2015: The Beer In Review!

The Beer In Review

This is my yearly wrap-up for my beer-tastic blogging exploits!  I started doing this blog in 2012, initially with the intent of posting Jack Of All Brews club events.  I discovered that I enjoyed writing things up but wanted to expand into more beer and brewery reviews as well.  About 2 years ago I started to get into photography and added a few non-beer related photography and book-club posts as well--hey variety is the spice of life!  My goal has been to have at least one post a week, since blogs that update only once a month or so quickly fall to the bottom of my check-in list.  I think I've been doing fairly well on that front, averaging about 2 posts a week over the past year.

In January of this year I started a series of beer reviews called A Whale A Week.  This mainly began as a way of guaranteeing at least one blog entry a week and to make a dent in my expanding cellar of rare beers.  This has been an amazing experiment.  By inviting different friends over to share, I've not only tasted amazing beers, but have enjoyed the social aspect of the process far more than I expected.  I've had old friends, neighbors, and even had a few new friends I've met on local beer forums (Beer People on Facebook mainly) over for this series.  I still have a fairly sizeable chunk of rare beers, as well as some vertical tastings of somewhat less rare beers that I'd like to get through so I plan on continuing A Whale A Week into 2015.  Upcoming beers?  Three Floyds Dark Lord, Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise, Cascade Figaro, Big Foot vertical from 1995-2015, and many more!  If you are local and want to join me for a tasting some time, touch base!

This year we didn't take any international trips, but did get to several areas for shorter excursions.  Our biggest trip was to Asheville, NC for a week and that was a wonderful beery place to visit!  We got to plenty of breweries there for sure!  Sj and I also went to San Diego for the National Homebrewer's Conference and of course made sure to visit lots of places there.  We took a road trip for the Hoppy Halloween homebrew competition in Fargo and got to try out a slew of new places along the way. A trip to Duluth for All Pints North and another quick jaunt to Rochester rounded out the beer-visits for the year.

I started out the year making up my own weekly photography challenges, and incorporated some of these techniques into my Whale A Week posts--making sure to use a special photo for most of them. More recently I joined up with the PhotoChallenge.org weekly photo challenge to force myself to try new things. I haven't had very much comment on any of my photo's but, hey, I'm mostly doing it for myself. I'm particularly proud of some of the photos I did for my Surly Darkness series.

Now is the time I reflect and decide what some of my favorites of the year have been.  I do this a bit differently every year.  I'll post a few here, but will do a couple other lists over the next few days to spread the wealth!

Top 10 New Beers I Tried in 2015

I decided to stick with new ones since otherwise my lists would be very similar year to year.  I gave all of these beers 5's.

1) Surly Brewing Todd The Axe Man.  I have not been as happy with Abrasive the past two years, but this beer has taken it's place in my top tier!  Strong hop aroma, balanced bitterness, tropical and catty at once.  Well done!

2) Waconia Brewing Pair-A-Dice DIPA.  This is a new limited release at our local taproom, made with all New Zealand hops and boasts a tropical fruit and balanced malt character that is simply stellar.  The first time I tried this I was blown away and have had goblet after goblet of it since.

3) Pelican Mother Of All Storms.  An amazingly complex barrel aged English style barleywine.

4) Wicked Weed Red Angel.  A blended raspberry lambic from the Funkatorium.  We went back multiple times for this when in Asheville.

5) The Rare Barrel Ensorcelled.  One of the best barreled sours I've had from America.

6) Goose Island Nuthulhu.  Vanilla, hazelnuts, RIS!

7) Freehouse Infinity.  An early contender, tasted in January of 2015.  This was a perfectly balanced barrel aged RIS--the brewery's first anniversary beer.

8) Keith Brady's Chester Hopperpot.  The only homebrew on the list, this incredible IPA has won first place at MN State Fair, Best In Show at Hoppy Halloween, and just keeps getting better.  I want more commercial beers to taste this good.

9) Lift Bridge Barrel Aged Silhouette.  First tasted at The Happy Gnome Lift Bridge beer dinner, this one put the brewery back on the map for me.

