Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative Law & Porter Special Chocolate Unit Ancho Chili Edition

Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative Law & Porter Special Chocolate Unit. 6.8% ABV, 46 IBU. Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative, Minneapolis, MN.

Solid darkness, slim light brown-ish head rings above.

In the nose: Slight sweetness, bittersweet espresso notes, traces of cocoa. Dark. malts.

In the mouth: Bitter and sweet take the stage together, chocolate steals the show. Medium bodied, rich and full on the palate. Smooth and malty, nice and chocolatey, with a little heat popping out in the end. Not from an addition, like peppers, I assume, just alcohol heat? Anyway, all in all, it's a tasty one.

(Note: For reasons that no one can understand, I never bothered to read the sticker on the label. The skull & cross-peppers warning that this was the Ancho Chili Edition. I looked it up, and couldn't find any note about there being peppers in the beer. Until I realized I forgot to look up "Ancho Chili Edition." You'd think I'd notice a skull & cross-peppers. Going blind, I think.)

This porter has dark chocolate and toffee flavors with a solid hop backbone expected from this style.

Hop Backbone? That's a new one.

Sisyphus Uff-Da Pils

Sisyphus Uff-Da Pils. 4.2 % ABV, 42 IBU. Sisyphus Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

I say it over and over again: I'm not a lager lover, or passionate about pilsner, but I'll appreciate a good one, and try them out from time to time. Also, relevant to this post: there was nothing else at Sisyphus the other night that hasn't already been written up here. So, why not take home some Uff-Da?

Clear, bright golden, slim white head.

In the nose: Slight cereal notes, corn?, light floral tones. Clean.

In the mouth: A touch grainy. Crisp and clean. Light hops. Light bodied. Easy drinking. A bit too much of that corn-ish character I'm picking up. Not sure if that's a fermentation flaw, or just in the recipe, but it doesn't work for me. Hops start kicking in later on, and a fruitier character comes into play. Gets better over time, and my initial objections fade away. Though it still feels a bit too sweet.

As a lager, it's fine. As a pilsner, it's not great. As for me, I'm glad that just about every other option at Sisyphus suits me just fine.

Belching Beaver / Deftones Phantom Bride IPA

Belching Beaver / Deftones Phantom Bride IPA. 7.1 % ABV. 55 IBU. Belching Beaver Brewing, Oceanside, CA.

Okay. Belching Beaver. We have to get over this name. This stupid, stupid name. And just drink the beer. Regardless of how stupid is the name. Because, what if Farting Squirrel Brewery puts out the most divine saison ever brewed? Maybe the finest kolsch ever fashioned comes out of Diddling Daschhund Brewing Company? Got to stay open minded. Maybe Puking Pelican will be my new favorite?

Clear, bright golden hue, lush ivory head, leaving lace, looking fantastic.

In the nose: Mmm. Big, bright citrus, lots of hoppitude, aburst with flavor. yum.

In the mouth: Flat out yum. Medium bodied, long bitter finish. Citrus hop flavors popping on the palate. Just about lovely. Damned tasty. (Absolutely no pun intended.)

Named after the ethereal song by the one and only Deftones, Phantom Bride IPA is a blend of Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe, and Mosaic hops delicately balanced for the perfectly drinkable mix of citrus and hoppy goodness. A truly original Deftones/ Belching Beaver collaboration envisioned by Chino Moreno and skillfully crafted by Thomas Peters. Sit back, put on your headphones and drink away.

56 Blackberry Berliner Weisse

56 Brewing Blackberry Berliner Weisse. 4.5 % ABV. 13 IBU. 56 Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Thick and clouded, dark crimson coloring, slim ring of pinkish foam.

In the nose: Tart. Fresh and Fruity. Very berry.

In the mouth: Fiercely sour and berry-vicious. Yup, that is the technical term. Sharp. tart, medium-bodied, easy-drinking. Good ol' fruited sour and you can drink it.

St. Feullien Grisette Blanch*Wit*Wheat Belgian Farmhouse Wheat Ale

St. Feullien Grisette Blanch*Wit*Wheat Belgian Farmhouse Wheat Ale. 5.5% ABV, 26 IBU. Brasserie St. Feuillien, Le Reoulx, Hainaut, Belgium.

Is this my first grisette? I think so. What the heck is a grisette? The label calls it a farmhouse wheat ale. Aren't farmhouse ales often brewed with wheat? Other sources I've checked tell us that they were originally created to refresh the thirst of miners, rather than farmhands. Some say it gets it's name from it's color, others the hue of the pinafores worn by the ladies who handed them out to returning miners. Well, I'm going to crack open the can and put it past my lips to find out a little more.

