Brewery Home: Petaluma, CA

Serving Style: Bomber into two pint glasses

Beer Style: American Brown WTF

Appearance: Dark amber red/brown with a sightly offwhite head. Lacing is strong and whispy, my glass is coated! Perfect clarity.

Aroma: Fragrant, with hints of almost berry (wort?! well we are brewing right now, dont listen to us), the hops are there but in the background? On more sips the hops become more and more apparent, they’re in there, lurking. Sweet malty overtones, dominated by caramel not roast. It makes no sense, almost like the name and the description on the bottle. Great!

Taste: My first sip was dominated by a wave of herbal American hops that subsided into well well rounded malts. The carbonation is light but on par for whatever style this is, the sip ends semisweet but not sticky; great for a brown. 64 IBUs? WUT? Best way to describe this beer is eyebrow raising. Adam: “it doesn’t make any sense”. Andy: “it’s fucking confusing and I like it.” Dangerously drinkable. Here is too the recovery…

ABV: 7.8%

Drink one or all?: 1 bomber should do you in.

Cost: $5/bomber

Overall: Adam: 16/20, Andy: 16/20. “Potent session beer.”

Brewery Home: San Diego County, CA (Stone Brewing)

Serving Style: 12oz into Belgian beer glass

Beer Style: Saison

Appearance: A whispy white head rests atop a light straw gold body. The head falls gently back into the body with echoes of lacing around the glass.

Aroma: WHOA. HOLY SPICE THIS IS NICE. Not subtle. Brilliant aroma that rocks you with pepper, sage and herb. Some whiffs remind me of a spicy candied ginger and lemon?

Taste: Big, bold and beautifully refreshing. Haha! Weird, but the very first edge of a sip reminds me of a massive ginger beer I homebrewed a while back. Richly herbal and bright the flavor tickles my nose with an excellent balance of the spice rack. The back end settles down and leaves you with a surprisingly clean pepper-y kick of a saison (with a twist of belgian style hot-alcohol perhaps?) that you crave. Carbonation is maybe a little lower than I’d like, but doesn’t detract from anything. This is a dangerously, dangerously good summer beer.

ABV: 6.8%

Drink one or all?: None. Leave it all for me.

Cost: $3/bottle (12oz)

Overall: 19/20

Brewery Home: Orange County, CA

Serving Style: 750ml into Belgian beer glass

Beer Style: Saison / Farmhouse ale

Appearance: Cloudy, dark orange or rustic gold. Fine bubbles rise quickly from the head and settle back into the body with a small amount of lacing.

Aroma: Yeah! Brett! Brettanomyces to be exact. The bright twang of bacterial fermentation hangs up there with bready rye, musty/sweaty aromas. There is a fair amount of spice balancing the yeast and bread notes; coriander? grains of paradise? It ends generally sweet (maybe with some citrus?!), hints of aged hops in the background. Enjoying swirling up my glass for the unique bouquet!

Taste: Intriguing; my first impression is that the flavor does not bring the same bright profile as found in the aroma. I can detect a mix of rye and Brett twang that melds with bready malts. The spices follow soon after but they are accompanied by a dull bitterness that can almost be perceived as metallic in some sips. The flavor has some phenolic qualities – hints of green apple and ginger-like flavors – that ebb to and fro on the pallet. Light alcohol burn, likely from the higher fermentation temperatures typical for the style. Medium mouthfeel.

ABV: 8.5% ABV

Drink one or all?: One got me all warm.

Cost: $12/750ml

Overall: +16/20. Intriguing but not exceptional. Look for more from this brewery.

Brewery Home: Warrenville, Illinois

Serving Style: Bomber into pint glass

Beer Style: American (coffee) porter

Appearance: Very dark brown that becomes almost opaque with a frothy, grabby light brown head. Medium to low carbonation.

Aroma: Sweet, sweet malts with what I think is German noble hops on the tail end. Any coffee notes are dispersed with roasted malts. The darker sweet character makes me think almost more of a brown than a porter. Unusual! Apparently the brew is based on their imperial baltic porter recipe; it’s pretty but I am searching for the coffee. I wish I could compare head to head.

