Beer Review: Lil Sister

Reviewing the Lil Sister, a soured pale ale collaboration from Goose Island Beer Company and DryHop Brewers out of Chicago, Illinois.

Score: 95

Tap pour served in a Goose Island branded plastic cup and enjoyed on 05/18/14. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a murky yellow-orange color that fades to yellow at the upper edges. Served with a thin layer of head that quickly settles to a ring around the glass. Solid lacing and retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Apricot jam, strawberry bubblegum, lemon and sweet corn on the cob. Lovely ripe fruitiness. Hint of basil. There was no fruit added to the mash or the barrels according to the brewer. Incredibly appealing, well-integrated nose. 5/5

Taste: Starts and finishes with sweet corn on the cob flavor. Lemon zestiness, hint of apricot, yeast, and a kiss of fruit in the middle. Nice sweet and sour mix, though not quite as good as nose led on. This beer is super juicy/refreshing and crazy crushable. Quite flavorful for a 3.8% ABV brew! 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Incredibly juicy mouthfeel, good carbonation for the style. Lightly tart and sweet. Crushable and refreshing. 4.5/5

Overall: Insanely crushable and refreshing. Intensely flavorful for a low ABV brew. One of the best beers and biggest surprises of the Goose Island Barrel Warehouse Event. This was easily the best sour there, and one of the best beers on tap.

Cost: $4 for a 13 oz draft pour at Dry Hop.

Beer Review: Barrel Aged Sump (Rwandan Coffee Version)

Reviewing the Barrel Aged Sump (Rwandan Coffee Version) from Perennial Artisan Ales out of St. Louis, Missouri. This barrel aged variant of their Sump coffee stout uses the Kyoto brewing method to make a cold brew using Sump's Rwanda Rulindo coffee beans.

Score: 92

Tap pour bottle served in a Perennial taster glass and enjoyed on 05/13/14 at the Fuzzy release.

Appearance: Pours a dark syrup color with a thin layer of head. Minimal lacing or retention, but nice oily legs and browning from the swirl. 4/5

Smell: Chocolate, coffee, and a bit of that green pepper/jalepeno pepper aroma a la Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout 2013 with a few months of age on it. Very light roast. No barrel character 3.5/5

Taste: Dark chocolate, light roast and residual coffee. A little burnt character and brown sugar too. Lingering brown sugar and dark chocolate. Really nice, bittersweet balance. No pepper from the nose in the taste. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied, nice carbonation. Oily/creamy mouthfeel, mildly dry finish. Nice balance. 4.25/5

Overall: A tasty upgrade from regular Barrel Aged Sump flavor-wise, but where is the barrel character?

Cost: $25 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Fuzzy

Reviewing Fuzzy from Side Project Brewing out of St. Louis, Missouri.

Score: 97
2014 vintage bottle served in a stemmed Side Project bulb and enjoyed on 05/17/14. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a translucent golden color with a half finger of white head that settles to a nice almost full coating layer. Excellent lacing and retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Peach, peach, peach, peach and more peach. A little must and vinegar too. Smells like the lastest batch of Duck Duck Gooze with a truckload of peaches added. 4.75/5

Taste: Tart peaches, vinegar and a light mustiness. Long lasting sour peach flavor. Lively on the gums from the tartness. A kiss of spritzy, tannic oak. Really simple, but really delicious. A bit of mineral water-like robustness to the taste, a la Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen. This beer tastes an awful lot like Duck Duck Gooze heavily spiked with peaches. Having drank a few pours that day, we found that the dregs of this beer was the key to its greatness. Make sure that you either aggravate the sediment in the bottle before pouring or grab one of the last pours from the bottle (if sharing). 5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, spot on carbonation for the flavor profile. Juicy mouthfeel, dry finish. Quite tart. Acidic, but not stomach ache inducingly so. 4.75/5

Overall: One thing I absolutely love about this beer is how sour and peach-forward on the flavor it is. Many peach-forward sours are lightly tart and delicate/soft on the palate, where as this one is bold, tart and long lasting flavor-wise. While not as good as Very Sour Blackberry or Blueberry Flanders in my opinion, this is one of the better American-made sours out there, on par with the likes of West Ashley. Seek this one out with confidence, and make sure to savor the dregs.