Lightly clouded, bright golden hue, slim white head.

In the nose: Slightly spice, maybe even salty. Light stone fruit notes, touch of citrus. We can get the wheat malt character, too.

In the mouth: Crisp, refreshing, smooth, and fruity. Again, citrus and stone fruit, with a touch of spice and salt. Zesty and smooth. Light-bodied, easy drinking, and not shy on flavor. Quite tasty.
I like this. I'd drink another. And another.

At the start of the century, in Hainaut, every small brewery produced a top-fermenting beer which was drawn from wooden barrels.
This traditional beer was the pride of the local breweries and quenched the thirst of the most demanding customers!
At the Friart Brewery, this beer, of which the formula is a carefully kept secret, was called the Grisette.
A few years ago, the St-Feuillien Brewery decided to take up the tradition and now presents four new varieties of Grisette.

Wild Mind Mahalo Sour Ale fermented with pineapple

Wild Mind Mahalo Sour Ale fermented with pineapple. 5.5 % ABV, 25 IBU. Wild Mind Artisan Ales, Minneapolis, MN.

Clouded, bright golden, slim white head.

In the nose: Pow! Sour hits first, quickly followed by sweet fruit. Pineapple, large and in charge. Well-tempered combination of the sweet & sour.

In the mouth: Fierce and funky sour attack on the palate. Thereafter, it's all pineapple. Fresh, pulpy, flush with bright, tropical fruit. Quite refreshing. Medium bodied. Long, sour finish. Tasty sour, for sure.

In late January, in the worst temperatures that keep us all inside, we all want to imagine the sunny tropics. Having this beer tonight puts me on the beach in my mind. That's enough for me.

This blend of Camille, our base barrel-aged saison, was conditioned on pineapple puree and Motueka hops to create a fruity, hoppy, and refreshingly tart saison.

Town Hall Twisted Reality Barley-wine

Once more, as with the Foolish Quadrupel, a Town Hall beer was available in growlers for the first time in quite a while. It was not available at any time in the eight years and plus of this blog? Apparently so. Or, I just wasn't there when it was. The bourbon barrel aged version? Yes. The red wine barrel version? Also, yes. But never the original, which I first took notes on back in February of 2006, nearly 13 years ago. So, let's look back on...

Town Hall Twisted Reality Barley-wine, 10.3 % ABV. Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN.

Went into Town Hall merely to grab a couple growlers, and noticed the regulars drinking out of snifters a beer that wasn't entirely black...so, it's not the Imperial Stout, what is it? The Twisted Reality barleywine that they debuted at Winterfest, which I missed, on cask! I had to have one...

Beautiful magenta hue, deeper in the top 2/3 of the glass, a clearer crimson at the bottom, under an attractive, lasting creamy head. Nice!

Aroma is lush and fruity, while never too sweet, brimming with flavor, enticing one to drink!

In the taste, a cornucopia of the usual barleywinish flavors, cherries and cognac, leather and burgundy wine...the cask-conditioning keeps it mellow, and the various characteristics roll around the mouth with careless abandon, yet somehow perfect balance. Plumb malt, and tasteful hops. Lush and luscious, a deep, dreamy ale one can savor at length. Gorgeous texture, keeps the mind active and the palate abuzz.

I wish I could compare this against the tap offering, which I never had, but on cask this is about near perfection. Plenty strong, though, but a delightful nightcap. I will have to go back for more before this disappears....

Notes at the bar, from a cask offering. Now, drinking from a growler at home, for the first time. Sweet and malty, while balanced. Big-boned and bodacious. Filling up with a warming alcoholic sense. Dark fruits and ton of molasses. Maple syrup, more than anything. Sweetness rules in here, and it's delicious and smooth. An even better nightcap than that cask serving, because I don't need to go home, just wander over to my bed. I finished the growler quicker than I thought I would and shuffled off to SlumberLand.

Venn Breakfast Stout

Venn Breakfast Stout. Batch #112. 6.6% ABV. 25 IBU. Venn Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Thick. Impenetrable Darkness. Solid blackitude. Sizable cocoa-tinged head. Looking good.

In the nose: Coffee hits first, rich and vastly fulfilling. Earthy, dirty, malty, espresso-licious.

In the mouth: Mmm. Mm, M. Deep, dark, malty. Chocolate and coffee. Yum-alicious. Just enough bitterness up front to stave off the sweet. And plenty of sweet, in just the right amount. A touch hot, a little alcohol burn. Mostly, the coffee and cocoa malt flavors keep it going. Smooth and delicious. Tasty and satisfying. I'll be back for more.