10) Spring House Blood Lust Aged in Pappy Van Winkle Barrels.  Tasted at a Surly Darkness vertical, this was one of the best RIS I've had all year.

Top 10 Breweries I Visited in 2015

1) Surly Brewing (MPLS, MN)  This one is just a treat.  Say what you will about Surly, they remain one of the most challenging and unique breweries in the state.  Their new brewhouse is a thing of beauty and has some of the best food I've ever had at a brewery.

2) Wicked Weed Funkatorium (Asheville, NC) Wicked Weed's sour facility is making a huge range of American sours that is incredible.  We went back 4 times in 7 days.

3) Junkyard Brewing (Moorhead, MN) A surprise contender.  Comfortable taproom, fabulous beers.  I want to live closer.

4) Burial Brewing (Asheville, NC) Somewhat ghetto taproom, but full of character and had some of the best beers we tried in Asheville.  Skillet Doughnut Stout!

5) Ballast Point (San Diego) I've really loved most of the beers from Ballast Point since they arrived in MN, and the visit to the brewery was not a let-down.  Fantastic up-scale food (seafood focused) and a huge variety of beers to choose from.

6) Modern Times (San Diego) We enjoyed both the FlavorDome and the regular brewery.  80's and 90's retro style, house roasted coffee, and a mix of sours and regular beers.

7) Waconia Brewing (Waconia, MN) My local, so I spend more time here than many other places.  This family run business has embraced our small community, putting out stellar beers very close to home.  Their Octoberfest placed second among about 10 we tried at a homebrew club event recently (only losing to Ayinger).

8) Prairie Rose Meadery (Fargo, ND) Not my first meadery visit, but certainly my favorite.  Susan Ruud has crafted something wonderful here.

9) Castle Danger (Two Harbors, MN) This summer we visited the new taproom and I was happy to find excellent beers, with a wide open and well-lit taproom space.

10) Green Flash Cellar 3 (San Diego) Green Flash's new cellar/barrel aging facility that had opened just days prior to our visit.  Plenty of sours available and a food truck serving house (truck?) made jerky that was amazing.

For 2016 I plan to continue A Whale A Week.  We've already scheduled a week trip to Portland (oh I'll get to some good breweries there!) as well as a Disneyworld 15th anniversary trip.  I hope to continue visiting all the new taprooms in the Twin Cities area and supporting our burgeoning local beer scene.

A Whale A Week: Barrel Aged Sexual Chocolate

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Time For Grand Rounds! Grand Rounds Brew Pub

I never thought I'd be so excited to go to Grand Rounds.  As a Medical Doctor, I look back at much of my schooling with a thankfully distant sleep-deprived haze of ambiguity.  While I value the experiences and the things I learned during those years, it was punishing on the body and mind.  Nearly every week (depending on what rotation you were on) you were expected to go to Grand Rounds--usually a complicated learning case study presented in front of the other doctors.  These were usually open to the entire medical staff and required you to get in to the hospital even earlier (4-5AM) to see all those patients on the floor before making your way to the lecture hall.  On at least one occasion I had to personally present a case in front of all my resident peers, attending physicians, and more.  I'm a bit of a social-phobe, so this was quite upsetting to me.  Long story short (to late!) when I heard that Rochester, MN--the home of Mayo Clinic--had a brewery called Grand Rounds I had to try it out!

On this rainy fall day we drove into town and went straight to Grand Rounds Brewpub for an early day tasting.  The brewpub is located right downtown near a couple of other pubs and speakeasys, and across from part of the medical center.  The huge old solid building was built in 1866 (one of the oldest in Rochester) as a bank, and still retains some of its early trappings.  Entering the front door there's a host stand (empty this time of day) directly in front of you.  Entry to Tessa's Office (a super cute little upscale wine shop next door with wine on tap) is directly to the right, but was closed at this early hour.  To the left you enter into the very spacious pub area, filled with tables and chairs as well as plenty of seating along the bar.  An attractive stainless steel tap set-up behind the bar provides many different beers for tasting, and eclectic frames above the bar display the current tap-list.

