Sisyphus Scoopshot Apricot

Sisyphus Scoopshot Apricot. IPA with vanilla and apricots. 7% ABV. 60 IBU. Canned: 3/10. Sisyphus Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Lightly hazed, bright golden/orange-ish coloring, sizable and lasting ivory head.

In the nose: Sweet apricot notes first. Nothing but sweet and mellow.

In the mouth: Cool, smooth, well-balanced fruit, mixed with lovely vanilla. Barest hint of bitterness. Light/medium bodied. Apricot flavor is on the light side, too. You can taste it, all mixed up with the vanilla, but it isn't terribly strong.
Do you need much apricot, though. Subtlety can be a strong suit.

The second iteration of the Scoopshot, after the pineapple, the milkshake IPA without the milk, which debuted last April. I like it fine, and I can drink it, but I'd rather have the IPA that's underneath all that vanilla and fruit. That's just me. I like beer that tastes like beer. Good thing they make some of that, too.

OUR TAKE ON THE MILKSHAKE IPA EXCEPT WE SKIPPED THE LACTOSE (YOU ARE WELCOME, OUR LACTOSE INTOLERANT FRIENDS.) BUT THIS THING STILL TASTES LIKE IT HAS A SCOOP OF ICE CREAM IN IT, WITH A HEALTHY DOSE OF APRICOT AND VANILLA, TO COMPLEMENT THE FRUITY HOPS AND YEAST.  LOOK FOR THIS ONE TO BE A NEW REGULAR OCCURRENCE ON OUR MENU! 

Oliphant Sound of the Fart Side Citra Pale Ale

Oliphant Sound of the Fart Side. Pale Ale. 5 % ABV. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Man, I'm not into these "fart" puns, you guys. You can do better, I know it. The anthropomorphic assholes? Sheeesh.

Anyway, on with the beer.

Clouded, pale amber hue, thick white head, soon to settle.

In the nose:Fresh, full-on citrus notes going on. Nothin' but, and it's all that you need.

In the mouth: Light bodied, crisp, clean and refreshing. Nice bitter bite up front, then falling off. Citrus fruit flavor from the hops dances on the palate, keep the tongue happy. Straight up deliciousness. Just a good old pale ale with Citra hops, just the way I like it. Yum, a dum, dum.
I'm gonna drink this crowler down, and that will be that.

I am providing two videos below. One is of one of my favorite musicians performing a song he composed for an animated "Far Side" TV special and has since turned it into a beloved ballad. That is Bill Frisell. And "Egg Radio." (Look at Bill's guitar. Is this the one that Gary Larson made for him?, as the story goes.)
The other tells the tale of the "Far Side"'s time on television. Forgive the narrator for saying Bill's last name wrong, or even Larson's first (did he really call him "Larry"? once?) Isn't there anything better out there? No? Really? Come on.

Single hop Citra Pale Ale

Forager Shag Session India Pale Ale

Forager Shag Session India Pale Ale. 4.3% ABV, 13 IBU. Forager Brewery, Rochester, MN.

To the eye: slightly murky, dull golden hue, vast ivory head, leaving lace.

In the nose: Bold citrus. Pineapple. Lemon. Pinch of pine. Bright and lively.

In the mouth: Citrus shines even brighter on the palate. Big, juicy, delicious and refreshing. Light bodied. Tasty. Down-able and then some.

All Night IPA., they say. Opposite of Founders' All Day IPA?

Inbound Peanut Butter Milk Stout

Inbound Peanut Butter Milk Stout. 5.4% ABV, 25 IBU. Inbound BrewCo, Minneapolis, MN.

To the eye: solid ebony, absolutely opaque, slim brown head.

In the nose: sweet peanut butter at first, backed up with chocolate. Sweet, rich, malty.

In the mouth: There it is, the peanut butter and the cocoa, mixed well with the milk stout. Smooth and tasty. Medium to full body. Sweet and malty, but never too much so. Not too rich, not too full is kind of the key here. A milder, more manageable entry in the collection of peanut butter stouts or porters. And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Our creamy, chocolatey milk stout infused with rich peanut butter flavors.

