lochristi-Hijfte, Belgium)

Purchased: 375ml (12.7oz) bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: Imperial Porter, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

I honestly can't believe I have only ever reviewed one other Mikkeller beer, which is the

gimmicky but delicious 1000 IBUs. I guess I just prefer the Evil Twin? Ah...aha...get it? Anyway, about Mikkeller: 

Mikkeller is that European brewery that does things like an American craft brewery. The brewery was founded in 2006 by Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, a humble math and physics teacher who enjoyed craft beer and homebrewing. Mikkel and his childhood friend Kristian Keller bought a few American books about brewing, and began brewing beer and entering it into competitions (and winning!) for two and a half years. Eventually, Mikkel and Keller began brewing beer at the Danish microbrewery Ørbæk, and Mikkel's twin brother Jeppe began selling their beer at his beer shop. Mikkeller's first big break came with their infamous "Beer Geek Breakfast." Since then, the brewery exports beer to over 40 countries, and brews the majority of their beer at de Proef Brouwerij in Belgium. However, Mikkeller is also nicknamed the "phantom" or "gypsy" microbrewery, as they brew at a number of host facilities in many different countries; they have also brewed over 100 different beers in a wide variety of styles. You can read more about the brewery here. 

So yeah, tonight's brew is so OG and original there doesn't even appear to be a blurb on the website. I guess Mikkel is too busy flying around gypsy-brewing beer to update his website, IT'S OKAY I LOVE YOU ANYWAY. The bottle on this beer quietly states: "Imperial Porter brewed with coffee & aged in maple syrup barrels." That's good news for me, because I like maple syrup, coffee, and Imperial Porters. 

Mikkeller drumBAR Black Sap

The beer pours into a black, cola-esque body, kick up three fingers of sandy/tan head. The head is bready and thick, and sustaining surprisingly well. Bright light confirms the same stuff...opaque, black body, and a finger of brown head that is still hanging on. There's some nice lacing as well. 

On the aroma: surprising anise and dark fruits...probably from the coffee. If you dig a bit further, you get walloped with dense, thick, earthy coffee. I'm getting intense coffee, espresso, char, dark roast, fudge, hints of mocha or dark baker's chocolate, and some maple/pine sap sweetness. There is some oak and wood as well.

The taste is a collision of maple sap sweetness, tart dark fruits, subtle coffee, and huge char, roast, dirt, earthy espresso, and dark baker's chocolate. The front end has lots of maple sweetness and dark fruits, but the back end dials up huge roast and char, with hints of baker's chocolate, espresso, coffee, and some boozy mouthfeel. The back end even gets a bit ashy, with some leather and tobacco. 

This is surprisingly medium-light bodied, with lots of carbonation and tart fruitiness to help move things along. Palate depth and duration is surprisingly good, as the beer drops off and then kicks into second gear with huge roast and char and baker's chocolate. You really don't get any of the 10% except for some welcomed boozy complexity and warming in your chest. This is moderately complex as well. So I don't know why I'm not madly in love with this...up front: sweet maple syrup, tart dark fruits, sweeter coffee and espresso. Then, go for a jog or something and wait a minute. Better late than never, right? The mid palate shows up...about 20 seconds later (impressive), with MASSIVE roast, char, dark molasses, grilled meats, earthy dirt and coffee and espresso, dark baker's chocolate, and some ash; the back end features trailing roast and char with some leather and tobacco, boozy warming, a dry roasty finish. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average here...this is a very complex, subtle beer. It reminds me very much of The Beer That Saved Christmas, because both beers have really complex flavor profiles that don't assault your senses. You could probably miss out on everything that is good about this beer if you drink it too cold (drink at room temp), or if you drink it too fast. This beer is the type of beer you'll want to mull over for a while, and you'll want to drink the entire bottle. So don't bring this to a bottle share. The contrast of sweet maple sap/syrup and dark fruits and the huge earthy char is nice. It suggests to me that you could pair this beer with a robust cigar, grilled meats, steak, a big burger, or strong aged cheeses. I'd love to see this beer in a slightly larger bottle format, 12.7oz is just not enough to properly mull over. Especially since this wasn't cheap. But I'll toss this a soft recommendation. 

