Moose Lake Oktoberfest.
6% ABV, 29 IBU, Moose Lake Brewing, Moose Lake, Minnesota.
Clear, copper-colored, slim off-white head.
In the nose: toasty malt, noble hops, slightly sweet.
In the mouth: sweetness hits the palate first, but well in balance, caramel notes abound. Medium bodied, long, sweet, malty finish. Full of a kind of character you don’t get in a drier märzens.
And I kind of like it.
6% ABV, Wandering Leaf Brewing, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Clear, amber-hued, large & creamy head.
In the nose: soft and floral, mostly malty, minor hops.
In the mouth: crisp, clean, caramel-y. Medium bodied, smooth and malty, just enough hops for balance. Moderate bitterness keeping it all in check.
There should be more Vienna lagers out there, don’t you agree?
Pen Name Fresh Bier. Foeder aged Lager Wet hopped w/ wild Minnesotan hops Malty Hoppy Crispy.
5 % ABV, 25 IBU, Pen Name Fermentation Project, St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
Clear, bright yellow hue, slim ivory head
In the nose: fresh and zesty, hops aplenty. Who knew? Tropical tones with a bit of the ol’ dank, quite citrusy. Arrestingly interesting.
In the mouth: crisp, snappy, citrusy, light bodied, easy-drinking. A touch of the oak comes through. Moderate bitterness. Maybe a bit more lemony than I like.
Altogether enjoyable and I look forward to more from Matt.
A hyper-local wet-hopped lager brewed with MN-grown Pilsner + spelt malt and St. Paul beer caves yeast. Wild hops went from farm to beer in just one hour, bringing noble character and bright tropical melon over a crisp, crushable backbone. Brewed to be enjoyed fresh—drink it now!
Ol’ George #57.
Notes on #57:
1. If you haven’t figured it out yet, George is not a beer geek. He might actually enjoy the beers Balonious mentions, but he’ll never fuss about them. Deciphering the jargon in itself is a task he would never undertake.
2. When I started this, I called it a “warts and all” endeavor. By this I meant nothing was meant to be “perfect”, some efforts would be better than others, and I would ask forgiveness for minor flaws. No drawing would be guaranteed to be always “on-model.”
Take this one, for example. I like Balonious in panel three better than two, which is infinitely better than one. But, it’s good enough and it’s better than the first version. This is the first time I scrapped a fouled-up effort and started over. You can see it in the other side of the original , but you’ll have to peek when I’m not looking.
And then, I posed the page for a pic, as I do, forgetting that my forearm was wet from dishwashing. I’m a forgetter. Not having any liquid paper on hand (note: buy liquid paper), I fixed the lettering and colored over the other stains. Maybe later, I can fix it digitally. I’m not drawing it a third time.
Just asking you to forgive my flaws and enjoy this for what it is. And I’ll keep trying harder. (Note to self: keep your hands dry.)
Une Année Quad Abbey Ale.
11% ABV, 33 IBU, Une Année Brewery, Niles, Illinois.
Clear, ruby/mahogany toned, slim off-white layer of foam.
In the nose: caramel notes, and toffee hit first. Belgian dark malt looms largest. Terrifically complex flavor profile in the aromatics. Utterly lovely.
In the mouth: much sweetness greets the tongue, but well tempered. Rich and malty, more caramel and toffee appearing on the palate. Excellent balance without a bit of bitterness and high alcohol well hidden. Except when it comes to…yeah, there it is…
Magical malt here, tasting every bit like a classic quadruple. Neither too this, nor too that, and never not enough. And every bit delicious. Belgian Special B all the way. Ever so delightful in every little way. There’s not enough good Belgian quads out there. I’m glad this exists.
4.7 % ABV, Wooden Ship Brewing, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Thoroughly ebon, purely opaque, slight head,
In the nose: roasty, malty, chocolatey.
In the mouth: slightly bitter, cocoa, coffee, malty. Smooth and creamy. Medium bodied, clean and drinkable.
Not too shabby of a schwarzbier.
Smoked pistachios, cayenne- collab with 320 Brewing.
Notes on 56:
1. Why pick on Keokuk, Iowa? No reason. It’s a fun word to say, like Cucamonga, Walla Walla, Seattle.
2. Balonious’ dialogue in panel two was not written by me, merely transcribed. I was minding my own business at the Black Forest Inn when I overheard a man say those actual words to a woman he had just met. Way to go, slugger, you’re going to score with a line like that! That’s when it hit me that if I ever run low on ideas, I can just sidle up to the bar and listen in.
That line was in my idea bin for a year and I finally found a use for it.
3. Also, I’d always wanted to do one with the Hamm’s bear, but couldn’t come up with a good use or a gag. Glad it all came together in this third installment of The Saga of the Sign.
