three flyods

New Beer Blog Big Horn Ram Brewery Norm! Pilsner And Tap Party

In this beer blog, we are going to talk about the Tap Party at The Ram in Schaumburg, Illinois. They were tapping their Norm! Pilsner. If you read my earlier blog on their beers, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read the first part of that beer blog. This beer post we were talk about the beer and the food at the Tap Party. Let us do this.

Norm! Pilsner

This beer has a copper color with a white head that will disappear over the drinking experience. The smell is of fresh air which I always get from pilsners. It has a slight earthly smell to the beer. The taste is a full body sweet malty carbonation with an earthy aftertaste. This pilsner is pretty well balance and extremely drinkable beer

Here is a description of the beer from the brewery:

Norm! Pilsner is a pleasant, thirst quenching lager hopped with plenty of Czech Saaz hops to please the palate. This golden pilsner is slightly heavier than the Blonde and is about 4.8% ABV.

The Food

We had the Border Burger and Amber Ale Chicken Sandwich. Ram never disappoints when it comes to their food. They do a great job with their food.

Here is a description of the food:

Border Burger:

Guacamole, bacon, pepper jack cheese, jalapeno, salsa, lettuce and tomato.

Amber Ale Chicken Sandwich:

Amber ale marinated chicken breast, Porter BBQ sauce, slaw, tomato, onion crisps, roasted tomato-chipotle mayonnaise, and pretzel bun.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.theram.com

Twitter: @theram

In closing, this was my first Tap Party from The Ram and I had a ton of fun. This is not a bad pilsner and it is pretty good beer. The food fits and pairs perfectly with the food that we order from the brewery. As far as the food, I really enjoyed the Amber Ale Chicken Sandwich. It was perfect with the pilsner. I was not a big fan of the burger but it was still really good. I believe my guest said the same thing. If you are not a Mug Club member, you should become a member. I cannot wait for the Tap Party at Wheeling in January. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Goose Island Christmas Ale 2012

In this winter beer blog, we are going to sample out this years Christmas Ale from Goose Island Brewery. If you read my earlier blog on one their beers, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read the first part of that beer blog. Let us get into the beer.

Goose Island Christmas Ale has a nice amber color without a head on it. The smell is a caramel to malty to it. The taste of this ale is a hazel to almond with a slight dash of caramel for the aftertaste. It is not that drinkable but the beer drinker could have a few of these beers.

Here is a description from their website (www.gooseisland.com):

Brewer’s Notes:Every year to celebrate the holiday season, we brew up our Christmas Ale, and with each year we change the recipe slightly so that you have something special to look forward to.

Recipe Information:

Style: Brown Ale

Alcohol by Volume: 7.3

International Bitterness Units: Change year to year

Color: Chocolate

Hops: Change year to year

Malt: Pale, Munich, Caramel

Serving Suggestions:

Preferred Glass: Nonic

Food Pairings: Ham, Turkey, Lamb

Cheese Pairings: Aged Gouda, Dry Jack

Cellaring Notes: 180 days

Availability:

Seasonal (November – December)

Bottles: 6, 12 & 24pks

Draft: 1/6 & 1/2bbl

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.gooseisland.com

Twitter: @gooseisland

Closing, this is the first of Goose Island Christmas Ale where the beer will not change over the years or can not be aged like Christmas Ales from the past. It is pretty disappointing because a ton of us craft beer drinkers love to age beer to see what is like next year. I was pretty disappointing with this beer. It is kind of drinkable beer. I just feel this beer is missing something like other years. I do not know what it is and I am not a brewer to make to explain my thought pattern. I can see most people liking this beer and I want you to try it. This beer does pair really well with food. I just do not like this year’s Christmas Ale from Goose Island and that does not mean you will not like this beer. Let me hear your thoughts. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Goose Island Christmas Ale 2011

In this winter beer, we are going to take a look at a beer from my vintage beer closet and the beer is from Goose Island. It is their Christmas Ale 2011. If you read my earlier blog on one of their beers, you know the history of this brewery. If you live in Chicago or the Midwest, you know this brewery and some of their beers. If you do not, please, read the first part of that beer post. Let us get into the beer.

This Christmas beer has a light brown with a semi head on the beer. The smell has a strong caramel with a fade hazel nut to it. The taste has a little caramel with a sweeten carbonation malty to the beer. The aftertaste is a slight malty to it but it is very fade. It is pretty drinkable beer and it aged very well.

Here is a description from their website (www.gooseisland.com):

Brewer’s Notes:Every year to celebrate the holiday season, we brew up our Christmas Ale, and with each year we change the recipe slightly so that you have something special to look forward to.

