Category: Blog

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New Sour Beers: Rojzilla & La Roja du Kriek

(DEXTER, Mich)—Jolly Pumpkin’s quintessential beer – La Roja – may be hard to find, but two new specialty brews will hit the marketplace in limited quantities this month and are sure to quench the thirst of sour beer lovers around America. Rojzilla and La Roja du Kriek will be distributed in Michigan and 34 other states during the brand’s “April Showers Bring Jolly Pumpkin Sours” campaign.

La Roja (7.2% ABV | 25 IBU) was the second beer to be released by Jolly Pumpkin, after opening in 2004. This artisan red ale, brewed in the Flanders tradition, is deep amber in color with earthy caramel, spice and sour fruit notes that are developed through natural barrel aging.

Flanders ales are fermented with usual brewer’s yeast in an unfiltered and unpasteurized fashion, then placed into oak barrels to age and mature. The mature beer is then blended with younger beer, to adjust the taste for consistency. The name comes from the usual color of these ales, which are descendent from English porters of the 17th century.

Due to the extensive time involved in the production of La Roja, it is only released in limited quantities and is considered one of the most sought-after sour ales in the country. Continue reading →

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A Beer review of Ommegangs most recent Game Of Thrones inspired Beer

Valar Morghulis. But not until trying this beer. It does feel like the winds coming down from the north are carrying an ill breath with them as of late. Is there some unknown danger that lurks beyond the wall? Is it the feeling of forces gathering around me that makes my bones ache as if in a deep freeze? Or is it the ever present knowledge that winter is coming that makes my blood run cold… Nope, it is the fact that it is April here and I just saw it snowing. It is the cold that makes me cold. I have found one way to fend back the harsh bite of what Michigan spring has become, and it comes in a bottle from Brewery Ommegang. Check out my cryptic review of The Three-Eyed Raven. Continue reading →

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This post was written by KARL SMALLWOOD from TodayIFoundOut.com

Oxford University
Oxford University is well known for being one of the most prestigious and elite places of learning in history. Over the years, it has seen some of the finest minds the world has ever known pass through its halls. It’s also the place where over six centuries ago a bunch of students and a fair number of townsfolk were killed in a riot over a pint.
Continue reading →

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Welcome to a new feature that I am going to try out for a bit to see how it goes. I am going to pick up a sampler pack of beers from a single brewery and go through it one at a time, leaving my thoughts here for you all to read in order to help you become more informed and responsible beer drinkers.  Or, I’m just going to gush of the beers I like and rag on the ones I hate and tell you if a pack is worth picking up or if you should avoid it.  Most samplers have 12 beers in them 3 each of 4 different styles, so I am going to have to say that for a sampler to be worth picking up, 3 of those 4 beers had better be pretty good.  So let’s begin with what I am going to call, “Stuck in the Middle with Brew.”2014-11-18 20.36.09

Today I have the Folly pack from New Belgium brewery.  New Belgium has been around for a while, but they have onlly recently started to distribute in Michigan.  And when they did, it was hard to swing a dead cat without hitting someone singing the praises of Fat Tire and how wonderful it is that we can finally get this wonderful beer that had for so long been something that required a trip out of state. So this may be my first time putting down on record what I think about the beers that have come out of this big little brewery from Colorado.  The Folly comes with their Blue Paddle Pilsner, Snapshot Wheat beer, Ranger IPA, and Fat Tire Amber. Continue reading →

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I have an opinion about pumpkin beers.  And since I have a website dedicated to craft beers, I suppose that I should not be keeping my opinion to myself.  But as the saying goes, “if you don’t have anything nice to say..”  The End.

But in all seriousness, it isn’t the _all_ pumpkin beers are horrible.  I distinctly remember having a pumpkin beer once.  It was on Gordon street. ahhh, I once new a pumpkin beer on Gordon Street, but that was a long time ago, and its name is now long forgotten.  And to be honest, I have really been trying to find that beer again.  And in doing so I subject myself to all manner of pumpkin beers that I find, but I still haven’t rediscovered that ever elusive, good pumpkin beer.

So I figure, why don’t i just get a sampler of pumpkin beers and bring you all along for the ride.  After all it is the season, judging by the sheer number of these things I see on the shelves, some of you must enjoy them.  So we can work through these beers together, and who knows, we may find gold in them there hills. Continue reading →

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If you have five and a half minutes to spare, and have ever thought about what goes into making that delicious brew that you like so much, you could find worse things to do with your time than check out this video. It comes from the PBS series It’s Okay to be Smart, where you can find some great bite-sized information nuggets to fill your brain.  Here they visit Jester King Brewery in Austin, TX to explore the chemical process that goes into making their farmhouse style beers.  They have also linked to some other helpful information in their description including

  • some Beer Chemistry
  • a little Beer History
  • and a few other great resources for a deeper look into, and comes out of beer and alcohol in general

Continue reading →

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When the robot uprising occurs, do you think they will be happy or mad that I enjoyed this beer?

Hopcity Hopbot IPAHop City Hopbot IPA.

I have mentioned in the past the rules about buying alcohol based solely on the label.  If you weren’t around for that, or if you have forgotten (I wouldn’t blame you, it was a long time ago, and I don’t usually even listen to me very closely), I will reiterate.  Beer – yes; wine – no.  Now that we have gotten that lesson out of the way let’s move on to the beer review.  This is the reason for that review. A robot themed beer? How can you pass that up? I’ll tell you how.  You can’t.  And it is a good thing you didn’t because if you had you would have missed out on one very solid IPA.  It has a level of sweetness that puts it right on there on the scale of easy to drink IPAs with Two Hearted.  But any beer review can tell you how a beer tastes, I would like to tell you how this beer feels.  check out my cryptic review after the break. Continue reading →

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Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero

Once upon a time, there was a beer. This beer may not be the most prime example of its style.  It is not that it is a bad beer, or even an average beer.  This beer was good.  But this beer had dreams, dreams of becoming great. This beer wanted to be one that would be remembered by everyone who crosses its path.  It didn’t want to be one of those beers that cheated its way to the top by wearing a fancy label and a clever name without trying to actually be great.  It wanted to really be one that could be remembered for the flavor of its character and not the image of its bottle.  This beer felt that the potential of what it had inside was what it should be judged for, and it felt that it could bring itself up to be that beer that would be remembered.  Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero, is not this beer.  But it learned all it knows from that beer.  And it decided that a clever label is acceptable to use too. Continue reading →

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I want to do a beer review, But that raccoon won’t give me back my beer.

Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Seriously, I can’t not mention how brain-bustingly awesome this label is. Dogfish Head really got this one right. It is exactly the type of thing you want to put on your beer to make it shout at someone from the beer shelf, look into their soul, and command them to take it home.  I’m not saying that was my exact experience when I found this one (it was).  They call this beer a neo-Berliner Weisse, and it tastes about as familiar as that style is (it isn’t).  I would say that if you are looking for a new flavor experience the Dogfish Head Festina Peche is certainly one that you should be on the lookout for.  And I’m not just saying that because the raccoon told me to (it did).  Check out my video review after the break. Continue reading →