Dangerous Man Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrel Sged Russian Imperial Stout.
10.8 % ABV, Dangerous Man Brewing, Maple Lake, Minnesota.
Back in March, there was much shock and grief when Dangerous Man Brewing called it quits after 12 years. Who could believe that such a beloved brand couldn’t make it in the market?
Well, then a funny thing happened. Six months later, having not gotten around to liquidating their assets, a white knight arrived! New owner, with the old owner, good Ol’ Rob Miller, manning the tanks. And they’re returning to stores and bars this week, with plans for a Twin Cities taproom soon.
So, I will celebrate tonight with something from the cellar (but not really that old, actually).
Solidly Stygian, slim tan head. Complete opacity.
In the nose: smoke, whiskey, ash, leather, oak.
In the mouth: cherries, vanilla, barrel. Deep and caramelly. Richness abounds, thick and viscous. Malt driven, if it has to be said. A treat for the tongue, pleasure for the palate. Chocolate creeps around this melange. Big time bourbon, no kidding around, Jack.
I’m looking forward to more like this in the future. Welcome back, Dangerous Man.
Russian imperial stout, aged in Heaven Hill, bourbon barrels for eight months.
DAB Dortmunder Ur-Bock.
8% ABV, Dortmunder Actien Brauerei, Dortmund, Deutschland.
Clear, bright golden hue, slim ivory head.
In the nose: classically clean German lager aroma. Slightly malty / bready notes.
In the mouth: tastes darker than it looks. Still bolder and brighter than the average lager, though I prefer bocks that are darker and richer. The high ABV isn’t hiding itself at all. It’s ringing loud and clear. Medium bodied, but drinkable enough.
I don’t love this, but I am enjoying it. Though I wonder. It’s labeled as a maibock, but its strength is that of a doppelbock. What is it? Just an extra-strength maibock?
Notes on #55:
1.You may be reading this from outside the MidWestern region of the United States. You may not know the history of Grain Belt and Minneapolis Brewing, which started way back in the late 1800’s. Grain Belt continued being produced in Minneapolis until the early 2000’s when August Schell took over the brand and moved production to its New Ulm facility. Is the Grain Belt that my Dad drank in the ‘70’s (0r 60’s, or ‘50’s..) the same as the beer they produce now? Probably not. We’ll never know. All I know is that he always had a case in the fridge and apparently the Anoka VFW (or was it the American Legion?) ordered it just for him.
In 1977, my family went on a 3-week tour of the Western half of the United States, visited family in Washington and California and stopping at all the tourists spots along the way. My older brothers encouraged Dad to try the regional beers wherever we went, just to grow their beer can collection, when Grain Belt was not available. He did his best, but gave up eventually and switched to Budweiser because he could count on it tasting the same wherever we went.
2. The oldest lore in this strip’s history is Chester’s love of The Big Friendly, from the very first strip last year, when most of the strips were 2-tier, 2-panel, drawn on 12x12 paper. It was the real Chester’s beer of choice, at least at Acadia Cafe: Maybe there were bars that didn’t stock it and he had to settling for Hamm’s or PBR.
3. We haven’t since a plop panel since Rasputin in #32, five months ago. I didn’t plan on it originally, was going to make tier three just like one and two. But I need a panel of George thinking, then couldn’t imagine how to fit them both in the last panel with dialogue. Plop-out was the perfect solution.
4. A guest star enters the scene in this one. Can you tell who it is? An unnamed ladybug from Walt Kelly’s Pogo! I thought I would have gotten to Albert, Porkypine, Pogo himself, or even Walt himself before this little guy (or girl? Can’t be sure it’s not a girl bug, because it’s not wearing a bonnet) , but here we have it. I’ll get to those guys eventually, I plan on drawing this forever.
Modist Doomed Moon Oak-aged Red Lager.
5.5% ABV, Modist Brewing, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Clear, crimson hued, slim layer of off-white foam.
In the nose: malty, slightly sweet, kiss of the hops.
In the mouth: crisp and clean, light on the palate, lightly toasted . Just enough malty flavors to keep it interesting. Just enough hops to keep sweetness at bay.
I quite like this particular lager.
Red rice lager w/ Red X barley malt, brown rice, hopped w/ Simcoe, aged in American oak foeders
Inbound Samuin Harvest Pumpkin Ale.
6.6 % ABV, 15 IBU, Inbound BrewCo, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
I can’t remember the last time I actually bought a pumpkin beer. I had a few Dogfish Head Punkin Ales from the variety pack, but that’s not why I bought it. And now, more than a week after Halloween, I will review this one.
Clear, auburn hued, large, looming head.
