The Beer Battle

Stella Obscura, Lazy Magnolia Brewing

Holy crap! This Imperial Stout is just that, Stout! With 10% ABV, get ready for a kick in the pants. Maybe that’s why it came in a wine bottle!? Stella Obscura is a delicious stout that boast notes of vanilla, coffee, chocolate, and bourbon. It is actually aged over a year in bourbon barrels to get that roasted bourbon flavor. Beautifully dark in color and a sweet malty core, this beer is in the…

Fresh Pressed: Wicked Weed

Mango, mango! Huge mango flavor! Drop in hints of pineapple and guava, and we are talking about a real deal summertime treat! Measuring up with 5.2 ABV, this is an easily crushable beer. Great for a BBQ, but even better to add to your beach trip cooler. Slightly hazy, with a very light straw almost like mimosa color. It’s a wheat ale, which is a great entry level craft beer, but it can easily be…

Home Brew Anyone? Blood Orange Wheat Ale Extract

With all the wonderful beers we have tried, why not give making one a try? So have you ever tried? If you did was it a bust or a delicious beer that you wouldn’t have minded sharing with your friends? Honesty here, I’ve done both. I bought my first kit from a friend of mine who tried and gave up after the first try. The kit he gave me was a Mr. Beer kit, and it turned out to be a huge mistake.…

Opening day of college football, a national tradition and a huge southern tradition! Hamburgers, wings, hot dogs, and beer! Don’t forget the beer! And how did our first weekend of football go? How about the song, “I miss the rains down in Africa?” For our tail gate, it rained and by rained; I’m mean flooded! Soaking wet! Spotted Tail is an official beer of the University of South Alabama…

Lederhosen, beer games, pretzels, oh my! We’re not talking about Oktoberfest are we? Well, sadly not in Munich anyway, Oktoberfest in Germany is canceled for 2021! That is two straight years with no celebration. To some that is unacceptable and to others it is a necessary sacrifice. Whatever side of this problem you find yourself, we can all agree that we will miss you Oktoberfest! Buuuut, maybe…

Chandeleur Island Brewing Company

Almost a year ago we decided to take a trip to Gulfport, Mississippi to visit a unique and creative brewery call Chandeleur Island Brewing Company. Many of their beers have been hitting our local stores and scoring high marks in our beer lab. Why lie, it’s not a lab. It’s our back patio and bar. Either way, the beers still received high marks, especially their take on sour beers. You see, some…

Gold squadron leader to rebel base. Gold squadron leader to rebel base, come in rebel base! We need more Golden Squadron Lager! That is just a small example of a silly way you can immerse yourself in Star Wars Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The best part is the cast members almost have to play along with you. Try getting a bartender at your local watering hole to serve you up a White Wampa…

After a trip to Orange Beach Alabama’s the Wharf, I had the pleasure of finding some of my favorite beers and stumbling upon a bar that can only be equated to the saying “I was like a kid in a candy shop.” First the old favorite, Pernicious by Wicked Weed. The distribution of this beer in my area is like a weed growth in your yard. It pops up here and then there and before too long, the whole…

Straight to Ale and straight to the point. Straight to Ale is actually the name of the brewery out of Huntsville, Alabama, which is the real “Rocket City!” At the Marshal Space Center, they developed the Saturn Rocket for the Apollo missions, and scores of other spaces program propulsion systems. They are also home to the second largest research park in the United States, kinda important. With…

Battle of the Sours, Part 3

Serda’s Sour Blackberry, ABV 5.0% – Big sour taste followed by that sweet blackberry flavor.  Add in some light spiciness and gives way to a great drinking beer. Skyrockets, 6.0% ABV – Just the name by itself is cool.  Makes me think of the song that was made famous from the Anchor Man, “Afternoon Delight.”  In the song it says, “Skyrockets in flight…” hopefully you finished it for me.  Anyway,…

Battle of the Sours, Part 2

Should we dive in or do some back story work? If you need the back story, check out Battle of the Sours, Part 1. LoveBug This is another beer from Chandeleur’s Gulf Sour collection. This sour tart beer is flavored with passionfruit and mango.  The flavor that stands out the most was the passionfruit in aroma and taste, but neither flavor is too strong.  This is an easy drinking beer with a hint…

Am I allowed to cuss a little? Everyone this is your official warning, turn away now…Crap this is good!!! Like really good. And the other crap, it is 7.1% ABV, but you can’t tell. It is sneaky. Hazy-O is obviously a hazy IPA, but a unique one. Four different kinds of oats are used to create that hazy look and that sweet oat flavor. Hints of pineapple and citrus come together to bless your taste…

Dauphin Street Beer Fest 2021

Hear ye, hear ye! I’m about to drop some important knowledge on your brain, the kind that should be heard with the upmost attention and reacted to with immediate response. Dauphin Street Beer Fest is almost upon us again. What does that mean to you? The opportunity to mingle with your friends while causally strolling downtown Mobile and sipping on some unique local and national craft beers. And…

This sweet little thing right here packs a punch! Carmel sweetness, bourbon flavor mixed perfectly in an Ale that brings home 8.2% ABV! Boom is all I have to say. I was a little hesitant, with high alcohol content and bourbon in the name. Yes, yes I formed my opinion based on the cover. Everything we are not supposed to do. Well, I was wrong. The alcohol and bourbon are not overwhelming as one…

I’ll admit it, sour beers are not really my thing. In an effort to broaden my horizons and to cover different beer areas for my readers, I decided to break into the sour world. Mostly though it is to please my wife, who loves something tart. Well through this odyssey I have started to discover a slight “like” for sour beers. You probably think that is sounds crazy and someone might remember me…

Three Floyds, Barbarian Haze IPA

Time to get your Haze on! Not your pot smoking friend’s haze. I’m talking about your classical hazy IPA brewed by one of the best brewery’s in the country! I’m not exaggerating, they are a gem that only graces my lips when a friend of mine shares one of his beers from a trip back to visit his family. This Barbarian strikes up 6.5% ABV and 63 IBUs. Malty flavor with a piney hoppy citrus taste…

While on an expedition to Lower Dauphin Street in Mobile, Alabama I had to pleasure to stumble on some delicious beers served up by some knowledgeable and entertaining bar keeps at Loda Bier Garten and the Haberdasher. Both of these places offer a uniquely different vibe that can be enjoyed by both causal and eloquently dressed individuals who happen to stumble their way to downtown. Loda Bier…