Austin micro breweries 9/30/2018 to 10/4/2018

Visited 33 microbreweries in Austin, TX region. Standouts were Jester King, Lazarus, Sean Patrick in San Marcos.  Had a new style IPA, a Brut IPA, very dry, no sugar, developed in CA in April 2018.  A lot of good IPAs in Austin that ate well worth the visit. 

Breakside Brewing, Portland, OR

Irish Stout, 4.7%, dry Stout riast with coffee, Stout nose, clean coffee Stout, good beer.  

Bazooka Fave, session IPA, 4.8%, tangerine, bright orange, pineapple, good clean finish, good session IPA. 

Breakside IPA, West Coast IPA, 6.3%, slight bitter, good citrus finish, good beer. 

Wanderlust IPA, West Coast IPA, 6.2%, tropical, orange, dank(?), Different finish, okay finish but different.  Not a bright finish. 

Kids These Haze, NE Style IPA, 6.2%, orange, pineapple, sunny, optimistic, guava nose, fruity on the tongue, nice finish.  Good beer. 

Salted Caramel Stout, 7.2%, sweet Stout, chocolate, caramel, salt, dark roasted barley, dark roast nose, great taste down the middle of the tongue.  Good beer. 

Walking Man Brewing

Knuckle Dragger, IPA, 100 I, 6.5%, lots of hops, Simcoe hops, Hop lovers special, so so. 
Trespasser NE Style IPA, 50 ibu, 8.0%, mosaic, citra, El Dorado hops, dry hopped twice, brewed with oats, smoother, good IPA. 
Homo Erectus, Imperial IPA, 90 ibu, 9.0%, big pney hoppy notes, very bitter, late finish, too hoppy for me.
Cherry Stout, 35 ibu, 7.2%, oatmeal Stout with chocolate, coffee notes and very Cherry mash cherry.  Cherry nose, way cherry. 
Walking Man IPA, 64 ibu, 7.2%, pine coyrus, resin notes, NW IPA.  Nice Hop note, no bad after taste, okay but not outstanding
  

Backwood's Brewing Carson, WA

Trail Hazer IPA, 38 ibu, 6.2%, four different hops, nice citrus nose, slight Tang on the end. 
Ridge Run Stout, oatmeal Stout, 20 in, 6.5%, coffee, chocolate, roasted barley,  good Stout nose, not too roasty, good after taste, smooth good beer.
Logyard IPA, 78 ibu, 6.7%, good nose, so so after taste.  Probably would not order this again. 
Big Cedar IRA, India red ale, 50 ibu, 6.5%, hopforward design, a little sweet, blah finish. 
Imperial Maple Porter, 20 ibu, 7.0%, Maple nose and taste, good Maple Porter. 
Blueberry Sour, 20 ibu, 5.2%, blueberry nose, refreshing beer, don't taste blueberry, drinkable beer. 

Everybody's Brewing

Everybody's Brewing
The Cryo-Chronic IPA, 80 ibu, 6.9%, nice nose, cryogenic mosaic hops
On That Dust IPA, 65 ibu, 5.8%, another one using cryo hops, magic dust from beer advocate.
Country Boy IPA, 80 ibu, 6.2%, good nose, three hops, Columbus, Chinook, cascade, clean taste, good beer.e, the
Cold Press Coffee Porter, 45 ibu, 5.4%, after fermenting and aging, blended with Stoked's Bluebird cold brew coffee.  Good coffee nose, clean finish, nice hint of acidity from the coffee.
Sprinkles Hibiscus Sour Red Ale, 1.2 ibu, 4.5%, sour red ale, nose of a red ale, looks like a rose wine, or reisling grapes.
Insane Coconut Porter, 40 ibu, okay for me.
Insane Coconut Porter, 40 ibu, 9.0%, Coconut nose, sweet finish from the coconut. 
Monster Cookie Imperial Milk Stout, 85 ibu, 10%, brewed with locally made monster cookies, peanuts, cocoa nibs, rich Stout, Stout nose, good sweet milk stout, cocoa balances out the cookie. 
86 Dry Irish Stout, 42 ibu, 4.5%, Stout nose, smooth finish, good Irish Stout.  