In the nose: pumpkin spice-y! Clove and nutmeg. Floating over a pumpkinny amber ale.
In the mouth: warming and rich, malty and not too sweet. Brown sugar and spices over an amber ale. Plus actual pumpkin, it seems. Not too shabby here. Fulfilling mouthfeel. Medium bodied. Quite tasty. Hey, I’d drink another.
And this endeth my pumpkin beer consumption of 2025.
Savor this Autumnal treat. An amber ale with a rich orange hue, bone white head, and a blend of pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices. Perfect for crisp evenings and fall rituals
Ol’ George #54: Bats
1. Personal accomplishment unlocked: pencil, ink and color all done in one night, under four hours. Wrote it today, too. Originally, I thought I would have Superman as Bats’ drinking buddy, but I am glad I chose Boy Wonder as the one to take the Caped Crusader home after too many vanilla porters. Yeah, I figure Batman as a vanilla Porter kind of guy.
2. When I was 4, 5 years old, I was the biggest Batman fan on the block. I tuned in, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel to see Adam West and Burt Ward pow, zap, and ka-zowie the bad guys. I was that weird kid running around the neighborhood with a bath towel around my neck. When the kids on the school bus sang “Jingle Bells, Batman smells “, how it irked me! How dare they malign my hero!
I would read the comic books off and on over the years, not really becoming a regular reader until the mid-80’s, and that was a great time for it, in the years before Burton’s big film. Miller’s Dark Knight & (Mazzuchelli’s) Year One, Moore’s ( & Bolland’s) Killing Joke, Morrison’s (& McKean’s) Arkham Asylum …and so much more. I dropped it all when I dropped everything mainstream and corporate owned and delved full force into everything alternative. The only Batman I could look at after that was the stuff that never took itself seriously. It’s a comic book, people, lighten up! I couldn’t avoid in the 90’s, though, as I worked at a comic book store for seven years.
3. I feel the same way about beer these days. It’s just beer! Lighten up!
And I feel the same way about alternative comics. Only the serious stuff gets attention these days, only autobiography and memoirs of oppression and great tragedies. No one gives a damn about silliness. That can be a great art form, too, and that is one hill I will die on, with a flower growing out of my corpse.
Notes on #53:
1. This was an idea I had a year ago and couldn’t get to, saving it for later. I remembered it after finishing #52, realized it was almost Halloween and decided that this would be the week that I did two in one week, one right after the other. Make up for that one week in June that I skipped. I thought I could do it all in one evening, but, alas, this hand-coloring takes time.
So, there we go, 53 strips in 13 months. In your face, haters and doubters!
(Sorry, that makes me sound too much like our current butthead in chief.)
2. George as a devil was an easy pick, Chester as Aladdin Sane seems out of left field, but I arrived at it naturally. Once I assigned my hatted characters non-hatted costumes, I thought that my hatless character should have one. But, no, Irma is no witch. She is a princess.
The original version I wrote was a simple joke, but this comes out of Irma’s mouth oozing with sarcasm.
3. It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is an astounding work of art centered around a child’s delusions. Where were the Van Pelts? Did they have no concern for their young son’s mania and his nights in the pumpkin patch, freezing himself, awaiting his imaginary fantasy creation? Where are the Peanuts parents? I hold them complicit! It’s bad enough what happened to Sally, Peppermint Patty, others, but when would the authorities finally become involved? Lucy actually behaves as a parent to Linus, while still allowing his odd beliefs, but in a real world…I wonder when he would give up the idea? You know what? I don’t want to know.
Ol’ George #52: The Sign (part one) .
Notes on #52:
1. In 2007, I did a sketch of an ill-tempered cat that I decided to render as an oil painting, something I hadn’t, and still haven’t, done much of. I wasn’t thrilled with the results, despite being satisfied with the basic design, and it went into my closet.
The next year, it inspired me to rework it for another project. I put a hat on his head, gave him a cigar, and this one was done in ink and watercolor. The project I intended the illustration for never saw the light of day, but I liked the work well enough to frame it and keep it on the wall.
Sixteen years later, I was looking at that picture and got the idea for Ol’ George. The cigar was ditched but he remains hatted and blue.
In January of this year, I thought about ordering stickers of some of my work and happened to have a pic of Bad Kitty on my phone. Soon, I had 100 Bad Kitty stickers to give to friends and plaster all over the place. A few months ago, I had a friend with better computer graphic skills help me rework the image into something maybe more commercial. Then, it hit me: this could be the logo for George’s new favorite beer! I thought back to a strip I did in July and, the ideas started flowing . There are a few more chapters here. I won’t do them all together, they will be broken up by one shots.
