The Official INGO Beer Snob Thread

[Gniks18]

Allagash as well. They don't distribute here, its just East Coast, Chicago and LA.

They're a Maine outfit, and a great one at that.

 

[Boba]

There's a whole lot of bad pumpkin ales out there. My vote for a great one is for Southern Tier's PumKing. It's definately worth seeking out (in the fall). It's a full body beer with some good maltiness and not just a beer that's got a can of pumpkin pie spice dropped in.

There certainly is a lot of not so good pumpkin beers out there, and we give them a chance every season.

ST's pumking is not only THE best pumpkin beer out there currently but it is easily in my top 5 beers of all time. Generally saved for special moments & celebrations since the stores around here tend to hoard, hide, & limit the amount they sell their limited supplies to the public... whatcha gonna do, its a seasonal.

 

[Boba]

Big Eddy
Imperial IPA
Jacob Leinenkugel
Chippewa Falls, WI
8.2%AVB

A very well balanced and surprisingly easily drinkable IPA. Not strongly hoppy & floral (a-la hopslam or a zombie dust), not significanly bitter (a-la most stone IPA's), just a great smooth flavor all around that never overpowers. Also in my top 5 beers of all time, and highly recommended.

 

[Gniks18]

There certainly is a lot of not so good pumpkin beers out there, and we give them a chance every season.

ST's pumking is not only THE best pumpkin beer out there currently but it is easily in my top 5 beers of all time. Generally saved for special moments & celebrations since the stores around here tend to hoard, hide, & limit the amount they sell their limited supplies to the public... whatcha gonna do, its a seasonal.

Ever try Shipyard Pumpkinhead? Definitely one of my favorites.

 

[JettaKnight]

ST's pumking is not only THE best pumpkin beer out there currently but it is easily in my top 5 beers of all time.

Pumking is the best. A lot of their beers tend to be diabetic blasters, but with pumpkin spices, it works quite well. very good mouthfeel.

 

[Boba]

Rye da Tiger
Double Rye India Pale Ale
3 Floyds Brewing Company
Munster, IN
8.6% AVB

Light, slightly cloudy color. Fine bright head. Pleasantly floral nose & upfront flavor. Bold beginning with a level easy body, finishing with a unique almost cloying bite at the tip of the tongue (which I assume is the rye). A nice change of pace amongst IPA's. 3 Floyds always produces great stuff. If you are a Rye Beer fan or an IPA connoisseur give this a try!

 

[Roadie]

Slightly off topic, but I thought it was fitting

 

[VoteRedTeam]

Me and a few buddies went to check out the new brewery in Carmel, Union Brewing company. It's at 622 S Rangeline Rd. (basically across the street from the City Center). It's definitely a cool spot worth checking out. It's a VERY small outfit (they brew 4 kegs per week) but they have several other microbrews on tap. the setup inside is relaxed and once the weather warms up....I'm sure it will be packed since it's located right on the Monon and they have those big garage door windows that open up the back side of the bar. It is in an odd location though, it's basically a strip center where you would expect your dentist's office to be.

 

[Scutter01]

Me and a few buddies went to check out the new brewery in Carmel, Union Brewing company. It's at 622 S Rangeline Rd. (basically across the street from the City Center). It's definitely a cool spot worth checking out. It's a VERY small outfit (they brew 4 kegs per week) but they have several other microbrews on tap. the setup inside is relaxed and once the weather warms up....I'm sure it will be packed since it's located right on the Monon and they have those big garage door windows that open up the back side of the bar. It is in an odd location though, it's basically a strip center where you would expect your dentist's office to be.

Did you review a beer for this beer review thread?

 

[AmericanBob]

Me and a few buddies went to check out the new brewery in Carmel, Union Brewing company. It's at 622 S Rangeline Rd. (basically across the street from the City Center). It's definitely a cool spot worth checking out. It's a VERY small outfit (they brew 4 kegs per week) but they have several other microbrews on tap. the setup inside is relaxed and once the weather warms up....I'm sure it will be packed since it's located right on the Monon and they have those big garage door windows that open up the back side of the bar. It is in an odd location though, it's basically a strip center where you would expect your dentist's office to be.

Now I know what I'm doing after work tomorrow!