HopCat KC grand opening 2/25/17, one stout and one porter

St. Louis Brewing Co., Scholarly Sticky Toffee Pudding, American Porter, W/molasses, vanilla beans, &  Date Puree.  Sweet porter, okay beer:. Ballast Point Brewing, Cinnamon Raisin Commodore, American Stout W/cinnamon & raisin 6.5% ABV.  Sweet with cinnamon taste, okay beer. 

Deschutes Stout Obsidian Stout

Stout 7 malts, 4 hops, smooth, they talk about espresso and dark chocolate,. 6.4%,  55 IBU, a smooth stout,

Exile Brewing, Des Moines, IA

BA imp. Stout, IPA, Brown, Coffee stout, Milk Stout

Jesus on a Forklift, BA Imperial Rye Stout, okay the nose is almost straight alcohol but the taste is good. 

Tres leches Milk Stout, 5.5%, very smooth, brewed with tres leches cakes and Whole vanilla beans.   Very very smooth. 

Exile IPA, 100% Mandarina-Bavarian hops. Very drinkable, nice nose, 6.8% abv,

Sir Moch-A-Lot Mocha Stout, 7.1% abv, good Mocha Stout, could drink a lot of this.  

Beatnik Sour, kettle sour the wort with house-cultured lactobacillus and pediococcus yeasts, puckers your palate. 

Gigi, Dark Lager, noble hops and dark chocolate malt bitterness, balanced with the sweetness of caramel and Munich malts. 

Court Avenue Brewing, Des Moines, IA

IPA, Porters, Stout, Coconut Porter

Joe Schmo, coffee,
E e
Belgium White Malty. Beer.

Honest Lawyer IPA, citrus,  67 Ibu, honest ipa
Pointer Brown, caramel chocolate notes, Glacier & Cascade hops. Smooth beer.

Blackhawk Stout, oatmeal stout, good dark stout, coffee notes, dark chocolate note, dark side to the flavor, I like this one not a Guinness. 

18th Amendment, rye pale ale, smooth, 5% abv,

Mooncat, porter, with toasted coconut. Smooth porter, not heavy. 

Mountain Porter, dark malts, Raisins, different finish from the Mooncat, good drink.

Reunion Brewery, multiple beers,

Electric Banshee, American Stout, roasted and chocolate malts, Simcoe hops, slightly different finish still good
El Gigante Rojo, American Red Ale, English base malts W/ Belgium caramel malt, oats and wheat. 

Reunion IPA, their standard ipa, nice clean finish. Good citrus flavor, nice finish. 

Tank Puncher IPA. 7.3% abv, citrus nose, good citrus back taste.  Very drinkable.  

Iowa Brew House Des Moines, IA

First stop on the trip and tasted the following:
Exile Brewing, Sir Much a Lot, coffee stout, good beer
Fox Brewing, Frantic Fox Coffee stout, similar to first one
Kalona Brewing, UBU BA stout, really good bourbon barrel aged stout, very drinkable, would order anywhere on tap. 
Lion Brewing, Disaster porter, medium ranking.  Would not necessarily order. 

SmokesGiving brews tasted

We tried several new brews provided by one of our favorite people, Jamie brought tidings from afar:
1.  Toppling Goliath, Rover Truck, Oatmeal Stout, Loved the comment, Live beer, please refrigerate on the 16 ounce can.  Very mellow and drinkable stout, very very good stout.   On line, shows 5.7% and 35 IBU, like the 35 IBU, not bitter.   Everyone here liked this one.
2.  Toppling Goliath, PseudoSue, pale ale, description tells of mango, using the Citra hop.   5.8%, 50 IBU, not bitter, very citrus and a drinkable beer.  Would order and buy any time we can find it.  
3.  Topling Goliath, Tsunami, pale ale, difference here is the slight mandarin orange last, still light and refreshing, 5.0%, 31 IBU, no bitter after taste, again all enjoyed this one.  Really good beer.
4.  Exile Brewery, Ruthie, gold lager, 5.2%, very refreshing, drinkable, and not overpowering.   Would order if on tap.
5.  Exile Brewery, Sir-Moch-A-Lot, Mocha Stout, chocolate in light notes, more than the TG above, 7.1%, reminders of some of the stouts we had in MI on our last trip.  Good, beer for all of us stout drinkers.  

