Beer Review: Goose Island – Christmas Ale 2009
Nov0
*Insert Witty Caption Here*
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 5.7%
Type of brew: Brown Ale
Price: ~$7
I have only ran into Goose Island brewery once and even though the beer was good it was pretty over the top. Anyway, this beer piqued my interest when I was at my local grocery store so I picked up a bottle. I am usually pretty indifferent about brown ales but I have to say this is a pretty darn good brown ale. It is a bit sweet as it warms up but that appears to be a trait of this brewer. Besides being slightly sweet it has a slight bite from the hops although it is very tolerable.
The beer pours a brown color white a small white head and a small amount of carbonation. There is a slight aftertaste and almost reminds me of many barrel-aged beers. It is super easy to drink and is light enough to drink on a weeknight. I think it would be a good beer to drink with more bland foods like poultry or fish. Overall I thought this was a great brown ale to drink when you want something with taste but still want something light.
The good: A great brown ale
The bad: It could be a little sweet for some and it only comes in large bottles
Overall taste: 
Bitterness: 
Smoothness:
Overall rating:
Beer Review : O’Hara’s – Celebration Stout
Nov2
An awesome stout!
Amount of brew in bottle: 25.4 fluid ounces
ABV: 6.0%
Type of brew: Stout
Price: ???
I have had this bottle of brew in my fridge for at least two months now. It has been one I have been waiting to try but I just never have gotten around to it. I really shouldn’t have waited so long because this beer is damn good! This beer pours with a fairly thick head and is fairly carbonated. It has an almost chocolatey sweet smell to it as well. The beer is super easy to drink and has a dry finish to it.
I had really high expectations for this beer since it is brewed in Ireland and there is at least one few famous stouts that comes out of that country. Personally I think this is better than the very well known stout that comes out of Ireland. The beer is a bit heavier than some stouts but it is far from the heaviest beer I have had either. Overall this is probably one of my favorite stouts I have had to date. If you get a chance to try this stout I would definitely pick it up!
The good: A great stout, really easy to drink
The bad: A little bit hard to find and it comes in a big bottle
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Overall rating:
Beer Review: Pugsley’s Signature Series Imperial Porter by Shipyard Brewing
Sep0
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 7.1%
Type of brew: Imperial Porter
Price: ~$6
With the rolling in of fall darker and more bodied drinks seems a little bit easier to drink. Call me crazy but drinking a heavy beer in 90+ degree heat is just not my thing. On my weekly grocery shopping trip I noticed this beer, not because of the flashy gold foil wrapper (which you could see if my camera didn’t die on me at the time I drank this beer) on the top but rather the fact that I have not seen this brewer yet. Shipyard Brewing is from Portland, Maine which is interesting only because I have never had a beer that was brewed in Maine. I have been feening for some porters and stouts so I grabbed this one before my conscious could yell at me to put it back. Enough babbling on to the review!
This beer pours a little bit lighter than what I was expecting, don’t get me wrong it is still dark but it doesn’t pour like syrup. The smell of the beer is a bit sweet and reminds me of chocolate. However, the taste of the beer is not that sweet on first taste it has a touch of sweetness to it followed by a dry bitterness, it is quite good and refreshing. It has a touch of carbonation but nothing crazy just enough to give a little buzz on your tongue. The beer is a great sipper and very easy to go down. As the beer gets a bit warmer the taste starts to get sweeter but still it is nothing crazy and the backend of the taste is quite refreshing.
The good: easy to drink and great for a rainy and windy fall night
The bad: probably not the easiest beer to find
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Overall rating:
Beer Review: Consecration by Russian Review
Aug0
Yumminess in a bottle
For my birthday my fiancée bought this bottle of beer for me.
Amount of brew in bottle: 750ml
ABV: 10%
Price: $23
Type of brew: Sour beer
This sour ale is brewed with currants and is barrel aged. Which made the brew fairly fruity and pretty sweet with a slightly bitter aftertaste that quickly vanished. I shared this beer with some friends and they where wondering if it was even beer and not wine. What does that mean to you? Mainly that the beer is a good beer for people who don’t like beer. Granted at the price we paid for this beer you can get a pretty decent bottle of red wine! The beer is pretty carbonated, very darkly colored, super easy to drink and really enjoyable. One thing you might have noticed is that this beer weighs in at a hefty 10% ABV which is no slouch of a beer. However, you could not even taste the alcohol in the beer which would be very dangerous if you wanted the whole bottle by yourself. The flip side to that though is that with many beers with alcohol levels in the double digits you have to be ok with tasting alcohol, so this beer was a nice change of pace.
