Live Oak Liberation

Brewery: Live Oak Brewery
Location: Austin, TX
Serving: Draft/Pint
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.0%

I had this on tap at the Spider House. It's a nice burnt orange colour. The smell was all citrus. It has a nice bitterness throughout with just a tad bit of sweetness to keep things in check. Refreshing and tasty.

Rating: B

Upland Maibock

Brewery: Upland Brewing Company
Location: Richo's
Serving: Imperial Pint
Style: Seasonal (Heller Bock)
ABV: 7.5%

Met up with some friends from out of town at Richo's to have a pint. As old as the food gets they keep you coming back with all the great brews. In this instance I chose the Maibock. At first glance you could hardly tell the difference between Miller's Hop Devil and this one but taste will prevail. A mild flavor in a beer that could probably just be described in the lager family was one that will be repeated.

Rating: B+

McChouffe

Brewery: Brasserie d'Achouffe
Location: Belgium
Serving: Snifter
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
ABV: 8%

My friend always raves about this beer and I finally had the chance to try a glass of it from his birthday bottle. It resembled a cloudy soda, deep brown with a nice off-white head. It had a really great smell, lots of sweet fruitiness and yeast. It had a crisp sweet flavor to match the smell with lots of malt. I might have to buy my own bottle of this on occasion.


Rating: B

Prima Pils

Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Pennsylvania
Serving: Draft/Imperial Pint
Style: German Pilsner
ABV: 5.3%

I picked up a growler of this from Sportstime to enjoy while it's available. I finally cracked it open the other night. It poured a very clear pale gold with a decent white head that left rings of lace down the glass as I drank it. I really enjoyed the smell of this one. It had an herby grassy aroma that went nicely with the summer weather. The taste of this one was typical pislner flavor but with a few twists and turns. There is a nice bitter bite from the hops that is assuredly missing in the average pils. The malt shows up to provide some balance and the bitterness doesn't blow your tounge out. A nice session beer.


Rating: B+

Dos Perros

Brewery: Yazoo Brewing Company
Location: Nashville, TN
Serving: Draft/Pint
Style: Altbier
ABV: 3.5%

I enjoy trying out the local brews when I travel and on a recent trip to Nashville I got to do just that. We met up with our friends Ian and Sarah at a late night sushi bar called PM. I ordered a pint of the Dos Perros from the local Yazoo brewery. Our awkward server brought me a dark brown beer with no head. It has a nutty, roasted aroma with a bit of chocolate. The hops didn't come through at all. The taste is mostly chocolate and toasted malts with a hint of sweetness. It was not heavy and all and pleasantly crisp. The website says that it is brewed in the old style of Mexican beers which descended from Austrian occupation. I wish most of the current Mexican offerings would revert back.


Rating: B-

Dry-Hopped Red

Brewery: Rogue Ales Brewery
Location: Oregon
Serving: Draft/Imperial Pint
Style: American Amber
ABV: 5.1%

Yet another trip to Prost yields another Rouge ale to try. This time I went with the dry-hopped red. It had a dark reddish brown colour and a decent sized white head. I'm going to call the aroma of this one "hop bread". Lots of hops hit you first with some orange pine-sol, but then some malty bread comes in. It has a pleasant sweet caramel flavor that quickly gets taken over by the hops. The finish is all hop bitterness. This is a pretty interesting example of a red, a category I tend to find pretty average.

Rating: B-

Export IPA

Brewery: Schlafly
Location: St. Louis, MO
Serving: Imperial Pint
Style: IPA
ABV: 8%

With Schlafly in town promoting a new IPA, there was no other choice given Schlafly's track record of taste. The typical burnt amber color. An unusually frothy head resembling a pilsner which lead to a lacey delight. An immediate bite with hops coming out strong with a flowery finish. What made the evening was, every pint purchased got your name in the hat for a "prize". First drawing my friend Tom won, 2nd drawing I won, 3rd drawing Tom's friend won....all at the same table...3 drawings in a row....ill take it. Regardless I was again impressed by Schlafly.

