Craft Beer Monday Review: Half Acre Daisy Cutter

Drank it and failed to save it before crushing for recycling, I wasn't able to keep the can for my collection. I guess I will have to splurge on another 4-pack to add it in. I have reviewed a different Half Acre selection before, the Over Ale, and that was a beer review, not a brewery one, because even though Steve-O and I have discussed it we have never been to the brewery on Lincoln Avenue. Probably try to hit them and maybe Finch while we are at it. Revolution too?
This one is a bold Pale Ale, and it is considered a West Coast Pale Ale, a style I really don't know that much about, unless you mean it tastes darn near a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which I agree with and recognize as awfully good too. I like a pale ale that is bold in hops but doesn't leave you shocked and wiped out on the side of the road the rest of the night, like some of the heavier SNs (like Torpedo) or a few Lagunitas' will.
It also has an interesting label. It has daisies all over it, which might suggest the nature of an IPA, usually floral and hoppy, or maybe it makes you think of springtime. On the other hand, the only daisy cutters I have ever heard about were those bombs that were very effective in Vietnam which would explode before hitting the ground and be able to wipe out more jungle than other bombs.
Since I am rating it near SNPA, I have to give it a 5.
Poured from the can into my Stella chalice.
Rescued from the back of the bf, originally purchased at Binny's.
ABV: 5.2%.

Craft Beer Monday Review: New Glarus Spotted Cow

A lot has been written about New Glarus Brewery and what they produce, but not a lot by me, especially here, with the exception of the Staghorn I reviewed a few months back. See it here. I feel a little negligent, since I have been drinking one or another from time to time, but I just had another Cow today and realized I need to put it down.
It is a pretty consistent ale, unfiltered and golden in color, and with a medium amount of alcohol that makes it more of a refresher with a crisp taste, along with being a little fruity. Considered a cream ale, it lives up to its name with a good creamy taste throughout.
They describe it as a cask conditioned, Wisconsin farmhouse ale, and I think I kind of like that description, because it is brewed in a rural area of the state, and when I think of Wisconsin I think of the farm. I usually only considered this as a summer refresher, but it was good right now and remains a year round favorite, even if I can't get it here in Illinois.
CBC Rating: 4.
Purchased at Woodman's in Kenosha. Poured into my Bears shaker pint glass.
ABV: 5.1%.

Seasonal Beer Review: Altenmunster Winter Doppelbock

At the Liquor Barn, in Niles, I have come across a lot of Polish and German beers I had never heard of and a lot of them taste pretty good, actually. Not always great, but pretty good. Such was the case for this one, the Altenmunster Winter Doppelbock, and it is an interesting combination altogether.
It is considered a Winter Brew, so it is warming and pleasant more than it is a classic doppelbock. In other words, this tastes different than when tasting doppelbocks in general. For example, Ayinger Celebrator and Spaten Optimator, both classics, have a stronger bock flavor, higher alcohol flavor, and not too bitter. This one, actually, is a little mild and I didn't find the alcohol content to be so bold, even though it competed with these two in alcohol amount.
Clink here to go to the website. It is really cool with a blurry hot air balloon but I think I need to brush up on my German to read it.
My CBC Rating: 4. I would have another, and maybe in the bigger one I saw at the store, a 2 liter version.

Poured from the 500ml swing-type open bottle into my Team Pint Glass.
ABV: 7.20%.

Local Beer on TV Shows

Watching the ABC show "Happy Endings" I have seen the gang with various Metropolitan Brewing bottles, and the latest is no different. The show takes place in Chicago, and, unlike other shows that take place here, (My Boys being one of them), the shows characters actually do drink Chicago beer. Those other shows have them drinking beer in glasses or with some yellow label that I don't recognize.
See picture here. It is Metropolitan Iron Works Alt, a beer I really like anyway. I embedded the video but the picture you see here is the only one with the beer in it.

Craft Beer Monday Review: Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout

I have had a few imperial stouts before (Two Brothers Northwind Stout and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, for example) but this is the first bourbon barrel stout, and it was quite a bold flavored brew that has so much coming at you all at once.
It poured black and thick into my pint glass and had an amber head that exploded in charcoal and foresty smells, and the first taste kicked you in the head with heavy alcohol, oaky tartness and rich maltiness. Very little sweetness prevailed, due to the overpowering alcohol punch.
Like many other higher gravity beers this needed to be a slow sipper and a long time to enjoy fully. I split a 12 oz bottle with Steve-O and was glad I did.
In terms of reviewing, this poses a little bit of a challenge to me. It definitely is a well crafted beer and was probably expensive and difficult to make, yet, on the other hand, my goal is to review beers for the beer drinker, and not necessarily for the gourmet sipper. Therefore, I am giving it a CBC rating of 4.
It is the kind of beer I would split and only buy one of, which is what I did here, purchasing just the single bottle at Binny's.
ABV: 9.5%.
Actual name is Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout.