Cost: $15 for a 375 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Double Scoop Neapolitan Ice Cream Stout

Reviewing the Double Scoop Neapolitan Ice Cream Stout from 3 Sons Brewing Company out of Davie, Florida. Big thanks to Lucho and 3 Sons Brewing Company for sending me a hand bottled 22 oz bottle to sample, share and review.

Score: 91

2014 vintage bottle from the batch that was put on tap at Hunahpu's Day 2014. Served in a 7venth Sun snifter and enjoyed on 04/19/14 at the Fuzzy release. Review is from iPhone notes

Appearance: Pours a blackish body with a half finger of tan head that settles to a nice thin layer. Awesome lacing and retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Strawberry ice cream, vanilla and muted chocolate.  A bit fizzy on the nose, like a soda. Hint of candy drop sweetness too. Really nice! Smells just like its namesake. 4.25/5

Taste: Crisp, fizzy strawberry upfront followed by bitter chocolate, coffee and a little vanilla. Ample chocolate, relative to the nose. Nice underlying bitterness. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Light-plus bodied, high carbonation. Lovely coffee and bitterness for balance, but over carbonated. 2.75/5

Overall: Smells and tastes just like you would expect a Neapolitan ice cream stout to taste like, but with more strawberry on the nose and less vanilla on the taste. The carbonation and viscosity could use a bit of tinkering in my opinion, but this beer has the seeds of greatness.

Cost: Unknown (gift/sample).

Beer Review: Meridian IPA (infused with Mangoes and Chiles)

Reviewing the Meridian IPA (infused with Mangoes and Chiles) from the Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago, Illinois.

Score: 92

Tap pour served in a mini nonic pint glass and enjoyed on 05/13/14.

Appearance: Pours a clean golden amber color with three fingers of white head that settle to a thick layer. Really good lacing, but below average retention. 4.25/5

Smell: Huge mango forward tropical fruit with a kiss of grassy hops. Simple, but effective IPA. No chili peppers. 4.25/5

Taste: Tastes just like the nose. Mango-forward tropical fruit hoppiness with a slight herbaceous/floral character. No pepper flavor or spiciness. Tasty and juicy, quite refreshing. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Thin bodied, good carbonation. Super juicy mouthfeel with a nice fruity sweetness and light hop bite. 4.25/5

Overall: A really nice IPA from Goose Island. Tastes a lot like the regular Meridian, but more Mango-forward. No chili, though.

Cost: Unknown (pour included in ticket price).

Beer Review: War Mullet

Reviewing the War Mullet from Three Floyds Brewing Company out of Munster, Indiana.

Score: 96

Tap pour from the source, served in a footed beer glass and enjoyed on 04/12/14. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a translucent tangerine yellow color with a thin layer of white head that settles to a foggy cap. Crazy lacing and retention. 5/5

Smell: The aroma is an orange/tangerine/grapefruit-forward citrus explosion, with a resiny fruity hop character and touch of earthiness. Absolutely awesome. 4.5/5

Taste: Juicy and bitter fruit and citrus flavors -- grapefruit and orange, with an earthy bitterness. Lingering earthy hop and orange rind flavors. Not an overly intense nor scorchingly bitter palate wrecker. Starts off with a nicely sharp bitterness that quickly mellows, but lingers. Has a nice underlying sweetness with a little fruity mustiness. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, low carbonation. Bitter with an underlying sweet juicy maltiness with lingering fruit character. Oily on the tongue. 4.5/5

Overall: Another home run hoppy beer from one of the midwest masters of hops. Seek this one out with confidence.

Cost: $5 for a 10 oz pour.

Beer Review: Nutulhu

Reviewing the Nutulhu from the Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago, Illinois. This beer is Cthulhu with toasted hazelnuts and vanilla beans.

Score: 94

Tap pour served in mini-nonic Stoutfest 2014 pint glass. Review is a hybrid of notes taken on  03/29/14 (Stoutfest) and 05/13/14 (Goose Island's 26th Anniversary Party). Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Cola syrup color. Minimal head, no lacing. Oily legs, nice browning. 4/5

Smell: Hazelnut, syrup, peanut butter and chocolate. A hint of vanilla, ample fudginess as it warms. A kiss of alcohol, but no real bourbon character here. Lots of peanut butter and fudge and hazelnut. 4.25/5

Taste: Tastes like a hazelnut Reese's Peanut Buttercup. Fudgey chocolate, peanut butter and hazelnut, all in a big, lasting way. Faint booziness. No vanilla. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied, low carbonation. Oily mouthfeel, dry finish. Sweet, but not cloying. A little boozy on the finish. 3.75/5

Overall: A really nice brew that could use a little more body. This is a hazelnut-infused Reese's Peanut Buttercup in a glass.