Some of the fancy light fixtures are actually from the old Mayo building!  Our server on this day (Tap Room Manager Kelly Griffin) was kind enough to take us and another interested couple on a quick tour of the place as well.  The brewery itself is a 7 barrel affair using tall skinny wine fermenters nestled just behind the bar and visible through glass. Past the bar is a another large sectioned-off room for special events.  Then down some stairs into a darker low-ceilinged accessory lounge.  Beyond that was a veritable catacomb of hallways, storage, refrigeration, and even closed-off old tunnels that once led to Mayo!  This was one of the most interesting brewery tours I've been on, so thanks much for making the time for us!

Being a brewpub, Grand Rounds has food, and quite an impressive looking menu.  We got a big order of duck nachos to go with our beers and it was very good.  I imagine the rest of the food is good as well.  While sipping beers and eating our food, we also got to meet the very pleasant Tessa Leung, the Chief Operations Manager for the pub (and I'm assuming the brains behind Tessa's Office next door!)

How about the beers?  Well, I took copious notes for your reading pleasure!  We tried all the beers, 11 in all, including one infusion and one cask offering.  A huge variety for such a young brewery, and arranged with care by Kelly in best tasting order.  I'll give my quick notes and rating of 0-5.  I'll happily drink a 3, I'll search out a 4, and hoard a 5 beer.

1) KA Minnesota Kolsch--made with local honey from The Bee Shed.  I get light pear esters, honey sweetness, light sulfur nose.  Crisp with a light hopping (don't believe it is 72 IBU!)  3.5

2) 10,000 Lakes Sommerweiss--Very bright lemon, hint of esters like mild banana.  No clove phenols.  A bit of spicy wheat malt.  Hops present but in the background.  Well done. 3.75

3) CSI--Citra Session IPA--Aroma is crazy Citra cat box mixed with tropical fruit.  Fruity.  Dry.  Slightly astringent finish.  Tasty and easy to drink.  3.75

4) Grapefruit Rind Infused CSI--This has serious grapefruit aroma!  Bite-y and brisk flavor.  Actually overall a bit more mellow than the regular CSI.  Tastes like a Radler.  Still a hint of astringency on finish.  Body seems increased.  Head fades quick.  Tart.  3.5

5) Hop Bollocks Session IPA--Not much aroma.  Better body than CSI.  Pine and lemon flavors. Finish a bit astringent.  Nice overall.  3.5

6) Nelson IPA--Made with New Zealand Nelson hops 7.3% ABV, 75 IBU.  Strong aroma of grapefruit and white wine grapes.  Malty but not sweet.  Lingering grapefruit zest, muscat grape, and lemon.  4

7) VMO--Vienna, Marzen, Octoberfest.  Malt character in this is unreal!  Bisquit, bread, toastiness, with a grainy finish.  No hops.  Middle is very smooth.  Not crisp as some lagers are, but not overly sweet.   Malt more complex, flavorful, and dark than most Octoberfest beers, but this one hits right in my preferred heavier end of the style guidelines!  4.25

8) Freedom Scotch Ale--Makes me want to paint my face blue and wave around a Claymore.  Lots of dark fruit (possibly Special B malt) leading to raisin and prune flavors.  A hint of smoke, but not overwhelming.  A bit on the sweet side, but OK for style.  3.75

9) Coffee Stout--Light roast and coffee aroma, but mild.  Tastes like a dry Irish stout and is very roasty.  Pretty dry, but not astringent.  I get more coffee flavor and aroma as it warms up.  4

10) Hawii 507 Coconut Stout--on Nitro.  Very subtle coconut and vanilla in aroma, as well as flavor.  Very sweet up front.  Body creamy and mouth coating.  Vanilla accentuates the sweetness.  Yum.  4

11) Cask Coconut--More coconut aroma that regular version.  Smooth and medium body.  Less sweet than the regular as well.  Coconut flavor up.  4.5

I liked the cask coconut and the VMO the most. Sj liked the VMO and Scotch the best.  But honestly all of these beers were good to great in my book.  I'm impressed with the overall quality, especially knowing that these guys have only been open for a few months.  This was a really polished brewpub, with great customer service, very good beers, and a comfortable cool old building.  This one is highly recommended if you are in the Rochester area.  In fact, make a day trip of it and visit Forager Brewing as well!

