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New Beer Blog Speakeasy Butchertown Black Ale


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In this beer blog, we are going to sample out another brew, which is a limited release, from Speakeasy Brewery.   The brew is their Butchertown Black Ale.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read these beer blog posts to get to know this great west coast brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a jet black color with a white constant head on this black ale.  The smell slight chocolate with a heavy citrus notes.  The taste has chocolate citrus notes with bitter hop aftertaste.   It is kind of drinkable beer.
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Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.goodbeer.com

Twitter: @SpeakeasyBeer

Closing out, this beer is something else.  I really enjoy drinking this beer.  This is a big boy beer for the experienced hop heads in the world.  The hops shine nicely through the chocolate notes.  They did a great job on the picking of the hops.  I love the bitter aftertaste.   They found a way to heavy and in your face but not making you run away from the beer.  I am hoping they make their way to the Michigan Market, if not I will be making road trips back to Chicago.  I am glad I am back in Michigan this is one of the breweries I will miss getting on a regular basis.  I highly recommend this beer and their other brews.  If you are in San Fran, you need to get by their brewpub.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Cranker’s Brewery Professor IPA


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In this beer blog, Cranker’s Brewery Professor IPA is the beer and brewery that we will be sampling out.  I had a chance to try this beer at Buddy’s Pizza in Livonia, Michigan.  I thought I would write my thoughts on this brew.  There is not much history or information on this brewery.  I know they are young and they are from Big Rapids, Michigan. There is not much history on this brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It is hard to see in this restaurant because of the lighting.  It has a clear copper to light amber color with a white constant head.  The smell is a citrus notes.  The taste is carbonated citrus notes.  The aftertaste is dry hop finish.  It is kind of drinkable.

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

A West Coast style IPA, the Professor is golden and sports a large frothy white head. Hops leap out of the glass, citrus, apricot, and herbal notes define this brew. There is enough malty body to keep you coming back for more.

6.6% ABV – 65 IBU

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.crankersbrewery.com

Twitter:  @CrankersBrewery

Closing, I saw this brew and I was pretty interested in this beer.  I love my India Pale Ales.  I have to say I was not really impressed this brew.  It is not a bad beer but average brew.  I will say this brewery did a better job with their India Pale Ale over a few Michigan craft breweries and around the country.  This beer is better than Atwater Brewery Grand Circus IPA, New Holland Mad Hatter IPA, and Motor City IPA to name a few.  I would have this beer again but not all the time.  It would be once in a blue moon.  I will be retrying this beer in the near future. I want to hear your thoughts on this brew.  I will be searching out the rest of their beers.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Deschutes Brewery Obsidian Stout


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Deschutes Brewery Obsidian Stout is the feature craft brewery and beer on this beer blog post.  If you read my earlier beer blog on their other brews, you know the rich history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know this west coast craft brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a jet black color with a constant tan to off white color head.  The smell is a roasted to chocolate notes.  The taste is a smooth creamy chocolate roasted notes.  The aftertaste is dry roasted chocolate notes.  For being a stout, it is pretty drinkable beer.  I can see most people think it is not drinkable beer.

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

Deep, robust and richly rewarding, this is beer to linger over.  Obsidian has distinct notes of espresso, chocolate, roasted malt and black barley, with just enough hop bite to cut the sweetness. Malt: Pale, Crystal, Carapils, Munich, Black Barley, Roasted Barley, Wheat
Hops: Nugget, Millennium, Willamette, Northern Brewer

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.deschutesbrewery.com

Twitter:  @DeschutesBeer

In the end, I know many of you  readers know I am a huge fan of this  brewery.  I know many of my friends know I am a huge fan.  This brew is not a disappointment.  There is not a drop off from their flagship to this brewery.  This brewery makes some great beers and I cannot wait for them to make to the Michigan market.  If they do not, I know when I make trips back to Chicago.  I will be picking up some beer.  As craft beer industry keeps on growing, Deschutes Brewery will be there still pushing the limits of the craft beer drinkers like they did from the beginning in 1988.  I highly recommend this stout.  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 and Firestone Walker Brewing Dos Osos India Pale Ale


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In this beer blog, we are going to get into a brew where two craft breweries teamed up to brew.  I am talking about Dos Osos India Pale Ale from Revolution Brewing and Firestone Walker Brewing.  This is a special and limited edition brew.  If you read my beer blog posts on both of these breweries, you know the history of both of them.  If you have not, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know both of these breweries.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a clear deep golden color with a constant white head on this India Pale Ale.  The smell is a heavy grapefruit with a slight orange.  The taste is about the same with some carbonation notes.  The aftertaste is a sweet grapefruit notes.  This is an extremely drinkable beer.