The real question for me though is the beer worth the price? Personally I don’t think so. Even though it was a great beer I just couldn’t see dropping that kind of money on this beer. Granted it someone was to give me this beer I would greatly appreciate it 
.
The good: Easy to drink and not overpowering
The bad: A bit too expensive.
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Overall rating:
Beer Review: ESG – Terminal Gravity
Aug0
Perfect for a warm summer day
Amount of brew in bottle: 12 fluid ounces
ABV: 5.4%
Type of brew: Rye beer
Price: $8 for a six-pack
Recently the place I live had a heat wave and I was in need of a lighter more refreshing beer. So, I just “had” to go to my local grocery store when I got there I saw a beer from a brewery I haven’t had yet, the brewer was Terminal Gravity. I had two choices an IPA and an ESG, I picked the ESG as I wasn’t quite sure what it exactly was. This beer turned out to be quite good; especially on a hot day. It was light, a little bit bitter and pretty darn refreshing. ESG stands for extra special golden which based off of Terminal Gravity’s website it is an “american golden ale.” Sure it doesn’t beat water for hydrating but it sure tasted better . It is a pretty light beer but not as light as a pilsner and with a ton more flavor. Overall I thought this beer was perfect for a hot day and one I would definitely buy again.
The good: a super easy to drink beer
The bad: can be too easy to drink
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Overall rating:
Beer Review: Dick’s Imperial Stout
Jul0
Yummy deliciousness
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by my fiancee so please don’t think I started to carry around a man-purse or something stupid like that 
.
Amount of brew: 12 fluid ounces
Warm and fuzzy factor: 7.5%
Type of beer: Read the title
Purse-thinning-factor: $2.49
I hardly ever post a beer review. My usual role on this website includes the very amateur photography. My secondary role includes picking beers for Mr. Beer Guy to review. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that I am averse to sharing my opinion (about beer)… It is just that putting my opinions down on “paper” means that I have to really think about them first.
So why am I doing a review now? Did you happen to notice the lovely textbook that is in the background of the picture? Um, yeah. That would be a review book for my next big fat test in a series of big fat tests that I will be involved in for a while. I figured that procrastination is definitely a part of studying, and this beer review is helping in the procrastination department.
Oh yeah, I should start talking about the beer.
As the title indicates, this is an Imperial Stout. Please refer back to Mr. Beer Guy’s info post on Imperial Stouts if you want more technical information about that. Mr. Beer Guy chose this beer partly because he had not seen it before and partly because Dick’s Beer has consistently produced delicious beers. As another side note, before I actually get to reviewing this beer, Dick’s Beer makes a GREAT variety pack that we actually buy pretty often. They have a good spread of brews that have never disappointed. FTW We are actually thinking about using at least one Dick’s beer at our wedding.
Okay, so the beer… Out of the bottle and from the fridge, this beer smells pretty rich and smokey. It tastes just as mouth-watering as it smells. The beer is not over-powering in taste or intensity of the stout. I would recommend this beer to people that are wanting to try a stout but don’t want something that is going to knock them off their feet (or USMLE studying chair). The stout definitely went quickly and Mr. Beer Guy kept making his way from the office to the dining room so that he could get sips of the beer before I finished it off.
I don’t think that I would have like this beer if it had been hot and muggy outside. But then again, I don’t know too many people that like to drink heavy drinks while it is that warm outside. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what happen to this beer as it warms up. I think that it does start getting a bit stronger, but I happen to have finished off the beer before it got too warm.
The bottom line is that Dick’s Beer has brewed up yet another winner. It is great for people who want delicious beer, and it is even better for people who want delicious beer while procrastinating for studying for a test.
The Good: A good imperial stout that lives up to the Dick’s Beer label
The Bad: I don’t have more of these in my house to help me procrastinate further.
