Beer Reviews

Tail Waggin' Double White Ale - Grand Teton Brewing Co., Victor
Grand Teton Tail Waggin' Double White
Wit Grand Teton Brewing Co. Idaho Victor American

Grand Teton is a bit of an unknown... I've had one of their beers before, their Au Naturale Organic Blonde. Well, I had a sample of it at a beer festival. Organic beers are pretty hit or miss so I wouldn't want to judge a brewery by their one off. So I went into this big 750 of Tail Waggin' Double White with an open mind. I've had a few double Witbiers before so I had an idea of what I wanted to taste in this beer. I was hoping it'd be sweet, tart, a little sour and be smooth throughout. Opening this capped 750ml bottle was a bit anticlimactic because there was no Wit aroma there to greet me...

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Grimbergen Dubbel - Brouwerij Alken-Maes, Opwijk
Grimbergen Dubbel
Dubbel Belgian Brouwerij Alken-Maes Grimbergen Opwijk

Grimbergen Ales were relatively unknown to me until about 6 months ago when I noticed kegs of their Dubbel started showing up at finer drinking establishments around town. My first impressions of the draft Grimbergen Dubbel were that it was quite good. I remember it tasting exactly like I was expecting a Belgian Dubbel to taste like. I had a couple more times on tap over the summer and finally saw bottles on shelf at my local liquor store. I remember liking the beer quite a bit so I picked up some Dubbel and looked forward to reviewing it formally.

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St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout - McAuslan Brewing, Montreal
St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Stout Canadian McAuslan Brewing Montreal Oatmeal Stout Quebec

I'm finally opening this bottle of St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout after it was mentioned by a fellow beer connoisseur. I originally picked up this bottle back in December and it's been sitting in my basement beer fridge for about nine months now. I enjoy Oatmeal Stouts quite a bit but, being summer, it didn't seem like a the best time to drink something quite this dark. That's been my excuse since at least March... Well, I've finally gotten around to opening it up and it seems like I've really been missing out.

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Lilja's Heifer Weizen - Sand Creek Brewing Company, Black River Falls
Lilja's Heifer Weizen
Hefeweizen Black River Falls Lilja's Sand Creek Brewing Company Wisconsin American

Get it? Heifer Weizen... that's clever. This bottle of Lilja's Heifer Weizen was found on a recent vacation across state lines where Wisconsin beers are more readily available. I'd never seen the Lilja's beers from Sand Creek Brewing before so I snatched up as many as I could. Among them was a lone bottle of Hefeweizen that says "Wisconsin Farmhouse Wheat Beer" printed on the side. The label looks more or less homemade, with a badly photoshopped picture of cows in a field with a thought bubble asking "Where's da beer?" Kitschy? Sure, but professional beers aren't always the best tasting so I was undeterred. What really sold me on this beer was the tagline at the very bottom of the label, "brewed behind the Cheddar Curtain." Ha!

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Back in Black - 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco
21st Amendment Black in Black
India Pale Ale 21st Amendment Brewery Black IPA California San Francisco American

Black IPAs are a trend I've noticed picking up steam lately, and I couldn't be happier. I say that now after having drank my way through this Black in Black from 21st Amendment in San Francisco. Had I been asked for my opinion of Black IPAs even an hour ago, it would have been a bit different. If I'm known for one thing it'd have to be my "hatred" of IPAs and all things hoppy. Breweries who already make two or three different kinds of IPAs and are releasing Black IPAs on top of their regular line up? That seems like overkill... especially considering I tend to enjoy one out of every ten or so IPAs I drink anyways... I kept an open mind and poured myself a glass of Back in Black. I'm glad I did.

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