Beer!

[Ryan Ruck]

Well, since I just got the two Laughing Dog brews earlier I figured I needed to have one of them.

Flipped a coin and The Dogfather Imperial Stout won.



Poured deep black into a Snifter with a huge, dense light brown head. Allowed to warm slightly. Smells of cocoa and bourbon with some toasty malts. Tastes of chocolate, a little bourbon, lactose, and a slight bitter char. Body is on the heavier side. Has a robust 10.85% ABV. A really interesting mix of flavors that is pretty damn good!

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight is the other new Laughing Dog brew, Anubis Imperial Coffee Porter.

A complex Imperial Coffee Porter made with Evans Brothers cold-pressed coffee. Subtle chocolate, and coffee notes are balanced by black malt bitterness and malt sweetness.

Poured into a Snifter a lot like The Dogfather but with a denser, darker brown head. Also allowed to warm a little. Has a sour funk smell that is immediately noticeable with a bit of roast coffee and chocolate. Taste is a lot like the smell. Dark roast, slightly bitter coffee, chocolate, with the addition of an earthy wood flavor. Body is medium-thin. Rocking a 9.2% ABV that hides well. Very good stuff! Like The Dogfather better because of the bourbon flavors though.

[Ryan Ruck]

As you may have noted from my road trip thread, beer was a big part of the trip and I brought a slew back with me. Most all of it stuff that I can't get even at Party Source or Jungle Jim's.

A couple of them are from Missoula, Montana's Kettle House Brewery. If anyone doesn't know, Missoula is home to the state college and more than a bit on the hippy side. So much so in fact that just before we got there, the city council passed an ordinance mandating background checks on private firearms transfers which will be preempted by state law.

Anywho, since it is a bit of a hippy town, one of Kettle House's brews is, no surprise, Bongwater Hemp Ale Pale Ale. And of course I had to get some for the sheer novelty.

They didn't have bottles or cans but it was on tap so I filled my growler I brought along on the trip. Even though they had no cans or bottles of it for me to commemorate with an empty on my shelves, I did pick up a Shaker pint glass featuring the label.

Fresh Bongwater Pale Ale is made with Montana grown barley and Canadian grown industrial hemp making it a smooth drinking light ale. The hemp seeds lend a slight nutty flavor to the beer but don’t worry; there is no measurable THC in this brew (a local Missoula lab actually sat around and tested this). Caramel malts are added to enhance head retention and contribute sweetness. Great for parties where mass appeal is desired. 5% abv; 22 IBUs.

Poured a medium, clear gold into a Shaker with a small, white head. Has a little bit of a citrus hop, caramel malt, and honey smell. Taste is very malt forward for a Pale Ale, biscuity malt to be exact. Flavors of slight hop bitterness do come through though. Not a ton of flavors in this. Medium bodied and a bit on the fizzy side. A moderate 5% ABV. Not bad. A solid drinking bear but doesn't stand out a ton except for the novelty and funny name.

[Ryan Ruck]

Just in case you were wondering about my growler I brought the Bongwater home in, it's no regular growler...

It's a vacuum insulated 64oz growler from Reduce.



The upside is it keeps beer cold for 48 hours. The downside is that if it starts warming up, you can't toss it in the fridge and cool it off real fast like a traditional glass growler. You can stick it in the fridge but since it's vacuum insulated it will take a while for that cold to reach the contents.

Picked it up for $27 from Costco. So, if you need a kickass growler, check out your local Costco for them.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's review is another road trip bringback.

This one is from Iron Horse Brewery based out of Ellensburg, Washington and is their Quilter's Irish Death.

Created by the brewery’s founder, Quilter’s Irish Death is what we call a dark, smooth, ale. Any attempt at classifying it just ends up sending beer geeks into a style guidelines diatribe. So forget style guidelines. Is your pursuit of micro beer about tasting copies of a style that fit guidelines anyways? (Neither is ours) Irish Death is a malt bomb. We lovingly refer to it as beer candy. We heart our candy store. While tempting to session this beer, the name is a necessary reminder that despite the surprising approachability, this beer weighs in at a hefty 7.8% ABV.

Poured a deep brown into an English Pint with a fairly large tan head. Has a smokey malt, cocoa, and a bit of roasted coffee. Tastes of chocolate malt, toasty malts, and a little oak. Medium bodied with a 7.8% ABV. As the description states, this one's an easy drinker that tastes pretty darn good! Give it a try if you can get it!

[Ryan Ruck]

The Official Debate Beer™ tonight is another bring back purchased in St. Regis, Montana.