Recipe Information:

Style: Brown Ale

Alcohol by Volume: 7.3

International Bitterness Units: Change year to year

Color: Chocolate Hops: Change year to year

Malt: Pale, Munich, Caramel

Serving Suggestions:

Preferred Glass: Nonic

Food Pairings: Ham, Turkey, Lamb

Cheese Pairings: Aged Gouda, Dry Jack

Cellaring Notes: 5 years

Availability:

Seasonal (November – December)

Bottles: 6, 12 & 24pks

Draft: 1/6 & 1/2bbl

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.goooseisland.com

Twitter: @gooseisland

In closing, the 2011 Goose Island Christmas Ale was the last to be able to age but I am not going to push it over two years. Over the years, I had to pour out a ton of Christmas Ale because they did not age good. This 2011 age very well and it is better than 2012. When this beer was young in 2011, I really did not like it so I am happy that it aged very well. It is complex with a ton of flavor. It is true that they change this American Brown Ale every year. If you see this on the shelf, I would grab and you will not be disappointed. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Kona Pipeline Porter

In this winter beer blog, we are going to take a look at the Kona Brewing Company and the beer is their winter seasonal called Pipeline Porter. Kona Brewing was founded in 1994 on the Big Island of Hawaii by Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa. They are brewing beer to fit the lifestyle of people who live on the island and the tourist that visit Hawaii. Their Longboard Lager is their flagship beer and is the top-selling craft beer in the state. Kona Brewing is being sold in twenty-eight states in the United States. They brew several brews like a pale ale, brown ale, golden ale, etc. Let us get into the beer.

This winter seasonal from Kona Brewing, which is called Pipeline Porter, has a black color without a head on the beer. The smell is a heavy coffee bean to the beer. The taste is a heavy coffee to a slight chocolate notes with a dry coffee bean aftertaste. The aftertaste is like eating whole coffee bean. It is a pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Since 1994, Kona Brewing CO. has been committed to making handcrafted ales and lagers of uncompromised quality. We invite you to visit our Brewery and pubs whenever you visit Hawaii. Mahala! Pipeline Porter is full-bodied with a rich, smooth dark-roasted malt flavor. A selection of premium hops and 100% Hawaiian Kona Coffee complete this limited brew.

Here is a description from their website (www.konabrewingco.com):

Rich & Roasty

Pipeline Porter is smooth and dark with a distinctive roasty aroma and earthy complexity from its diverse blends of premium malted barley. This celebration of malt unites with freshly roasted 100% Kona coffee grown at Cornwell Estate on Hawaii’s Big Island, lending a unique roasted aroma and flavor. A delicate blend of hops rounds out this palate-pleasing brew.

Available Fall/Winter

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.konabrewingco.com

Twitter: @konabrewingco

Aloha, this is a great beer. I was excited to hear that they are finally coming to Chicago and this is the first beer to land a shore. When I went to Hawaii on vacation, I was drinking a ton of Big Wave Golden Ale. This porter is smooth and taste is coffee and beer drinker can smelling it. It is not a drinkable beer but it is a beer that will last in your glass and frig for a while. I recommend this beer and get ready for rest of there beers being review here on this blog. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Widmer Brothers Brewing Brrr Seasonal Ale

In this winter beer blog, we are going to sample out another beer from Widmer Brothers Brewing and the beer is their winter seasonal called Brrr Seasonal Ale. If you read my earlier beer blog on their beer, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read the first part of that beer blog. Let us get into brew.

Widmer Brothers Brrr seasonal ale has a light brown color with a semi white head on the beer. The smell is a citrus to it. The taste is a sweet carbonation little malty with a citrus touch to the beer. The aftertaste is a dry aftertaste. It is a pretty drinkable hoppy beer for the winter seasonal.

Here is a description from their website (www.widmerbrothers.com):

Warm Up with a Cold One. Or Two. Our winter red ale is the perfect treat, naughty or nice. The deep red body fills your glass and a citrusy hop aroma fills your nose. Then caramel and chocolate malts reward you with a perfectly balanced, malty sweet flavor and velvety finish.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.widmerbrothers.com

Twitter: @widmer_brothers

Closing, this is an awesome beer from the Widmer Brothers. I really like what this brewery is doing. They are going back to roots and pushing the limits of craft beer brewing. This winter seasonal gives the craft beer drinker something you do not get from the other winter seasonal and it is hops and hops and more hops. It has the malty and warming but gives it a hoppy finish. It is like malty winter seasonal India Pale Ale. Plus, it is extremely drinkable and it will get you in trouble so be careful. This is a beer is part a sampler pack with Redhook Winter Hook and Kona Pipeline Porter. It is hard to get so if you see it, you better grab it. I highly recommend this beer. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Redhook Winter Hook

In this winter beer blog, we are going to sample out another beer from the Redhook Brewery and the beer is their winter seasonal called Winter Hook. If you read my earlier beer blog on one of their beers, you know the rich history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read the first part of that beer blog. Let us get into beer.