A Whale A Week: Drinking With Cthulhu!

The story begins last year with a visit from my oldest colleague, the famed international explorer and dilettante Bryan Keehl.  Having recently returned from Tunisia via a combination of tramp steamer, rail, and motor-car, he ended up back in the States.  From a small brewery in the heart of the mob-run, flapper-ridden, cesspool of depravity that is Chicago, my good old friend brought me a rare and precious gift.  Secreting it upon his person, he risked the Untouchables and other federal excise men, as well as rival gangs, to bring me a strange and extraordinary bottle.  The brewery (now unable to legally brew during these prohibition dry years) was the first I ever frequented, back in my younger, more adventuresome days.  These days the place is run by an evil and monolithic shadow corporation intent on taking over the entire world's production of beer from its not-so-secret home in Belgium.  For years the brewery has been infiltrated by cultists following the dark arts and subverting the very fabric of the beer world from within.  Oh, but the beer is still tasty--perhaps too tasty to let a little thing like that interfere with my enjoyment of their most select brews!

Goose Island Nuthulhu

The base black and oily liquor for this is a Russian Imperial Stout called Cthulhu after H.P. Lovecraft's ancient and forgotten evil alien god that sleeps fitfully in the ocean depths.

From The Necronomicon in the words of the mad prophet Abdul Alhazred:

"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die."

This particular noxious concoction is brewed by the shadowy Cthulhu cultists at the Chicago Goose Island Brewpub with hazelnuts, vanilla, and presumably shoggoth ichor extract.  Released in just a tiny batch (400 white wax dipped and unlabeled bottles) it is much sought after by collectors of beer antiquities such as myself.

For this special tasting I took a jaunt deep into the cellar.  With flickering torch in hand I wiped away the cobwebs of ages, half-seen skitterings at the corner of my vision, chitters of unspeakable things echoing in the distance.  Past the recently bricked up portion of the darkest depths of the passage (did I hear a subtle sob and scratching from behind?) I continued to make my way.  Past a rare wine cask, at last, upon a nitre encrusted stone slab, there rested my prize.  Brushing the dusty accumulations and excretions from the bottle, I could see the white crook-necked goose emblazoned upon the solid glass.  Stoppered with thick white wax to prevent decay, the bottle felt heavy in my now somewhat shaky hands.  Moving swiftly I left behind the empty reliquary and made my way back out of the dripping and lime encrusted cellar.

At a heavy scarred wooden table, surrounded by our cabal of adventurous drinkers, I set down the precious bottle.  Brother Rob, cloaked in his customary brown robes, brandished an aged but sharp dagger to cut the protective seal.  Sir Martin provided a hand-forged and weighty iron opener suitable for releasing the liquid from it's long slumber.  Heather, Jess and Sarajo, three fine ladies, bold for their fairer sex, pushed their chalices forward to partake of this potentially dangerous tasting.  Master Hutch loomed over us, keeping guard for any untoward effects released from this mystery.

Appearance: The ancient flagon is opened and eldritch horrors are released into the world of man!

Popped like the seal on a long-closed grave, the hiss of exhalations moan from the bottle--hinting at untold riches or dangers to be had.  Decanted into our waiting cluster of bejeweled goblets and chalices, the vile and viscous inebriant slowly drains from the bottle, black as the pits, with just hints of bloody highlights at the edge of the glass.  Only a slight foam of head rises, but then slowly sinks back down into the cimmerian murk, like a submerging crocodile into the benighted and roiling Nile.

Aroma: A cautious sniff of this liquid leads to outbursts and utterations.

Eric: Strong alcohol wafts from the clear glass goblet.  Earthy coffee from the Dark Continent melds with the aroma of raw cocoa nibs.  The scent of the filbert drifts upon the nose following the sooty melange.  From the darkest jungles of South America, the seed pod of the rare vanilla orchid blossoms as this warms from the heat of my trembling and sweaty hand.
Brother Rob: Smell the hazelnut and tremble my brothers!  Roast and chocolate are strong in this.
Heather: Vanilla bean, nutmeg, and madness!
Jess: More balanced than the other beers we've sampled my friends...

Flavor: The syrupy nectar of Cthulhu tempts us with its untold ancient secrets.

Eric: Refined sugary sweetness.  Hazelnut fairly drips off the tongue, leaving a slick mouthfeel, as if an enormous slug has left behind its trail upon it. Vanilla bean accentuates the sweet taste, lingering long after the sip has finished.  Some warming of the throat hints at strong alcohol hiding behind the sweetened flavors, lurking out of sight but ready to cause dementia and chaos in the incautious drinker.  The finish continues honeyed and toothsome but not quite cloying.
Brother Rob: Lotsa, lotsa vanilla!  A bit of aspartame, this leaves a spicy feeling.  Like a creme brulee from distant France.  Not sure if I get egg yolk, or if the vanilla association leads to these notes.
Heather: Creme brulee.  And Grainnnnnnnnnnsssssss!!
Jess: Smooth...but in the the way that Nutella is smooth.  Full mouth feel.

Overall: The (quite literally) final words on this singular brew.

Eric: The sweetness of this concoction is near overwhelming, but the wild and powerful hazelnut and vanilla flavors make this stand out in my mind as one of the more unique rare beers I've tasted this year.  Better than most of its brethren.  Suitable for warming one on an interstellar journey through long aeons and the cold remoteness of space. A 5 out of 5 I say!  As I sip my final dram, I feel the world shimmer, the fragile veil between our world and...others...gives an audible rip and a vision hits me--an island in the Pacific, rising from the sea, a great octopus headed creature crouched upon its shuddering shores, fish-like eyes seeing into my shattering soul.  Ai, Cthulhu ftagn!!
Brother Rob: (Silent, in demented reverie, he scrawls out a 4.75 in thick ruby ink that can only be his own blood.)
Heather: (Heather is gone, just a number 5 left incised into the wood of the table.)
Jess: (Gibbering madly from the corner where she rocks on her heels, repeating the numerals 4.5 over and over mixed with maniacal laughter and titters.)
Sarajo: (Brandishing Sir Martin's solid opener like a mace, clutching the last few drops of Nuthulu in her glass to her chest.  She eyes my still partially full goblet with an avaricious gleam in her crazed eyes.) "My precious dessert! A 5 for me oh yes! Mine, all mine!"
Sir Martin: (Lies silently upon the floor in a shadowy pool of blood.)
Master Hutch: (Laughs with deep ringing tones, the bloody dagger clutched in one gore-spattered hand.  The one who was to watch over us has betrayed us all...this is why he did not partake of the madness inducing brew!)

Overall Score: Madness!  And a 4.85

Seriously, this was a great beer.  Thanks to Bryan for bringing this back for me.  And thanks to my bold beer adventurers for helping out with the tasting!

Eastlake Tsothoggua!

As an added bonus and to continue the Lovecraftian action, we also tasted the recently released Tsothoggua (also a Cthulhu Mythos creature out of time and space).  I had picked up this bomber bottle at Eastlake Brewery in Minneapolis the previous week.  The beer is also a Russian Imperial and aged with oak and Spanish brandy.

The beer is dark and has a smoky overly roasted (nearly burnt coffee) aroma and flavor.  Hints of dark bitter chocolate are present.  A bit astringent and thin (especially compared with the almost unbearable sweetness of Nuthulhu) but still a solid beer.  Hints of brandy are present, but the oak perhaps takes this too woody and dry.  This is my favorite beer from the brewery.

Eric: 4
Rob: 4
Sj: 3.5
Heather: 3

Overall Score:  Not as much madness!  3.625

If for some strange reason you have come to this point in your life without reading any H.P. Lovecraft prose, you should be ashamed!  I suggest Shadows Over Innsmouth, The Call of Cthulhu, The Rats in the Walls, The Outsider, and The Whisperer in Darkness as some of his best stories.  A local playwright and actor named Tim Uren has done a one man show of The Rats in the Walls for Fringe Festival in the past that was perhaps the finest horror play I've ever seen in live theater.  He hopes to remount it one more time this coming year so keep your ear out for the scratching and skitterings from between the walls...

"Hey, Nice Beaver!"-- A Beaver Island Brewing Review

A short one for today, this was our last stop on the epic Fargo road trip.  We stopped in St. Cloud on the way home for a late lunch and discovered that they had a new brewery right near where Tyrone used to live while going to school.  We just had to check it out!

Beaver Island Brewing: Dam Fine Beer

Beaver Island started up in 2015, so the paint is figuratively still wet on the place. The building has been many things over the years including an old Chrysler dealership.  The place (not surprisingly) has a northwoods theme with pine trim and even a canoe hanging down from the ceiling.  The long bar is made of reclaimed bowling alley wood and shines with a well-used luster. Behind the bar is an amazing serving station created using some old automobile parts and chrome, built around the original lubrication station from the auto dealership.  This is a fine centerpoint to the bar and seems to work great!

We arrived on Sunday, when they have limited hours mainly for growler fills from the locals before watching weekend sports.  Fabulously bearded Co-Founder Nick Barth (with a history 10 years of hospitality service and Sommelier training) was tending bar when we arrived.  A few other people were just leaving and we were happy to be able to talk with Nick about the brewery a bit.  The other Co-Founder is Matt Studer, a homebrewer for over 8 years.  Being smart about it, they decided to hire a head brewer with legitimate professional experience and found Chris Laumb for the spot. Chris was at O'Hara Brothers, McCann's, and most recently Cold Spring.  They have a 15 barrel system with 30 barrel fermenters requiring strenuous double batches to fill them.  Instead of stainless steel from China, they tapped local St. Cloud company DCI to make their custom brew system and fermenters.  It sounds like they all had a little learning curve on this, but the partnerships seems to be a good one!  They also don't stock any base malt and are doing everything with 55# sacks of grain--allowing them to do more specialty malts.  That can be more expensive, but allows them more freedom to experiment and get more character into the beers--a lot like homebrewers can do!



So while we were talking, Nick was serving us up some of the beers from the beautiful chrome plated serving station.  What did I think?  Here you go based on my Untappd notes from that time.  My personal grading scale is a 3 I'll drink, a 4 I'll seek out, and a 5 I'll hoard.

1) Ripple--a German inspired ale with German grains and Spalter hops, 4.8%:  Crisp and malty at the same time.  3.75


2) 39 Red IPA:  A good balance of continental malts and American hops.  3.75


3) Union Suit: Very strong roast and dry finish.  Very drinkable, and I can't believe it has 8.9% ABV hidden in there! 4


4) Tip-Up--brewed with Minnesota grown hops and then spruce tips late in the kettle: By far the best spruce beer I've ever had (and I've tried a few!) Well done!  Beachwood smoke up front, followed by a mellow complex malt bill, ending with a strong but balanced pine/spruce flavor that is pleasant. The overall impression is one of drinking a liquid (and alcoholic) pine campfire.  This would go really well with strongly flavored game like duck or venison. I bought a growler of it.  4.75



Frankly my expectations going into Beaver Island were a bit on the low side.  But after talking with Nick and really enjoying all of the beers they had to offer I was rather happy with our impromptu stop!  It looks like Tip-Up was their 11th beer, so these guys are really just starting out.  I like that they appear to be working smart, and seem to be doing things the right way from the start.  I also appreciate how they've re-used small and larger touches from the previous incarnations of the building to maintain some continuity.  Well worth a stop in St. Cloud!