 

[andski3]

This is my beer of choice. A true Belgium wheat beer.

 

[VoteRedTeam]

Did you review a beer for this beer review thread?

No I did not, I reviewed a brewery for this Beer 'Snob' Thread.....Where people can form their own opinion of the beer they offer and support a local small business in the process.

 

[Scutter01]

No I did not, I reviewed a brewery for this Beer 'Snob' Thread.....Where people can form their own opinion of the beer they offer and support a local small business in the process.

Pardon me for asking, I'm sure. But when I started this thread, I asked people to post up reviews of beers and not just point to brands they like. Here, I'll even quote you my top post in this thread that I created:

Welcome to The Official INGO Beer Snob Thread!

The rules of this thread are simple: Drink a craft beer and post a review. The idea is to locate craft beers available in Indiana and try to introduce them to your friends on INGO. Please limit your reviews to one review per post. While I'd like to encourage discussion of a particular beer, please try to stay on-topic so the thread doesn't get cluttered with a lot of extraneous posts.

I even asked a second time:

Remember that you have to actually post a review of the beer. "It's great!" is not a review. Tell us why you like it in more than one or two sentences. Who makes it? Where did you buy it? Why should we buy (or not buy) it? What kind of food does it go well with? Should it be drunk cool or ice cold? Remember that this is a "review" thread, not a "this is a picture of my favorite beer" thread.

You can use one of the other reviews in this thread as a template:
Name of beer
Brewer
Alcohol content and size (if non-standard)

Appearance:
Smell:
Taste:
Mouthfeel:
Overall:
Letter grade:

You don't HAVE to follow this format, but we'd like to see more detail than "I drank this once and it was good!" C'mon, we're BEER SNOBS!

But that's cool if you don't want to review a beer, but I don't think it's necessary to cop an attitude when asked.

 

[Boba]

Imperial Jack
Double IPA
Rhinelander Brewing Company
Monroe, WI
8.5%abv

A bit sweet with a fine malt flavor. The hops are light & subtle and not too floral really. Medium body color. Nominal tight bubbled head. It doesn't get overly sweet (thank goodness). Actually, paired with salted foods & snacks it seems to tone down the body enough to enjoy easily, maybe too easily! Almost light but flavorful with salted foods.
<whoa, that went fast... for a bomber of 8.5% >

At $3.50 a bomber this is a winner.
Look out for the rabbit.
good night, INGO!

 

[VoteRedTeam]

Pardon me for asking, I'm sure. But when I started this thread, I asked people to post up reviews of beers and not just point to brands they like. Here, I'll even quote you my top post in this thread that I created:



I even asked a second time:



But that's cool if you don't want to review a beer, but I don't think it's necessary to cop an attitude when asked.

Ok, I can admit when I'm wrong. I'm an *******. I think I read the first post and then by the time I got through the others, I forgot that there were rules to the thread. I'm obviously a noob and this was the first thread that I had been in that had rules. So my bad, didn't mean any disrespect....I just thought someone was being a dick so I was a dick back, but obviously I was in the wrong. I would attempt to 'legitimize' my original post with a review, but I'm not the beer connoisseur that most of the people in here appear to be. I love Sun King's Wee Mac and Fat Tire is another favorite but I'm still learning about beers, just like I am about guns. Cheers all!

 

[Boba]

Certified Organic
Acai Berry Wheat Ale
Eel River Brewing Company
Scotia, CA
4% abv

Unique light & pleasant berry aroma. Lighter amber color with little to no head. The Acai berry flavor is full bodied for such a light wheat ale, but well balanced. The berry flavor also finishes dry and not sweet at all. Coupled with the subdued nature of an organic wheat, it's almost flat on the tail end. Probably pairs well with a light garden salad as a pre-meal beer, or ice cold in the summer stand alone when you want something "fruity."

If organic food & beverages are on your radar, this is a decent addition to the menu (not as stellar as a Bison IPA, but something decently different).

 

[Boba]

Certified Organic
Eel River IPA
Eel River Brewing Company
Scotia, CA
7.2% abv

Nice carmel color with light head. Fine floral smell that dissipates quickly. Solid upfront flavor that's well balanced but doesn't seem to have any staying power on the palate. In fact the finish is a little absent and astringent. The beginning is pleasant for sure (not overly bitter or sweet) but no real body in the follow through. Could be a good "intro to IPA's" type beer. +1 for certified organic. It's good to see this market expanding.