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Overall rating:
Beer Review: Primator
Jul0
A delicious lager (yes, you heard that right)
Amount of brew in bottle: 500 ML (i.e. roughly a pint)
ABV: 5%
Type of brew: lager
Price: $3
I was getting low on my beer review so I headed on down to one of my beer supply spots and as I was checking out I asked them for a good beer to review that wasn’t common and this was the one they suggested. I would have to say it is a pretty darn good lager. It has been fairly warm here in Seattle so a good lager is very refreshing. I am always skeptical drinking lagers and pilsners as they have a bad rap here in the U.S. because of the macro-breweries that brew tasteless crap. I had a bit higher hopes with this beer since it came from the Czech republic which is where lagers originate. This beer pours with a light color and a good amount of foam. The taste is refreshing with a very slight bitterness to it and has some decent taste to it. Some might describe the taste as floral to me the taste seems light, sweet and like I said before a tinge of bitterness.
This is the second foreign lager I have had and so far I have been impressed. The difference between most U.S. lagers and the foreign lagers is very noticeable. I am sure there are some craft breweries that brew up some mighty tasty lagers but they are few and far between. If you see this beer when you are at the store I would suggest you pick one up, especially if it is warm outside!
The good: great taste, light, refreshing, awesome on a hot day
The bad: I am coming up blank
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Overall rating:
Beer Review: Alpha Dog – Laughing Dog
Jul0
Don't follow this leader!
I have had this beer in my fridge for almost a month now so I guess I should finally get to reviewing it.
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 8%
Type of brew: Imperial IPA
Price: ~$6
The last time I had a laughing dog beer I wasn’t that impressed. Actually I was downright fucking unimpressed but hey I am not reviewing that beer on this post. Thankfully this beer is a little better but it still is not the best beer I have ever had. Supposedly this beer has 120+ IBUs but I don’t feel that it is that hoppy maybe because the malt is over-riding the hops which is too bad. The beer poured a light brown color and had a malty smell. The taste is skunky and very malty. Even though the taste is not that great this beer is decently easy to drink. However, this beer is rather unremarkable and Laughing Dog has let me down once again. Since this is my second beer I will give Laughing Dog one more try before I stop drinking their beers.
The good: A great beer to use for revenge
The bad: Tastes like malty skunk water
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Overall rating:
Beer Review: Old Rasputin – North Coast Brewing Co.
Jun0
A beer made by ZZ-Top's predecessor
I sure do love a good imperial stout, so, when my Uncle suggested that Old Rasputin is a great Russian imperial stout I just had to try it. Before I get to the bulk here are the pertinent stats.
Amount of brew in bottle: 12 fluid ounces
ABV: 9%
Type of brew: Russian Imperial Stout
Price: $5
When my fiancée tried this beer she said “if you don’t finish this beer I will.” But I don’t think she will get a chance . The beer is pretty darn good it is a bit fuzzier than I normally like my stouts but it is not like drinking a soda. There is a slightly sweet initial taste that becomes a little bitter. This beer isn’t as thick as other imperial stouts I have had but it is definitely no pilsner. It is a very easy to drink beer, I can’t say that it is better than the other imperial russian stouts I have had but it is a contender. As with most of these beers you need a very flavorful food to match with it or you can just enjoy the beer by itself. One thing I noticed is that as the beer got warmer it was sweeter and less bitter. Overall I am glad I have had this beer but I don’t know if I would buy it again, I would be interested to see how it tasted coming from a keg (or cask).
The good: Great example of a Russian Imperial Stout that you can get in most grocery stores
The bad: A bit strong to have on an empty stomach or if you don’t like sweet beers
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Beer Review: Wild Blue – Blue Dawg Brewery
Jun0
Is this juice or beer?
While visiting my Mom down in a small rural town in Washington I dropped by the only place that sold craft beer and picked up a few brews. This one caught my eye mainly because most beers aren’t brewed with blueberries. The owner of the shop asked if I have ever had it which I said “no” he replied with “well it tastes like blueberries.” Well the owner was correct it sure does taste like blueberries. Some pertinent stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 12 fluid ounces
ABV: 8%
Type of brew: Lager
Price: $2.50
After buying this I found out this beer was actually brewed by Anheuser-Busch which surprises me as it isn’t half bad and it doesn’t taste like water! Mainly this beer tastes like a liquid version of fruity pebbles. I almost don’t want to call this beer a beer because it sure as hell doesn’t taste like one! This would not be a beer I would drink all of the time but it was a nice change of pace. Granted if you don’t like fruity beers I would steer clear of it. I do think this beer might go well over vanilla ice cream or something you could make a float out of. Maybe some year I will have to give that a try .
The good: easy to drink
The bad: a bit too sweet for some people
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness: