Beer!

[Ryan Ruck]

Since the Halfrican's reign of terror has now ended, I figure tonight calls for a special celebratory beer review.

So tonight I'm having a recent Ei8ht Ball special release that has been barrel aged for 2 years, Bourbon Barrel Aged K-Hole Imperial Stout (2016 Edition).

Our Barrel Aged K-Hole is an imperial mocha stout we’ve been aging since our birth. 15% ABV, chocolate, Carabello Coffee, and lactose. Can we get a what-what?

Bottle features a hand-dipped wax top.

Poured deep black into a Snifter with a very thin, light brown head. Big, rich smells of sweet cocoa, roasted coffee, bourbon oakiness, and a touch of dark fruit. Allowed to warm a bit before tasting. All of the smells are in the taste. Punctuated by a rich roasted note throughout. The 15% ABV is only partially hidden. There's enough to let you know it means business! Finishes with a deep warming. The body is surprisingly thin for the big boldness this brew brings otherwise. Really damn good brew from Ei8ht Ball!

[Ryan Ruck]

It's Friday night and I'm kicking back about to watch the new Jack Reacher flick so figured what better time to enjoy a new beer!

I picked this up about a month ago and was considering saving it for the new season premier but, I found out that's quite a way off so I'd rather drink it now.

This is Ommegang's latest in the Game Of Thrones series, #7 - Valar Dohaeris Abbey Tripel.

Valar Dohaeris is 9% ABV, brewed with pils, wheat and oats, flaked barley, and hopped with noble hops. It pours a beautiful copper-tinted hue with a full, fluffy white head. Sweet grain and honey are prevalent in the aroma. The flavor opens with a bright sweetness thanks to the Belgian candi sugar used in brewing. The finish is moderately dry and effervescent with just a hint of Belgian yeast character.

Pours a dirty blonde into a Tulip with a huge, fluffy, persistent white head. Big smells of typical Belgian spice, a bit of banana, yeasty bread, and sweet honey. Belgian spices on the taste as well as definite honey and some wheat. Medium-light bodied with a 9% ABV, which doesn't make much effort to hide with its warmth throughout. Does indeed finish on the dry side. A very good Tripel from Ommegang!

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight I am drinking a brand new, just hit the shelves brew from Rhinegeist! This is their Rhinegeist Homie 2017, a sequel to their 2015 Imperial IPA version I rated before.

A Belgian Dubbel, this brew is the creation of Homebrew Competition winner Michael Roller!

Poured a golden copper into a Trappist Glass with a fairly thin golden head. Mild scent of Belgian spices and yeast. Taste is more slight Belgian spice, a fair bit of yeast, and a little sweet dark fruit. Finishes with a little bitterness. Medium bodied with a 7.2% ABV. Doesn't blow me away but it's pretty decent!

[Ryan Ruck]

Have a bit of a late night review but it's been a long day...


Tonight's brew is one I've been looking forward to trying for a couple weeks since news about it first came out.

This one is a collaboration between 2 Cincinnati area companies, one of them one that Cincinnati is fairly well known for. This beer project was headed up by Northern Kentucky brewer Braxton and collaboration was provided by Graeter's Ice Cream!

This collaboration culminated in Braxton-Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Milk Stout



Apparently the pictured cans of this sold out within 24 hours of Party Source getting an entire pallet in! I figured it would be a hot seller but not that hot! Fortunately Party Source still had it on tap at their crowler/growler station. So since I didn't have my growler with me and didn't want to buy one I wouldn't use again, I decided to try out their crowler offering. For anyone not familiar with a crowler, have a read! Basically a great, big 32oz can they fill and cap for you right there. Pretty cool to watch it work!

So anywho... On to the actual review!

Poured thick and black into a Shaker with a good sized light brown head. Very nice smell of fresh roasted coffee and sweet cocoa accompanied by a very slight raspberry smell. Definitely tastes just as advertised, unlike that New Belgium/Ben and Jerry's abomination! A nice blend of raspberry and chocolate! I do also get a little smokey malt. Body is surprisingly thin for the pour and appearance. Nice 7% ABV. A very good beer but, I do feel there's a slight bit of room for improvement to make it even closer to the advertised flavor. One RateBeer reviewer nailed it spot on, "Could back down on the roasty dryness and add in a little more milky sweetness to be truly suggestive of ice cream." As it sits, I'd give it an 8/10. If they tweaked the recipe as suggested, easy 9+. Still really good stuff!