Redhook Winter Hook has a nice amber color with a semi white head on the beer. It has a sweet caramel. The taste is sweet carbonation caramel with a dry aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable winter seasonal.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Redhook likes a little nip in the air.

Here is a description from their website (www.redhook.com):

Winterhook is the perfect beer to keep warm during cold months after shoveling snow, shredding some powder, or playing hooky to can catch the game. Since it was first brewed, Redhook’s Winterhook has changed slightly each year to celebrate the season and keep everyone on their toes. After all, no one likes getting the same gift twice. The 28th version of Winterhook brewed for this year offers a rich caramel body that balances a big malt backbone with the aggressively dry hopped brew, making this year’s winter ale slightly naughty and very nice.

Style………………….Winter Ale

Abv…………………….6%

IBUs…………………..45 IBU

Original Gravity..15 degrees plato

Brewed Since………1985

Time Frame………..Winter Seasonal

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.redhook.com

Twitter: @redhook_brewery

Closing, this is one of my favorite beers from this brewery and winter seasonals in this season. I love the malty taste this beer gives you in every sip. Redhook Winter Hook is part of that awesome sampler pack with Kona Pipeline Porter and Widmer Brrr Seasonal Ale. This gives you a nice malty and drinkable beer. This beer is perfect for the coldest winter day but yet with a mild winter we are having in the Midwest, it is still perfect. This is a great beer and I am glad to see it back in six packs in the Chicago market. I recommend you trying this beer. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Revolution Brewing Mad Cow Milk Stout

In this beer blog, we are going to get into another beer from Revolution Brewing and the beer is called Mad Cow Milk Stout. If you read my earlier blog on their Anti-Hero IPA, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read the first part of that beer blog post. Let us get into the beer.

Revolution Brewing Mad Cow Milk Stout has a jet black color without a head on it. The smell is chocolate to toffee to the beer. The taste is a creamy chocolate beer without an aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from their website (www.revbrew.com):

Mad Cow

Smooth, charcoal black stout made with lactose for a lingering sweetness.

Milk Stout

ABV 7.7%IBU 30

Profile: Smooth, charcoal black stout made with lactose

Availability: 1/6 & 22oz

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.revbrew.com

Twitter: @revbrewchicago

In closing, I really enjoyed this beer and this is my favorite brew from Revolution Brewing. I love their Anti-Hero IPA also from this brewery. It is smooth and silky beer. It is extremely drinkable and that could get some people in trouble. I highly recommend this beer, however, this is not my favorite milk stout I have ever had. Mad Cow is my top five for Milk Stout.

Here is my top five Milk Stouts:

Lancaster Brewing Milk Stout
Milwaukee Brewing Polish Moon Milk Stout
Revolution Brewing Mad Cow Milk Stout
Maui Brewing Milk Stout (Brewpub only)
Left Hand Milk Stout

These are all really good milk stouts and just because I put it third does not make it a bad beer. I really enjoyed drinking them all. Now some of these beers, I can not get in my market like Maui Brewing and Lancaster Brewing. Left Hand is a great brew. I just feel the rest of the breweries took their recipe and made it better. Left Hand Milk Stout is still the same old brew and they did not change it. I recommend you trying all these beers. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Unibroue Grand Reserve 17 Dark Ale

In this beer blog, we are going to get into beer called Grand Reserve 17 Dark Ale from Unibroue. Unibroue was founded in 1990 under the name of La Brasserie Massawippi Inc in Quebec, Canada. The name changed in 1993 to Brasserie Broubec Inc and then merged with Unibroue. It was then sold in 2004 to Sleeman Breweries. Sleeman Breweries was then sold to Sapporo. Unibroue Brewery brews several different Belgian beer styles. Let us get into the beer.

It has a brown color with a white head on the beer. The smell is a sweet malty and other species. The taste is a sweet slight carbonation and no aftertaste to the beer. There is a lot going on in this complex dark ale. It is a sipping beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Dark Ale on Lees. Ale Brewed with Spices, Aged with French Oak, and with Natural Flavors added

Inspired by the great Belgian brewing tradition of Trappist monks established over the centuries. Unibroue 17 was first brewed in 2007 to celebrate our brewery’s 17th anniversary. However, the overwhelming success of this specialty brew made it obvious that we could not let such great ale slip into the anonymity of retirement.

As testimony to its remarkable flavor profile which increases in complexity as it ages, the original batch bottled in 2007 was awarded an international platinum medal three years in a row and the prestigious title of “World’s Best Dark Ale” when it was well past three years in the bottle!

