Three Floyds Brewing: Alpha King on the Engine

It's been a long time since my last review, so I thought that I would bring this blog back to life with some true craft brewing style. I stopped into the Three Floyds Brewery in Indiana awhile back while on a work trip and I must say that this was one of the best places I've come across in my four years of drinking (legally). The bartenders covered in tattoos, the walls covered with flags and other miscellaneous items, gave a rough but welcoming atmosphere to the bar. I saw they had a beer engine and without hesitation asked the bartender to pour me whatever was on the engine. To my liking it was one of their most popular beers Alpha King. I have had Alpha King a lot in the past but never on the engine and was truly looking forward to this beer. It poured a nice cloudy copper color with a nice rich, thick head. The lacing was spectacular, after every sip of this delicious brew there was a thick ring clinging to the side of the glass. The aroma was excellent as well, bursting with a nice floral/citrus hop note that felt like it was jumping off the glass and into my nose. After all of this waiting it was time to taste...WOW! Not disappointed at all, this beer was everything I had hoped for and then some more. Slightly carbonated, well balanced with a ton of hops and malt and defiantly much better then the bottle version in my opinion. Funny thing was that after about three of them, I bought a case of Alpha King right off the bottling line as I left. The bartender said he just got them off the line and out the door with you they go, now that's some fresh beer. I give Alpha King on the beer engine a 9 out of 10 suds. Thanks for the great experience and the great beer Three Floyds!

Anchor Brewing Porter

I am not going to claim to be a porter aficionado but I must say the Anchor Brewing Company Porter is very good. This is really only my second porter I have ever really taken the time to sit down and analyze and I am glad I have taken a liking to this style. The Anchor Brewing Company is living museum of how beer was made and still should be made. Their beers boost that they are made from 100% malted barley and choice hops, brewed in cooper kettles, and made in he traditional ways. As for their Porter, it pours a jet black with a great thick almost mocha/brown/off white head with great lacing. The smell reminds me of slightly roasted malt with subtle hints of molasses and toffee. The mouth feel is somewhere between medium to light in body, with hints of roasted barley, a slight sweetness, and a very clean after taste. I do get some of the toffee in the after taste and I think it give this beer that nice sweet not burn after taste. After all these things are considered I would give the Anchor Porter a nice 8.5 out of 10 suds. I may be coming back to this one and upping the suds once I have a few different porters under my belt. Great job Anchor I’m glad I am able to find more of your beers in Wisconsin.  

Ska Brewing Modus Hoperandi

Words just can't do this beer justice. I first tasted this beer from a bartender at my local brewery in town and was blown away. I quickly got on the Internet and searched for this beer and found out they distributed to the Chicago area. 30 seconds later I am on the phone with my friend and directing him to the nearest stores where they sell Ska products. Ever since then he has been supplying me with this great beer. As for the important stuff, once you pop the top of the can you will be hit in the face with hops. I got a lot of citrus, slight pine and on the end a slight malt sweetness, but mostly hops dominate this beer. As I poured it into  glass it was a nice golden amber color with slight haze, but for the most part clear. The head retention is great, very tight bubble formation, with foam left after each drink. It was a very drinkable beer for how much hops I got on the nose. Slightly sweet, medium body, and a nice hop bitterness without being overwhelming. Overall, this beer quickly became my favorite IPA of all time and most certainly the best beer in a can I have ever had. I give Ska Brewing's Modus Hoperandi IPA a 9.5 out of 10 suds. Lets get Ska in Wisconsin ASAP.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

If you live in the states you most certainly know about the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. which is most known for their flagship Pale Ale, which is one of the best selling beers in America. Sierra Nevada is located in beautiful Chico, California. As for this beer, I can say that it is in my opinion better then their pale ale. Torpedo Extra IPA pours a deep golden to copper color that is crystal clear with a nice thick head. Torpedo has very exciting hop notes upfront that give way to a slight sweet malt flavor. The Torpedo was invented by Sierra Nevada so that they could infuse more hop aromas into their beer. Mission accomplished, this beer just bursts with hop aromas, citrus, pine, slight orange and herbal. The great thing about Sierra Nevada beers are that they use only the finest whole cone hops. This is extremely important when you want to get the most out of dry hoping and capturing that fresh smell. All thou it may sound like hops are the main ingredient in this beer I can assure you that it does have a fantastic malt bill. There is slight sweetness as the beer warms to room temperature and complements the overall bitterness of the beer. I could go on for days about Sierra Nevada and this beer, but I will let all of you experience this one for yourself. I give the Torpedo Extra IPA a 8.5 out of 10 suds.