Rating: B+

Brutal Bitter

Brewery: Rogue Ales Brewery
Location: Newport, OR
Serving: Draft/Imperial Pint
Style: Imperial ESB
ABV: 6.5%

There were several new brews on the board at Prost and it was hard to choose one to try after the Scotty Karate. Donnie started off with one of these and after sampling it I couldn't pass up a pint of my own. The pint was a really nice looking orange/red with a small white head that disappeared quickly. The smell reminded me of an IPA aroma but turned way down. The taste was not what I expected with an Ale calling itself "Brutal Bitter". There was definitely a hoppy flavor with a bit of citrus but not even close to overpowering. It strikes a very nice balance with the malts. I am a big fan of English bitters. It's nice to be able to set down and enjoy a beer that doesn't wear you out. The offering from Rogue was a great twist on that. I feel like I could have sat down and had quite a few rounds without getting blitzed.


Rating: B+

Dos Equis Amber

Brewery: Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Montezuma
Location: Mexico
Serving: Draft
Style: Vienna Lager
ABV: 4.7%

I am incapable of sitting down to a dinner of Mexican food without washing it down with a cerveza. It's always an added bonus when the establishment has this on draft. My brownish red pint arrived in an extra thick glass I had never seen before. This was one heavy pint. It had a faint (but nice) sweet malty aroma and no head. A crisp and refreshing taste that has a slight sweetness, a bit of malt, and just a touch of bitterness. Perfect for washing down my Vegetarian B combo.


Rating: B

Preservation Pilsner

Brewery: Upland Brewing Company
Location: Bloomington, IN
Serving: Imperial Pint
Style: Czech Pilsner
ABV: 5.5%

I was unaware that Upland made a pilsner until I spotted it on the Draft board at Sportstime. The pint was a really nice deep gold colour with a thick white head. I tried everything I could to get an aroma out of it but nothing was forthcoming. No one at the table had any luck with it either so I didn't feel that bad about it. The taste of this one was great. Very refreshing and crisp with a hint of sweetness. It finished off with a nice bitterness from the hops. This one is a keeper.



Rating: B+

60 Minute IPA

Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Location: Delaware
Serving: Bottle/Snifter
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6%


After sushi we stopped by Nächbar for their Happy Hour. Donnie opted for Old Style while I decided to try out yet another IPA. It poured a rich golden orange colour with a head that decided to hang out for awhile. The smell had a lot going on. It was fruity with some herb and floral scents. The taste was very well balanced for an IPA. It had the citrus hop tang to it but it wasn't overpowering and there was a nice nutty flavor to help things along. Very easy to drink.


Rating: B

Kirin Ichiban

Brewery: Kirin Brewery Company
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Serving: Pint
Style: Japanese Rice Lager
ABV: 4.9%

After an early departure from the daily bump and grind at work, I've finally made it to the Maido Happy Hour. What better way to celebrate than some fresh sushi and a brew. The first pint was put in front of me and the first thought was "is this a Bud Light?". A clear beer very much resembling the "American" style had very little, quickly disappearing head and had a scent that was easily forgettable but a taste that was quite refreshing. Not a favorite but fitting for the dinner.

Rating: B-


Josh's take

A visit to Maido for Happy Hour always leads me to a pint or two of Kirin. It's not my favorite Japanese beer, that would probably be Sapporo or Asahi, but it's on tap and that always trumps bottles for me. Our crystal clear golden pints arrived out on the sunlit patio to accompany our appetizer. They had a decent head that disappeared rapidly. Very little smell pretty much sets up the taste. Not much going on but decent flavor. If there was an Asian Pabst this would be it. I know that these beers aren't the greatest but I don't really look for that when I'm eating sushi. I like to taste the sushi and wash it down with a beer that quenches my thirst but doesn't knock out the subtle sushi flavor.

Rating: B-

Skinny Dip

Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Inc.
Location: Colorado
Serving: Bottle
Style: American Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.2%

I wanted to try out another New Belgium while I had the chance and this was all I could find at the Fiesta market. It's a low calorie, low alcohol summer ale so I was a bit apprehensive. It turns out my fears were unfounded, Bud Select this is not. Skinny Dip was a fine yellow-orange with lots of lacing. It's brewed with kafir lime and you can really smell that lime. The taste was very refreshing and light with hints of the lime and some bread. This would be perfect on a really hot day and it just happened to be 99 degrees when I had it.


Rating: B-

Big Bark Amber Lager

Brewery: Live Oak Brewing Company
Location: Austin, TX
Serving: Imperial Pint
Style: Vienna Lager
ABV: ?