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Here is a description from Revolution Brewing’s Website (www.revbrew.com):

Dos Osos

Dos Osos, or “two bears,” IPA is a collaboration brew with our great friend Dustin Kral who is the lead brewer at Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, CA. Named after both the bear on the California State flag and the Chicago bears this IPA is described as a Central Coast IPA, named for California’s Central Coast. As with most West Coast IPAs, our version in not bogged down with lots of specialty malts and is dry, crisp and clean which is a trademark of the hoppy ales from both Revolution and Firestone. 2-row, Munich, and a touch of cara-pils lend a subtle malt base to which the layers of hop character are built upon. An array of hops including Warrior, Chinook, Centennial, Cascade and Citra infuse this ale with aromas and flavors of fresh flowers, citrus and passion fruit. The finished product is a clean refreshing IPA with a crisp bitterness and wonderful hop bouquet.

India Pale Ale

ABV  6.6%IBU  75

Profile: Dos Osos, or “two bears,” IPA is a collaboration brew with Firestone Walker Brewing Company.

Color: Deep Gold

Availability: 1/6bbl, 1/2 bbl, 22 oz.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.revbrew.com and www.firestonebeer.com

Tiwtter;  @revolutionsbrew, @RevBrewChicago, and @firestonewalker

Closing, this beer has been on my radar since it came out.  I keep on picking it up at the liquor store and pulling it back down on the shelf.  I knew I was leaving the Chicago area to move back to Michigan.  I wanted to make sure I had at least one before I leave.  I have to say I am not disappointed one bit.  Both craft breweries did a great job working together to make a really good brew.  It is well-balanced from the malty backbone to the hops.  If you can find a bottle, I highly recommend you trying this brew.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Wieser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter;  @djweiser

New Beer Blog 21st Amendment Brewery Hop Crisis Imperial IPA


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In this beer blog, we are going to get into another brew from 21st Amendment Brewery.  It is their limited release brew, which is called Hop Crisis Imperial IPA.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not read those beer blog posts, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know this brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a cloudy straw to golden color with a constant white head on the beer.  The smell is a heavy tropical fruit to this IPA.  The taste of this light body beer is a sweet tropical fruits like mango to pineapple.  The aftertaste echoes the taste notes.  It is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a descriation from their website (www.21st-amendment.com):

Shaun and Nico have to break out of Alcatraz. And fast. The Hop Syndicate is hoarding hops, depriving the people of their right to hoppy, aromatic beer. Join Shaun and Nico on their adventure to Free the Hops! First, they plan a daring escape through the sewer pipe, then they surf monster waves on ironing boards, and finally they attempt a high speed cable car getaway.

Hop Crisis. Crisis? What Crisis? A few years ago, when hop prices shot through the roof and the worldwide hop market went into a tailspin, at our pub in San Francisco we decided there was only one thing for us to do. We made the biggest, hoppiest IPA we could imagine and aged it on oak for good measure. This Imperial IPA breaks all the rules with more malt, more hops and more aroma.