Random Thought: It's totally snowing out...and....I don't even care anymore. Whatever. I'm ready for Spring and Saisons.

Revolution Bean Gene

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company (Revolution Beer LLC) in Chicago, IL

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Robust Porter, 8.5%

Reported IBUs: 28

Bean Gene is the best Gene. About Revolution:

Revolution Brewing is a brewery and brewpub based in Chicago. Revolution's roots are tied to founder Josh Deth, a homebrewer who began working at Golden Prairie Brewing. A few years later, while working at Goose Island, Josh dreamt up the idea for Revolution Brewing. In 2003, Josh and his wife opened Handlebar, while Josh worked as an Executive Director of Logan Square Chamber of Commerce. While working for the Chamber of Commerce, Josh found an old building on Milwaukee Avenue, and the wheels began to spin to open up a brewery. After three years of raising funds, Revolution Brewing opened its doors on February 2010. In July of 2011, Revolution added a 2nd floor Brewers' Lounge. And in 2012, the company opened a new production brewery and tap room. The brewpub is located in Logan Squre on 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave; the brewery is located on Kedzie Avenue at 3340 N. Kedzie Ave. For more information on Revolution, check out their history page here! 

The Bean Gene is like going into Inception and then plugging into the Matrix or some shit. The beer takes Revolution's Eugene Porter that has been aged in Woodford Reserve Bourbon barrels for 36 weeks (aka their Mean Gene), and then tosses in some coffee from Dark Matter Coffee. The Bean Gene is steeped with Dark Matter coffee beans prior to bottling. The bottle states:

"Bean Gene is our first variation on our barrel aged porter, Mean Gene. After months socked away in bourbon barrels, we steep it with Dark Matter coffee beans prior to bottling. Smooth and well balanced, with hints of vanilla and in your face coffee flavor, enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner." 

Revolution Bean Gene

Punching in at 8.5% ABV and 28 IBUs, this is a relatively mild take on something aged in bourbon barrels. This one pours into a mostly opaque and black body...it's inky and dark, but not the darkest I've seen. The beer kicks up three fingers of sandy/tan head, and head retention is pretty good, leaving some nice lacing as it drops off. When held to a bright white light, you catch some brown tones around the edges.

The aroma is a really nice blend of bourbon and coffee. I'm getting a lot of earthy coffee, roast, espresso, dirt, some mocha and chocolate, and a little dark fruit sweetness. The barrel character melds into the backdrop, with wood, light bourbon, and some vanilla and oak.

Wow...this is amazing. Like, restrained and balanced but huge and expansive...I'm getting a lot of coffee, roast, espresso, earthy dirt, light nuttiness and mocha, and then tons of subdued vanilla, oak, light barrel, and some kisses of bourbon and booze. There's mocha in here, hints of dark fruit, some roast, and even some hints of bread/toast. Just wonderfully balanced and drinkable.

This is just...amazing. It's so restrained and drinkable. It sort of drinks like an 8.5% beer, which it is. But you know, sometimes those huge barrel-aged beers get exhausting, and this doesn't. The coffee adds some nice character to the body, with that roasty, coffee-bean texture in the body and carbonation. This is a medium-full to full-bodied beer, with tons of carbonation and coffee tingling on your tongue, and great duration, depth, and complexity. Up front: tons of sweet coffee, earthy coffee, nutty, hints of hazelnut, earthy, dirt, dark fruits; that rolls into big mocha and chocolate, roast, vanilla, bourbon, oak, barrel character, wood, more coffee, some roast; the back end is all about the bourbon/vanilla, oak, some lingering oaky-vanilla sweetness, and a dry vanilla finish. Light, balanced, drinkable, super refined. 

