Memories got me thinking.  I love the weather here.  It’s not cold or snowing.  There are mountains.  It’s sunny most of the time.  I can get to the ocean in less than an hour.  But for some reason, I miss the flat ground in Indiana.  I miss the snow and cold.  More specifically, I miss the wood stove.  Sitting by it, drinking some hot chocolate.  Petting Max.  Of course, I’m going to tie beer into this discussion.

There are all sorts of new and exciting beers around California.  Some would argue that this is Mecca for beer.  I really can get some coveted brews.  Like the warm winter, some of you may be coveting some of the beer I can get (and vice versa).  Yet, sometimes, as Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home.”  I got thinking about Three Floyds (one of the top breweries in the U.S.), Dark Horse, Bell’s, Founders, Brugge, Upland or any number of good brews that I could easily obtain in Indiana.  I simply began casting aside some of the glamor here for the simplicity of home.  Of course, this is somewhat context dependent.  The list I noted above may be glamorous or commonplace, depending on where you are.  But, for me, in this moment, there’s no place like home.  I’d love to be able to take a Three Floyds beer for granted right now.  Metaphorically, where is “home” for you when it comes to beer?  We’d love to know.

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It’s not often that one sees a blueberry lambic; they also make a Strawberry version which I’ve not had.  At any rate, they did not use the typical fruits that are associated with the style.  Nice to see some out of the box thinking on this.

The Pour: I really didn’t know what to expect when I bought this beer.  I knew very little about it, so when I opened and poured, it was a surprise when I saw a hazy red and bluish body.  Very very little head retained, which is a bit of a disappointment for a beer like this.

The Nose: I’m guessing it weighed in around 6% ABV, but it’s not on the bottle anywhere, and the alcohol was undetectable on the nose.  The aromas did indicate pretty quickly that the sweet fruit had been fermented out and that this would be a beer more on the sour than sweet side.  Tannic oak, tart blueberry, and a touch of sweetness melded well on the aroma perception.

The Taste: Plenty of oak and blueberry came through when I tasted Upland’s offering.  The blueberry was distinct and sour but not overwhelming in either respect.  The dry, tannic, and sour oak really came through nicely and faded into a long and lasting fruit finish, which lingered like it does in Lindeman’s lambics.

Overall, I think the beer was well done.  I prefer a little more sweetness, even if it is a sour version.  The finish length was certainly on of the highlights for me.  Good but not great!

Mike’s Rating

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¼☆ 

Among other Lambic Styles: ★★★☆☆ 

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The Pour: White was a blonde beer with a hazy and active body.  The head stood well because of the flurry of activity holding it up.  White and cloudy…dreamily nice!

The Nose: Like many Belgian beers, this one had a nice, powdery yeast quality and touches of sweetness on the nose.  Slight metallic aromas were present, along with the yeast spice that resulted from the strain.  There was not much beyond this, except some lemony citrus on the nose.

The Taste: The yeast spices and powder popped on the beer.  Despite the fullness of the carbonation, which was perhaps too much, the body was a little thin.  The citrus tones on the nose came through more in the taste.  Brugge White was also fairly wheaty in flavor.  Hopefully this makes sense when I say that White was almost half hefe-weizen and half Belgian Wit in its flavor combinations.

Overall, I wasn’t impressed by this particular Brugge offering; their other stuff is better.  However, this doesn’t mean the beer is bad.  Perhaps a little more residual sweetness and more mouth-feel would have made a big difference.  Both of these could have been resolved with an adjustment in the attenuation (thinning down/fermentation) level.  I won’t be picking it up any time soon.

Mike’s Rating

Overall Satisfaction: ★★½☆☆ 

Among other Belgian Styles: ★★☆☆☆ 

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Local beer. Are you a fan of some of your local or state made beer? I am, and I think it’s important to try some of your local products. I’m lucky enough to get a lot of Three Floyds selections, but I’m also into trying other brews. This particular beer hails from Oaken Barrel, which is in Greenwood, IN (at least I believe that it where this beer is bottled). Like I said, some of the local stuff is very good…and other stuff is not so good. I’d like to start this review by stating that this beer was not exactly an epiphany to me.

The Pour: Some beers hold promise by how they look in the glass. I thought Epiphany was a lovely blond color. It was strange that this ale did not have much head retention, simply because Belgian beers are known for their fluffy, white heads. That was a bit of a detraction from the beer. The body was slowly active, also something uncommon for a Belgian style beer.

The Nose: Sweet fruity aromas dominated the nose of Epiphany. It seemed like a nice, fruity ale was in my future. Some noticeable powdery yeast strain was present, along with a ciderish quality. There was not much malt aroma to the beer, which is arguably typical of Belgians.