UPDATE to Craft Beer Monday Review: Floppin' Crappie Ale

I was handed a second bottle from TomS and this one just went into the fridge and I drank it after it was only chilled appropriately and it was a lot different this way. The last time it was frozen and thawed and slushy so I didn't get a good taste or impression of it. TomS brought it back from the North Woods himself. He picked it up in a liquor store so apparently they have outside distribution, even though they seem to be a brewpub, mostly. Looking at their website here they have colorful north-woods names for their beers, and seem kind of fun.  
This time I noticed the hops and malt blended well but it was a lot weaker than I expected for a dark unfiltered beer. The flavors were noticeable but subtle, so it was hard to really get a good handle on them.
I think I would label it an effective session beer, not the best of its kind, but not too bad either.
This time I will upgrade it to a 3, more of a session beer.
 

ABV: 4.5%.

News About Flatlanders: Does Anyone Care?

News out of Lincolnshire: Flatlanders is closing down its operations here and moving the brewery into Mundelein, while moving the restaurant to another location in Vernon Hills. The plans are for a separate site so they can expand the beer making. See article here.

Personally I thought that it seemed like an OK place to go-it was near my work, so on the way home, a few times, I stopped in for one. I had tried the taster flight too, but overall I had mixed feelings about their beer. The Locomotive Stout was a good dry stout, and Braydon's Red had a classic taste and was refreshing, but a lot of their other regular offerings were pretty run-of-the-mill. As far as expanding their operations to make their beer more available: I am for it, but I think they need to improve on a few of the recipes.

I can believe that customers weren't appearing. Being right on Milwaukee Avenue was good, except the layout of the strip mall was pretty poor, and very confusing. It also wasn't easy to turn into the mall, you had to go around the corner onto an always backed up street (22). Plus, they say, too much competition was popping up.

In my opinion, though, I think they gave up on serving their customers long ago. The beer list was the same for a long time, with very few changes; the response I heard about the restaurant from some of my friends who live nearby had said they food was nothing special and definitely not worth the price; and for me, the three times I was there in the afternoons the bartender was not interested in answering my questions nor did he seems at all knowledgeable about beer and what they are making. In fact, I had a better discussion about the beer with one of the servers. It was always hard to tell what their motivation was over there: food, their beer, or just mixing drinks.

I always expected them to try to appeal to beer geeks and expand in that direction. There are a few places that can survive by making their own beer yet preparing fancy food-Ram is one of them-but with the beer club and specials and more than one location Ram has an advantage. I never got the impression that Flatlanders wanted to be known as a beer maker or the place to go for good micro-brewed beer. Just a look at their weekly drink specials and you could see my confusion. They had half priced growlers on Sundays and one other day they featured their micro-brews. All the others were for Bacardi bombs, etc.

Hopefully they can work out those details at the new place and make it more inviting for the beer geeks. 

American Drinkers Have Spoken

From MSN Money some great news thanks to the macro drinkers:


http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=b1fb9956-b34a-4572-b38b-f6d48c760d69

Craft Beer Monday Review: Central Waters Mud Puppy Porter

Just came across this brewery at Binny's-this was part of the six-pack variety I received for Christmas from my BIL. Reading up on Central Waters I see that it was started up in the '90s, seemingly as a part time venture, and has been sold a couple times in the process, to what it is now. I really did know what to expect with the rather plain labels, plus the brewery is located in the North Woods (North of Stevens Point), and the beer names don't excite me either, but, I like the taste of this beer. I guess that is all that matters anyway.
Other names include Happy Heron, Ouisconsing Red Ale (named after the Algonquin word for the Wisconsin River-how is it pronounced?) and Kosmyk Charlie's Y2K Catastrophe Ale. Pretty consistent throughout most of the labels are the cartoon heron.
This beer is quite a prize, though. There are a few flavors resonating throughout and they go well together. Familiar to my memory of porters is the chocolate aroma and thick head, plus a bold flavor. But this one leaves you with a hop appearance followed by a dry texture at the end. Quite an amnazing blend there. I have to admit, though, it is really pretty refreshing, and worthy of a repeat.
I would put it up there with Anchor Porter, which I thought was the best.
Poured into a shaker pint glass from the bottle.
CBC Rating: 5.
ABV: 5.5%

Craft Beer Monday Review: Great Lakes Elliot Ness

Great Lakes is a craft brewer out of Cleveland, home of Beer Club Member SteveA.This might be considered Midwest, but I think that would be an exaggeration because it is like 2 hours from Pittsburgh. But it is still a craft brewer, and it names its beers after important events that occurred on or around these lakes, but had a certain connection to Cleveland too. See Edmund Fitzgerald, the boat that sunk in Lake Superior, or Burning River, named after the Cuyahoga River and an event in 1969 that is part of history.

Elliot Ness, I believe, is their flagship, but they state that you can't label any one of their year-round beers. It is a Vienna Style Amber Lager, and has won a ton of awards. Rich in malts and caramel in smell and color it is a tasty one, a little sweet and bold in flavors. There is a small hop bite there too. I think this one of my favorites, and a good repeat drinker too.
The other Great Lakes offerings are decent too, and I will be reviewing them soon. Elliot Ness was the only one I could find for a while until recently they are more and more available in bars and stores. I saw a 12 pack collection recently too featuring a few of their favorites too.
Besides being an untouchable in Chicago Elliot Ness was the safety director in Cleveland after the end of prohibition and targeted the mob which he was fairly successful at beating. He spent the rest of his life there.
CBC Rating: 4.
ABV: 6.2%.