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm going to go with a Strong Divine Brew on this. This is just blissful, fantastic, brilliance. I'm amazed at how easy to drink this beer is...the 8.5% is completely subdued. This beer also has tons of flavor in terms of barrel, coffee, chocolate, and the base beer, but nothing is overwhelming. This beer is like everything that the Deth's Tar isn't. Avoid the Deth's Tar and just by this, yo. Yeah, it's a little pricey at $20 dollars a bottle, but this is quality shit. Good job, Revolution, I will be buying this again. Food pairings: ribs, grilled meets, vanilla ice cream, your snifter and a cigar. Just fantastic...

Random Thought: If you were wondering, yes I am an alcoholic, and yes I took Monday off. Why did I take Monday off? Because it's the Monday after the Super Bowl, and I believe that day should be a national holiday. Who wants to go to work after eating too much food, drinking too much alcohol, and watching a late night football game? The answer is nobody, that's who. 

Revolution Eugene Porter

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company (Revolution Beer LLC) in Chicago, IL

Purchased: 12oz CAN from a 6-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottle on can is 01/21/2014) 

Style/ABV: Robust Porter, 6.8%

Reported IBUs: 28

DAE lazy Saturdays? Fuck yeah! About Revolution:

Revolution Brewing is a brewery and brewpub based in Chicago. Revolution's roots are tied to founder Josh Deth, a homebrewer who began working at Golden Prairie Brewing. A few years later, while working at Goose Island, Josh dreamt up the idea for Revolution Brewing. In 2003, Josh and his wife opened Handlebar, while Josh worked as an Executive Director of Logan Square Chamber of Commerce. While working for the Chamber of Commerce, Josh found an old building on Milwaukee Avenue, and the wheels began to spin to open up a brewery. After three years of raising funds, Revolution Brewing opened its doors on February 2010. In July of 2011, Revolution added a 2nd floor Brewers' Lounge. And in 2012, the company opened a new production brewery and tap room. The brewpub is located in Logan Squre on 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave; the brewery is located on Kedzie Avenue at 3340 N. Kedzie Ave. For more information on Revolution, check out their history page here! 

The Eugene Porter is a Robust Porter brewed with chocolate and Belgian specialty malts. This beer was named after Eugene V. Debs, "an American union leader and activist who led the Pullman Railroad strike in 1894." I dunno. You can like google it or whatever. Anyway, punching in at 6.8% and 28 IBUs, this is a reasonably large beer.

Revolution Eugene Porter...static potato pictures FTW

The date on the bottom of the can says 01/21/2014. I can't tell if that is a best-by date or a canning date. Either way...the beer pours into a dark brown, ruby-red, cola body. The beer kicks up three to four fingers of thick, bready, tan/brown head. Head retention is nice, and there is some really nice lacing on the glass. 

The aroma is your typical Porter fare...mild, grassy hops, and big sweet caramel, toast, and mild chocolate malt. There's a hint of nutty and coffee in the aroma as well, but it's mostly all about those grassy, mild hops, and that big sweet caramel and toast.

The taste is really good, better than the aroma. There's a really dense and expansive wave of chocolate malts, sweet caramel, toast, bready malt goodness, and some hints of nuttiness and coffee. Hidden behind all the malty goodness is some very mild hop character, with some floral and grassy UK-like hops. 