  • Alcohol Content 9.7% by volume
  • Color Gold
  • Bitterness Units (IBUS) 94
  • Bittering Hops Columbus, Centennial, Cascade
  • Yeast Top Fermenting Ale Yeast
  • Malts Pale Malt, Munich, Dextrose
  • Special Ingredients Aged on Oak

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.21st-amendment.com

Twitter:  @21stAmendment

End of the hops, this beer is something else in a very good way.  This is Imperial India Pale Ale and it does not drink like one.  It is light to medium in body for the type of beer style.  I love the hops that they used in this brew.  It has a well made malty backbone to balance with hops that are being used in it.  The hops kick off a nice tropical fruit notes.  If you are in the west coast, I highly recommend you stopping into their brewpub in San Fran.  They service some great food and you can purchase some of their beer to go from the brewery.  I highly recommend this brew too.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Epic Armageddon IPA


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In this beer blog, we are going to get into a brewery I have been wanting to try in a very long time.  I am talking about Epic Brewery from New Zealand.  The beer is their Armageddon India Pale Ale.  Epic Brewing was started in 2006 by the founder, who is Luke Nicholas.  In 2007,  Steam Brewing Company sold all the Epic Brewing and the brands to Luke Nicholas.  The brewery started to sell their beers to Australia in 2009.  The United States and Sweden in 2010 and Belgium and Italy in 2011.  They brew several different beer styles.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a clear copper color with pure white head on this India Pale Ale.  The smell is grapefruit.  The taste of this medium body beer is a carbonated grapefruit notes with a slight dry hop aftertaste.  It is pretty drinkable beer.

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

Armageddon I.P.A

The answer to everything.

In the beginning, there was nothing. Then an impish brewer piled a ludicrous amount of hops into a batch of beer. This zymurgical big bang is Epic Armageddon, an apocalyptic assault on your preconceptions and taste buds. It may be too huge for this fragile planet so enjoy this beer like it was the last one on Earth.

Malt

  • English pale ale
  • Caramalt

Hops

  • US Cascade
  • US Centenniel
  • US Columbus
  • US Simcoe

Flavours & aromas

  • Hops! hops! hops!
  • Citrus
  • Grapefruit

Awards

  • Best in Class – BrewNZ 2011
  • Best in Class – BrewNZ 2009
  • Gold Medal – BrewNZ 2011
  • Gold Medal – BrewNZ 2009
  • Bronze Medal – BrewNZ 2010

Here is a their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.epicbeer.com

Twitter:  @EpicBeer

Closing, I am not disappointed with this beer after a long wait of wanting to try it.  I will be hunting down the rest of their brews.  This brewmaster did a great job on this brew.  He and his company put some thought behind this brew.  The beer is nice balance with some great hop notes and character.  It is pretty drinkable for the beer style.  I will be looking for more of this beer in Detroit beer market.  Thanks Luke for giving the United States craft beer drinker a good import IPA.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Pipeworks Brewing Ninja Vs. Unicorn Double IPA


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We are going to get into the third beer that will be review on this beer blog from Pipeworks Brewing.  The beer is their Ninja Vs. Unicorn Double India Pale Ale.  If you read my beer blog post two days ago, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read that beer blog post to get know this brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It had a cloudy copper color with a constant white head on the beer.  The smell is piney to earthy notes.  The taste of this medium to full body beer is light carbonation piney notes to it.  It is pretty drinkable Double India Pale Ale.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Ninja Vs. Unicorn celebrates the epic battle two of the biggest hop-heads of lore.  Brewed with over five pounds of hops per barrel, this unfiltered double IPA is sure to please the most discerning hop lover.  Whether you’re rooting for the mythical horned horse or the deadly assassin of the east, we hope you’ll enjoy Ninja Vs. Unicorn.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.pipeworksbrewing.net

Twitter:  @PipeworksBrewin

Ending, this is a great beer.  I love the hops they use in this beer.  It is pretty well-balanced for being a double India Pale Ale.  There is a nice malty backbone but I kind feel it should be stronger.  I can live with it.  I have to say for a beer that is in 22oz bottle.  It is well worth the price.  I have always felt beers in 22oz bottles are not worth the price.  To me, this one lives up to the price.  I recommend you trying this brew.  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 Arctic Panzer Wolf Imperial India Pale Ale


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In this beer blog, we are going to get into another beer from Three Floyds and the brew is Arctic Panzer Wolf Imperial India Pale Ale.  If you read my read my earlier beer blog, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read the history of this brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a clear dark copper to light amber color without a head on the beer.  The smell is a fruity notes like mango.  The taste is a huge and heavy mango notes with a dry fruit hop aftertaste.  It is kind of drinkable beer.  For an experience beer drinker, it is drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

A dry and stupendous hopped medium bodied Imperial India Pale Ale brewed with Canadian 2-row malt, dextrose sugar and lots of American hops.  Arctic Panzer Wolf has superior aroma’s of marmalade, white wine, pine and apricot all mixed with an intense American hop bitterness.  Cheers!