[Ryan Ruck]

Wasn't originally going to do a review tonight but with this warmer weather abounding, I had an urge to try this new brew from Stone I picked up the other day.

This is a new release called Tangerine Express IPA.

Imagine the tropical haze of a lazy afternoon- into-evening. Your official duties for the day have been to maybe take a hike to a secluded waterfall, perhaps grill something, definitely chill with plenty of sand between your toes…and crack a phenomenal beer to complete the experience. Check, check, check again and…pfffft…check.

Welcome to our vacation transportation express!

This ain’t no just-add-juice approach. This one is for adults. We use bountiful whole tangerine purée, which brings pithy, crisp bitterness to the citrus flavor. In addition to the complexities of the tangerine — the likes of which you can only get by using the whole fruit — we judiciously employ just a hint of whole pineapple for a backnote (you’d likely not even pick it out of the mix if we didn’t tell you it was there). We’re not looking for a sweet concoction to appease the “I want my beer to taste like fruit juice” crowd. This is Stone. We like our IPAs to taste like IPAs. Big, bold and not for kids.

Poured a hazy golden into a Tulip glass with a big white head. Huge scent of tangerine with a touch of malt. Tastes like it smells. Tangerine citrus with a malt undertone. Only a bit bitter that mostly just gets your attention, not makes it undrinkable. Body is on the lighter side of medium. Has a nice 6.7% ABV. A solid Brew from Stone!

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's beer is one I've been looking to try for a while. It was pure chance I happened across a bottle of it at Jungle Jim's yesterday, in fact, since it's been nearly impossible to get. They only had a couple. I should have bought all of them.

It's Drew Curtis / Wil Wheaton / Greg Koch Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout.

From the most unlikely yet intensely imaginative trio that is actor and uber-geek champion Wil Wheaton, alternative news website Fark.com creator Drew Curtis and Stone CEO/Co-founder Greg Koch, comes an imperial stout unlike any ever made. Brewed with rye, wheat malt and pecans and partially aged in Bourbon whiskey barrels, this viscous yet silken brew erupts with an oaky, nutty bouquet and rich flavors of vanilla, toast and bitter chocolate. Enjoy now or cellar this celebration of nth degree passion and geekery applied most gracefully to the craft of brewing and collaboration-Drew Curtis/Wil Wheaton/Greg Koch Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout!

Bottle dated 7/10/2015 so no idea if this was in a case JJ's forgot about and just put out for sale or, if Stone is just now shipping 2015 w00tstout.

Poured black into a Snifter with a good size, dark brown head. Allowed to warm a bit due to alcohol content. Smells of oaky bourbon, sweet chocolate, and roasted malt. Tastes of bitter chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, nuts, and roasted malts. Noticeable bitterness and the alcohol doesn't really hide in this one. Has a hefty body to go with its hefty 13% ABV. Really good stuff! Glad I got the opportunity to give this a try.


Oh and SHUT UP WESLEY!

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's review is another Imperial Stout, a brand spanking new release from Clown Shoes - La Pinguina En Fuego.

People have been asking us to make a truly spicy chili beer, so we finally complied. Aged in rum barrels with habaneros, this version of chocolate sombrero is on a mission from God (to ignite your palate).

This cold night after our warm spell seemed like a good time to give this a try!

Poured black into a Snifter with a medium sized brown head. Allowed to warm a bit since it is an Imperial Stout. Smells of sweet chocolate, boozy rum, roasted coffee, and a bit of spice that tickles the nose. The flavor has all of the scents. Decent heat from the habaneros that gets you on the lips and in the throat. Heavier bodied with a 10% ABV. Yet another fantastic brew from Clown Shoes!

[Ryan Ruck]

The beer up tonight is a Stone collaboration with Marble and Odell breweries called Megawheat Double IPA.