This one comes from The Fron Brewery out of Great Falls, Montana and is their Mountain Man Scotch Ale.

Mountain Man is a beautiful dark mahogany colored ale with a rich complexity of malty flavors. Flavors take you into the mountains of toffee, dark chocolate, caramel and coffee. Mountain Man is brewed with local Montana honey and a touch of molasses. This ale has a very light body and finishes with just a hint of smoke. Mountain Man is more than your average scotch ale. Its uniqueness makes it a truly original strong ale.

This stuff comes in a really cool can I've never seen before that the top comes completely off of for easy pouring into a glass.



A+ to The Front for ingenuity!

Poured black into a Tulip (because I didn't have a Thistle glass, they're pretty close though) with a medium khaki head. I get roasted malts, sweet chocolate, caramel, and a hint of smokiness on the smell. Fairly sweet likely due to the honey and molasses with noticeable malt, chocolate, and coffee flavors. Body is thin-medium. Has a 6.8% ABV which almost seems a little light for the flavors and color you'd more closely associate with a stout. Really smooth drinking and damn good!

[Ryan Ruck]

Even though I haven't gotten through all of the beer I brought back from my trip, I've already picked up several more.

Party Source had a couple new releases under the Quaff Bros. and Beautiful View labels and of course I ended up walking out with even more than I should have.

Tonight's is a new one from Evil Twin I spotted called Liquid Double Fudge Imperial Stout.



Poured a deep black into a Snifter with a small, dark brown head. Allowed to warm slightly. Smells of sweet toffee, malt, and fudgy chocolate. A definite malt and fudge flavor with a hint of vanilla. The 12% ABV doesn't hide at all. Rather thick and fizzy body. Pretty tasty but, to be honest, kind of expected a bit more chocolate based off the name.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's review is one of the new releases that had me at Party Source recently.

This one is the latest from the Beautiful View Beer Project, Russian Imperial Stout



Poured inky black into a Snifter with a very minimal light brown head. Has a scent of malt chocolate and oak. Taste is sweet chocolate, roasty malt, and a bit of bourbon. Body is medium with 8.2% ABV that is hidden well. Pretty tasty and very easy drinking but I don't think it sets itself apart from the rest of the pack in any big way.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's official debate beer is brought to you by Kettle House, featuring their Cold Smoke Scotch Ale

Cold Smoke Scotch Ale earned a silver medal in 2002 and a gold medal in the 2007 NABA brewfest. Formulated with Montana grown 2-row barley, northwest Goldings hops, and lotsa love, this hearty ale drinks very smooth. Not bitter at all and not too sweet either. Novice beer drinkers have been known to take a taste and then say, “WOW! That’s not what I expected… that’s GOOD!” A hint of roasted barley lends a slight coffee-like smoky finish. It packs a 6.5% abv punch. Perfect after a day of rippin’ lines on area or your favorite back country getaway. Available in 16 oz aluminum cans. 6.5 % abv (alcohol by volume); 11 IBUs (International Bittering Units)

Poured dark brown into a Shaker (because I don't have the recommended Thistle) with a medium-large, light brown head. Smells of roasted malts, sweet caramel, and a hint of smoke. Flavors of roasted malt, nuts, and a little bit of the mentioned coffee. Somewhat sweet overall. Rather substantial body with a decent 6.5% ABV. This is definitely a pretty good beer! Could easily drink a couple of these! Might need to to get through the debate.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's beer is another one of the ones I picked up from Party Source the other day during their release.

This one is from Quaff Bros and is their Quaff Bros Chicago Style Breakfast Stout.

Quaff Bros. Chicago Style Breakfast Stout is a take on French Toast, Chicago style French Toast with loads of syrup, powder sugar and a wonderful cup of coffee to coincide. But this French Toast, much like the beer, is very unique. It also includes a runny egg in the middle, fried chicken and strawberries. Although we left out the egg and chicken (this time), we made sure that a touch of strawberry made it into the beer. Quaff Bros. Chicago Style Breakfast Stout is a 14.7% ABV Stout aged in Bourbon barrels with molasses, coffee and a touch of strawberry. This project was made for us by the talented team at Rivertown and we want to use this platform to thank them for their wonderful work and execution.

Poured black into a Snifter with a very thin tan head. Smells of strawberry, grain, and a bit of maple syrup. A lot of the smells are also in the flavor accompanied by a slight bit of bourbon. Very sweet! Also very boozy thanks to its quite substantial 14.7% ABV that, needless to say, warms as it's going down and on the finish. Very heavy bodied. Wow! What a robust beer with a very interesting mix of flavors! Very good drinking but certainly needs to be sipped.