Actual coffee, actual chocolate, actual awesome. An American-style stout infused with coffee & chocolate. The return of Batch #18!

Malts: Maris Otter, Munich, Roasted Barley, Caramel 80, Chocolate

Hops: Warrior (United States)

Yeast: American Ale

And: Coffee, Chocolate, Lactose, Vanilla

Modist Wouldst Thou Like To Live Deliciously? Stout with Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Modist Wouldst Thou Like To Live Deliciously?
Stout with Peanut Butter and Chocolate.
7.5 % ABV.
Modist Brewing,
Minneapolis, MN.

Thorough blackness, big, rich brownish head, looking nice.

In the nose: soft and peanutty. Chocolate lurks below. Peanut butter stays on top. Highly likable, this. So peanutty.

In the mouth: Sweetness at the start, with balancing bitterness. Sweet peanutty butter flavors take over, with chocolate keeping time. Delicious. Medium bodied, long, sweet finish. Tasty damned stuff.

I wouldst. I definitely wouldst.

Once more, this was can #4 of a 4-pack, the first three enjoyed without comment, and this fourth held until it was time for the note-taking. I hope it hasn't disappeared, as I would urge you to pick up any that you might see.

Stout brewed with golden promise, peanuts, cocoa nibs, and milk sugar.

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Liquid Paradise IPA

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Rotating IPA Series Liquid Paradise IPA. Alc. 7.8 % by Vol. 44 IBU. New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO.

Clear, bright golden, slight orange hue, stable slab of ivory head on top.

In the nose: Assertive citrus, little bit floral, popping with papaya and pineapple. Most delightful.

In the mouth: Hop bitterness boards the palate, bringing citrus & tropical fruit flavors. Dripping deliciousness. Light bodied, long, bitter finish.

This is an all-around right-on IPA. Whatever they were trying to accomplish with this one, they nailed it, right on the head. It has everything I want in an IPA, and then some.

Using Mosaic Incognito, Azacca and Cascade hops, Liquid Paradise boasts a mélange of tropical notes to create a delicately bitter and extremely aromatic IPA.

Woodchuck Amber Cider

Woodchuck Amber Cider. The Original American Hard Cider. Gluten Free. Made in Vermont. Est. 1991. Refreshing Red Apple. 5 % ABV. Canned by Vermont Cider Co., Middlebury, VT.

Clear, slight amber color, no head.

In the nose: Apples. Red apples.

In the mouth: Crisp, tart, refreshing. And apple-y. Red apple-y. Little bit of tannins, taste of the peel. Delightfully fruity. Smooth and tasty.

Good cider and you can drink it.

Woodchuck® Amber is the original Woodchuck Cider. It's made from a blend of apples and fermented with champagne yeast to produce a great tasting and refreshing alcoholic drink. 

Fiercely crafted with a medium body, golden hue and refreshing red apple finish. Enjoy the brand that started the American cider revolution. 

Odell Sippin' Pretty Fruited Sour Ale

Odell Sippin' Pretty Fruited Sour Ale. 4.5 % ABV. Odell Brewing, Fort Collins, CO.

Clouded, foggy pink hue, slim white head.

In the nose: Tart from the start, then along come all the berries. Acai, elderberry, and guava. Lots of fruit action. Beautifully sour.

In the mouth: Fierce sour on the palate right off the bat, then it's all calm on the palate. Complex fruity flavors swim about. Slightly sharp and acidic. Sour sticks around for a bit, then leaves nice and clean. Low alcohol makes this one a session-er for sure, for some. Not me, with sours I'm one and done, til the next one.

But this one's pretty tasty. Go out there and drink it up.

More of a mantra than a beer, Sippin’ Pretty is our Fruited Sour Ale. Loaded with our unique blend of açai, guava, and elderberry, and balanced with a delicate addition of Himalayan pink sea salt, this beer pops with a bright ruby color and a refreshing tart finish. So sit back, relax, and sip on something pretty.

BlackStack Still Watching? Double India Pale Ale

BlackStack Still Watching? Double India Pale Ale. 8% ABV. BlackStack Brewing, St. Paul, MN.

Thoroughly clouded, dull gold, two inch ivory head, lasting long and leaving lace. They don't bother calling them "hazy IPAs" anymore, they just naturally come that way.

In the nose: fresh and lively. Vibrant hoppy goodness. Pine, citrus and a trickle of the tropical.

In the mouth: Soft and smooth. Creamy, even. Little layer of bitterness starts it off, then subdues and slides back. Sweet malt cuts through the bitter. Tasty stuff. Just enough IPA to hold back the haze, bro. Dance goes on between the hops, malt and yeast. High ABV doesn't encroach entirely, until...yep, here it is.