Later, I realized that I had already shown George drinking a beer called Bad Kitty. Well. We can do two things: pretend this is a prequel or an origin story, or not worry about it. Either option is fine with me. I will not ret-con.
2. This is the happiest I’ve ever drawn George. I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.
3. Here we are at #52, under a year after I revealed this project to the world. I will strive to meet my goal of one a week, maybe even two, if I can. Not slowing down. #cat #cartoon #i
6.1% ABV.
Hammerheart Brewing, Ely, Minnesota.
Dark brown, nearly opaque, large and lasting cocoa-tinged head.
In the nose: smoked malt sits right up from the start. Campfires and smoked meats. Dark malts beneath.
In the mouth: smooth and delicious! Weizen sweetness blends perfectly chocolatey malt goodness, with that hint of smoke right behind. Slight caramel notes. This rides so clean on the palate.
Ol’ George #51: 86 47
Notes on #51:
1. This is the 3rd time that the star of his own strip has no lines. The first time was #3, which also featured Donald Trump, being kicked out of the Mos Eisley Cantina by bartender Wuher, who speaks the only line. It’s also the only one-panel strip (but won’t be the last). So, there is another bar George visits, but it’s a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
2. This one’s been on the hopper awhile, but I was stuck on the ending. Originally I imagined Irma dropping an anvil on his head, but I didn’t want her to be seen as violent. She did once threaten George with a baseball bat, but that was a movie parody and shouldn’t count. Once I put the Portland frog in there, it fell into place.
It occurred to me that it might come off as a non-sequitor to some, but I’m not worried about that. There will always be some strips that not everyone will get. It occurred to while re-reading Krazy Kat that there are always some that I just won’t get. That’s okay. There’s always the pretty pictures and the shapes and colors.
3. For the first time, no bird-theme beer ads on the wall (or tongue in cheek slogans), but evidence of the bar’s stance on Budweiser.
4.5 % ABV, Junkyard Brewing, Moorhead, Minnesota.
Crystal clear, bright golden color, slim white head.
In the nose: lovely floral aromatics, beautiful hoppy expression.
In the mouth: fresh and zesty, light-bodied, easy drinking. Hop bitterness stays on the tongue and lasts through the bright, breezy finish. Touch of malt sweetness. Soft mouthfeel. A genuine pleasure.
I don’t drink a lot of pilsners, but I would if they were all as good as this.
This Czech style Pilsner is the perfect companion for any fishing expedition, even if it's just sitting on the dock with your Uncle Chuck. Brewed with European malts and traditional hop varieties, this easy drinking, light-bodied beer is a fresh interpretation of a flavorful classic.
Ol’ George #50: Krazy He Calls Me
Note on #50:
1. I got the idea for Ol’ George last September after finishing a biography of “Krazy Kat” creator George Herriman. George takes his name from the cartoonist, as well as his hat-wearing habit, and the”0l’” appellation (though Herriman spelled it “ole”). (And, you may have noticed, no one actually calls him that.)
Over the past year and 49 strips, George has met Snoopy, Popeye, Bill the Cat, Charlie Brown, Cathy, Zippy the Pinhead, Fritz the Cat, Cosmo Cat, and Superman. Also in the past year, I have read and re-read every Krazy Kat volume in my collection, as well as whatever else the library had on hand. After closing the covers on Krazy and Ignatz The Complete Sunday Strips Volume Three 1935-1944, I knew that the only way to make #50 special was finally have George and Krazy meet.
2. I could go on and on about how remarkable a comic strip Krazy Kat was, but you didn’t come here for that. I am one of those who eagerly and wholeheartedly declare it the greatest strip of all time. If you’ve never read it, I urge you to visit your local library and check out a volume. You have to have a heart ready to receive an enormous amount of whimsy and be able to accept about a dozen or so absurd conceits at once in order to get it.
3. I realized too late an error. Krazy shouldn’t be saying “we had a tryss (“tryst”)”, it should have been “hed.”
4. For 31 years, Ignatz held an enmity for one resident of Coconino County alone, his hatred aimed only at the fanciful feline. I’m not the only cartoonist to imagine the mouse attacking his hero, brick in hand. Charles Schulz did so in the early ‘50’s. But he had Charlie Brown emitting a “heart react”, like Krazy would. I just couldn’t see George responding that way. Instead, his addled bean makes him sing Krazy’s favorite song.
Venn Basic Decency Pale Ale.
5% ABV, Venn Brewing, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Clear, light amber-hued, slim white head.
In the nose: basic hoppiness, basic slight citrus.
In the mouth: starts out mild, moves quick into clean hoppiness, delightful citrus, minor grapefruit and major lemon/lime. Nice and easy on the palate, crisp and refreshing, highly likable.