Kick back and crank it up as we’ve done all the brewing…the we being us and the special guest appearances of two heavy hitters in the indie craft beer industry: New Mexico’s Marble and Colorado’s Odell. Credited with 58 years of brewing chops, our trio built their wheat ale foundation on the classic “C” hops. Then, we rocked a pure hop triad of “M” hops to achieve a supercharged succession of orange, tangerine, lemon, lime, spice and dankness. The undulating riffs of Motueka, Mosaic and Mandarina Bavaria hops slash through the wheat haze with equal footing, never playing over one another. The cacophony of flavor is what fans would expect with a name like Megawheat. So join us as we forge ahead on a path that directly leads to the main stage…and then off the front of it, into the crowd! If you feel the urge to smash the bottle afterward, don’t. That’s what guitars are for.

Poured gold into a Shaker glass with a big golden-white head. Has a pleasant scent of sweet fruity and citrus hops. Tastes of sweet tropical fruit hops, caramel malts, and wheat. Thick body with a fairly dry finish. A decent 8.4% ABV. A really great example of a DIPA from this trio!

[Ryan Ruck]

Going to rate a brand new brew from Southern Tier tonight. Been a bit since I've rated something new from them!

This is a seasonal release called Imperial Ginger Beer.

Fresh grated ginger & a bit of red pepper flakes add a spicy, somewhat hot flavor note. Ginger adds a nice pungent, floral aroma as a complement to the sweetness of the agave syrup, lime & malt backbone. Lime concentrate adds a mildly acidic & tart note that balances the Agave sweetness. It adds a new dimension of flavor & aroma. Organic Azul Raw Light Agave Nectar was added directly into the kettle at the start of the boil. Agave is comparable, though not identical, to honey. The lighter syrups undergo less heating & a more thorough filtration for a more mildly flavored product.

We chose Cascade & Willamette hops because of their spicy, citrusy aroma & grapefruit notes. The sweetness of lime & agave pair nicely with these bright, floral hops. The slight spiciness of Cascade hops contrasts the lime concentrate. This beer blurs the lines between craft beer & cocktails.

This is the “Moscow Mule” of beer. Add this imperial beer to a copper mug with Southern Tier Distilling Co. Vodka over ice & enjoy!
FOOD PAIRINGS: Roasted chicken & vegetables, creamy chocolate, cheesecake

Poured medium gold into a Shaker glass with a medium, golden-white head. Big scent of ginger with a twist of lime along with some malt and light agave. Well defined flavors of lime and ginger both making for slight spiciness. A sweetness thanks to the Agave and light malt. Lighter bodied with a nice 8.5% ABV. A very unique flavoring! Definitely don't think this deserves the rather low rating it's currently carrying on RateBeer.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's beer review is a brand new release from Rhinegeist, Powder White IPA.

We’re embracing the snow and warming up with our White IPA. With a combination of Lemondrop, Bravo and Centennial hops, Powder showcases citrusy notes with a large percentage (30%) of wheat in its grain bill. Stay cozy out there!

Poured pale gold into a Tulip glass with a very substantial, foamy white head. Smells like lemon citrus with a slightly spicy note and a little wheat. This one is quite light in the flavor department. A little disappointing truth be told. Some flavors of acidic citrus and malt. Fairly bitter. Body is thin and watery. Has a 6.7% ABV. I've always liked Rhinegeist brews but I've got to be honest, I think this is the first one I haven't really cared for. It's just too bland and bitter.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's beer is from Rogue, their 6 Hop IPA.

The first in a fresh crop of Rogue Farms IPAs, crafted entirely from ingredients we grow ourselves in Oregon’s renowned Willamette Valley. The Rogue Farms Revolution, Independent, Alluvial, Rebel, Liberty and Freedom Hops in 6 Hop IPA create a well-balanced, drinkable IPA grown from Ground to Glass.

Poured copper-gold into a Tulip glass with a big golden-white head. Smells of citrus and pine hops as well as a little sweet malt. Tastes just like it smells. Moderately bitter. Medium-heavy bodied with a 6.66% () ABV. It's okay... Not really anything too special I don't think.

[Ryan Ruck]

The beer up tonight is one that's been "cellaring" for just over a year in my fridge. A rather special brew from Dogfish Head to celebrate their 20th anniversary in the beer brewing business, Higher Math.

