Beer in Brief

Anchorage Brewing Company (Anchorage, AK) Whiteout Wit Bier, 750 ml., 6.5% ABV, 20 IBU.

Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project (Somerville/Westport, MA) St. Botolph’s Town, 22 oz., 5.9% ABV, 38 IBU. Alas, Pretty Things. I knew their work: beer of most excellent fancy.

 Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR) Black Butte XXVI, 22 oz., 10.8% ABV, 60 IBU. All I can smell is molasses! /dumbjoke

Infusion Brewing Company (Omaha/Benson, NE) Barrel Aged Hawaiian Imperial Stout, 12 oz., 10.3% ABV, 83 IBU. Coffee, coconut, boozy, and delicious.

Against the Grain Brewery (Louisville, KY) Tall Tale, 750 ml., 8.5% ABV. A reimagining of Stillwater’s Folklore, this amber ale was brewed with coffee and cacao nibs and partially barrel aged. It also features an uncanny likeness of me on the label—okay, not really.

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project Hop Savant Brettanomyces IPA (Galaxy), 375 ml., 7% ABV. Brett IPA: to drink fresh or age?

Scratchtown Brewing Company (Ord, NE) Black Eye Imperial Porter, 22 oz., 7.5% ABV. Ord, Nebraska, 2010 census population: 2,112. Plus one brewery.

Nebraska Brewing Company (Papillion/La Vista, NE) Little Betty, 32 oz., 9.5% ABV. Nebraska bottle shops can now sell 32-ounce growlers (or crowlers, in this case). This is the non–barrel aged version of Nebraska Brewing’s Black Betty (both versions are fantastic). The only problem with the crowler: now that it’s open, I kind of have to finish all 32 ounces of a 9.5% beer. #amhydrating 

New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, CO) 2014 La Folie, 22 oz., 7% ABV, 18 IBU. Hey, it’s decorative gourd season.

Prairie Artisan Ales (Krebs/Tulsa, OK) Prairie Gold, 16.9 oz., 6.5% ABV. This sour golden ale is helping me close out the weekend. It’s very good, but I could use a few more to help prepare for Monday.

Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project (Somerville, MA) FlowerLand Overgrown IPA, 750 ml., 8.5% ABV. Overgrown IPA? This beer is named after my back yard! If only I was growing Apollo, Southern Cross, Chinook, and Rakau hops in my back yard.

Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, MI) ReDANKulous Imperial Red India Pale Ale, 750 ml., 9.5% ABV, 90 IBU. This weekend’s house work featured a roll-off dumpster, which is another way to say that I’ve been waiting for this beer since Friday night.

Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR) Not the Stoic, 22 oz., 12.1% ABV, 15 IBU. Here’s a fun thing I learned: if the brewery doesn’t put the brew year on the bottle, I have a hard time remembering when I purchased a beer. But the internet exists, so I know I bought this in April 2014. Lots of character from the barrel aging process, plus pomegranate and molasses. Quads aren’t my favorite style, but this is definitely enjoyable.

Boulevard Brewing Company (Kansas City, MO) 2013 Saison-Brett, 750 ml., 8.5% ABV, 38 IBU. I’ve been hanging on to this one for over two years. I’m trying to cast myself back to what I was doing in the summer of 2013, but I keep getting distracted by how well this has aged. I should have bought more.

Zipline Brewing Company (Lincoln, NE) Festbier, 0.5 liters, 6.5% ABV. Yeah, yeah, seasonal creep, I know. But it’s the release day and I get to keep the mug (or krug, if you will). Totally worth it.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company (Paso Robles, CA) Pivo Hoppy Pils, 12 oz., 5.3% ABV, 40 IBU. Apparently it’s National Dog Day. While I’ve always maintained that every day is National Dog Day, the “holiday” is a good excuse to feature our beast here.

Left Hand Brewing Company (Longmont, CO) Homefront IPA, 22 oz., 6.6% ABV, 63 IBUs. This year the Hops for Heroes program (beer aged on maple baseball bats!) is donating proceeds to Soldiers’ Angels. It’s always good when beer and charities come together.