The Taste: Thin. Belgian beers tend to be fairly well attenuated (thinned down) because of the candy sugar used to replace malt. In most Belgians, the lightness in body is hardly noticeable because of the flavor and carbonation. However, this beer was simply too thin. Some of the powdery yeast did come through in the beer, which was nice. There was also a sweet cider-like juiciness to Epiphany, a nice touch, and a hint of grains on the finish. I have to say that the finish absolutely ruined the beer for me. I personally thought that there was a fairly prominent cooked vegetable quality on the end, and that was all she wrote in terms of redeeming the beer.

Overall, I would try this beer again. Who knows, I could have gotten hold of a bad bottle. At this point, though, there is very little to commend this beer to our readers. As I always say, only you can taste the beer and see what you think about it.  If you want a better version, try Dark Horse Sapient Trip.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★½☆☆ 

Among other American Versions of Triples: ★★☆☆☆ 

Among Belgian Triples: ★¾☆☆☆ 

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The Pour: GBH had a clean, very light gold body and a small and finely carbonated head. There was not the typical haze that I’m used to with many wheat beers, but I’m not too big a stickler for that.

The Aroma: There was a citrusy cascasde hop and slight gumball aroma. Some wheat aromas were evident in the nose of the beer. I also noted a slight fresh strawberry touch on the nose.

The Taste: A very slight sense of citrusy, gumball like hops were evident on the front of this Three Floyd’s brew. Those hops faded into more of an orange type flavor by the end of the brew. Hops were evident until the dry finish of the beer. The dry grain and hops finish were not enough to compensate for the lack of malt body in the beer. I would have liked a more wheaty approach.

Overall, I thought that this beer was simply a little above average. A nice, spicy food would be terrific with Gumball Head. Three Floyds makes some very good stuff, but this is not their best. However, their spin on a wheat beer with a nice amount of hops is unique and refreshing.  When is the last time you saw a hoppy wheat?

Mike’s Rating

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Wheat beers: ★★★¼☆ 

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Mad Anthony Porter was pretty dark looking beer when it was in the glass. There was not any head retention in the beer to speak of, which is not necessarily a huge disappointment for me. In fact, I have a good friend who prefers that many porters and stouts are flatter than other styles.

In the aroma of this porter, there were some nice roasty qualities, some decent chocolate notes, and no hops to speak of. Again, this is not inappropriate to the style in my opinion. Some biscuity qualities were also noticeable on the nose of the beer.

As far as the taste is concerned, Mad Anthony was not a smooth as I personally prefer a porter to be. As I said in the aroma portion of the review, there were some biscuity qualities to the beer. A fair amount of bitterness was present in the beer, and it is was pretty full flavored. Some of the chocolate from the nose also came into play when drinking Mad Anthony.

I have to say that I thought the beer was okay. My wife enjoyed it quite a bit, but it lacked some qualities that I look for in a porter, namely, it wasn’t very velvety (smooth), and it was perhaps a little too full on the roast. However, it wasn’t a bad beer. It simply wasn’t what I expect a Porter to be.  I’ve got Cannonball from Wabash that I’m going to throw into the ring at some point.  Let’s see how Indiana beers compare.

Mike’s Rating

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¼☆ 

Among other Porters: ★★¾☆☆ 

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Having gone to the festival, I think I can understand why Dark Lord is only released once a year. If I were one of the brewers, I would love to have something special like this happening only once a year. What an event, what a time! Now that I’ve settled down from the fun of the festival, I think I want to go ahead and review the beer.

Let me start by saying that I went thinking, “I’m determined to get through the hype and really see if this beer is as good as people say.” It is hard to divide the event from the beer, but here is an honest rendering of what I think about the product.

The Pour: Pouring this beer from the bottle is like draining oil from a car. It pours thick, it pours dark, and it pours beautifully. Needless to say, this beer is darker than dark. Blacker than black. There was not much left of the very dark brown head when I poured the beer, but I let that slide…just this once. I knew Dark Lord was thick when I saw it sticking to the side of the glass.

The Nose: There was some alcohol on the nose. I also noted an acidic, almost prune quality. Dark roasted, burnt grain aromas were prevalent, as well as plenty of chocolate, fruit, and some wonderful smokey, juicy, and metallic qualities.

The Taste: Wow! This beer had some serious thickness and mouth-feel to it. It had the consistency of an espresso, and a whole bottle might well serve as a meal. Some of smoke came through while the burnt roasted grain dominated the whole. The acidic juiciness and chocolate qualities were wonderful. We (my wife, Andrea, and brother, Rich) noted raisins and plenty of residual sweetness. Again, some of the acidity and thickness reminded me of espresso (not the flavor). Dark Lord is deceptively smooth for the strength and fullness that it possesses. So very good! If you are able to wrangle a bottle of this beer without risking an arm and a leg, you should do so. Hell! Risk at least one of them.

