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K92

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Sometimes you try a highly respected beer and it's just not your cup of tea. Akronnnnnn had that experience with Taddy Porter and I just experienced the same thing with Ommegang BPA. Not that was terrible, just didn't do it for me.

On the other hand, I was able to sample 2 offerings from Pennsylvania Brewing that were FANTASTIC. I had 2 of their Christmas offerings: Nut Roll Ale & St. Nickolaus Bock. Delicious. Highly Recommend. Penn Brewery

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All right Keener... :D It says "Dark Sour Ale" on the bottle.

Here is one for you to try. I thought it was pretty unique tasting. I have no idea how you might get it.

My friend had one bottle left, and got it directly from the band (Clutch).

It's made by New Belguim. Description I'll keep my eyes peeled for it, and try to score some before September parties.

clutch_beer_prodshot.png

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Saw a new label today in the singles section, so I bought one to try.

Newcastle-Founders-Ale.jpg

Nice English Pale Ale here. Nothing special about it. Smooth drinking. Recommend.

Speaking of brew from Great Britain...

Have you ever been a fan of a certain style, then tried a certain brand that just KNOCKED YOUR SOCKS OFF? Happened to me last weekend. I have been liking porters more and more recently and thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect when trying a label new to me. Then I tried a Samuel Smith Taddy. Wow. Perfection. I could picture myself diddy bopping into an English pub with this on tap and quaffing down about 10 pints. It is that good.

SAMUEL-SMITH-TADDY-PORTER.jpg

Just tried the Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, it was excellent! I haven't tried the Taddy yet, but it will be soon to come.

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Last week I went to Thirsty Dog on Thursday as I was tipped off to the fact that on Thursdays they have growlers for $8 instead of the usual $10. This doesn't include the $5 purchase of the growler itself. I got a growler of Old Leghumper-my gave from the 'Dog

But while I was there I had a pint of their "Hoppus Maximus" IPA. It was pretty good, nothing to write home about. Just your standard IPA. But I also had a sample of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Siberian Night Russian Imperial Stout. The regular Siberian Night is a pretty strong RIS coming in at 9.7% ABV, and it hits as such, but the BBA Siberian Night is potent! I was glad I only got a sampler as a pint would have been too much for my pallette. I recommend it if you're feeling ballsy, but you can probably only get it right from the tasting room at Thirsty Dog.

Does anyone know if Hoppin Frog has a tasting room?

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Last week I went to Thirsty Dog on Thursday as I was tipped off to the fact that on Thursdays they have growlers for $8 instead of the usual $10. This doesn't include the $5 purchase of the growler itself. I got a growler of Old Leghumper-my gave from the 'Dog

But while I was there I had a pint of their "Hoppus Maximus" IPA. It was pretty good, nothing to write home about. Just your standard IPA. But I also had a sample of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Siberian Night Russian Imperial Stout. The regular Siberian Night is a pretty strong RIS coming in at 9.7% ABV, and it hits as such, but the BBA Siberian Night is potent! I was glad I only got a sampler as a pint would have been too much for my pallette. I recommend it if you're feeling ballsy, but you can probably only get it right from the tasting room at Thirsty Dog.

Does anyone know if Hoppin Frog has a tasting room?

Yea, Thirsty Thursdays at Thirsty Dog are great, keep in mind that it's cash only though. I highly recommend the Maibark. 6.5 ABV and very flavorful, but easy to drink, not too extreme.

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  • 2 weeks later...

so my roommate had never been to the new and improved Giant Eagle on Howe Ave. We came home with 13 22oz bottles and a 4 pack lol

My set:

145Photo_Feb_27_9_13_34_P.jpg

his set:

137Photo_Feb_27_9_14_20_P.jpg

In total

3 x Lager Heads Brewing Company Savage Stout (local NE Ohio Brewery, was $3.99 for a 22oz; he bought two I bought one)

2 x Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA (one for each of us)

2 x Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout (one for each of us)

1 x Green Flash Imperial IPA

1 x Stone Ruination Imperial IPA

1 x DORIS the Destroyer Double Imperial Stout

1 x 4pk North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

1 x Stone Vertical Epic Ale

1 x Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine

1 x Dogfish Head Noble Rot

The only one I've had is Stone Ruination. It is probably my favorite beer, and we will have to see how the other Imperial IPAs purchased match up to it. I'll report back as I try each.