The mouthfeel is medium-light, and supported by carbonation. The palate depth is really good, and the beer finishes strong (which Porters don't always do). Complexity is good but nothing mind-blowing. And the 6.8% is completely hidden. After a blast of floral and grassy hops up front, you get hit with caramel and malt sweetness; mid-palate dials up the caramel and chocolate, and then lays on some toast, roasted malt, a little earthy coffee, and more caramel; the back end has lingering toast and roast, and hints at nutty sweetness. The finish is strong and full, slightly sweet, and then dry. Very refined and balanced, and the beer sticks out the finish.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is a very Light Above-Average thanks to the strong finish and solid palate duration. This beer really delivers a full experience from front to back, and that elevates it into an above-average beer. The flavors are what you want from a porter too: hints of roast and coffee and nuttiness, lots of caramel malt sweetness, toasty notes, and it's very drinkable. This is my go-to local Porter, especially if I want something canned. This beer pairs well with steak, barbecue, burgers, braised pork, chocolate desserts, ice cream, and even lighter foods. The fact that this beer comes in a can is an added bonus. You can go portable with this beer, or pour it into a glass. I highly recommend this beer for Chicago locals, but otherwise this is just a slightly above-average Porter.

Random Thought: Now add some coffee to this and then you're talking. 

Maine Beer Mean Old Tom

Brewed By: Maine Beer Company in Freeport, Maine

Purchased: 1 pt .9 fl. oz (16.9oz) bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (bottled on 10/29/13)

Style/ABV: American Stout, 6.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

And now for part two. About the Maine Beer Company:

The Maine Beer Company is a brewery based out of Freeport, Maine, founded in 2012. The brewery focuses on American-style ales, with an emphasis on fresh beer intended to be consumed fresh. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

The Mean Old Tom is not a racial epithet, and is actually an American Stout/Porter/thing. Brewed with a malt base of American 2-Row, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, Midnight Wheat, Caramel 40L, and Flaked Oats; and featuring US Magnum and Centennial hops; this beer punches in at 6.5% and is aged on vanilla beans. 

Maine Beer Mean Old Tom

The beer pours into a black body that has some ruby red tones. Such tones. The beer also kicks up three fingers of magnificent, ice cream float-like head. The head is a nice khaki/tan color, and leaving lacing as it drops off. Bright light confirms much of the same.

It seems like not often that I indulge in a non-Imperial Stout/Porter, and I'm happy to say the aroma here is good. I'm getting rich vanilla, vanilla bean, Porter-like-roast, coffee, dusty/powdery cocoa, and some caramel and toast. The vanilla really stands out.

This tastes pretty good, with lots of coffee, bitter chocolate, cocoa, some creamer, and tons of vanilla. You also get quite a bit of roast with some hints of toasted bread and biscotti, and lots of caramel sweetness. Hints of nutty, like a Brown Ale.

For a drinkable, affordable, 6.5% Stout...I'm already leaning towards a light above average. I really think the vanilla and coffee in here elevates what would otherwise be a very simple Stout/Porter into something memorable and worth stocking. Palate depth and complexity are both solid, and the mouthfeel is medium-full. The beer is supported by nice carbonation, and rounds out with tons of bitter coffee and roast. It's light, but robust. You get coffee, vanilla, and bitter chocolate up front; that rolls into more vanilla, some roast, dense body; the back end trails coffee, throws in the toast 'n' roast, and finishes dry and attenuated. Simple in the best ways possible.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Light Above-Average. As I just said, a memorable, lower-ABV Stout/Porter drink. Super drinkable, and only smells. The best smells. You can pair this beer with a burger, a steak, coffee braised anything, chocolate and coffee desserts, or breakfast. Actually, pairing this beer with some chocolate chip pancakes and home made chocolate syrup sounds pretty effing fantastic. Will consider.

Random Thought: This is so much better than Shipyard. Come at me, Maine bros.

Milwaukee Brewing Sasquash

Brewed By: Milwaukee Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Porter / Spice/Herb/Vegetable, 5.6% 

Reported IBUs: 12.5

The story behind tonight's beer is that I put a big dent into my Autumn beer supply. I went to the liquor store to replenish said drained supply, and spent a few minutes contemplating which 6-pack of Pumpkin/Spice beer to roll the dice on. There are too many pumpkin beers out there, and most of them come in the 6-pack format. I'm not hating, I love having options. But I'm riding the line between Fall and Winter. I ended up grabbing a 6-pack of tonight's beer, which is from the Milwaukee Brewing Company. About the Milwaukee Brewing Company:                             

The Milwaukee Brewing Company was started as a brewpub with a 15bbl brewery. Founded by Jim McCable, the brewery produced its first beer in October, 1997. Due to increased demand and popularity, the company kegged their first beer in 2007 at the 2nd Street Brewery in, a 50bbl packaging facility. For more info, check out the brewery's website.