Fair State 7 Principles Pale Ale

Fair State 7 Principles Pale Ale. 5.1% ABV, 40 IBU. 750 ml crowler. Fair State Brewing Cooperative, Minneapolis, MN.

Pale ale brewed with entirely Minnesota-grown ingredients.

Clear, bright golden color, large and lasting ivory head above. Looking good.

In the nose: bright and citrus-y, fresh and lively. Beautiful and enticing.

In the mouth: citrus hop flavors bounce on the palate, clean and smooth. Minimal malt. Stripped down and succulent. There are a few flavors in here the I can't quite pin down. Reminds me of beers I've had with Crystal malt. Plenty of the citrus and pine, with other fruits figuring in and making up the mosaic. Melon, for sure. Blueberry, maybe.

This is a tasty pale ale, and I'm glad I'm drinking it. Very mellow, very smooth, and full of unique character.

So, does it taste like Minnesota? Close, very close.

Here's more about it:

7 Principles started as a set of cooperative guidelines. Now, it’s also a beer: A dry-hopped pale ale made with all Minnesota ingredients (hops from Mighty Axe in Foley/Ham Lake, malt from Vertical malt in Fisher, MN). 5.1% ABV, 40 IBU.

“I’m excited about this beer – to me, it’s a bit of a milestone to be able to source quality base malt and pelleted, ready to use hops locally,” Niko, our Head Brewer commented. “We’re sitting at the starting point for an entire industry of small, artisanal producers of raw beer ingredients, and it’s important that breweries support their efforts wherever it is possible to do so. Often local beers lack true locality, a sense (and taste) of place. We have no idea what MN terroir in beer means, but we’re starting to make strides towards figuring it out.”

We used aromatic and pale malt from Vertical malt, which yields a beer with a crisp, slight malt presence and pale golden color. It is hopped in the kettle with Cascade and Columbus hops, and the dry hop is a heavy dose of Columbus. As a result, the beer is pretty dank, with pine and citrus rind in the background.

Disgruntled Double Stuffed Milk Stout

Double Stuffed Milk Stout. Disgruntled Brewing, Perham, MN. 6% ABV. Canned on : 11-13.

To the eye: thoroughly blackened, utterly opaque, large tanned head, that slips down to a tight ring.

In the nose: Rich, sweet, creamy, chocolatey. Cookie crust. So far, it seems like we're stepping into an Oreo beer, if there is such a thing.

In the mouth: Dark malts with a chocolate edge, deep and delicious. I try not to repeat certain words or phrases, but I want to go back to rich and creamy and sweet. Full bodied, smooth, ending on a dry-ish note. Hop bitterness is here, too, and it serves to keep the sweet in check, rounding out the palate.

This is excellent. Go drink it.

I found a surprising number of Disgruntled crowlers at a certain local store recently, and had quite a job of choosing. Glad I skipped Lingerer, because that's the one I brought back in a growler from my visit to the brewery last year. (I wouldn't mind having another, of course. But with so many beers out there to try, I have to stretch my dollars.) I'll return to pick up the rest, before I contemplate the question of whether it's wise to support them after the departure of head brewer Brett Doebbelling.

With beers like this in his portfolio, there's no question that Brett will find another home for his incredible creations.

Modist Deviation 10

Modist Deviation 010. 5.6% ABV. Lager brewed with huskless barley. Modist Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN.

Clear, bright golden color, smallish white head. 

In the nose: no bitterness, light hops, cereal grains, mostly malty, but altogether clean. 

In the mouth: Clean, malty, fruity. Just about nothing but nice. Smooth, easy, drinking. I have to educate myself on the difference between husked and huskless barley. One guess I'd offer is makes for a hearty, yet clean malt flavor. Little hops, no bitterness, good balance, moderate sweetness. Good ol' drinking lager, this one. 