[Ryan Ruck]

Just got done working on my truck and needed a beer so I figured what better than to review another bring back from my trip!

This one was another picked up while stopped in St. Regis, MT.

As I mentioned in my trip thread, huckleberries are apparently a big thing up in the MT/ID area. This beer is Huckleberry Honey from Bitter Root Brewing of Hamilton, MT. (PS: Yeah, I know trip pictures haven't been posted. Just finally got the pics my brother took from him.)

Our new summer seasonal infused with just the right amounts of Huckleberry and Honey to perfectly balance this summertime treat. The delicate honey and huckleberry aromas are balanced with wheat and hops to create a refreshing ale for the hot days of summer.

Poured solid gold into a Shaker with a good sized white head. Was honestly a little disappointed to see it wasn't purple hued like the huckleberry shake I had when I bought this. Most certainly smells of huckleberry and honey. Also has a malt aroma and maybe a little clover? Has flavors most notably of sweet huckleberry and malt with a little honey and mellow dry hops. Overall the flavor seems a little weak compared to the smell. Body is light and this comes in at 5.1% ABV. A decent brew overall.

[Ryan Ruck]

To kick off the Halloween weekend, I'm opening up a bottle of a newly released Three Floyds brew called Skeletonwitch Red Death Sour.

The red death awaits you. Fall into the depths. Brewed with our friends in Skeletonwitch. Berliner-style Weisse with Cherries.

Poured a red-orange into a Shake with a very thin, fizzy white head. Big tart cherry and sour apple scent. Flavor is very much like the smell with some wheaty malt flavoring. Pleasantly sour! Thin, crisp body with a 8.5% ABV. Very tasty!

[Ryan Ruck]

On the eve of All Hallows Eve, tonight's review is a bit of a special one.

Tonight's is a bottle of Southern Tier's Pumking. But not just any Pumking! Rum Barrel Aged Pumking! And not just Rum Barrel Aged Pumking. But Rum Barrel Aged Pumking that's been cellared since last year!



First off, Rum Barrel Aged Pumking not easy to find. I've only seen it once (last year) and it didn't last long. Second, it is a bit on the pricey side. It was roughly double the price of regular Pumking at $18 for a bomber. That said, it is worth the price of admission!

Pours dark and dirty golden into my Pumking glass with a medium sized gold tinged, white head. Smells like Pumking with an oaky twist. Also a bit of caramel that isn't in regular Pumking. The taste is similar to Pumking but much more mellow and rich, you could almost say more refined, with oaky rum flavoring that finishes with a warming in your chest. Body feels slightly heavier weight than Pumking. Has a rather robust 10.7% ABV. If you think Pumking is good, and I happen to think it's the hands down best pumpkin beer, Rum Barrel Aged Pumking takes it to the next level. Not cheap but, I very highly recommend this!

[Ryan Ruck]

Friday night's beer is a new one I happened to spot at Kroger.

A re-release of a Rhinegeist and Three Weavers collaboration called Penguin I missed when it came out last year.

Blonde Stout. A voluptuous stout infused with coffee and cacao nibs delivering chocolate, coffee, and roasted notes in a mindbendingly blonde beer.

This one is another blonde stout just like Stone's Stochasticity Project Master of Disguise that I had a while back, which was really good!

Penguin poured a dark gold/amber into a Shaker with a good sized, foamy white head. Smells of caramel malt, roasted coffee, and cocoa. Has an interesting nutty chocolate flavor with malt and some roasted coffee on the backside. Has stout like flavors but a lighter, crisper body than one with a 7% ABV. Very easy drinking! Rhinegeist and Three Weavers did a great job coming up with their own unique version of a blonde stout!

[Ryan Ruck]

I'm not officially off for the Veterans' Day holiday tomorrow but 99% of our customers are closed so, I figure I'll do a review tonight of a new brew I just picked up tonight at a Kroger on my last call of the day.

I know New Belgium supported Hillary and Ben and Jerry's is well... Ben and Jerry's but, I couldn't resist.

This is New Belgium + Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream beer. This winter, dip into the fridge—not just the freezer—to find a dozen ways to sate your sweet tooth. Our newest collaboration with Ben & Jerry’s brings together two different types of pint-makers for one common goal: to fill your glass with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale.

To craft this confection, we dove into our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes for inspiration, and then whipped hefty doses of chocolate, brown sugar and vanilla into a dough-hued blonde ale base. The result is a full-bodied beer that seduces with a perfect balance of vanilla and chocolate, and finishes with just the right amount of sweetness. Put down the spoon, pick up a pint.

