Three Floyds, Two Brothers and an Old Dominion in a Pear Tree.

This is one of those posts that... isn't so much written as gathered.  Normally I find a brewery, have as many samples as I can stomach and really get into their guttyworks.  Sometimes that is not possible to do.  Sometimes I'm in a hurry to get to the next city.  Sometimes I happen upon a random beer in a random bar that I don't know what to do with.
So what follows is sort of a collection.  By themselves, I don't feel they have enough meat to equal a full post.  So they've been mashed together.  We have a couple of beers from 3floyds, a couple from Old Dominion and something from Two Brothers thrown in for good measure.

3Floyds:
I managed to get my hands on some Gumballhead from this brewery a little while back and I've been stalking this weird Indiana Brewery ever since.

Zombie Dust: In the bars and taverns of Indiana this is a beer spoken with a certain reverence usually reserved for a Deity of some kind or another.  It's one of those beer that is a challenge to even taste since it has a tendency to fly off the shelf the minute it arrives.  Luckily, I know some people.  Well one person, but he is a fellow traveler and a good human.  If you are reading Patrick, thanks again. 
Anyway I picked up a lot of fruity malt on the top of this beer in the form of pear, berry and light citrus.  This serves a a base for an impressive hop bill that brings a lot of citrus along with some spicy, floral hops.  Worthy of the hype?  Not sure.  But for a heavily hopped beer, I really enjoyed it.

Alpha King:  Flagship beer of 3Floyds.  I loved the citrusy floral aroma on this beer. These qualities are well-balanced with the malt and the result is a nice, drinkable beer with a lot of flavor and a little kick.

Two Brothers

Domaine DuPage: This beer is described by the brewery as a 'French Country Ale'.  I picked up a touch of hops on the aroma.  It's got a medium body with a light toasty sweetness right before a slightly bitter, herbal finish.  Nice beer, but nothing much to set it apart from every other amber ale.

Old Dominion: Another brewery from the surprisingly beer-fueled state of Delaware that I managed to find just outside of D.C.

Pale Ale: I picked up some spicy hops on the aroma from this beer.  Definitely a hoppy beer, but it has enough flavor to hold against the pure back-of-the-throat bitterness.  I picked up a lot of spice and pine on the flavor.  It finishes quite dry but without that lingering hop character.

Oak Barrel Stout: There was a very light sweet fruit aroma on this beer.  I picked up a lot of wood on the flavor along with some leather and a touch of caramel sweetness.  This beer was harder to pin down because the flavor is truly complex and the flavor hits hard and almost disappears. 

Shut Up and Fill Your Beer Hole: Rockport, Illinois

Okay, it's been a while but we're leaving the state of Wisconsin... for now.  I brought back some bottled friends with me and there will be a sampling and a discussion and all of that.

In the meantime, I made a stop on the way back in Rockport, Illinois.  Why there?  ... ... ... There's no good reason, none.  Just one of those places that I randomly end up and that's it.  Now do as the title of this blog suggests.

Shut Up and Fill Your Beer Hole is not only the new title of my autobiography, but it's kinda the motto around the Carlyle Brewing Company... or at least they put it on T-shirts that you can buy, or on drink coasters that you can steal... preferably once you've finished the beer.

Besides a lovable tagline, the brewery boasts a kind of international flair.   The beer menu is fairly extensive and, like a taproom that boasts a horde of import brews, it lists the varieties by nation of origin.  Although since the beer is brewed on site, Area of Influence, is probably a more fitting term.

That being said, there isn't much you wouldn't find at most breweries.  They cover a cross-section of German styles, muck about with some styles from the British Isles but aside from a light Mexican-style beer, that's pretty much the end of it.  So nothing too Earth-shattering from an International perspective.  The beer itself is pretty good and the IPA, although unpronounceable, is one of the best I've had.  

Like I said, their beer menu is pretty extensive, although there's no really good way to get a sip of all their beers.  They do offer samplers, but at about half the cost of a full beer for each one... yeah, no thanks.   They are generous samples, to be sure, but basic economics starts taking hold.

So I picked a few that seemed like the most interesting from the menu and it represents a little less then half of everything they had available for my visit.

Vanilla Cream Ale:  This is pretty much as advertised.  The aroma is light but the vanilla is there.  On the malty side of the spectrum with a creamy mouth-feel and... yes, vanilla.  Not a lot of complexity, but it's pretty good.

Sampler of the Dopplebock

Dopple Bock:  Lots of dark fruit, raisin and toasted aromas on this beer.  True to style, a lot of malty flavors along with some dark cherry, raisin and caramel flavors against a backdrop of charcoal and roasted barley. 

Irish Red: This had a light, caramel aroma. The pine, herbal hops hit right at the top of the palate here, blended with the toasty malt flavors. 

Humulus Lupulus: Remember the bit about the unpronounceable IPA?  You've probably guess, and yes that is the scientific name for the hop.   The aroma is heavy with citrusy hops.  In the flavor, the hop character is prominent but not overpowering.  There's hint of malt with floral notes and a hint of peppery spice in the background.  The balance with the malt and the complexity of the flavors they managed to coax from the hops is pretty fantastic.  