Anchor Steam

Not a stranger to most people, this beer is one for the ages. It pours a great dark gold almost amber color, with a nice thick creamy slightly off white head. The aroma strikes me as malty, bready, with slight hop characteristics. Malt is defiantly the top dog in this beer as it should be. It has a nice light mouth feel, but still holds great complexities. You can taste the malt as it hits your lips as well as on the way to your stomach. The after taste lends itself to a more refreshed feel than anything with a slight dryness. I have always been impressed with the work of Anchor Brewing Co. and I can now finally get my hands on more of their great beer here in Wisconsin. This is a great beer that has defined a style and that has weathered the ages and for that I give Anchor Steam a 9 out of 10 suds.

Victory Hop Devil IPA

Victory Hop Devil out of Pennsylvania, great beer both on tap and out of bottle. I have had both and would agree that the off tap is a lot better. Like most beers it exhibits a lot more hop aroma and flavor, but the bottle still does this beer justice. It pours a fantastic bright golden amber color with a nice thick, chewy head. I will say that I think this bottle was slightly over carbonated, after the first two sips I was already burping. After a few swirls around the glass the beer settled down and was very drinkable. The aroma was slightly hoppy with hints of citrus, pine, and a little spice. There was slight malt notes that shined through the hops to give the aroma a nice balance. This balance did translate to the taste as well, with very nice malty, bready, almost biscuit flavors balanced out by the hop bitterness. This is one of my favorite IPA's that I have tried and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. I give Hop Devil  9 out of 10 Suds. Great work Victory I look forward to trying more of your beers in the future.

O'so Brewing Co. Hopdinger

O'so Brewing Company is from Plover, Wisconsin, with the intent to make out of the ordinary beers not normally found there. I tasted the Hopdinger which they consider a pale ale with generous amounts of hops yet still balanced out by the use of Munich and Crystal malts. It poured a nice copper reddish hue with medium to high carbonation. I would contribute the color to the use of the Munich and perhaps 60 L Crystal malts. A nice two finger head formed with tight lacing left behind after each sip. Upon first smell of this beer I could notice some floral and earthy notes first, followed up by some nice citrus aromas. The hops dominated the smell for the most part with very subtle hints of malt in the under notes. The taste and mouth feel was a bit thin, a little watered down I felt. The hops defiantly took first fiddle in the Hopdinger dominating the beer. Very strong hints of hops both in flavor and bitterness. It did finish with slight malt hints that lingered on the palate, but mainly hops. Overall, this beer is a very nice, easy drinking beer, that pushes the norm and has set itself apart from all the rest. I give this beer 7.5 Suds out of 10.

Left Hand Brewing Co. 400 Pound Monkey

I was very excited to try this beer, I have been trying to locate it for some time and finally got my hands on this one. 400 Pound monkey is classified as an English style India Pale Ale. From the first pour this beer challenged my every sense. It poured a very bright yellow orange color with a nice thick white head, about two fingers high. I was suspecting something just a bit darker more in the range of copper to gold. The smell was very strange, I got hints of grass, musk, perhaps vegetables. It was like nothing I have ever smelt before, so it kind of threw me for a loop. The taste was rather pleasing, there were hints of bread, malt, yeast, and a nice balanced bitterness. Hops did not dominate this one as much as I thought they would have, but it still was a very drinkable, full bodied beer. Overall, this beer was quite the journey of the senses. From the color, to the smell, and finishing up on the taste, this beer took me for one exciting journey. Left Hand Brewing Co. 400 Pound Monkey gets 8 out of 10 Suds.