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

9.5% ABV 100 IBUs

A massive IPA that will leave your palate its hapless victim. Scorched earth is our brewery policy.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.3floyds.com

Twitter:  @3floyds

In closing, I will be first to say I am not a huge fan of this brewery because I believe their beers are overrated and over priced.  I have to say I have been pretty impressed by this brew.  I love the hops and the balanced from the malts.  I love the aroma and the nice hops taste is really good.  This brewery took their time to find the right hops for this brew.  This is a well made beer and nice balance.  I recommend you trying this beer.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this brew and the brewery.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Evolution Craft Brewing Lot No. 3 India Pale Ale


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In this beer blog, we are going to get into a brew from Evolution Craft Brewing and the beer is called Lot No. 3 India Pale Ale.  Tom and John Knorr founded this brewery in 2009.  They wanted to push the limits of their beers and make a journey for their beer drinkers.  They brew several different beer styles.  There is not much history on this young brewery asides what is on their website.  Let us get into the brew.

It has a cloudy a copper color without a head.  The smell is a grapefruit notes.  The taste of this full body beer is a carbonated grapefruit citrus with a dry hop finish.  It is kind of drinkable.

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

Lot 3 IPA

This American style IPA is aggressively hopped at a rate of over 2 lbs. per barrel. Big notes of citrus and pine complement a reserved but firm malt backbone.
Available in:12 oz Bottles

1/6 Keg

1/2 Keg

On Tap at Public House

On Tap in Tasting Room in Growlers
Beer Profile:

ABV: 6.8%

IBU: 65

OG: 15.8

Hops: Columbus, Centenial, Cascade, Chinook, Amarillo

Malt: Pilsner, Caramunich

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.evolutioncraftbrewing.com

Twitter:  @evolutionbeer

In closing, this is the first time I have ever had this beer.  I traded with a friend from the Maryland area.  I have to say it was a great trade.  This is a great brew.  I love the hops that they put in this beer.  There is a nice balance with everything going on in the beer.  There is a nice balance between the hops and malt.  They did a great job brewing this beer and designing it.  They should be very proud of this brew.  I am honor to have try this brew.  If you are a fan of IPA’s and grapefruits, you will enjoy this brew.  I highly 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 Rosa Hibiscus Ale


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In this beer blog, we are going to get into another brew from Revolution Brewing.  The brew that will be featured in this beer blog post is their Rosa Hibiscus Ale.  If you read my earlier beer blog post on their Anti-Hero IPA, you know the history of this young Chicago based brewery.  If you have not, please, read that Anti-Hero IPA post.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a dark copper color with a shade of rose tones without a head on it. To me, there is not a smell in this beer. The taste is a sweet carbonated with some spicy kicks.There is a touch of tart in the drinking experience.  There is no aftertaste. It is extremely drinkable.

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

Rosa Hibiscus Ale

A highly drinkable ale steeped with hibiscus flowers and a touch of orange peel for a natural tartness and slight pink hue.

Hibiscus Ale

ABV  5.8%IBU  15

Profile: A highly drinkable ale steeped with hibiscus

Availability: 1/6 & 1/2 bbl, 12oz cans (in 2013)

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.revbrew.com

Twitter:  @revbrewchicago

In closing, I did not know what to expect from this brew.  I have to be honest.  I still do not know how I feel about this beer.  It is an easy drinkable beer.  They were successful at making this a session beer.  This is a good beer and I enjoyed drinking it. I will have to say I will never have this beer again.  Here is my thought pattern and it goes with all their six-pack cans.  This brewery makes some great beers.  I just feel the price you are paying for their beers at retail is not worth the price.  It goes for most of their twenty-two ounce bottles.  I just feel their beers should be a little bit cheaper since they are brewed here in Chicago.  I would say try it and tell me what your thoughts are about this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser