Dennis and Jen: Chicagoland Beer Reviews

17Aug/100

back from the dead

Decided to bring back the beer website. Hopefully after baby #3 we will manage to avoid getting Jen pregnant again and get back on the reviews.

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13Feb/080

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.
With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.
With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.
If you had purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $49.00 left.
But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, You would have had $214.00.
Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.
It's called the 401-Keg

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3Feb/080

Mendocino: Talon Barleywine

Name: Mendocino: Talon Barley wine
Brewed In: Saratoga Springs, NY
Type / ABV: Barley wine / 10.5%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $4.49
Dennis: There are so many good things about this beer, but I'm just not convinced they all fall under the category of Barley wine. The malts are just so sweet on this brew, it comes across as more of a strong doppelbock. Of course with the high alcohol you have to hide it somewhere, but a stronger hop presence would have really have helped I think. There's bitterness in the swallow, but I think it's more of the alcohol than anything. Of course, if you like malty sweet beer than this is going to be your kind of barley wine, either way really it's a good beer.
Jen: First off, let me say that this an easy to drink barley wine. However, I find this to be too sweet to be completely representative of this style. It is quite malty with lots of dark, dried fruit flavors like raisins, prunes and a little bit of dates. The high alcohol content is hidden well by the sugars, but I find this completely lacking in the hops department, almost non-exsistent. For the price though, I find it hard to not like it a little bit!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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8Jan/080

New Holland: Blue Goat

Name: New Holland: Blue Goat
Brewed In: Holland, MI
Type / ABV: Doppelbock / 7.5%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $6.99
Dennis: Very smooth malts on this one, but with a very light body...which I wasn't expecting after the first whiff. Sure the alcohol is low, and there are no hops, but his is one easy to drink beer. I don't know if it's really worthy of the "high gravity" title per say, but it's a safe bet for lovers of English brown ales (ie newcastle) if they want something a little more...well manly. They should put this in a six pack.
Jen: High gravity, not IMO. Though I find this to actually be good. At first glance, I thought this was going to be overly sweet, but it isn't. It starts with a nice malt flavor that is somewhat nutty and a little sweet. I don't really taste the hops, although I think they mute the malts slightly without giving you that hop bite. As the beer goes on, it gets slightly mundane. I agree (believe or not) with Dennis that this should be sold in 6-packs instead of bombers.
Rating: x out of 5

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1Jan/080

Boulder Beer: Mojo Risin’

Name: Boulder Beer: Mojo Risin'
Brewed In: Boulder, CO
Type / ABV: Double IPA / 10%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $5.99
Dennis: If I hadn't read the label on the side of the beer you would have never convinced me that this brew was 10%. Despite the Double IPA label, this beer comes across so balanced and tasty I just can't imagine where they hid it. Certainly not the hoppiest brew I've ever had, the malts usually come across as overly sweet, but not in this glass they don't. Thin, good malt balance, surprisingly not too many hops. A very very good way to pop some one's cherry to the Double IPA style.
Jen: I love me some DIPA, and I had high hopes for this one, only to be slightly let down. Yeah, it is a good brew, but it isn't wowing me. For a double IPA, the hops are extremely masked by the malts, which leave a slightly sour after taste in my mouth. The one thing about this brew that does wow me, is the absence of any alcohol bite, and that is a lot to say about a 10% brew. Easy to drink, and pretty decent, but not that spectacular that I was hoping for!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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10Dec/070

New Holland Pilgrim’s Dole

Name: New Holland Pilgrim's Dole
Brewed In: Holland, Michigan
Type / ABV: Wheat Wine / 10.0%
Bought at/Price: Binny's /
Dennis: This beer pours very viscously, if I had to compare it I'd say it looked more like 5w-30 oil than beer. The taste however is quite unique...I can appreciate what they are going for here with the liquid bread theme. It comes across very very malty and sweet though, with no hops to add anything to it. I think most people believe that a larger dose of hops would have helped level out the over sweetness. A good beer and worth trying, this is certainly only for the lovers of big brews.
Jen: I WAS excited about this beer, until first taste. It starts off with a smell of sweet malts with a mild yeast backbone. The first sip is so sweet, it is like eating caramel candies. It is followed by a bready, yeasty taste with a weird sour aftertaste and then you are reminded that it is 10%, not like a kick in the pants, but a gentle reminder that it isn't a sissy beer. Not a great beer, but I guess it is exactly what they were going for, which isn't my cup of tea, I mean glass of beer!
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