The Sasquash deviates from the standard pumpkin beer a bit, in that it is a Porter. Punching in at 5.6% ABV and 12.5 IBUs, the beer is brewed with Tettnang hops, a Pale/Special Roast/Honey/Chocolate malt base, and features pumpkin and sweet potatoes. In fact, the beer uses an impressive 700 pounds of pumpkin and sweet potato, straight to the wort. The beer also features some cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. 

Milwaukee Brewing Sasquash

The beer pours a dark brown, almost-black color in low light, and kicks up a finger of dark tan/khaki head. The head is creamy, and departs with some nice lacing, and settles into a nice hazy, cauldron effect. Bright light betrays the beer's ruby red body, but you can see brown tones even in lower lighting. The beer is hazy and features some floating sediment (yay, bottle conditioning!), and you can see some nice carbonation. Nothing looks amiss...onto the aroma.

Whew. This has a nice, sweet, malty aroma. I'm getting a lot of toast, some roast, sweet molasses and sugars, and malty sweetness typical to a Brown Ale, Porter, or malty Bock. I'm also getting some nice pie crust, with some cereal graininess. Actually...the aroma on this beer channels the same aromas you get on the Pumking or Warlock. I'm getting pie crust, meaty pie filling, meaty sweet potato, some cinnamon and nutmeg, graham cracker, and some slight canned corn. The aroma on this beer is really solid, here's to hoping it carries over into the taste. 

This is a nice, subtle beer. You get a lot of roast, toast, and hints of coffee and dark malts. In fact, the roasted flavors have quite a bit of depth. There's hints of cinnamon and pumpkin spice in the taste, with some subtle pumpkin pie, and hints of pumpkin pie/sweet potato towards the back of the beer. For the most part, the pumpkin and spice in this beer is very subtle compared to the roast.

If you want a pumpkin beer that isn't overly assertive with the pumpkin and spice, this beer might do the trick. At 5.6%, this beer is super quaffable, with a nice medium-light to medium-full body, and good palate depth. Complexity could definitely reach a bit further, but there is nice depth with the roasted flavors. You get a blast of pumpkin spice up front, followed by coffee, roast, toast; the middle rolls into more roast, with some earth, more coffee, some pumpkin spice and cinnamon; the back end has subtle hints of sweet potato and pumpkin, and more roast. It tastes like a Porter with a hint of that Pumpkin/Sweet Potato twist.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. I commend this beer for the depth of the roast. And for 5.6%, this beer packs a lot of flavor and punch. It's a good Porter...just not a mind blowing Pumpkin Beer. So, you're gonna love this beer if you hate overly assertive pumpkin brews. It also is a nice dark beer twist to the somewhat cliched Pumpkin Ale style. You can pair this beer with hearty pumpkin dishes, pumpkin soup, sweet potatoes, any Autumn pie (apple, pumpkin, sweet potato, etc.), or just drink it with a burger. It's light enough at 5.6% to pair well with a wide range of foods. Good stuff from Milwaukee.

Random Thought: Deep Ellum became the subject of controversy with their "Dallas Blonde Ale." It goes down easy. The controversy is a bit convoluted, but word on the street is that Deep Ellum was participating in the drama. Not cool. Even worse is the "Apology-that-is-NOT-an-apology" issued by the brewery, basically saying they're not sorry for offending people. It's a whole lotta bullshit, but the non-apology is a classless move on the same level as douche nuggets like Daniel Tosh. When will people learn.