Oh, and Nick steered us to The Pickled Loon for lunch.  The place looks like an old borderline-shady bar, but they had plenty of craft beers on tap including Tip-Up and Stone Coffee Milk Stout.  They had some fantastic food including pork belly tacos that I'd put against some of the finer restaurants in Minneapolis.  The bathrooms were a bit freaky though and might warrant an update on your vaccinations.  A fun place to stop for some tacos and beer!

A Whale A Week: The Bruery White Chocolate

This week we continue a series of rare beers that we tasted a few weeks back in my bar.  We actually started with this beer, then moved to the big bold beers.

The Bruery White Chocolate 2014

Sarajo and I were lucky enough to visit The Bruery in Placentia (not Placenta) California in Fall of 2014.  We were at Disneyland to celebrate our anniversary and made sure to take an afternoon off from animated characters and thrill rides for one of my favorite breweries in the world.  Check HERE for the blog entry on that visit.  While there we sprung the $30 each for a couple bottles of the just released and limited White Chocolate.  This is a wheat wine aged in oak barrels with vanilla beans and TCHO chocolate.  I've had high hopes about this one, especially since the bottle we tried for 2013 ended up being sour and dumped down the drain.  RateBeer gives this beer a 98 and Beer Advocate a 92.

We served this into snifters and let it warm up a bit before tasting.  The beer is 14.3 % and from 2014.  For this session we had me (BJCP judge, homebrewer, stout lover), Jim Stroner (Tin Whiskers Beer-Vangelist, craft beer geek), Dave Manley (homebrewer, learned beer geek), and Sarajo (my wife and fan of non-hoppy beers.)

Aroma: In which we get hopeful of things to come...
Eric: Fairly subtle.  Vanilla grows as it warms up.  Boozy.  Chocolate is very mild.  Hint of tartness.  Some oak tannins.  No hop aroma.
Jim: Chocolate and bourbon.
Dave: Initial wheat tart, then untoasted oak.  White chocolate.  Alcohol.

Appearance: In which we all apparently see a different beer...
Eric: Deep gold in color.  Slight haze to it.  Fine white head persists at edge of glass, but most fades quick.
Jim: Amber.  Cloudy.
Dave: Copper orange.  Slight haze.  Minimal head.

Flavor: In which Eric makes "bitter beer face!"
Eric: Tartness up front.  Wheat malt very pronounced.  Vanilla is strong and comes out once the tartness has faded from the tongue.  Boozy hot alcohol.  Chocolate is difficult to pick out.  Body fairly thin.  No hops.
Jim: White chocolate, vanilla and an unexpected souring.
Dave: Tart.  Wheat.  Boozy. Orange.

Overall: In which we all mix tears into our glasses and ceremoniously pour down the drain...
Eric: Souring.  The sourness clashes and destroys the delicate sweeter vanilla and chocolate flavors.  The sweetness is cut down by the souring and the body is dryer than expected.  Harsh booze and sourness just kills this for me.  I love intentional sours--Flanders Red and Lambics are my favorite beer styles--but this one just seems like a mistake.  Epic fail two years running from one of my top 10 breweries.  $30 I dumped down the drain.  Again.  2.75
Jim: Had potential but the sour was confusing. 2.75
Dave: Not terribly drinkable, if it was an 8 or 9% ABV it could be better.  3
Sarajo: We should have just bought another Atomic Kangaroo...2.75

Overall Score:  2.8


Photo info:  This week I tried to make my own brush with Photoshop Elements by taking a picture of a white chocolate square and scattering them over the bottle pic.  No matter what I did it was partially transparent so this didn't work quite to my liking, but hey--I tried something new!

Look At My Junk! A Junkyard Brewing Review

Recently I've made it to nearly 20 breweries and distilleries!  I'm going to chip away at them in the order we visited.  Keep in mind that I'm reviewing based purely on my (and my wife's) experience on a certain day and that your results may vary.  I tend to wait until a brewery has been open for 6-12 months before reviewing, unless my visit is above par and deserves a write up.  I try not to be a jerk but pride myself in being honest.  I've been a homebrewer for nearly 26 years, a BJCP National ranked judge, and have been to many hundreds of breweries over the years.