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I've started reviewing on BeerAdvocate so I'll just copy my reviews over here.

Avery Brewing Maharaja

4.58/5

look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz into a pint glass.

Appearance: golden orange pour with minimal white head.

Smell: extreme hop scent with citrus undertones

Taste: powerful, hoppy taste, not too strong for 10.39% ABV.

Mouthfeel: typical IPA, a little bit of retaining in your mouth though.

Overall: pretty good IPA. Would have again.

North Coast Old Rasputin

4.63/5

look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: pours completely jet black with a two finger tan head. Very thick pour. I personally love a thick beer so this has a lot of appeal to me.

Smell: Roasted malts, chocolate, a bit of vanilla maybe?

Taste: this doesn't hit like some of the 9.0% beers I've had in the past. Really pleasing taste of roasted malts and hints of vanilla.

Mouthfeel: as said earlier, this beer is thick. You can really feel the thickness, but it still goes down smooth.

Overall: this beer is pretty good, I am going to enjoy drinking the other three in the pack.

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I've started reviewing on BeerAdvocate so I'll just copy my reviews over here.

Avery Brewing Maharaja

4.58/5

look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz into a pint glass.

Appearance: golden orange pour with minimal white head.

Smell: extreme hop scent with citrus undertones

Taste: powerful, hoppy taste, not too strong for 10.39% ABV.

Mouthfeel: typical IPA, a little bit of retaining in your mouth though.

Overall: pretty good IPA. Would have again.

North Coast Old Rasputin

4.63/5

look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: pours completely jet black with a two finger tan head. Very thick pour. I personally love a thick beer so this has a lot of appeal to me.

Smell: Roasted malts, chocolate, a bit of vanilla maybe?

Taste: this doesn't hit like some of the 9.0% beers I've had in the past. Really pleasing taste of roasted malts and hints of vanilla.

Mouthfeel: as said earlier, this beer is thick. You can really feel the thickness, but it still goes down smooth.

Overall: this beer is pretty good, I am going to enjoy drinking the other three in the pack.

Thanks for the review! I'll need to try both of them when I get the chance.

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I've started reviewing on BeerAdvocate so I'll just copy my reviews over here.

Avery Brewing Maharaja

4.58/5

look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz into a pint glass.

Appearance: golden orange pour with minimal white head.

Smell: extreme hop scent with citrus undertones

Taste: powerful, hoppy taste, not too strong for 10.39% ABV.

Mouthfeel: typical IPA, a little bit of retaining in your mouth though.

Overall: pretty good IPA. Would have again.

North Coast Old Rasputin

4.63/5

look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: pours completely jet black with a two finger tan head. Very thick pour. I personally love a thick beer so this has a lot of appeal to me.

Smell: Roasted malts, chocolate, a bit of vanilla maybe?

Taste: this doesn't hit like some of the 9.0% beers I've had in the past. Really pleasing taste of roasted malts and hints of vanilla.

Mouthfeel: as said earlier, this beer is thick. You can really feel the thickness, but it still goes down smooth.

Overall: this beer is pretty good, I am going to enjoy drinking the other three in the pack.

Nice, I have been eying Rasputin for awhile but haven't picked any up yet. This review definitely makes me want it more!

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Thanks for the review! I'll need to try both of them when I get the chance.

definitely! Let us know when you do try them what you think of them!

Nice, I have been eying Rasputin for awhile but haven't picked any up yet. This review definitely makes me want it more!

yeah it's pretty good! Would recommend it.

Had the Rogue Oatmeal Stout tonight. Here's my review:

4.6/5

look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: pours thick, black as night with a light brown finger and a half head.

Smell: roasted malts and coffee! Not a very strong smell, though.

Taste: strong coffee and roasted malts. Very good taste. Alcohol taste lingers at the end.