So in 2011, we proudly brought back this French Oak aged, bottle refermented dark ale, with the “Grande Reserve” appellation as a fitting endorsement of its exceptional quality for aging. Brewed only once a year, in limited quantities, and individually numbered “brasseur” bottles, this is truly a flavorful delight for the specialty beer enthusiast.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.unibroue.com

Twitter: @unibroue

In the end, I really enjoyed this beer and I have to thank my friend let me try it. There is a ton going on in this dark ale. It is a sipping beer but it is pretty smooth. I was pretty stun by this beer and I will be searching the rest of their beers down from this brewery. To be honest, how much this beer was good, I would rather drink a beer from Belgium. This brewery being from Canada is as close to the real thing from Belgium. I recommend this beer and I would like to hear your thoughts on this beer or other brews that Unibroue brew. Any you recommend for me to try from this brewery. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter

In this winter beer blog, we are going to look at another brew from Three Floyds and it is called Klaus Christmas Porter. If you read my earlier beer post on their Robert The Bruce, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please read the first part of that beer post. Let us get into the beer.

It is a jet black color with a tan color head. The smell is an evergreen pine with a touch of toffee in the beer. The taste has a hint of toffee with a ton of pine with a pine cone aftertaste. It is not drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Alpha Klaus is Alpha King’s festive cousin. A big American Christmas Porter brewed with English chocolate malt Mexican sugar and of course, tons of strange American hops. Cheers!

Here is a description from their website (www.3floyds.com):

6.0% ABV 38 IBUs

Alpha Klaus is Alpha King’s festive cousin. A big American Christmas Porter brewed with English chocolate malt, Mexican sugar and of course, tons of strange American hops. Cheers! November release.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.3floyds.com

Twitter: @3floyds

Closing, I am a fan of this brewery. I was looking forward to try this beer for while. I do not know what they were trying to do with this brew. I feel they wanted to make a black IPA or black pale ale but wanted a porter. I am a huge porter and hop fan so this beer has some promise. There is not enough of the porter here just a ton of hops. It is like you are smelling a pine cone and then eat it in liquid form. I was really disappoint with the beer because I had to pour it out. I never pour out a beer but this was that bad. If you like this beer, I would like to hear your thoughts. Do not get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Tallgrass IPA

In this beer blog, we are going to take a look at one of my one of my favorite brewery that is not in the Chicago market. The beer is Tallgrass India Pale Ale. If you read my earlier blog post on their 8-Bit Pale Ale, you know about this brewery. If you did not, please, read that beer post on their flagship beer. Let us get into this beer.

The color is light cooper with a hint of amber with a semi white head on the beer. The smell is earthly. The taste is earthy with a dry piney aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from their beer can:

Bombastically Hopped. Surprisingly Malty. Pour a Pint…..

Here is a description from their website (www.tallgrassbeer.com):

IPA (ABV 6.3%, 60 IBU)

Our third beer, Tallgrass IPA, is an India Pale Ale that is rich, complex, and flavorful. We are proud to be the first brewery here in the Great Plains to have the first brewed, cans, and draft IPA out on the market!

Tallgrass IPA originally came to life as a creation during Jeff’s early homebrewing days (batch Numero Uno), and it was consumed in short order by his friends who came over to cook out and help with the next batch. After some modifications over the years (because nobody’s rookie homebrew batch tastes all that great, but your friends will tell you it does) the recipe was dialed in to become what is now Tallgrass IPA. We love this beer and think you will too!

What is with the name “India Pale Ale”? Well, India Pale Ales have a history that reaches way back to the days of the British Empire and the need for good and proper British beer for the soldiers in India. It just so happens that hops not only taste and smell great, they also have natural preservative properties that help keep beer fresher. Obviously, there was no way to keep beer cool on the long voyage around Cape Horn from England to India, so the intellectual forebearers of modern microbiology (genius brewers of course!) figured that if some hops were good for storage then heaps of hops would be great!

With this technique, these hero brewers and their hops kept the beer good and the soldiers of the empire inebriated, even in the furthest corners of the globe. Even more, the hoppiness of the IPA preserved not only the beer itself, but the great taste it created has preserved the style as one of the most popular beer styles in the world in the 21st century. If those brewers weren’t knighted by the empire back then, they should have been!

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.tallgrassbeer.com

Twitter: @tallgrassbeer

Closing out, so far all the beers that I had from this brewery. I have loved to death. I love their packaging to the liquid. This India Pale Ale is great but I do believe this beer is not an American India Pale Ale. It has more a feel of English style IPA and with the description from their website, I believe they are embracing it. Most American IPA are very hoppy and this beer is not. That is why I am basing my facts on that. I am not a brewer. If they believe it is American IPA, it is American IPA. This is my thought pattern. I highly recommend this beer and I love this beer. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

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Rich & Roasty

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IPA (ABV 6.3%, 60 IBU)

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