Junkyard Brewing Company

The winner of best brewery we visited on our recent trip from the Twin Cities to Fargo was Junkyard Brewing Company.  Hands Down.  No contest.

I had never tried a beer from Junkyard, nor had I really heard much about them prior to this trip.  Located just across the river from Fargo, ND, this little brewery is still just barely in Minnesota!  The brewery was started by Aaron and Dan Juhnke in 2012--at least on paper.  They built their own nano brewery--a 50 gallon system that was laughably small by comparison to most commercial breweries these days.  By August of 2013 they were able to put their first kegs on tap for the beer drinking public.  Then in the summer of 2014 they moved into a larger brew space and upgraded to a (still relatively small) 3 barrel brew system.  They also added a taproom to the new brewery, serving 10 taps of their beers.  They are currently having a hard time brewing enough beer to fill growlers!  Time to upgrade again?

Our visit here was on a fine fall afternoon, sun warming us as we walked from the car to the little red and white painted building.  The Junkyard dog logo was emblazoned on a small sign out front, as well as painted on the side of the building itself to the side.  Entering the door, we discovered a small and comfortable space, filled with happy and thirsty folks.  Our friend Mark Glennon, who abandoned us for Fargo about a year ago, had already arrived and was holding us a larger table.  Junkyard is one of his favorite breweries and he was eager to share it with us!

The bar is fairly small, but two servers were working hard and fast to keep everyone filled up.  The place seemed a bit like a rough timbered wood and steel NE MPLS brewery, but with a retro 80's and '90's vibe to it.  Fun versions of their beer labels were painted on the walls, giving a lighter touch to the scene.  A picture of The Terminator on the bathroom door warns "You'll be back!"  So true!

The beers were good.  Really good.  Shockingly good.  Here are my notes from Untappd and ratings from 0-5.  I'll drink a 3, seek out a 4, and hoard a 5 beer.  While they didn't have samplers, they did sell beers in half-pints and we all shared a bit so we got to try nearly all the beers between our group.  My battery was going so I didn't take notes on all of them...

1) Coachgun--IPA.  Really well balanced with some classic American hop character.  Not overly bitter or overly hoppy.  Well done! 4.25

2) Key Lime Gose--Sour with salt and Key Limes.  Wow, this beer was crazy.  Like a very tart margarita.  One of the best kettle sours I've had this year.  Or ever.  4.25

3) Skunk Ape--Pale Ale.  A good American pale ale.  Had some pine notes and wasn't too sweet.  3.75

4) Coal Miner's Daughter--Imperial Stout.  A very roasty and less viscous/sticky RIS than many recent examples.  Reminds me more of classic Old Rasputin.  Almost a smoky hint to it.  Solid.  4

5) Peanut Butter Bandit--Peanut butter stout.  The only thing I wrote was "Holy Crap!"  This is probably the best peanut butter beer I've had.  I've brewed my own.  Better than Dangerous Man.  Better than Rocket Republic.  Better than Terrapin.  4.75

6) Free Candy--Belgian Quad.  Pretty sweet but very easy to drink. This one was aged in booze barrels and had added complexity.  3.75

7) Whistle Wetter--Double IPA.  Really well balanced for the style.  4.25

So overall, every beer I had was well above average to great.  None of our group of 5 had a beer they didn't like.  With bright afternoon sun shining in through the window through our glistening beer glasses, we all talked, sipped, and relaxed in the warm glow of fantastic beer and a comfortable taproom.  This place is my personal break-out hit from our trip, and will certainly make it into the top breweries I've been too this year.  I am a bit annoyed that one can only find their beer at the taproom or in a few bars/restaurants in the Fargo area.  I think they're having a hard time brewing enough to keep even those limited accounts full, and I now know why.  These are complex, well balanced beers, made to appease the palates of the brewers--not the common denominator.  I'll be first in line at upcoming beer festivals to try their newest batches!