Cost: Unknown (both events had the pours included as part of the ticket price).

Beer Review: Samuel Adams Millennium (MMM)

Reviewing the infamous Millennium (MMM) from the Boston Beer Company out of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

Score: 88

1999 vintage bottle. Forgot to write down the bottle number (out of 3,000). Served in a snifter and enjoyed on 04/25/14. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: The cork fell apart while opening the bottle and had to be pushed into the bottle to be opened. Bits of the cork were strained as poured. The beer pours a murky brown color with lots of fade and sediment floating. Not quite sure what mix of the sediment is old/dead yeast or cork residuals. No head off the pour. No legs or lacing. 3/5

Smell: Fiery, fusel alcohol followed by dark fruit, caramel, leather and wood. Kiss of vanilla too. Super boozy and alcohol forward, but behind that is a nice and big strong ale with some positive/fruity oxidation and sherry. 4/5

Taste: Fruity oxidation, leather, and a little green pepper towards the finish. Lots of caramel flavor, with a touch of vanilla that is extraordinarily muted side by side with Utopias 10th Anniversary. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Viscous and full bodied, virtually no carbonation. Drinks like an oily spirit. Sweet-leaning. 3.75/5

Overall: A good, not great beer. Utopias was better. This 15 year old beer is probably past its prime.

Cost: $900 for a 750 ml bottle

Beer Review: Southampton Uberliner

Reviewing the Southampton Uberliner from the Southampton Publick House out of Southampton, New York.

Score: 84

"2011" vintage bottle (from the January 2012 release). Bottle #158/450. Served in a snifter and enjoyed on 04/25/14. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a clean golden honey color with a thin layer of white fuzzy head that almost totally settles. Poor lacing and retention. 3.5

Smell: Wheat grain, light honey, and wet mustiness. Very simplistic. 4/5

Taste: Wheat mixed with slightly musty/old white grape juice flavor. Light saltiness. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, okay carb. Juicy mouthfeel. Light sourness, more saltiness. No "bite." 3.25/5

Overall: Was not a fan of this beer, though others at the tasting enjoyed it more than me. No one really loved this one, however. Definitely not a beer I would recommend chasing after.

Cost: $15 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.

Beer Review: Southampton Black Raspberry Lambic

Reviewing the infamous Southampton Black Raspberry Lambic from the Southampton Publick House out of Southampton, New York.

Score: 98

2012 vintage bottle served in a snifter and enjoyed on 04/25/14. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a murky, brownish dark raspberry color. Minimal head off the pour. Minimal lacing and retention. Nice color, however. 4.5/5

Smell: Lightly musty raspberry jam with a kiss of lacto. Simplistic, but effective and appetizing. 4.75/5

Taste: Tart and dry raspberry jam with a kiss of lacto, just like the nose. Has a high quality mineral water character to it a la Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen sours. Lasting raspberry finish. Really nice. 5/5

Mouthfeel: Light-plus bodied, great carbonation. Very dry finish. 5/5

Overall: A superior American wild ale on par with the likes of New Glarus R&D Very Sour Blackberry and Perennial Blueberry Flanders. Definitely a top three overall beer at our pre-Dark Lord Day 2014 whales tasting, which featured many heavy hitters. This beer is a perfect example of how sometimes less can be more.

Cost: $15 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Don Quijote (2008 Vintage)

Reviewing the infamous Don Quijote from Brasserie Cantillon out of Belgium. This grape lambic was brewed exclusively for the Goblin Pub in Italy.