Overall, it’s an absolutely terrific beer for the dark beer lover. It deserves all the accolades that it receives.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★★ 

Among other Stouts: ★★★★★ 

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What people got, however, was a “normal”–i.e., not extreme–beer. I think that the knee-jerk reaction was to automatically drop the beer down to mediocre or only slightly above mediocre because of the unfulfilled expectations. I refuse to be part of that. I think that this German Brown Ale is a very good beer. Maybe the most ingenious thing about this marriage of DFH and Three Floyds is its restraint against extremism.

The Pour: Popskull had some very nice brown colors, which reminded me of a Porter (this would turn out to be prescient for the rest of the beer). There was a light brown head that didn’t hang around for very long.

The Nose: Sweet malts and a slight smokiness were the first impression of the beer that really stuck out to me. Perhaps the smoky quality came from the wood aging that was used in the process. The hops were very very restrained. A very slight touch of alcohol came through, along with grains and hints of coffee. Nuts and caramel could also be noticed.

The Taste: Once again I can’t help but note that this beer had some very brown porter qualities to it. Smoke, coffee, and slightly burnt grain qualities all added to the porter impressions. The nuts and caramel also added to my porter case. Residual sweetness came through, along with some nice, acidic juiciness. A somewhat thick mouth-feel made the beer seem pretty substantial. Popskull was malty and ended with a semi-dry finish.

Overall, I think Popskull has gotten reviews that are too critical based on expectations. For what the beer is and what it does, it is a very good beer.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¼ 

Among other Browns: ★★★★¼ 

Among other Ales: ★★★★☆ 

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The first two questions are very easy to answer.  Lines were long, but we were at the front, so no sweat there.  We found out that four bottles per ticket was the alloted amount.  But what we really found out for real was how great some of you fellow beer drinkers are.  We met some great people at Dark Lord Day who were all but begging us to drink beer that they had brought.  Much of the beer can’t be obtained easily or at all, so they were saving up for this day.  Nate and I experienced beer communism at Dark Lord Day.  I’m not talking about the superficial type that involves some beer drinkers being more equal than others.  I mean the “What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine” type of beer sharing.  The beer flowed freely, no matter what point in the line a given person was at.  Really what was happening was beer lovers were loving and sharing beer together…no stinginess could be found.  But if the beer flowed freely, conversation was effusive.

We talked to people from all sorts of states and in all walks of life.  But the common thread that bound us all together was a love and exuberance about beer.  Passion was the order of the day.  No one was snooty, jerky, or uptight about their beer/beer knowledge.  Everyone just wanted to share their love for this thing we weakly refer to as beer…I’m reminded of our mission statement for this site.  Beer is not just an inebriate (although there was plenty of that), it is a shared cultural experience.  With cultures (or should I say sub-cultures) like this, people are really waking up to the world of beer.  And I don’t just mean what’s on tap.  I’m talking about what’s inside the beer lover.

I know that some of you are looking for a Dark Lord review, and that will be coming soon enough.  But I simply want to review the experience of Dark Lord Day.  The brewers, organizers, and others on the front line were great.  I don’t know what more to say to the readers.  Go, go, go to this event.  What a wonderful experience.  Although I’ve written this post, I’m speechless.  A world where people behaved like they did on Dark Lord Day would be one worth looking into.  Although the name is already taken and called “Dark Lord Day,” I’m suggesting a nickname: Dark Lord Day, I dub thee “Beerstock.”  By the way, here is a link to the rest of the stuff that I’ve written about Dark Lord so far.  I’ll be back!

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As many of you know, I work at a liquor store (although to call it simply a “liquor store” is an unjust characterization). I primarily work in the beer section at Crown Liquors in Avon. The store manager (Mark Vickery) and other powers that be agreed that I could have beer tastings on Friday nights for the next little bit. Every Friday, I’m going to be leading the tasting of two beers, which I choose. Graciously, Cavalier is the distributer who is the provider of these beers. I want to give credit where credit is due by saying that the people who run Crown and Cavalier are giving in the pursuit of making better beer known. It’s high time we have beer and not just wine tastings, and they are making this possible.

Hopefully, it is obviously that this is more of a local shout-out than anything. Tastings will happen on Friday nights for a couple of hours. I get in at 5, so the thinking is that the period of 6 to 7 p.m. will be the window when these tastings occur. So, to all the locals, please stop in at Crown Liquors in Avon (right on the corner of Dan Jones and Rockville) on Friday for some beer tasting. In fact, stop in any time because there is a fabulous beer selection. You may be shocked at what we have. Here is a small map.

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