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28Nov/070

Southern Tier: Unearthly

Name: Southern Tier: Unearthly
Brewed In: Lakewood, New York
Type / ABV: Imperial India Pale Ale / 11.0%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $5.99
Dennis: A quote from their website "to underestimate Unearthly is to trifle with the mysteries of the universe" sheds some light on the brewers of this beer. They certainly deserve praise for not only using six hops in different ways, but also making them blend together so smoothly. This is one serious double IPA and the warning holds true, despite the 11% alcohol and the hint of it in the nose, you can barely taste it. In fact if I didn't know better I'd say it was much much lower and chug the whole bottle. Some people like hops to smack them in the face, others appreciate a subtle blend. For the latter, this is one of the best I've had.
Jen: Yes, another beer from Southern Tier. This one is quite exceptional. It smells of hops with an alcohol twist to the nose. For 11%, the flavors and alcohol aren't overwhelming. You can definitely taste the hops and really nothing else except for the alcohol finish. They use quite a variety of hops in this brew and use them in multiple ways. This enhances this brew and gives it depth. Southern Tier ROCKS!
Rating: 4.25 out of 5

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12Nov/070

Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel

Name: Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel
Brewed In: Belgium
Type / ABV: Belgian IPA-Tripel / 9%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $8.99 750ml
Dennis: One of my favorite style of beers has to be the tripel, it's a wonderful, strong, flavorful, spicy brew normally. So when we saw an IPA style Tripel I immediately started begging her to let us buy it There's a lot to underestimate with this brew. The pour is classic Belgian, small fizzy bubbles that give a huge head. Lot's of sediment from the brewing, and an abv that sneaks up on you. At first you might think the hops are understated, but as it breathes a bit the hop flavors really develop without any cheap tricks like over dry hopping. The only real issue I had was the high sediment content, but that was probably because of my poor pouring skills. As other's have said, it truly is mouthwatering.
Jen: I am not usually a fan of Belgian anythings, however this one definitely is superior to most. It has a nice body that is fizzy and smooth. It has a nice mild malty backbone, followed by a nicely balanced hop flavor. I find this to be quite easy to drink and goes down fast. I can't wait until we buy another bottle. Nough said!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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1Nov/071

Southern Tier: Pumking

Name: Southern Tier: Pumking
Brewed In: Lakewood, NY
Type / ABV: Pumpkin Ale / 9%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $5.99 22oz bomber
Dennis: The aroma on this beer is pretty astounding, I've read where people say it smells like liquid pumpkin pie, but I think it smells a lot like a gingersnap cookie. Either way it's impressive as all heck, and so is the taste. The first sip is very strong, and reminded me so much of the chai that Border's used to serve. Very spicy and very good. I'd have to say probably the best pumpkin beer so far and the 9% does not hurt at all.
Jen: I am one of "those" people that thinks it smells liquid pumpkin pie. It is tasty liquid pumpkin pie at that! It has a very strong taste to it, that is of the fall/Thanksgiving spices: nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, clove... It ends with an alcohol punch in the face, but nothing bad. It actually picks up where a lot of pumpkin flavored beers leave off. It has that exclamation point that makes you remember it. Go buy this now, as it is an experience you will not forget!
Rating: 4.25 out of 5

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20Oct/070

Uniborue: Quelque Chose

Name: Uniborue: Quelque Chose
Brewed In: Quebec, Canada
Type / ABV: Fruit Ale / 8%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $7.99 750 mL
Dennis: I really love the deep heavy aspects of this beer, it does seem to come across at times much more like a cider than an ale...perhaps they should have called it a cherry cider? It will poor flat, but somehow the carbonation will make a meager appearance throughout, which only adds to the heavy characteristic. Aside from that really all your going to get is a taste of very very ripe cherries. Know how some people say that things sometimes taste best right before they go bad? This reminds me of that.
Jen: I tend to be skeptical about fruit ales, but Unibroue's tend to take unusual flavors and just make them work. This brew pours with a nice cherry red, almost like juice, and with the very limited carbonation (almost none), you might think it was juice. The flavors are exactly what you would expect...cherries, cherries and more cherries. The first two sips are fabulous. The carbonation is more noticeable with the mouthfeel, but this bottle seems to be a little more flat than our first. You get a slight alcohol twinge at the end, but nothing that really makes your tastebuds stand up. Unfortunately, this brew turns into cough medicine after a few swigs, so drink this fast and while it is still very cold, or serve it on ice like the bottle says to do!
Rating: Earlobe