Scottish Ale: Lots of nice, toasted aromas.  Even more roasty, toasty flavors mixed with a dry woody flavor.  It lacks the malt and fruit characteristics of most of the Scottish Ales I've had in the past, but it's very nice just the same.

Wee pint o' scottish.

Way to (ab)normal: Normal, Illinois

One of the cool things about my job is the fact that I find myself in places that I probably would never, ever conceive of going. Not even on a bet.

Take Normal, Illinois.  Maybe it's the name... okay it's definitely the name, but I had an image in my mind of a city comprised of nothing but tract housing and corner markets run by guys named 'James'. (You can call him Jimmy)  A place where paperboys say 'gee-willickers' and all the housewives had been replaced with subservient robots.

I am proud to report that Normal is pretty much like any other city in this country.  People give each other the finger and hardly any of the women are animatronic puppets.

And there are microbrews.   Well, two of them which I feel is pretty good for a Midwest city of this size.  The one I went to was based on a recommendation by a friend, who makes this a stop whenever he is in the area.  This week, it's off to Destihl Brew Works.

The name is admittedly pretentious.  "We are so creative and indie that we need not conform to your pedestrian spelling of actual words that mean things."  It reeks of the hipster crowd would sit in the corner of this highly art-deco restaurant, wearing a trucker hat, a Rod Stewart T-shirt from the 1984 tour, drink Bud-light and let everyone bask in the glow of his irony.

All that being said, I am willing to forgive all of the above since, well the beer is fantastic, the food is good and, despite the appearance of the joint, relatively inexpensive.  Their brick oven pizzas all run under $10, they are fantastic and they easily serve as a full meal and a afternoon snack the next day.   The package is wonderful even if the wrapping makes you sigh and shake your head.
With the exception of a couple standards, the beer menu rotates so vigorously that the beers you had three months ago may be replaced by an entirely new selection today.  Good for maverick boozetrafarians like myself, but a bit annoying for people who prefer to stick to things they like.  That being said, I think anyone who likes craft beer would find something for them here:

Angel Stout: If you're a militant stout fan, a die-hard supporter of dark, malty beers you might wanna slowly back away from the bar for this one, you'll just upset yourself.  This beer breaks the cardinal rule for stouts, a rule that sends a sub-set of beer snobs running for their BJCP style guides.  This stout is hoppy.  Very hoppy.  It's floral, pine hops are in the aroma along with the roasted barley and they are definitely there in the flavor profile.  It finishes very dry, more like an IPA.

Bela Imperial Pils: Those that feel alienated by the hoppy stout may find what they are looking for in the Bela.  It is marketed as a 'intensely hopped beer' but outside a lemony aroma and flavor, it really doesn't stand out very much.  What does stand out is the large malt bill that adds a surprising amount of body and sweetness to this beer. 

Vertex IPA: A west coast IPA with citrus, floral hop aroma of Cascade hops.  It is well balanced and surprisingly drinkable as I sorta found out by accident.

It's like this:  Me and about four other people stopped by the brewery after work.  As soon as I set foot inside for a bit of malty R and R, my phone rang.  It was my boss.  Against all my better judgements (why do they include call ID on all cellphones if not to facilitate the screening of annoying calls?) I answered.  We had to go back to work, all of us.  There was a minor emergency that needed to be sorted out.  Now. 
I screamed, cried and swore up a storm and went inside the bar to deliver the news.  I managed to catch everyone before they ordered except one man who was holding a freshly poured IPA in his hand and a fearful look on his face.  We had a choice to make.
Which alcohol sin would weigh on our souls more?  Leaving a beer behind abandoned and unloved, or slamming an IPA like a lost frat boy at the Great American Beer Festival.  I opted for option B.

Okay maybe not the most glowing review of a beer ever, but it says something.  Those who like a balanced IPA will like the Vertex.  It combines bitter with drinkable very well.

Ordinary Rye Bitter: One of their lighter offerings, the rye bitter has a light, lemon and pepper combined with light malts.  Pretty good session beer with enough flavors to keep it interesting.

Dampfbier

Dampfbier:  Apparently a obscure all-barley style beer unearthed by this brewery.  I'm a little confused about the all-barley reference.  Seriously aren't most beers all barley?  Maybe it's me, but if anyone has a proper translation for this, hit me up.  Is there something I am missing, or is this just more pretension?
Anyway, it has a soft, semi-spicy aroma.  The flavor is filled with banana and spice with a smooth mouthfeel. 

Blonde: Another lighter beer.   The thing I am finding that I do love about this place is that their light beers are by no means watery.  Here, light means subtle flavor as opposed to no flavor what-so-ever.  This beer had notes of sweet orange on top of it's light malt flavors.

Weisenheimer Hefeweisen: This beer has a distinct floral aroma on top of caramel.  It holds true in the flavor profile as well with some clove and coriander spice notes as well.