I like it. Good lager, and guess what? I'm drinking it. 

 Deviation 010 is a smooth, full-flavored lager brewed with CDC Clear malt from experimental huskless barley from our partners at BSG CraftBrewing, lightly hopped with Denali, Huell Melon, and Bravo, and then fermented with our house lager strain. It’s lightly fruity, bready, drinkable, and clocks in at 5.5% ABV.  It’s good. Come and try it.

Wild Mind Vivid Gold Triple IPA

Wild Mind Vivid Gold Triple IPA. 10.8% ABV. 75 IBU. Wild Mind Artisan Ales, Minneapolis, MN.

Lightly hazed, amber-hued, slim white head.

In the nose: big fruit, big, bold, pithy hop bitterness and fruit notes aplenty. Sweet, hoppy, bitter, beautiful. Me, I like it.

In the mouth: Big bitterness, huge fruit, tasty all the way. Alcohol creeps in, assuredly. A veritable cornucopia on the palate. Bigness upon bigness.

I have to admit it. My notes ended there. I did not go on to write the Great American Novel on the subject of Vivid Gold triple IPA, alas. But, I swam in it, I luxuriated in it, I drank in all and had a restful slumber. And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

"this was a crowler filled on 8/3/17, and purchased by me some time later, and opened on August 30. The notes remained to a state of suspended animation, while I wondered what to do about their unfinished-ness. I finally decided that they were good enough to go forward. Meanwhile, I still wonder what VGML stands for. Anyone know?)

Brewed with five pounds per barrel of hops that include Citra, Cascade, Azacca & Motueka. Notes of sweet grapefruit, pineapple, mango, papaya, bright Citrus, Fresh hay, and Stone. 

Jack Pine Fenceline Pale Ale

Jack Pine Brewery Fenceline Pale Ale, 5.4 % ABV. Baxter, MN. Crowler brought back home from a visit to the brewery last Sunday (watch for the Breweries One by One report coming soon!).
Contains unfiltered, unpasteurized, fresh beer, Keep it cold.

(I do wish they could crowler up some of the other beers they had on tap that day, rather than just those three listed on the can, but each brewery has it's reasons for these policies, and I respect them.)

Clear, light amber coloring, big frothy off-white head, leaving lace.

Aroma: soft and pleasing, low hop bitterness, moderate fruity esters. Beautiful balance of bitter and sweet notes.

In the mouth: Nice hop attack starts it off, but kept in check with sweet malt. Clean and understated. Very mellow pale ale, but not shy with hop bitterness, either. Smooth stuff, terribly drinkable. Citrus-y hop flavor stays on top. Classic pale ale here, no confusing it with an IPA, just nice and hoppy, and good to go.

Great Dane Saison

If you read this thing with any regularity, you know that I love the wonderful, recyclable crowler. In Minnesota, though, they can only come in one size: 750 milliliters, or 25 ounces. Why? Because that's what the damned law says. There's really no reason, the legislature just wants to tell brewers what to do. Over in Wisconsin, their crawlers go up to 32 glorious ounces. When I was in Madison a week and a half back, I wanted to bring a beer home from the Great Dane with me, but didn't want to pay a deposit on a glass vessel I might not use again for a few years. (Of course, most WI brewers will fill anything, but I didn't think to take one with me.) My heart leapt with joy when I saw they did crawlers, and I decided to bring their saison back, and reviewed it last night.

Great Dane Saison. 6.5% ABV.

Clear, light golden coloring, slim white head, active carbonation.

Aroma: Bubblegum and candy floss. Bananas and spice. Coconut macaroons with cream filling. I kind of like it. Not a classic saison nose, kind of all over, but I like it.

Taste: sweetness and spice and big flavor from the start, then quits the palate quickly. Starts out sweet, turns out dry. Clean, lean, light-ish bodied, easy-drinking. Carries some of the hallmarks of other Belgian style, not necessarily in line with the classic saison profile. But, what ever is? The more I drink it, the more I like it, the more it makes sense. Not bad, not bad at all. And it's all coming together. Starting to collect. This ain't that bad. Actually pretty good, then. You betcha.