Silver Harbor Brewing Co., St. Joseph, MI

One More Week, Double Indian Red Ale, 8.6%, supposed to be hoppy and bitter, it is bitter, good taste though.

Party Barge, session IPA, 4.9%.,two body and four bitter, good flavor, virus nose. Very drinkable. 

BBA Bride Order Male, 11.1%, barrel aged, six months,  Russian imperial Stout, Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels, complex blend of 8 malts, bourbon nose. Good drinkable beer. 

Hops Sweat and Tears. IPA, 6.8%, Since and Warrior hops, citrus and piney. Two body four bitterness, good citrus nose, fresh taste and finish, good IPA. 

Sun Rise Breakfast Stout, ,6.3%, oatmeal stout. Uses Ferris Coffee Kona beans, chocolate and coffee undertones, coffee nose, smooth coffee taste, not bitter, very good, would buy this one. 

White Flame Brewing, Hudsonville, MI

Many various brews with exciting names, Sugar, Sex, Magik, Pale Otter Porter,

We are trying five although Sex is a Barrel Aged Black Rye with Chipoltle peppers.

Red Shoes, is a pale ale, 5.2%, 35 ibu, with habanero peppers, a little heat in the nose, some on the tongue, a specialty beer.  variant of a pale ale.

Magik, barrel aged double IPA, 10%, has the liquor taste from the barrel, okay.   Whiskey/bourbon taste.

Doomsday, imperial stout with coffee, 11%, coffee nose, heavy coffee taste, good stout.

Black Sheep, black ipa, 8%, 85 ibu,  big rich flavor, bitterness of an IPA, dark color, rich flavor, okay for a black ipa.

Pale Otter Porter, 5%, 43 ibu, rich robust porter, smooth porter, very good, drinkable.  

Sex, Barrel aged black rye w/chipotle peppers, 7 %, whikey nose, the pepper sneaks up on you.  the whiskey does have a little power.

Dutch Girl Brewery

Trees, Double IPA, 8.0%, 75 ibu, not really there for an ipa.  not really there with the citrus we have come to like for an IPA.

Chester's Copper Pot, Harvest Ale, 7.6 %, 50 ibu, not as good as Barn Brewers, a little bit of he wet hops from Michigan.

Dirty Boots, Imperial Milk Stout, 8.6%, 50 ibu, tastes strong, like they talk about, seven types of grains, milk sugar (lactose)

Barrel Aged Dirty Boots imperial milk stout, aged 120 days in a bourbon barrel.   8.6%, 50 ibus, bourbon on the nose.   you taste the booze on the back side.

beers that the locals drink.  

Old Boys Brewhouse, Silver Lake, MI

Old Boys Brown, 5.5%, 25 ibu, combo of caramel, victory and chocolate malts, to give it a toasted, nutty flavor, brown ale,

Kennel King, Imperial ipa, hops, hops, and more hops, Michigan grown cascade and chinook hops along with warrior, jarrylo, and columbus added during the kettle boil, and even more are dry hopped,hops are a little overpowering, maybe too much.,  9.2%, 100 ibu.  the 100 ibu does not give a bitter taste to the beer.   

Dogtail, exclusive Michigan grown hops for this IPA, 6.4%, 60 ibus, no citrus nose, no citrus taste, it needs some citrus to be an IPA for me.   

Leviathan Stout, 8.8%, 4 hour long boil, has kettle caramelization, hints of coffee, rasisins, toffee, choco, with a dose of english and us hops for some bittterness.  