Mouthfeel: thick in the mouth with a lot of carbonation

Overall: the more I drink the lower the score gets, unfortunately. The carbonation is off-putting to me. Still a great beer, though. I wouldn't hesitate to get it again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My roommate brought home a growler of Headhunter IPA from Fat Heads in North Olmsted this weekend. Here's my review:

Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA

4.8/5 

look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured from a growler purchased a few days ago from Fatheads.

Appearance: golden yellow-orange color with a finger offsite off-white, thick head. The color is beautiful. Quite a bit of retainment for an IPA.

Smell: strong pine and citrus smell, maybe a little too strong actually.

Taste: unrealistically good taste. Great hops flavor, mild alcoholic kick.

Mouthfeel: a little carbonated, probably because of the serving type. A bit dry, but it goes down smooth.

Overall: without a doubt the best single IPA I've ever had. Incredible taste. I will be disappointed when the growler is empty.

Also here is a link to all the beers I've reviewed:

http://beeradvocate.com/user/beers?ba=BrianGaynor

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just wanted to take the time to give thanks to Akronnnnnnnn for inspiring me to try and cultivate a taste for stout. I have been trying as many as I come across in the singles section and when I have a broader base to report on, I will do so. I will say to anyone who has been turned off to stout because of Guinness...STOP!! I tried Guinness on numerous occasions at bars with friends and never got the taste and naively put all stouts in that basket. Thanks to some of the reviews on here about the style, I decided to branch out and I am happy. There is a lot more to the style than Guinness.

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I went to Fat Head's Brewery in North Olmstead on Friday. What a great place.

I had the fish & chips for my lunch. Very tasty and pretty good sized portion. The beer was great too. I tried their Bumbleberry Honey Blueberry Ale. I don't really get into many fruit beers, but his one was pretty good. Nothing special here but not bad. I keep hoping I will find a berry beer as good as Abita Purple Haze but it hasn't happened yet. Sorcerer was labeled as a Dark Belgian. To me it tasted like a Winter Warmer. Kind of sweet with a big alcoholic punch at 9%. The Pillage Porter was a little disappointing. Not bad, but I have had many porters much better than this one.

The capper of the day was the "Bean Me Up" Koffee Stout. So creamy. So silky. Such delicious coffee goodness. Wow.

The bar was really cool, too. Laid out nicely with the brewery visible. They had 20 other breweries beers on tap in addition to their 11. Just a really fun place. I would choose it over Great Lakes every time.

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Marked one off my list tonight.

As a fan of brown ale and Anchor Brewing, I was excited to try their Brekle's Brown. I first heard about it about 9 months ago but never saw it available anywhere so I figured it wasn't going to be distributed this far east. On my way home from work I stopped to get groceries and there it was!

brekles_brown.jpg

I eagerly poured a glass as soon as I got home, sure that I was in for a real treat.

This is the worst brown I have ever tasted. God-awful. It's sour. Sour like it's got a shot of grapefruit in it. Avoid at all costs! Drain pour. :(

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Bummer on the Brekle's Brown :(

I've been drinking some Bell's lately. I reluctantly forked over $16.99 for a six of Cherry Stout. It's a relatively strong stout with a very tart cherry bite. I'd give it solid B but it's probably not worth the price for most folks. Maybe our recent WMU fan can relate?

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I would love to try the Cherry Stout. I have enjoyed all the Bell's beers I have tried so far. Where did you find the Cherry Stout? I haven't seen that one anywhere.

I haven't had 120 minute IPA, but there's nothing like a 36 proof brew to warm you up.

Has anyone been to Lizardville, the Winking Lizard Whiskey Bar and beer store? Just wondered if it was worth the trip.

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I would love to try the Cherry Stout. I have enjoyed all the Bell's beers I have tried so far. Where did you find the Cherry Stout? I haven't seen that one anywhere.

I bought it at "Doogie's Minute Mart" right in Canal Fulton. He usually has quite a decent selection for a small store in a small town (and he'll order beer for me if it's available through the distributor). I'll bring an extra to the spring game if you're heading there.

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I had Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA the other day, amazing!!! the 18% alcohol warms you right up. I need to get a few of these for tailgating on cold days.