Score: 98

2008 vintage bottle served in an Iris balloon glass and enjoyed on 04/25/14. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a lovely pinkish-brownish-orange color with gorgeous fade towards the edges. No head off the pour. No lacing or retention. Real nice color, however. 4.5/5

Smell: Bold and distinctive Kedeem Kosher-for-Passover concord grape juice mixed with a lovely and bright tropical fruitiness and a light oakiness. Hint of vinegar too. I really dig the sour tropical fruit-spiked grape juice nose here. No funkiness. 5/5

Taste: Less complex and bold than the nose, but nonetheless tasty. Upfront is a relatively mellowed grape juice flavor that does not come across as sugary-sweet as it did in the aroma. Good tartness upfront too. Muted fruitiness towards the finish, with a lasting sourness. The grape flavor is somewhat crisp, with the linger being more of the lemon, hint of mango and mineral water character typical of Cantillon. This beer is quite lovely tasting, but the taste is not quite the fruity Kedeem grape juice bomb that the nose is. No real funk, save for a hint of such towards the finish. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Super juicy mouthfeel with a lightly dry finish. Lovely tartness that is not too subtle nor too intense, and a marvelously balanced acidity. 5/5

Overall: Supremely well-balanced and pleasantly fruity with minimal, if any, funk. This is one of the few whales out there that lives up to its mythos. While not cheap, it was certainly worth the once-in-a-lifetime tick. My only regret is that there was not more in the bottle to sip and savor.

Cost: $900 for a 375 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Barrel Aged Fantastic Voyage

Reviewing the Barrel Aged Fantastic Voyage from Perennial Artisan Ales out of St. Louis, Missouri. This bourbon barrel aged coconut milk stout is a blend of Knob Creek 9 year and Blanton's barrels, using the first (i.e., the uninfected) commercial batch of Fantastic Voyage as the base beer.

Score: 94

January 2014 vintage bottle served in a Mikkeller tulip taster and enjoyed on 05/10/14. Thank you Jim for the chance to sample this one.

Appearance: Pours an inky black color with a thin layer of tan head that settles to a ring around the glass. Good lacing and retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Coconut milk, chocolate and light vanilla. Primarily coconut, and amply so, but not quite the utter smack-you-across-the-face-with-coconut coconut bomb that the good bottles of Proprietor's Bourbon County Brand Stout were. Not super complex, but well integrated and appetizing. 4.5/5

Taste: Creamy coconut/coconut milk and milk chocolate, with a splash of whiskey flavor to the finish. Nice lasting flavors. The barrel is very subtle here, adding a nice complexity rather than taking the center stage. Not complex, but again, well done and tasty. Very similar to the nose, but with more barrel character apparent. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-ish bodied. A bit over carbonated straight out of the bottle, but that breathes out with some patience and swirling. Creamy mouthfeel. Good balance. 4/5

Overall: Another delicious barrel aged stout release from Perennial, albeit without as much fanfare as the other. Fantastic Voyage (when not infected) is just good as Sump and 17. Seek this one out with confidence. It's pretty good and you will not be disappointed (unless you are expecting a Proprietor's clone).

Cost: $25 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Rum Barrel Aged Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout

Reviewing the Rum Barrel Aged Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout from Cigar City Brewing out of Tampa, Florida.

Score: 96

Growlered on 04/29/14. Served in a Toppling Goliath snifter and enjoyed on 05/02/14. Review is from iPhone notes

Appearance: Pours an inky black color with just under a finger of brown espresso head that settles to a thick ring around the glass. Good lacing and retention with nice oily legs and major browning from swirling. Looks exactly like you would expect for the style. 5/5

Smell: Rummy dark fruit and oak, with a touch of alcohol. Light chocolate notes too, and a hint of coffee. Warms up to a lovely molasses/syrup flavor. 4.5/5

Taste: Sweet rum, raisins and fig, with dashes of syrup, oaky vanilla and licorice. Finishes with a nice bakers chocolate flavor and a little bit of coffee flavor, both of which linger nicely. As the beer warms up, the syrup and coffee flavors come through more, and the strong initial sweetness of the beer right out of the fridge mellows out. Really tasty and well integrated. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, spot on carbonation. Very viscous, syrupy mouthfeel. Quite sweet upfront on the palate, with a nice residual bitterness for balance to the finish. The sweetness mellows out as it warms up. 4.75/5

Overall: An excellent barrel treatment on an excellent imperial stout. Cannot wait for the barrel aged releases of Marshal Zhukov in bottles later this year. Seek this one out with confidence and drink it on the warmer side. Cheers!

Cost: $25 for a 32 oz growler.