REVIEW: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Two brown ales in a row! Weird, I know. But I was at the store today and this bottle caught my eye. Also, I haven't taken a look at a beer from these venerable Newport, Oregon brewers since I had Santa's Private Reserve since way back in December. That is far too long. Time to remedy that with a tall glass of this 6.2% ABV 33 IBU brown ale brewed with hazelnut extract. To the beer!

REVIEW: Jackie O's Chomo-Lung-Ma

More beer from Jackie O's! This one has a pretty cool story behind it. Chomolungma is the Tibetan name for Mt. Everest. The brother of Jackie O's owner summited the unforgiving peak as part of an effort to raise money and awareness for lung cancer, hence Jackie O's unique hyphenated version of the name. But anyway, Chomo-Lung-Ma is a 6.5% ABV brown ale. Let's get to it. To the beer!

REVIEW: People's Mr. Brown

It feels like it's been a while since I've had a big malty beer. For whatever reason that's what I was craving last night. Luckily, I had this bottle hiding in the deep recesses of my refrigerator. So, let's see what Mr. Brown from People's Brewing has to offer. To the beer!

REVIEW: Muskoka Dark Ale

More Canadian beer! I was especially excited to get my hands on some beers from Muskoka Brewing. My parents get a magazine called Cottage Life that always has ads for Muskoka and I've always been drawn to their design. As you can see from that can up there it's good looking stuff. Anyway, The Dark Ale is an English Style brown ale, checks in at 15 IBUs and 5% ABV. To the beer!

REVIEW: Uinta Birthday Suit

So Yesterday was my birthday (I've taken note of each and every one of you who failed to shower me with lavish gifts. You're officially on watch.) And I thought it might be fun to do a special beer for the occasion. I was recently perusing the shelves at Jungle Jim's when I came across this bottle from Uinta. It's a beer brewed to celebrate their twentieth anniversary. I had no idea that they'd been around for that long! Shows what I know I guess. But anyway, the beer is Birthday Suit, a 7.4% ABV sour brown ale. Seems appropriate right? To the beer!

REVIEW: MadTree Gnarly Brown

I'm pretty pumped to finally be getting to some beers from the newest kid on Cincinnati's craft brewing block. I've enjoyed all of their beers on draught at various bars around town but only in the past couple of weeks have I been able to drink these beers at home. And in cans no less! I love it. And how about those cans? I'm getting a strong Entish vibe from this one. I can't imagine this brew will make me any taller though, which is kind of a shame. Although, perhaps those effects are limited to hobbits. But Gnarly Brown, a 7% ABV American brown ale, is surely a beer that would make Treebeard proud. To the beer!

REVIEW: Fifty West Armadillo Crossing

More Fifty West goodness! I mentioned a handful of the beers that I tried in my visit to Fifty West, A bourbon barrel aged stout, a big American IPA, but the beer that really stood out to me was this one here. A session brown ale brewed with local maple syrup called Armadillo Crossing. A year ago, I probably may not have even ordered this beer, but as I've mentioned in recent weeks I have come to appreciate a good session beer. It takes some real finesse to make a beer low in alcohol but full in flavor. And as we will soon see, the brewers at Fifty West have that Finesse in spades. Armadillo crossing checks in at a scant 4.2% ABV and 35 IBUs. To the beer!

REVIEW: Triple Digit Chickow!

Well, 2012 is nearly at an end. It certainly has been fun. Many delicious (and a handful not quite so delicious) beers have been drank. And now, on December 31st I have one more to add to those ranks. And 2012's last beer is a cool one. It's from Cincinnati's own, Triple Digit Brewing. The beer is Chickow! A 10% ABV double hazelnut brown ale that, if you remember, I had for the first time at the Cincinnati Craft Beer Oktoberfest.  When I had it then I likened it to an alcoholic Yoo-Hoo. Lets see if that comparison hold up at home. To the beer!

REVIEW: Sixpoint Brownstone

Try as I might, I'm just not ready for fall seasonals. I'm really not ready for fall period. I'm still in summer mode. Even though I spent last night at Nippert Stadium watching my Bearcats kick the hell out of Pitt and in doing so keep the River City Rivalry trophy in Clifton for a good long while, it somehow doesn't really feel like football season yet, like fall yet. Part of that is still because it's quite warm out. Part of that is because the Reds' magic number is down to 17. But whatever the reason, I'm not quite ready to get into Oktoberfests and pumpkin ales just quite yet. Don't worry, they're coming. I've got quite a few already in the fridge waiting for the first evening with a palpable chill in the air. In the meantime, let's take a look at the newest canned offering from what has become one of my favorite breweries, Brownstone, from Sixpoint. An American Brown Ale checking in at 6% ABV and a rather hefty 45 IBUs. To the beer!