I'm enjoying it, though it's still far from my favorite interpretation of the double IPA. I want to taste the hops, not the pillow.

Are you there beer nerds? Its me, Blackstack. This is a beer for binge...watching and falling asleep on the couch. A hop hug so loving you’ll think it might carry you up to bed. Citra, El Dorado, Ella, and Rakau in “9 seasons with 22 episodes each” amounts. Bottoms up to being down for one more episode of collapsed cakes and overcooked pastries.

Wild Mind Puff the Passion Dragon

When Wild Mind announced their accounts-only program, they claimed that the beers that would go in kegs to bars and restaurants would not be on tap in the tasting room, but may occasionally show up in bottles or crowlers. Puff is a beer that I poured at Acadia and took great pride in promoting, but I never took notes on it, because I tend not to do that, the note-taking at the bar. On one of my recent visits to the brewery, there it was, a single crowler of Puff. I snatched it up. And now I drink it.

Clear, bright crimson color, short-lived pinkish head (so short it was gone before I could photograph it).

Wild Mind Puff the Passion Dragon Wild Sour Ale, with Fruit. 6.7% ABV. 25 IBU.

In the nose: Popping with berries, buzzing with sour. Bold and fruity. Nice.

In the mouth: Ooo! Fruity pucker-time. Big, juicy fruit. Starts sweet and sour and ends up dry. If memory serves, the ingredients in the beer are in the name. Passion Fruit and Dragon Fruit. Let's learn more about it:

There’s more than a bit of magic in our latest distribution beer. Puff the Passion Dragon was fermented with our own blend of 100 percent Brettanomyces, creating a funky and lightly tart base to which we added more than 60 pounds of tropical hops to add a soft bitterness and tropical flavor the complement the wild yeast. To wrap things up, we conditioned Puff on 336 pounds of passion fruit and 250 pounds of dragon fruit to add a final touch of tartness and a whole lot of tropical fruit flavor. This ambitiously funked up fruited sour pours a vivid pink and has notes of earthy funk, tropical fruit, and a hint of citrusy hoppiness.

A delicious fruited sour ale. Smooth, sour, sweet and lovely. Ends clean on the palate, with the tongue yearning for just a touch more. The glass happily obliges and the throat is eternally grateful. Stomach is pleased, tastebuds tingle, mind is happy. Everybody's good. Just enough malt, just enough fruit, great balance of everything you need, here. Just right on.

Yet another one that I wished I'd been able to pick up two of, and save one to share at some sharing event in the future. Alas. Next time, maybe. You will make this again, won't you, Wild Mind? Sure. Got to let that lightning strike twice.

If it wasn't abundantly clear, I really like this one. Another wild, weird success from Wild Mind.

Venn Batch 131 Denali Brut Double IPA

Venn Batch 131 Denali Brut Double IPA. 8.1 % ABV. 40 IBU. Venn Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Mostly clear, with a slight haze, bright golden color, slim white head.

In the nose: Mellow, but potent. Bold citrus hop presence in the aroma. Fruit flavors emerge, but remain far from sweet, sticking to the dry side.

In the mouth: Big hop bitterness bangs it off, with effervescence rushing to the fore. Sparkling and dry. Bone dry. Fruity, bitter, and nearly brittle. And then the alcohol comes ripping through. I could use more hop flavor, more malt flavor, and a little less "dry."

As an IPA fan, I'm liking this. As a double IPA fan, I'm loving this. As not a Brut IPA fan, I'm a little iffy on it.

I still firmly believe that nobody wants Brut IPAs, and I can't figure out how breweries have gotten hornswoggled into making them.

Pineapple, coconut, dry. A drier-than-water Double IPA featuring Denali hops.

Malts: Extra Pale Pilsner, Rice Syrup Solids

Hops: Denali (United States)

Yeast: American Ale 

New Belgium Up Next Series Brut IPA

New Belgium Up Next Series Brut IPA. 6.7 % ABV. 55 IBU.
Brewed by New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO, and Ashville, NC.

Hey, look, it's another "Brut IPA" from another large, national craft brewery. Let's drink it.

Clear, bright golden hue, fluffy ivory head, looking lovely.

In the nose: Mild citrus attack at the front, nicely hoppy, tropical tones, too. On the dry side. Fits the "brut" profile, so far.

In the mouth: More fresh, fruity hop flavors on the palate. Pineapple meets lemon, but steers away from the juicy and into the dry. Almost brittle. But, tasty. Medium/light-ish bodied, swift, clean finish. I keep coming back to clean and dry. Again, fits right into this new style, though I still haven't clutched it to my bosom, and don't know for sure if anyone else has, really.