(Wait, why did I start doing a bad Minnesota accent. Sorry, I was watching "Fargo: The Series" in the background.)

Oliphant Treehouse of Gourdor II

Here's one that's lasted a bit longer than they'd like at the taproom, and I was happy to help diminish the supply. Treehouse of Goudor II, ale brewed with pumpkin and spices. 7% Alc./vol.

Thoroughly hazed, dull brown coloring, slight head, soon gone.

Aromatics start shy, then slowly grow. Spices spill out first, followed by the sweet meat of the gourd.

Taste: malt-forward, with just enough hops for balance. Pumpkin flavor is there, but not large in the least, Spices are plentiful, though. A nice, warm, well-balanced seasonal ale. Unfortunately, this is not one of their more arresting offerings. And it gets harder to move it off the taps when we get farther away from Turkey Time. It's good beer, though, and you can drink it.

Day Block Batch 94 IPA

Day Block Batch 94 IPA. "This crowler contains 750 ml of hand-crafted, Minneapolis-brewed beer. Please enjoy the crowler out of it." 7.1% ABV. 101 IBU. (I think that's what it says. Kind of hard to read. Okay, 101, sounds good, if it seems high.)

Appearance: clear, bright amber/crimson hue, slim, lacy, ivory head.

Aroma: Brimming with fruit. Stone and citrus. Slightly, just slightly buttery. Bittersweet and creamy. Growing with intensity.

Taste: Hits the palate running, blazing trails of bitterness. Again, growing with intensity. Medium-bodied. Apricot, tangerine, peach, grapefruit. Again, stone fruit and pungent citrus at play in the mouth. Long-lasting bitter finish.

Non-stop bitterness and smooth malty flavor makes this one satisfying IPA. This crowler's going down.

And while I drink it, let's read the copy on the can label, before it melts or something. "West Coast IPA. brewed with Old World Pilsner base malt, and hopped aggressively with Columbus, Chinook, Centennial and Crystal hops, Then dry-hopped with a further 10 pounds of hops! This IPA is dry,  bitter, and bright orange."

Oliphant EnnuiPA (with Waimea hops)

And now comes the dawn of the crowler. The canned growler. The pros: cheaper, easier, more disposable, etcetera. The cons: not sure. Oh, yeah, you can't reseal them. Better strap in for two pints at once.

Oliphant Brewing is now filling crowlers, and the glass growlers have fallen by the wayside. I brought in an old growler, but they wouldn't be filling any because they hadn't gotten around to cleaning any old ones to fill. Fine, I'll take a crowler, if you insist. They tossed in a token for a free pint, for bringing back the glass. Well, I'm getting ahead, aren't I?

This is not my first crowler. I had one earlier from Sisyphus, but didn't publish the notes. There are reasons for this, but I won't go into them now. Later…

Anyway, on to EnnuiPA. A single hop pale ale, whose single hop changes over time. What's so "ennui" about that?

Appearance: clear, bright golden coloring, vast white head, leaving lace. Looking good.

Aroma: beautifully fruity, apples, pears, and citrus, too. Lightly spicy. Very distinctive.



Taste: more freshness and more fruit. Zest aplenty, but not too much bitterness. Smooth and easy-drinking, with a clean, and delicious fruity flavoring. Some banana pops in, a little melon. Medium bodied, low bitterness, clean malt, easy finish.

A glimpse at the chalkboard at Oliphant. A new Simpsons mystery: who killed Carl?

This one was made with the new Waimea hop. Apparently, each iteration of this ale has a different hop. There was a version on nitro during this visit with, you guessed it, Jarrylo.

5/6 of a 6-beer flight, consumed at Oliphant last Sunday, 5/24.

More scenes from the chalkboard.