The Brew Site
Welcome to Theme Week for April 2010! For this week I decided to focus on the (somewhat disputed) new beer style of Cascadian Dark Ale—although if you find that name confusing, then it’s entirely possible you’ve heard the alternative name of Black IPA, or even India Black Ale. And if … Continue reading
I suppose you can’t talk “Big Beers” without mentioning (at least in passing!) Belgium. In this case, it’s a Christmas beer: Noël Des Géants from Brasserie Des Géants in Wallonia, the French speaking half of Belgium; I picked it up shortly after Christmas without knowing much about it (but it … Continue reading
Widmer‘s 84/09 Double Alt was actually a beer that showed up last summer to celebrate their 25th anniversary—but I missed it the first time around somehow. Fortunately the Brew Shop here in Bend still has a few bottles, so I snapped one up. 84/09 is basically a double-strength version of … Continue reading
Imperial Stout is one of those styles you would never expect to see come from a can, yet Oskar Blues Brewing is doing just that with their Ten Fidy, a burly motor oil of a stout that’s 10.5% alcohol. Oskar Blues is of course most famous for being the first … Continue reading
You almost can’t think “Big Beer” anymore without Stone Brewing coming up somehow. Most of their beers would easily qualify for a Big Beer Week review, so how do you go bigger? Select one of their collaboration beers, of course! These are “big” not only in a strength and style … Continue reading
Though every year Deschutes Brewery brews a draft-only version of their Super Jubel—a double-strength Jubelale—only twice have they bottled this beer: once in 2000, and now again in 2010. (Respectively known as Jubel 2000 and Jubel 2010.) This time around this Jubel 2010 “Once a Decade Ale” is bottled in … Continue reading
Let’s start off our Big Beer Week reviews with a classic: Anchor Old Foghorn, the venerable Barleywine from one of America’s oldest craft breweries. Barleywine is one of my favorite styles of beer, and Anchor has been producing their Old Foghorn since 1975—I wrote “classic” above, and to my mind … Continue reading
February is a short month, which is why Theme Week almost slipped away from me—but not to worry! I do have a plan! Something about February always says “big beer” for me (like when I hosted The Session back in 2008 and declared it Barleywine season): perhaps it’s the depths … Continue reading
Even though they call it “Golden Ale,” Terrapin Beer‘s Golden Ale does in fact fit the Cream Ale style bill—and the ratings sites both classify it as such. Intrigued, I contacted Terrapin to find out if they would provide a sample for review; they generously sent two bottles to me. … Continue reading
The most-rated beer for the Cream Ale category on both BeerAdvocate and RateBeer comes from Wisconsin, specifically the town of New Glarus: Spotted Cow, from (fittingly enough) New Glarus Brewing. As it happens, it may also be Wisconsin’s best-known beer—it’s certainly the flagship beer for the brewery. At 4.8% alcohol … Continue reading