Once again I find myself in Detroit next week.  Not sure what motor-city tales I'll be coming back with, but a visit to Michigan wine country might not be out of the question. 
Cheers!

Institutional Weirdness: Chicago, Illinois

One of the great joys I have in my travels is seeking out obscure breweries in the hinterlands of this country. This isn't one of them. This is about as big as they get.
Goose Island is a Chicago institution. President Obama had a bottle during the 'beer summit' during the Henry Louis Gates debacle and of the 312 with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in exchange for a bottle of Wytchcraft during the USA v. UK game in the 2010 World Cup. Having tried both beers, I believe the President was gypped.  The location I wandered into sits in the shadow of Wrigley Stadium, and a signed picture of Connan O'Brian sits above the bar.
For friends that live in the Pacific Northwest, Goose Island is the Midwest equivalent of a Widmere Bros or a Pyramid.  That's kind of the level we are talking about.  Their 312 and the Green Line ale is available at almost every bar in Chicago and at a few places beyond.

Inspiration Stout: Seemed to be a good choice for a first beer considering the driving snow and frigid temperature of a Midwest winter.  This was a pretty standard stout, it had a coffee, chocolate aroma with just a hint of liquorice.  The flavor profile was pretty much the same with some slightly spicy hop flavors.  Full bodied and enjoyable beer, especially this time of year. The description provided by the brewery also claimed pineapple and grapefruit in the aroma, but I didn't pick that up at all.

Mild Winter: A lighter winter seasonal beer.  This one is pretty readily available throughout the Midwest during this time of year.  It has a sweet caramel aroma and color.  The flavor has some pear or raisin and some cinnamon spiciness.  Not hugely complex, but a nice medium bodied beer for the winter months.

Double B: Goose Island does a couple of things well.  First they have a good selection of nice, drinkable session beers that are more geared toward mass consumption.  Most of these can be found at the local supermarket.  Second, they have a selection of more complex and unique beers that are a little bit harder to find.  This is one of those.
Goose Island likes to play with different flavor combinations.  Their food menu is a good example of this, they have an array of strange pairings including a pear, brie burger that is absolutely fantastic.
The aroma has a lot of tropical fruit, passion fruit and some floral characters.  The Belgian yeast really comes out in the flavor adding lots of banana, pineapple and some berry off the top.  The floral flavors from the hops almost make me think of rose water.  I think this was my favorite beer from sheer complexity alone.

Fleur: This is a Belgian style ale that is blended with hibiscus and tea. As the name suggests, this one has a lot of floral qualities in the aroma, I was thinking lavender.  There was also some light berry aroma in there as well.  This was a sweeter beer that finishes just a little tart.  I picked up some sour cherry and some cider flavors along with the berry and lavender.

That's all for this post.  I'm off to Tacoma, Washington next.  Cheers!

On the outskirts of Chicago

Greetings from Chicago... Sort of. I'm working somewhere in the endless suburbs surrounding the city. I'm also traveling with a friend of mine. His name is Jeff and, as you will see, he has a way with words.
Together we explored Emmett's Tavern and Brewery located in Palintine Illinois. The place has a nice atmosphere with the feel of an old East Coast or English Pub. They have a nice selection of house beers. I started with the Victory Pale Ale and Jeff had a pint of their seasonal wheat.

Victory Pale Ale:
I thought this was pretty good, but too many hops for a pale. I'm convinced it was hitting IBUs that are usually reserved for IPAs. It tasted good with the spicy chicken wings I was eating at the time as the bitter hops helped to cool the fire. It had some slight malt off the top before mooing to cascade hops and it finished dry and the bitterness really lingered.

Jeff Says: Nothing. He took a sip, his face truly erupted into an impressive array of muscular spasms, then he slowly, but firmly, pushed the beer back to me.

Seasonal Wheat:
I didn't think I would like this one as much as I did. The aroma was all tropical fruit and bananas, flavors that I find can be really overpowering. This was not the case, the tropical fruit flavor was balanced with some pear and malt character and finished clean and slightly dry. This one easily made my #2 spot for this brewery and is the perfect beer for a warm summer evening.
Jeff Says: Just a damn good beer.


Double Barrel Stout:
I moves to this beef next and it easily was the best beer. It had a smokey and black liquorice aroma with a lot of chocolate and roasted malt flavors with bitter bite at the very end. I could easily drink this all night.

Jeff Says: It tastes like beer filtered through an old tire tube. (He wasn't as impressed as me)

Centennial Amber Ale:
This one had a nose of citrus hops with a hint of cherry. It had some malt and light fruit sweetness that was followed with pine and herbal hops. It finished surprisingly clean and didn't linger hardly at all.
Jeff Says:It tastes like beer poured down a pine plank, man.
Munich Lager:
Jeff finally stopped nursing his wheat beer long enough to try another. This one had s subtle sweetness of corn and light fruit. It is surprisingly smooth and finishes sweet making for a very drinkable beer.
Jeff Says: Smells like Captain Crunch.

I'm actually writing this on the road passing through Wisconsin on my way to my next destination, Minneapolis. I'll report from there.
Cheers!