In celebration of this year’s collaboration, New Belgium and Ben & Jerry’s -- both B-Corps -- are once again joining forces with Protect Our Winters (POW) to create tangible ways to fight climate change just as they did a year ago.

Calling this campaign “100 Days to Change Our Ways," the three socially minded organizations want the new Administration to make climate change a priority during its first 100 days. To rally support, events will be held in 12 cities across the country with letter-writing stations, POW athletes speaking out about the dangers of climate change, raffles, and of course beer and ice cream.

First... at their climate change bullshit. I hope none of their liberal tears over the election loss made it into this beer.

Okay, onto the review...

Poured a clear, light gold with a foamy white head. Smells a little odd at first but after a second you can tell it's a sugary cookie dough scent. Taste is rather disappointing. Overall the flavor seems pretty bland. You do get a little of a cookie dough flavor and a little of a chocolate flavor but, it is only a very little. A bit of a sweet aftertaste. Body is medium-light. Has a 6% ABV at least. Expected a heavier weight stoutish beer. And if you're going to advertise a beer as "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough", the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor should smack you in the mouth so there's no mistaking what it is. Overall, disappointing. At least it was only $10 for a 6er.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's review is another road trip bringback. This one is from Ninkasi Brewing Company in Eugene, Oregon and was picked up at the local Sandpoint Walmart. This is their Total Domination IPA.

Flagship Series. Total Domination IPA has a citrusy, floral hop aroma, and big hop flavor balanced with a richness imparted by Carahell and Munich malts. This beer is a big flavorful Northwest IPA that maintains its drinkability, and as such, has garnered great admiration from the novice craft drinker and the seasoned hop-head alike.

Poured deep gold with a big, golden-white head into a Tulip. Has a fresh, fruity and citrusy hop smell with a little bit of sweet, caramel malts. Flavor is pine hops with some biscuit malt. Slightly sweet but with a notable bitterness that lingers. Medium bodied with a 6.7% ABV. Pretty decent IPA but not one for people who aren't fans of bitter IPAs.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's beer is a recent re-release of a Dogfish brew that was somewhat limited and I didn't get a chance to try last time around.

This is their Flesh and Blood IPA.



Poured a dark amber into a Shaker with a smallish golden white head. Definite citrus hop scent with a bit of caramel malt. Sweet orange and bitter grapefruit accompanied by some malt. Body is mostly light and finishes dry. Has a nice 7.5% ABV. Pretty tasty! An approachable and easy drinking IPA!

[Ryan Ruck]

Second review for the night is another trip bringback. This one is from Big Sky Brewing Company of Missoula, Montana. This is their Big Sky IPA.

This big, rich IPA features Simcoe hops which give it both a fruity, piney hop nose and a clean, ringing bitterness. IN-between, the malt flavor is slightly caramel for a touch of malt sweetness. This IPA is well-balanced and very expressive with hops.

Poured a clear, dark gold into a Shaker with a big, foamy white head. Smells of floral hops and sweet caramel malt. Tastes of biscuit malt and resin hops. Nearly no bitterness except a slight bitter finish. Fairly thin body. Not overly complex. Another very approachable and drinkable IPA for people not a fan of the more bitter offerings out there. Good stuff!

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight I'm making up 3 gallons of Alton Brown's Aged Egg Nog. I've never made it before.

I figured what better to do than drink alcohol while making an alcoholic beverage!

So I'm having some Bell’s Roundhouse IRA (India Red Ale) which is recently released to canning, previously an on tap exclusive.

Substantial amounts of late-kettle hop additions and dry-hopping yields a heady blend of fruity aromas of pineapple, peach and citrus. Those aromas continue into a crisply bitter hop presence across the tongue, but the judicious use of toasted and caramel specialty malts prevents the hop intensity from overwhelming the palate. Locally sourced Michigan honey creates a smooth, dry finish that pulls everything together. The India Red Ale style is a variation on the IPA, but with more caramel and toasted malt character and a reddish hue. Roundhouse was first brewed at our original brewery in downtown Kalamazoo in 2009.

Poured a deep amber into a Shaker with a big golden head. Big fruity and citrusy hops and sweet caramel malt. The flavor is just like the smell with slight bitter citrusy hops contrasted by grainy malt sweetness. The sweetness and the bitterness do a great job balancing out with the scales tipping toward sweet. Medium bodied with a 7.5% ABV. Really good brew! Great way to get some hop flavor without big bitter bite!

[Malsua]

You're gonna have a hangover