Taste: Well rounded malty sweetness with tinges of malt and coffee roast that coat your tongue. Any hops are light and delicate, leaving a roasty barista-inspired beer. “Eyes open” indeed! The nose is deceptive, this is a coffee lovers coffee porter. The beans are prominent in the flavor profile, supported by seemingly-creamy-carbonation. It should be noted that any alcohol (its 9.2%?!) is tamed and mellowed by an excellent almost vanilla bean profile. My only issue with this brew – in this drinkers eyes, remember try and judge for yourself – is its very light mouthfeel given the style…but maybe I am totally wrong with this one. It is a pretty pretty beer.

ABV: 9.2%

Drink one or all?: One bomber. Slowly. Smile

Cost: $9?/bomber

Overall: 17/20. Artisan brewing.

Brewery Home: Chico, CA

Serving Style: Bomber into pint glass

Beer Style: American IPA (Holiday)

Appearance: Full fisted strong head with super glue lacing. Lots of proteins grabbin’ on to the side of the glass in this one. The foam itself is a light creamy yellow/gold. Body is faintly cloudy copper with what appears to be mid-to-high carbonation. Maybe I’m just really psyched for this but damn does this look like well crafted beer.

Aroma: Sharp and flowery hops are balanced out with an almost minty, malty tail. I definitely detect the slightest minty edge that may just be some piney hops bleeding over, but the overall composition is strong; mature and balanced.

Taste: Powerfully bitter, but not shocking. The hops are on center stage bringing their aromatic qualities straight to your tongue. It has a lightly dry finish with the same hop-resiny character as their pale ale, only more rounded by some crystal malty sweetness. Well…let me correct myself now after a few more sips. I am noticing my lips are a little smacky and I am tempted to get out my hydrometer and take a reading (its a device used by homebrewers to measure malt sugars left over in beer); this could be less dry than I though…still nice. Even though this is a holiday offering I don’t detect qualities that make it a uniquely holiday brew compared to the rest of their line. Even saying that though is a compliment, this is a great beer.

ABV: 6.8%

Drink one or all?: One bomber is a celebration.

Cost: $7/bomber

Overall: 17/20. Try it for yourself.

Allagash – Odyssey (Belgian Dark Strong) : A-

Bear Republic – Nectarine Grizz (Belgian Dark Strong) B+

Bells – Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout (Stout, Fruit) B+

Bells – Wild One (Wild Brown Ale) A-

Court Avenue – 21st Amendment Ale (RyePA) B

Firestone Walker – Black Xantos (Dry Stout) B+

Founders – Kentucky Breakfast Stout (Imperial Stout) A-

Goose Island – Imperial Coffee Stout (Imperial Coffee Stout) B-

Jolly Pumpkin – Lambicus Dexterius (Lambic) B

Metropolitan – Eiffle Tower Eifbock (Eisbock) B

New Belgium – La Folie Sour Brown Ale (Flemish Sour) B

New Belgium – Tart Lychee Folee (Wild Ale) B

New Belgium – Transatlantique Kriek (Strong Golden Lager with Wild Ale) A

Odell – Peach (Golden Ale) B+

Lost Abbey – Duck Duck Gooze (Wild Ale) A-

Chicago Rock Bottom – Whiskey Sticke (Alt) B+

Russian River – Consecration (Belgian Dark Ale) A

Russian River – Temptation (Wild Blonde Ale) A

Surly – Pinot Three (?) B

Surly – Two 2007 (Cranberry Stout) B

Three Floyds – Blackheart (English IPA) B

Three Floyds – Conquistador de Muerte (Milk Stout) B+

Trinity Brewing – TPS Report (Wild Wheat) B+

Two Brothers – Heavier Handed (Wet IPA) A+

Brewery Home: Brooklyn Center, MN

Serving Style: Pint can into pint glasses

Beer Style: Coffee?

Appearance:Dark brown body that softens to ambers and reds when you hold it up to a light. Thick, creamy head with plenty of staying power.