 

[Scutter01]

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted a beer review, so I wanted to start a new series. Lately, I've taken a bit of a liking to a variety of shandies and fruit-brewed beers. Some of them are pretty good while others are...not. I'll write these with the supposition that you have a taste for fruit beers. If you do not, then you likely won't enjoy any of them at all.

The first is not really a craft beer, but it's the one that I grabbed out of the cooler first. I'd seen a few billboards for this new-to-the-market beer and wanted to give it a try. It's a brand owned and brewed by Miller and displayed in my INGO Beer Snob mug.


Redd's Apple Ale
Redd's Brewing Co.
Albany, Ga
5% abv

Appearance: This is a very light-colored ale with just a hint of red tint to it. There is virtually no head whatsoever, even at pour, although it is clearly and visibly highly carbonated.

Smell: A distinct and rich apple scent with slight caramel overtones.

Taste: The very first thing you taste is apple. This is not unlike a standard hard apple cider in flavor, but clearly an ale.

Mouthfeel: No harsh bitterness to it and a very strong carbonation, with no unpleasant aftertaste make it a very light and crisp taste.

Overall: If you were new to ciders, you would almost think that this is what hard cider is like, except for the lack of sediment or cloudiness. The crystal-clear appearance and the distinctive smell would almost lead you to believe that you were about to drink a glass of apple juice, were it not for the visible carbonation. The 50/50 mix of apple and ale flavors put this solidly in the category of Apple Shandy. I would have a very easy time drinking this on a crisp fall day with a bag of hot-out-of-the-oil cider mill donuts. Frankly, the enjoyment I'm getting out of it is a little surprising, given that I generally don't like beers brewed by the national brands.

Letter grade: I give this a B+. It's a new and interesting concept in a shandy that I haven't seen before and I'm looking forward to buying again.

 

[SHCdvldg]

Here is a rare one I'm enjoying this evening brought to me by a friend passing through from VA, not available in Indiana anymore...




Name of beer: 90 Minute IPA
Brewer: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Alcohol content and size: 9%abv/ 12oz bottle

Appearance: slightly hazy golden amber with a 1.5 finger white head
Smell: pleasantly sweet with floral, fruit, and subtle piney hop aromas!
Taste: Delicious! All kinds of hoppiness in your face, with a slight burn from the higher abv but not off putting to me at all. I let it warm a bit while surfing INGO so the sweetness of the malt comes out quite a but more as well as the floral hop aromas and flavors.
Mouthfeel: Well carbonated, fizzy on the tounge. definitely a full bodied double IPA.
Overall: an amazing beer, one of my favorites of all time. Its good to finally have some DFH after so long.
Letter grade: A+

 

[Scutter01]

Next up on the fruit beer list is an interesting one I picked up at Cincinnati's Jungle Jim's. I preset to you:


Wild Blue Lager
Blue Dawg Brewing
St. Louis, MO
8% abv

Appearance: This is a very dark purple lager with a thin head. It looks almost exactly like a carbonated Merlot. I tried to backlight it in the photo to give a sense of color to it, but other than the purple-tinged head, you can't really tell from the picture.

Smell: It has a very mild lager scent to it which is completely overpowered by the wholly-inappropriate scent of blueberry.

Taste: Like Welch's Grape Juice mixed with 7-Up and vodka. It's supposed to be a blueberry beer, but frankly it just tastes like Cold Duck.

Mouthfeel: It's a very light feel, like any lager, but the overpowering flavor of blueberry sits on the tongue and refuses to leave, even when first politely asked and then later when you get the bouncer to eject it for drunkly grabbing your girlfriend's ass. It also leaves a sticky feel on the lips, like they've dumped sugar into the mix.

Overall: This is a not-very-good lager into which has been poured what tastes like blueberry concentrate.

Letter grade: I give this one a D+. I really like the idea and I want to support microbreweries who dare to try something weird and different, but this just didn't work. I would like to try some of their other brews, though, to see if maybe this one was just a bad idea.