Our Brewing Co, Holland, MI

Sasquatch on Coffee, 10%, 30 ibu, double milk stout, nice coffee nose, nice coffee taste, smooth, would order anywhere,

Samba IPA< 7 % 75 ibu, nice nose, nice finish, citrusy, smooth in the mouth even witth the 75 ibu.

Coconut Porter, 6 %, 36 ibu, dark color, dry, taste the coconut, not overpowering.   coconut lasts for a while after you are done.  very good.

Foreign Market, English Pale ale, with fenugreek (tasted maple sysrup or celery salt), 6.8%, 20 ibu, Fran smells the maple syrup, I smell the maple syrup, i get the celery salt at the back of the tongue.  Very good beer, slightly different than others.  

Amarillo Grandpa D's Lager, 5%, 20 ibu, amarillo hops, wet hopped at the end of the brewing to get less of the bitter from the hops.   Just a lager, low alcohol, its a better version of a Bud or Miller.  

I Saw Red, cherry cream ale, 5.2%, 20 ibu, cherry nose, like a cherry lollipop to me, maybe a tart cherry lollipop (Ann),  Fran says cherry cider, Ron possibly sees it as cherry cough syrup, not that medicinal to me.  

Arcadia Ales, Kalamazoo, MI

Mango Surprise, IPA, brewed with mango, dry and sweet, tropical fruit flavors, bright juicy hops, 6.7 % abv average with the Mango.

Sky Cheetah, 7.6%, farmhouse ale, fruity nose, neutral taste, some bitter on the back of the tongue.

Battle kriek, sour ale brewed with 4 barrel aged beers, 7.4%, American wild ale, 1200 pounds of Michigan cherries.  sour nose, blended beers to get the final result.

Hop Mouth, 8.1%, double IPA, resinous, citrus and piney hop flavor, with rich toasty, sweet caramel notes.   Piney nose, a little bitter on the tongue.  Refreshing on the tongue.

Shipwreck Porter, 12.0% barrel aged porter, second use bourbon  barrels, aged one year.   bourbon nose, good finish.   caramel taste by fran.

Something Else, 7.5%, cloves on the nose, spicy, sour beer, kettle soured, add yogurt to the kettle to sour the beer.

Arcadia Ales, Kalamazoo, MI

Mango Surprise, IPA, brewed with mango, dry and sweet, tropical fruit flavors, bright juicy hops, 6.7 % abv average with the Mango.

Sky Cheetah, 7.6%, farmhouse ale, fruity nose, neutral taste, some bitter on the back of the tongue.

Battle kriek, sour ale brewed with 4 barrel aged beers, 7.4%, American wild ale, 1200 pounds of Michigan cherries.  sour nose, blended beers to get the final result.

Hop Mouth, 8.1%, double IPA, resinous, citrus and piney hop flavor, with rich toasty, sweet caramel notes.   Piney nose, a little bitter on the tongue.  Refreshing on the tongue.

Shipwreck Porter, 12.0% barrel aged porter, second use bourbon  barrels, aged one year.   bourbon nose, good finish.   caramel taste by fran.

Something Else, 7.5%, cloves on the nose, spicy, sour beer, kettle soured, add yogurt to the kettle to sour the beer.  

Bell's Brewery Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo

Smoked Stout, 6.0%, wood smoke and dark chocolate malt notes.   nose is smoky, like smoking ribs smell on our clothes, smoke taste in the mouth, good beer.  

Kalamazoo Stout, 6%, roasty coffee and dark chocolate notes.   good stout, dark chocolate

Uberon, strong brewed Oberon, wheat ale, bourbon barrel aged, 9.7%  ABV, bourbon nose, with some sweet in the back on the nose, whiskey taste on the back of the tongue.   It comes out very seldom, released on  10/9/16.  We were here at the right time to taste Uberon.  

Oracle IPA, 10%, strong, bitter, high abu not bad, not good.

Razzberry Wild One, sour beer, Ann, Fran like this one.   definitely a sour beer.