Aroma: COFFEE! Intense coffee bean aromatics that you really will not find in any other coffee beer. It smells fresh and roasty. From experience, these are all good things in a beer you are having at 5:00am…while waiting for the brewery to open up and sell Darkness!

Taste: Layered in coffee complexities. The ‘fresh bean’ character of the nose fades nicely into beery roasted malts. The bitterness is soft and the end has almost a sour/acidic roll to it. Mouthfeel is light, giving the body an almost foamy/creamy profile. The combination works in tandem very well. Or at least I think so; Jenny thinks it lacks complexity…and gives her heartburn? I think I feel this slightly too, WTF? Maybe it’s that burrito I had…

ABV: 5.1%

Drink one or all?: One. More if you live in MN…you bastards.

Cost: $12/4-pack

Overall: 18/20

Brewery Home: Middleton, WI

Serving Style: 12 oz into pint glasses

Beer Style:Munich Dunkel Lager

Appearance: Medium-fluffy off white head with medium lacing. Body itself is a crisp dark amber with rich reds around the edges.

Aroma: Complex and dark munich malt sweetness that round of the front and back. The middle mixes the dark ‘brown-like’ sugars with balanced, spicy noble hops. Clean with no obvious flaws.

Taste: Very much along the lines of the aroma. The sweetness of the malt is not too cloying and meshes nicely with a clean bitter hop finish. The malt character is still fairly light (at least for what I consider dark) and has an overall dry profile. Medium carbonation gives its great drinkability (I’m taking that word BACK), which right there, this beers best feature. Elaborate in all the right places but still an easily sessionable beer on a cold fall evening. Jenny calls it ’solid, but good’.

ABV: 5.4%

Drink one or all?: Sessionable, but I’d do one or two

Cost: $8/6-pack

Overall: 16/20

Brewery Home: Warrenville, IL

Serving Style: 12 oz into pint glass

Beer Style: Rye Pale Ale

Appearance: Clear dark amber body. Holding it up I was surprised how much (dark) color it had! Rich reds around the sides of the glass. Head is small, off-white and sinks back into the body after a minute or two.

Aroma: Excellently balanced dark malty sweetness with a great rye twang. The hop aroma rounds out the profile with a crisp, citrusy and earthy American variety bite. I may also detect a hint of hot alcohol sizzle in the background.

Taste: Nearly flawless taste front to back in this drinkers opinion. It has a tinge of crystal (dark) malt sugars that blend into a rye edge, ending with excellently nuanced hop bitterness. The bottle notes that this beer is 68 IBU (high bitterness), which is more than my tastebuds are telling me. The bitterness is clean, dry and just wonderful. Hard to find any serious flaws. Jenny likes it a lot too…which could be a bad thing since we have to share a fridge. At 7.0% it is a bit high to be a session beer, but I am willing to commit. Incredibly drinkable.

ABV: 7.0%

Drink one or all?: How good do you want your night to be?

Cost: $10/4-pack

Overall: +19/20

Brewery Home: San Diego County, USA

Serving Style: Bomber into pint glass

Beer Style: (Double) stout

Appearance: Dark tan head that smoothed out into a nice thin layer of strong bubbles. Great lacing. The body is opaque. Black.

Aroma: Maybe a little thin when I first poured but as the beer warmed it became wonderfully rich roasts and chocolate. Hints of fruity esters round out the satin-like malt profile (recognize it from my homebrew!). Don’t know if this makes sense but there is almost a big chocolate or coffee wave hidden under the big ‘charcoal’ roasts.

Taste: Excellent excellent mouthfeel. The body is smooth with like bites of carbonation, it feels like the darkness just coats your tongue. The aftertaste is dry, roasty and just the way I like it. As Jenny put it “this one doesn’t taste like soy sauce!” I think she means that this one does not have the high residual sugars that can sometimes mix with the roast to give an almost meaty, salty flavor (although I did get this in the aroma at the bottom of a glass). The dark malts are balanced with clean Target hops and some alcohol bite that all together make a great sip start to finish. Absolutely sublime. Favorite.

ABV: 8.8%

Drink one or all?: One.

Cost: $8/bomber (?)

Overall: 19/20