Brewers keep making this new style, but it's not clear if anyone wants them to. Personally, I find that Brut IPAs take away much of what I enjoy in an IPA. There's simply none of the thrill of a good IPA.

Bubbly, dry, crisp, and refreshing, Brut IPA is inspired by our favorite sparkling wines. A perfect cheers to the New Year.

Duluth Brewhouse Starfire Pale Ale

Duluth Brewhouse Starfire Pale Ale. 6 % ABV. 59 IBU.
Duluth Brewhouse Pale Ale Beer. It's the beers of Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth, but not the beer brewed there. Contract-brewed by others, and not able to be called "Fitger's", nonetheless these are the same recipes as the pint you'd down at the pub & restaurant on Superior Street.

Clear, bright golden, slim white head.

In the nose: Big citrus. Nicely hopped.

In the mouth: Pops with grapefruit, orange, lemon. Juicy bitterness. Delicious malt base. Smooth and expertly consumable. Crisp, refreshing, and just as tasty as you want a pale ale to be. Lovely bitterness, absolutely beautiful.

If you're interested in my notes from a growler of the Fitger's brewed Starfire from going on seven years ago, check them out here.

Our signature North Shore style pale always on tap. A hop first balanced pale using American and German malts and all American hops. Stronger in hops then the usual pale but not at an IPA level. The beer the brewers drink. During the course of the year we brew about 20 different pale recipes but they all flow from the source STARFIRE.

O'so Barrel Aged Liquid Soul Imperial Stout

O'so Barrel Aged Liquid Soul Imperial Stout. 10.5% ABV. 40 IBU. O'so Brewing, Plover, WI.

Solid blackness, rich brown head on top.

In the nose: Ah, the smoke, the char, the chocolate. Rich, bitter, sweet. Whiskey flavor dominates, vanilla wafts out, a pinch of cherry. Deep, viscous.

In the mouth: Full. Hot. Thick. Intense. Bullet points. One. Word. Phrases. Slick. Sweet. Dry. Bitter. Chocolate. Bourbon. Decadent. Delicious.

Imperial stout aged in Bulleit Bourbon barrels.

What is a soul? 
​
Is it the sum of our human qualities? Perhaps it’s our perception of a human condition filtered through experience, circumstance, will and time. A culmination of human endeavor, and the dreams which forge triumph, failure, doubt, and ascension in the wake of creation. We suggest the soul is none of these things. As captured in this corporeal form to exist as vacancy, black and tempered by time in our contrivance to ascribe meaning to abstract existence, we create. This thought becomes reality, sublimated into liquid form from harmonious nothing, and transformed over time in bourbon barrels. Barrel Aged Liquid Soul is willed to be. It exists as a testament to creation and by consequence an approximation of the Liquid Soul. 

In other words, it's good beer and you can drink it.
​
​

612 Mill City Pilsner

612 Mill City Pilsner. 5.4 % ABV. 25 IBU. 612 Brew, Minneapolis, MN.

Crystal clear, bright golden hue, vivid ivory head. Looking nice.

In the nose: grainy malt notes, lightly floral, a touch of hops.

In the mouth: Crisp, hoppy, dry. Clean. Light bodied, easy drinkin'. Frequent followers of this blog know that I'm not a lager liker of a connoisseur of the pilsner style. When they're good, though, I'll give 'em a nod. Well, there ain't nothing wrong with this one. Good pilsner and you can drink it.

I'll have to admit that I didn't really try their last Pilsner, Gateway Park. I didn't have a ton of trust in the brand, and never tried it. I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to try this, if it hadn't been given to me. This is one of many new beers from 612, as they're scrapping all of their beers but the Rated R Rye IPA, which was the best received of their beers.

Bright dandelion, light-bodied and crisp with an herbal hop aroma. Notes of cracker, hay and clover.

Clockwerks Mug Hunter Pale Ale

Clockwerks Mug Hunter Pale Ale. 5.6 % ABV. 54 IBU. Clockwerks Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Clear, bright golden color, slim ivory head.

In the nose: Lively citrus notes aplenty, going wild with grapefruit. Nice.

In the mouth: Citric hop bite from the start that sticks around on the palate. Smooth, medium-bodied, tasty, with a long hoppy finish. Moderate bitterness, medium maltiness, crisp and easy-going. Slight caramel malt note to match the fruity hops.

Good pale ale and you can drink it.

Lightly toasted malt bread flavor with subtle caramel and bold grapefruit, passion fruit, and papaya. Pleasant Citra and Mosaic hop aroma