It’s one thing to drink a really great IPA. It’s quite another to drink one that’s been aged in oak barrels. And I had the pleasure of savoring two of them recently, including one from a certain well known Tampa brewery. Great Divide Rumble (Great Divide Brewing Co.; Denver, CO; India Pale Ale; ABV: 7.1) [...]
Several weeks ago I wrote a post about Oskar Blues G’Knight, an imperial red ale crafted to honor Colorado firefighter and brewer Gordon Knight. One of the breweries that he helped found, back in the 1990s, was Twisted Pine. At Growlers Welcome Back Throwdown last night, I saw that a porter from the Boulder brewery [...]
Anne and I took a ride on Saturday and decided to check out The Brew Garden in Clearwater. Across from Ruth Eckerd Hall, this brewpub features over 30 beers on tap, dozens more in bottles, and a nice bar menu offering everything from an antipasto plate to sandwiches. I ordered a Southern Tier Creme Brulee [...]
Last Friday the stock market closed down for the fourth consecutive week. Jobless claims are up, there was rioting in the UK, and it’s getting to the point where I just can’t watch the news anymore. Just when you think that things can’t get any worse, they can. In this case, however, it’s a good [...]
The Colossus of Rhodes is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. And an American strong ale from the Baltimore area brewery DuClaw is a wonder of the extreme beer world. DuClaw Colossus (DuClaw Brewing Co.; Bel Air, MD; American Strong Ale; ABV: 21.0) is a beer of gigantic proportions. This dark [...]
Had a chance to try another exceptional beer from Colorado brewery Oskar Blues while having dinner at Libby’s. An Imperial red ale, it features the hoppy character of an Imperial IPA with the smoothness of an amber ale. Oskar Blues G’Knight (Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery; Lyon, CO; Imperial Red Ale; ABV: 8.7) is named [...]
We stopped by BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Pinellas Park on Sunday for dinner, and noticed that they had an abbey ale as the special on draft. Beer Advocate had it listed as retired, but BJ’s is brewing it again. I can definitely attest, after a couple of pints, that everything’s back to Normal! BJ’s [...]
It’s an annual right of passage at the beginning of February that two world renowned Imperial IPAs make their mark upon the craft beer world. The first, Russian River Pliny The Younger (Russian River Brewing Co.; Santa Rosa, CA; Imperial India Pale Ale; ABV: 11.0), has become the Holy Grail for many beer enthusiasts. While [...]
With the explosion of the craft beer industry, it seems like ales and lagers are giving wine a run for its money as the drink of choice. In fact, many breweries have started to age their ales in oak barrels which give them a distinct wine like character. This “crossover” is producing beers that appeal [...]