My final stop on my Austin tap house tour led me to Ginger Man. This is the one I was looking forward to and it did not disappoint. Taps as far as the eye can see. Nice cozy feel with dark wood and a darts section, always important. I decided to stick with a local brew and I was rewarded.
The Big Bark was a dark copper colour with a thin head, and a really nice sweet fruity aroma.
The first swig brought the taste of tangerines to mind. I also noticed some bread like flavor, biscuits maybe probably due to the malt. It finishes with a nice bitter hit to balance things out. Quite tasty. I used to be a fan of amber beers but I have slowly moved away as they tend to be pretty bland. This is definitely an exception with a delicious complex flavor.


Rating: B+

Red Headed Stranger

Brewery: Lovejoy's Tap Room
Location: Austin, TX
Serving: Imperial Pint
Style: Irish Red
ABV: ?

I have been exploring the different pubs and taprooms of Austin trying to find a place to fill the Sportstime void that will soon be in my life. This place is at the end of the horrible row of 6th st. bars that remind me of Bourbon St. or Downtown Nashville. It's not actually on 6th and doesn't seem to have much in common with them though. The blacked out windows and the lack of much in the way of a noticable entrance aren't exactly tourist friendly. It's a nice dumpy place with some pool tables and a juke box kind of like the mag bar but without the charm. They had a pretty good selection of drafts and they brew 4 of their own beers. I ordered the Red Headed Stranger because the description intrigued me. I took the deep amber pint to a couch to sample. It had a nice toasty malt aroma with some hints of fruitiness. The hops stand out much more than I expected in an Irish and that is a god thing. This beer was pretty damn tasty. It has a nutty malty flavor that finishes with a nice bitter fruity hop bite. I don't really see myself hanging out at Lovejoys but I might pop in take home a growler of this beer on occasion.


Rating: B+

Robert the Bruce

Brewery: Three Floyds Brewing Co
Location: Munster, IN
Serving: Growler
Style: Scottish Ale
ABV: 7%

I admit the 6 High Lifes I had prior to indulging in my 1/2 of the growler has affected my memory or tastebuds, because I have hardly any recollection of this brew other than it did me in and was delicious at the same time....and in some situations what more do you really need?

Rating: B+

Barfly IPA

Brewery: Barley Island Brewing
Location: Noblesville, IN
Serving: Imperial Pint
Style: American IPA
ABV: 5.6%

I had not heard of Barley Island so I decided to check this out. It turns out they are an Indiana brewery so it was nice to drink locally. This pint was a lovely burnt orange colour with a very small head that left lace all down the glass. It smells citrusy and hoppy, pretty much like every other IPA I've described the smell of. The taste was very nice. A sweet orange flavor is predominate with a mild bitter hop finish. This would be an easy IPA to drink multiples.



Rating: B+

Spaten Maibock

Brewery: Spaten-Franzikaner-Bräu
Location: Munich, Germany
Serving: Imperial Pint
Style: Maibock
ABV: 6.5%


After a round of golf I was craving a pint with the mates. Hill and I met Donnie at Sportstime to do just that. The maibock was a light golden colour resembling a pilsner. The aroma is very faint and smells sweet and doughy, like ready to be baked bread. It had a very light sweet taste that finished with what tasted like tobacco to me and spearmint to Donnie. We'll combine the 2 and say it had a skoal finish. Not a bad offering but I prefer Upland's version.


Rating: B-

Mad Hatter IPA

Brewery: New Holland Brewing Co.
Location: Michigan
Serving: Bottle
Style: American IPA
ABV: 5.8%

I am a big fan of New Holland. They make one of my favorite beers (dragon's milk) and they have yet to disappoint me. I have been on IPA kick lately, so I felt like I needed to give New Holland's version a shot. It poured a cloudy dark orange colour with a decent sized head. It had a very faint smell that was typical of most IPA's I've had (citrus & hops). I had to practically stick my nose in the beer to pick up much an aroma. It had a nice flavor that was a balance of orange/lemon, good bread, and hops. None of the flavors overpower and they all work nicely together. Most IPA's tend to hit you over the head and scream "I'm an IPA, look hops!", but this beer is subtle almost like a session ale. Enjoy.

Rating: B

Flat Tyre

Brewery: New Albanian Brewing Co.
Location: Indiana
Serving: Draft Nonic
Style: American Amber
ABV: 5%

Pint #2 of my attempt to try out some NABC beers I've neglected. Instead of a typical review I have composed a haiku.

Hazy red colour.
Faint smell, a bit sour, clean finish.
I want a Fat Tire.

Rating: B-