Beer Reviews

Stateside Saison - Stillwater Artisanal, Baltimore
Stillwater Artisanal Stateside Saison
Saison Baltimore Maryland Stillwater Artisanal Ales American

Stillwater Artisanal, like Mikkeller, is a brewer without a brewery... a gypsy brewer. The idea is that Stillwater and Mikkeller rent time on another brewery's system when that production brewery has capacity. Stillwater seems to brew most of their beers at Dog Brewing in Westminster, MD. The brews that come from Dog Brewing are Stillwater's year-round beers like this bottle of Stateside Saison. Stillwater may have several other bottles on the shelf, but if you look closely you'll see a number of them are collaborations, brewed somewhere other than Dog Brewing. It's an interesting business model to say the least.

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My Antonia - Birra del Borgo, Borgorose
Birra del Borgo My Antonia
Imperial Pilsner Birra del Borgo Borgorose Dogfish Head Italian

Imperial Pilsners were incredibly rare up until a year and a half ago when it seemed like this strong double Lager was all the rage. I've had three different Imperial Pilsner style beers and I've enjoyed them but I've had the same one twice, and I don't have a strong desire to pick up another Imperial Pilsner any time soon. Pilsner is one of my least favorite styles, it seems I only ever enjoy this style is during the hottest days of the summer, and even then I'd rather be drinking a Kolsch or Helles. This bottle of My Antonia comes from Birra del Borgo in Italy and was brewed in collaboration with Dogfish Head in Delaware. Dogfish also bottled their iteration of this beer, which I've had and wasn't too crazy about, so I'm curious to see if the Italian take on the Imperial Pils is any more enjoyable.

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Autumn Maple - The Bruery, Placentia
The Bruery Autumn Maple
Fruit Beer Spiced Beer California Placentia The Bruery American

I've had this beer once before, and it cost me $40... Well, I think the check actually got split at the end of the night, but there was definitely a charge on there for one (1) $40 bottle of The Bruery's Autumn Maple on there somewhere. It was after a long drive from Kansas City to Denver, followed by more than a couple rounds of beers at Falling Rock and then another round or two at Euclid Hall... so my recollection is a little hazy, but I remember thinking this was the best fall beer I'd ever had. That was a year ago, almost to the day. This bottle of Autumn Maple has been in my basement for a couple weeks now and I've been eagerly awaiting a 60 degree fall day so I'd have a good reason to crack it open.

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Schwarze Johannisbeere Berliner Kindl Weisse - Berliner Kindl Brauerei, Berlin
Berliner Kindl Weisse
Berliner Weissbier Fruit Beer Berlin Berliner Kindl Brauerei German

I like a good Berliner Weisse, but my options in the middle of the US are quite limited. I had my first Berliner Weisse in Berlin back in 2006 when I was living in Germany. It wasn't my favorite style at first, I tended to stick with Wiezens and really despised Radler, but Berliner Weisses grew on me. When I moved back to the states the closest thing I could find locally a summer seasonal Shandy, and I'm really not that keen on ginger... A friend of mine from Berlin recently came to visit and brought a bottle of Berliner Kindl with him. I was elated to say the least.

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Primal Pale Ale - Evolution Craft Brewing Co., Delmar
Evolution Primal Pale Ale
Pale Ale Delaware Delmar Evolution Craft Brewing Co. American

Evolution Craft Brewing Co. is Delaware's other craft brewery... at least that's the way it seems when you're at a package store in the Mid-Atlantic, there's plenty of Dogfish Head but not much else from Delaware. I made the trek to Delmar, on the southern border of Delaware and Maryland, a couple months ago to check out some of more exotic beers Evolution has in the works and I was quite impressed. Exotic beers don't pay the bills for most brewers so I decided to pick up a six pack of their Primal Pale Ale to see how these guys approach a more mainstream style.

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