Ale Asylum Hopalicious

The Wisconsin micro brewery tour continues with Madisons Ale Asylum and their Hopalicious Ale. My first thoughts on this beer were that it was going to be packed with hop freshness and aroma, but I quickly realized I was wrong. The color was a light straw to golden with a real impressive head and retention. The aroma was lacking for a beer with the name Hopalicious. I would expect this beer to be bursting with fresh hops, especially because the description given on their web page says,  "Eleven separate additions of cascade hops give this American Pale Ale its lush citrus aroma and bold hop flavor without crazy bitterness." Well they were right on not giving it  crazy hop bitterness, the malt profile was the star in this one. I got a lot of bread, yeasty notes, with just the right amount of hop flavor. It was a little thin on the mouth, but overall I think the taste was way better then the actual smell of it. It there was a nice dry hop aroma to this beer it would be up there with some of the greats and for that I give this beer 7 out of 10 Suds.

Pull Chain Pale Ale by Milwaukee Ale House

I have had this beer several times over the years and is one of my go to beers when at the Milwaukee Ale House. It pours a nice cloudy, orange, yellowish color with a slight off white head. In the past this beer has left excellent lacing from the dense and fantastic head, but on this visit the head fell back into the beer rather fast. Suspect number one in this crime would have to be soap residue left behind on the glass. A lot of detergent was present on the inside causing bubbles to cling. Cascade hops dominate the aroma of this beer lending extreme citrus, grapefruit, orange, and slight floral or earthy notes to the aroma. These aromas also are found within the beer itself contributing to a dry somewhat bitter beer. The malt backbone could be a little bit more complex in my opinion, which would help balance the bitterness just a little better and add more depth to the beer. Carbonation was slightly higher then I would have preferred, but I don't think it affected the overall taste of the beer too much, IBU's are said to be 41 with a ABV of 5%. I would give the Pull Chain Pale Ale 8 out of 10 suds. Great work guys keep up the good  work.

Silver Creek Porter

This is one of the best porters I have ever had. It pours a great jet black, with a off white head about three fingers high. The head did fall back into the beer rather quick, but still lingered around the glass till the last sip. On first appearance, this looks like your basic porter, but on further inspection is much more. According, to Silver Creek's web page this is a Baltic style porter that has hints of chocolate, caramel, plums and raisins. I would completely agree with this description, it has a very subdued malt aroma with hints of crystal and chocolate malts. The plum and raisin notes are definitely there and add a lot of backbone to this beer, providing the great depth of this porter. The hop bitterness complements the malt profile extremely well. Hop aroma is not present, however the bitterness really helps cut down the overall sweetness of this beer. This balance between malt profile and hop bitterness lends to a fantastic drinkable beer. Overall I would give this beer 9 out of 10 suds. Excellent beer from an excellent brewery.

Silver Creek Brewery IPA

My first review is Silver Creek Brewery's IPA. Being my local brewery I have drank my fair share of their IPA. As much as I enjoy this beer I would never put the title of IPA on it. It pours a great copper to gold color with slight chill haze. As far as taste goes, well, it's not an IPA. Hop aroma is slim to non-existent. In my judgement a good IPA has a great hop aroma and flavor and this beer certainly does not exhibit these characteristics. Although I wouldn't classify this beer as an IPA, I Would say that it is certainly a good, clean drinking beer. This beer is more of a session beer then an IPA, low hop and grain profile, but still has a rather high ABV, around 5.3%. If you are looking for a low hop, dry beer, then I would suggest this, but if you are looking for a true IPA I would find something else. Overall ratting is 6.5 out of 10 suds, I would have given it more but it is just lacking on some great hops.

Welcome

Hello everyone, 

     Welcome to my beer review blog where I am going to bring the world of craft beer to you. I have been a craft beer enthusiast for several years now and over those hazy years I have gained a real appreciation for how beer is made and the stories shared over craft beer. Along with loving to drink high quality beer, I have been brewing my own beer for two years now. Brewing my own beer has opened the door to a wealth of knowledge and I look forward to sharing all that I know with you. I will try my best to bring you all a new beer each week from a wide range of categories. I will be rating each beer on a 0 to 10 suds scale. 10 suds being the best beer and 0 being the worst beer not suitable for your worst enemy. My first entry will come this Friday from the Silver Creek Brewery in Cedarburg, Wisconsin where I will be tasting their Porter and IPA. 

Cheers.