Where did you get the 120 minute IPA? I've been wanting to try it but have never seen it anywhere.

Just picked up some Oberon. Probably my favorite Bell's of what I have tried from them. Tough to beat for a flavorful summer beer.

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Where did you get the 120 minute IPA? I've been wanting to try it but have never seen it anywhere.

Just picked up some Oberon. Probably my favorite Bell's of what I have tried from them. Tough to beat for a flavorful summer beer.

A client from Florida helped me get my hands on one

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  • 3 weeks later...

Although I hated to miss the spring game, I had a really nice beer trek while on vacation in Florida.

First place I went was Total Wine and they had an unbelieveable selection of singles, which I promptly made 3 sixers from. I was a little disappointed there weren't more Florida brews available, but there were quite a few labels I have never seen in Ohio, so it was nice. This store is huge. Picture a supermarket full of wine and beer, ONLY. Pretty cool.

The second place I was lucky enough to visit was Mr. Beery's "a craft beer bar". I took advantage of the Monday Happy Hour Special. 3-8 P.M. All you can drink unlimited drafts for 10 bucks. Amazing!

The third place was World of Beer. I wish I could have spent more time here, as it was a great experience. The bartenders are more like your own personal beer consultants. They ask a lot of questions and make suggestions. They advertised over 500 kinds of bottled beer. I didn't count them, but they did have a lot.

I also got to sample some other various treats at restaurants, but these were the big 3 experiences.

Now for the list from worst to first...(with the beer advocate links if any sound interesting)

"Would not try again."

Holy Mackerel Mack in Black

Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA

Blue Point Blueberry Ale

Leavenworth Boulder Bend Dunkelweizen

Full Sail Session Black Lager

Fort Collins Chocolate Stout

Ballast Point Barmy Ale

Brooklyn Mary's Maple Porter

"Solid. Would have another."

Spaten Dunkel

Anchor Bock

Ballast Point Reef Rye Brown

Red Brick Laughing Skull Amber

Clown Shoes Lubrication American Black Ale

Belfast Bay McGovern's Oatmeal Stout

Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale

Bell's Hell Hath No Fury Dubbel

Kona Koko Brown

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Mad River Serious Madness Black Ale

St. Peter's Cream Stout

Cigar City Cubano Style Expresso Brown

Ipswich Original Ale

Coronado Idiot IPA

Highland Black Mocha Stout

Cigar City Ligero Black Lager

Blue Point Hoptical Illusion IPA

Terrapin Hopsecutioner IPA

Oskar Blues Old Chub Scotch Ale

Terrapin Moo-Hoo Milk Stout

"Deeeeeeeee-licious!"

Red Brick Porter

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

Cigar City Jai Alai IPA

Cigar City Maduro Brown

I am sure some of these may be available in Ohio, but all were new tries for me.

Cigar City is in Tampa and was the most widely available craft beer where I was in Sarasota.

I was told to avoid the Sarasota Brewing pub, so I skipped that.

The one thing I was looking the most forward to finding was The Funky Buddah's Maple Bacon Porter, but they didn't distribute to the Gulf Coast. :(

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Although I hated to miss the spring game, I had a really nice beer trek while on vacation in Florida.

First place I went was Total Wine and they had an unbelieveable selection of singles, which I promptly made 3 sixers from. I was a little disappointed there weren't more Florida brews available, but there were quite a few labels I have never seen in Ohio, so it was nice. This store is huge. Picture a supermarket full of wine and beer, ONLY. Pretty cool.

The second place I was lucky enough to visit was Mr. Beery's "a craft beer bar". I took advantage of the Monday Happy Hour Special. 3-8 P.M. All you can drink unlimited drafts for 10 bucks. Amazing!

The third place was World of Beer. I wish I could have spent more time here, as it was a great experience. The bartenders are more like your own personal beer consultants. They ask a lot of questions and make suggestions. They advertised over 500 kinds of bottled beer. I didn't count them, but they did have a lot.

I also got to sample some other various treats at restaurants, but these were the big 3 experiences.

Now for the list from worst to first...(with the beer advocate links if any sound interesting)

This is simply outstanding field research, Keener! I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for a few of these.

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