Catching Up on Things

For those that had three and half weeks on the over-under of when I'd get lazy and stop posting, you may now collect your winnings.  I may have a legit excuse for my neglect soon should I pass my writing test for a freelance position this week, but in the meantime here are a few assorted thoughts on beers consumed the past couple of weeks.

Sort of disagree with Vinnie's assessment on Stone 14th Anniversary IPA as I thought the booze was masked well by a surprisingly fruity body.  I prepared myself for the expected inundation of hops only to be surprisingly greeted by the tasty, subtly sweet flavors of this English style IPA (and props to Stone for hitting this style and not force feeding the hop characteristic).

Shame that the Onion Pub and Brewery, makers of the Wild Onion Pumpkin fall seasonal, is located off the beaten path (at least for this lazy non-driver) in Lake Barrington, Illinois.   Loved my first 2010 foray into fall beers and enjoyed this pumpkin beer that packed a ton of flavor without being pumpkin pie with alcohol.

On my scale of brown beers, Avery's Ellie Brown beats out Sierra Nevada Tumbler due to the chocolate and toffee flavors that complemented a well crafted body.  Tumbler grew on me as I sipped it, but I like my brown ales to have sweeter notes (I normally drink them towards the end of my sessions).

My second go-round with Left Hand's Milk Stout gave me a greater appreciation for this brew and I better grasped the style of the sweet stout.  It does not pack quite the punch to that of Dragon's Milk, but its much kinder ABV (5.2% to 9.0% of Dragon's Milk) allows you to possibly go another couple of rounds should you feel like it.

Come on Chicagoland distributors, convince the fine people at New Glarus that a second go-round in this market will be worthwhile for them.  The passion in Dancing Man Wheat and Moon Man is uniquely Wisconsin and us lesser folk in Chicago need some of that TLC to deal with the evils of city life.

Two Brothers Resistance IPA was an awesome find and made our maiden voyage to their Tap House totally worthwhile (even if I ate enough loaded cheese fries for four meals and ravaged my stomach in the process).

Finally, if you enjoy these ramblings, cheer me on to do stupid crap like pull a neck muscle while sneezing, as tonight's imbibing of fine beers motivated me to return home here and leave MBB with at least one more contribution during its brief existence.

Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA, tap, snifter

Last night Brixie's was unusually dead for a Wednesday, which was perfect since I was feeling unusually cerebral and looking unusually slobbish. All I really wanted was a beer, and as a bonus, I got to trade apocalyptic prognostications with Bruce the bartender, who only had six other people to wait on.

I'd come specifically for the Stone Emperial; after stealing a sip of Zuch's on Saturday, I'd been anxious to try a full one.

One of my first reactions both then and last night was "gin martini." Both the first whiff and taste are distinctly piny, and the bitterness and high (9%) ABV share something in common with vermouth. The smell is also musty like an old book, and the taste is mildly sweet and--dare I say--plasticky, almost like peppercorn. Though bitter, the hop flavor is more the pine and herb (think sage or tarragon) variety, not citrusy.

Grade: C, for cocktail. Make no mistake--it's bitter and boozy but not necessarily in the way you'd expect. It drinks more like a strong cocktail than a beer. The twelve-ounce snifter took me a solid hour and upwards of twenty tilts to finish. You can't rush this one. It wouldn't be my first choice to repeat, but I'm glad I tried it the once.