Way back in the early ’90s, a 20-something waiter in New York City named Sam got a taste for small American “microbrews.” A do-er, Sam stopped by a homebrew store and embarked on the first batch of his very own beer. On the way home, he spotted a bag of cherries at his local bodega and thought they’d make his beer a little more interesting.

He was right, and the day after he and his friends enjoyed that first batch, he started researching what it would take to open a brewery.

The rest, as they say, is history. Higher Math is a tribute to that auspicious first beer and celebrates 20 off-centered years of Dogfish Head. It’s a golden strong ale fermented with sour cherry juice and cocoa nibs and clocks in at 17% ABV.

Higher Math has forward notes of cherries, pineapple and stewed fruit, with late notes of cocoa. It has a lingering sweetness and a notable warmth from the alcohol.

Why tonight to drink it? No reason... Saw the two bottles I got of it hanging out in the fridge and decided tonight was as good a night as any to drink some!

Poured a ruddy brown into a Snifter with no head. Allowed to warm a bit due to the massive 17% ABV. Smells of tart cherry, some dark fruit, oak, and a little bit of chocolate all with a bit of alcohol. Tastes of a lot of fudgy chocolate with a very little bit of sweet cherry. The chocolate definitely dominates all. Very heavy bodied, almost syrup like. The big 17% ABV hides very well but makes itself known in the follow up warmth. The mellow alcohol taste may be due to the aging. Can't say as this is the first I've had of it! Pretty good but I wouldn't call it great. I feel like the cherry needed to be a little more pronounced and the body less syrupy. Reminds me more of a barleywine overall.

[Ryan Ruck]

Made a beer run today to Jungle Jim's and came home with 4 new bottles. 2 from 3 Floyds and 2 from Clown Shoes.

A couple months ago I had seen (and bought) Dogfish's 120 IPA from JJ's which I thought was unusual because of the high alcohol content of the 120 and the requirement that beer sold in Ohio be 12% ABV or less. Come to find out in May 2016, that prohibition was finally removed! Meaning, no more going across the river to Party Source to get the high test stuff (though I will still go there!).

Because of that, we can now get a lot of good stuff we couldn't before including the one I'm going to have tonight.

Had to have one of the ones from Clown Shoes that sounded pretty good. A Russian Imperial Stout called Blaecorn Unidragon.

What should we call our Russian Imperial Stout? Black Unicorn? Soul Dragon? Nohhh. Let’s combine them and create the ultimate mythical creature: Blaecorn Unidragon.

Imbued with a monstrous amount of dark malt and aggressive hops, Blaecorn Unidragon is a powerful and complex brew designed to improve with age.

Poured deep black into a Snifter with a fairly small, dark brown head. Allowed to warm due to ABV. Smells of sweet chocolate and roast coffee. Also a bit of smokey peat and alcohol. The flavor is a well balanced blend of sweet chocolate, slightly bitter roasted coffee, lactose, and smoked malt. Finishes with a slight bittersweet note. Body is fairly heavy but not overly so. The sizable 12.5% ABV is very sneaky! Clown Shoes scores again with a really good beer!

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight I'm giving one of the 3 Floyds beers I picked up yesterday a try.

This one is called NECRON 99, a Scotch style ale.

Scortch Style Ale, Tropical fruit aroma, primarily passion fruit, pineapple, and mango. More subtle notes of berries, melon, citrus, and floral are also present with a full malt profile and a bitter finish.

Poured a dark gold into a Tulip glass with a decent sized white head. Smell is hop dominated with tropical fruit and a little pine. Definite hints of the melon and berries mentioned in the flavor with a sweet caramel malty undercurrent. The finish is bitter as described but only just a little. Medium bodied with a 7.5% ABV. Interesting flavor mix overall! Not bad!

[Ryan Ruck]

Awww yeah!

Monday was officially Oberon Day and I just bought my first 12 pack of Oberon of the season earlier from Party Source!


Shortly some will be consumed...

They also had some of that awesome Kona Brewing Koko Brown so naturally some of that came home with me as well.

[Ryan Ruck]

Happy National Beer Day everyone!

Why April 7 is National Beer Day

April 7, 2017

Friday, April 7, is National Beer Day, which commemorates April 7, 1933, the day that the Cullen-Harrison Act was enacted.

It was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on March 22, 1933.

The law allowed for the legal sale of low-alcohol beer in the United States, several months before Prohibition was completely repealed.

Roosevelt made his famous remark upon signing the legislation: “I think this would be a good time for a beer,” noting the end to the nation’s 13-year-long dry spell.

The low-alcohol beer that the act allowed could have alcohol by volume of as high as 4 percent.

Lower-alcohol beer is the biggest seller in the U.S. today.

“By far the largest segment of beer today is the light beer segment and has an average ABV (alcohol by volume) of about 4.2 percent,” Jim McGreevy of the D.C.-based nonprofit Beer Institute told WTOP.

The beer business is big business in the U.S. today.

“Beer across the country is a $253 billion contributor to the U.S. economy, and the amount of beer sold in the U.S. each year could fill the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool over a thousand times,” McGreevy said.

There are more than 4,000 active breweries in the United States, and the Beer Institute said roughly 1.75 million Americans have jobs as a result of the American beer industry. Those jobs contribute nearly $79 billion in wages and benefits each year to the U.S. economy.

The beer business is big enough that it registers about 1.5 percent of the nation’s total gross domestic product.

The most rapid growth in the past decade has been the number of craft brewers. The number of small and independent craft brewers in the U.S. is at a record high.

According to the Brewers Association, based in Boulder, Colorado, craft brewers have seen double-digit growth in eight of the last 10 years.

Nearly 2,400 of the nation’s active breweries are classified as microbreweries, and craft brewers now hold a 12 percent share of the overall beer industry’s market.

[Ryan Ruck]

For National Beer Day, going to review something from a brewer I haven't sampled from in a while, local brewer Listermann!

This is their 562 Lateral Oatmeal Sweet Stout, (AKA Norwood Lateral. ).



With the sparse dates on the RateBeer reviews, this one must be an occasional rarity from Listerman rather than a new brew.

Poured dark black into an English Pint with a medium sized brown head. Has a smell that is slightly smokey with sweet chocolate malt and oats. Has a taste of roasted oats, sweet cocoa, and finishes with a slight bitter char. Body is surprisingly thin for the look coming in medium bodied. Only a 5% ABV... Does that really qualify as a stout or is that more of a porter? Seems more like porter territory to me but I'm no master brewer. Still, it is a pretty darn good oatmeal "stout".

[Ryan Ruck]

After dealing with some of the most difficult shock absorbers I've ever dealt with on my truck, I'm enjoying a new brew from Clown Shoes tonight. This is their Hammer Of The Beast Imperial Stout.

This year’s release incorporates equal ratios of each Blaecorn Unidragon (Russian Imp Stout), Undead Party Crasher (American Imp Stout), and Billionaire (English Barleywine) all aged in premium rum barrels. We call it Hammer of the Beast.

Poured a very dark black into a Snifter with a very thin, dark brown head. Allowed to warm due to the 11.75% ABV. Smells of chocolate, oak barrel, some dark fruits, and a bit of alcohol. Taste is sweet chocolate, roasted malt, dark fruit, oak, and boozy rum notes. A nice substantial body befitting the style. I've got to say, this is a really damn good beer! Clown Shoes normally does it great but Hammer Of The Beast is top notch and an excellent example of an Imperial Stout.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's brew of choice is a new, special release from Clown Shoes to celebrate their 7th anniversary!

This is their Space Cake #7 IPA.

This December Clown Shoes will celebrate our seventh anniversary. Dry hopped with Idaho 7, Mosaic, Citra, Ella, Galaxy, Centennial, and Nelson Sauvin and clocking in at 7.77% ABV.

Poured medium gold into a Tulip glass with a large golden white head. Has a smell of tropical fruit and caramel malt with maybe a little pine. Starts out with a moderate bitterness, follows up with some slight fruity hop flavors, and finishes up with sweet malt with a biscuit flavor which helps mellow the initial bitterness. Slight alcohol taste from the 7.77% ABV. Medium bodied. This is likely a good IPA for people who prefer the more bitter ones but this one is on the upper end of what I prefer, even with the finishing sweetness that helps balance it a little.

[American Patriot]

IPA!!! Sounds good.