REVIEW: Stone/ 10 Barrel/ Blue Jacket Suede

Here in Lexington it seems we've skipped fall and gone straight from summer to winter. One day temperatures in the 70s and shorts, seemingly the next it's damn near freezing and I'm looking for my boots. Normally I would find such an abrupt change unwelcome. But when I've got big malty beers waiting in the fridge a good cold snap is just what the doctor ordered. Today's beer is another one of Stone's many collaborations. This time it's an imperial porter brewed with avocado honey, jasmine and calendula flowers and is brewed with help from Washington D.C.'s Blue Jacket Brewery and from Bend, Oregon, 10 Barrel Brewing. To the beer!

REVIEW: RCH Old Slug Porter

In the past I've done weeks here on the blog that had a bit of a theme. A week when I would do nothing but barleywines, or nothing but beers from MadTree. Nothing like that will be happening here in the foreseeable future. I've got a whole mess of beers sitting it my fridge at the moment and I'm just going to be grabbing what sounds good at the moment. So that lead's us to today's beer, Old Slug Porter from RCH Brewery. I'm a sucker for a funny animal sidekick so the mustachioed monocled gastropod on the label has me thinking pretty highly of this beer already. To the beer!

REVIEW: Meantime Naval College Old Porter

So as I was preparing to write this post I went looking back through my... archives (that can't be the right word). While I was there I noticed something pretty surprising.  I have never taken a look at an English beer. I've talked about a handful from Scotland, a couple from Germany, plenty of Belgians, and of course a whole lot of American beers. But shockingly, none from England. This is especially weird because all of my favorite beers are interpretations of English styles. IPAs, stouts, porters, bitters all originate from England. Well, today my blog is no longer bereft of English ales as today I take a look at the Naval College Old Porter from Meantime Brewing in London, England. To the beer!

REVIEW: Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Well, the saison on monday was a lovely change of pace. But today we're back to the big, roasty, hearty beers. Today I'm taking a look at Ballast Point's Victory at Sea, a 10% ABV coffee vanilla imperial porter. That sounds right up my alley. Plus, I really enjoyed the Calico Amber that I had from Ballast Point back in the summer. If you missed that one you can check it out here. To the beer!

REVIEW: Hudepohl Classic Porter

Right up front, I have to give you guys a disclaimer. I have been fighting off a bit of a cold lately and am a bit stopped up. So my senses may not be up to their usual acuity. Sorry if this review suffers at all as a result. All right, that's out of the way. Today's beer is the newest offering from Hudepohl. I'm excited to see them trying these seasonal releases, I enjoy their Festival Bock, and for the price, their Summer Pils isn't half bad either. I'm a big fan of a good porter so I'm excited to see what's in store with their Classic Porter. To the beer!

REVIEW: Stone Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla Bean

Not really much interesting to say here for this one. I'm a big fan of Stone. I'm a big fan of smoked porters. I even tried to brew my own once, although I have a sneaking suspicion that this one here might just be a bit better than mine. Add real vanilla beans though? That's more than enough to get me to pull the trigger. To the beer!

REVIEW: Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Engineer's Reserve.

Porter season is upon us my friends. The days are getting shorter. The nights are getting cooler. And I find myself looking for a brew that skews a bit on the heartier side. Enter today's beer: Harviestoun's Old Engine Oil Engineer's Reserve from Alva, Scotland. This beer is the bigger brother of the standard Old Engine Oil. A beer that I had a couple of years ago and quite enjoyed. I expect nothing less from this one. To the beer!

REVIEW: Flying Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter

If you'll remember, both my last encounters with barrel-aged beers and my last encounter with a beer from Flying Dog left a lot to be desired. I didn't much care for Flying Dog's Wildeman Farmhouse IPA, and Great Crescent's Bourbon Barrel Stout was cloyingly sweet to the point of being undrinkable. Here's hoping this beer can erase the bad taste of those two less than perfect experiences. I actually bought this beer a while ago. I've been excited to drink it but I've been waiting for weather that's a bit more appropriate. The recent drop in temperatures has had me looking for beers that are a bit heartier so this beer has been called up from the back of the fridge. Time to finally give this bad boy a look. to the beer!

Country Boy Jalapeno Smoked Porter Pork Tacos

So as you know from reading this blog, when we get together, my girlfriend, Meredith, and I enjoy cooking. Especially when it involves beer. She had texted me early last week about a recipe she had found that involved cooking meat in a crock pot with lager. Now that sounded pretty tasty, but I was a bit dubious as to what flavors might be imparted by a lager. I suggested we try it with something with a bit more oomph. After I grabbed the growler of Jalapeño Smoked Porter from Country Boy Brewing that I looked at on Monday, the decision as to what beer to cook with sort of made itself. Also the inclusion of the Jalapeño made making tacos out of all of this seem to be the logical choice. To the beer and food!

REVIEW: Country Boy Jalapeño Smoked Porter

If you follow me on Twitter you'll have no doubt seen me talking about Lexington's Country Boy Brewery. (If you don't follow me you really should. @QCBeerNerd) My girlfriend, Meredith, lives in Lexington and whenever I go down to visit we make it a point to check out Lexington's burgeoning craft beer scene. County Boy Brewery and West Sixth Brewing Company have both opened within the last year. This past weekend Meredith and I headed out to both. I looked at West Sixth's flagship IPA a few months ago, but have yet to look at a beer from Country Boy. So while we were at Country Boy I decided to take home a growler. There were a handful of delicious beers on tap but I had a feeling that this Jalapeño Smoked Porter would be something special. It was no easy choice though. Especially when they had beers like a habanero blonde and a peanut butter stout on tap. To the beer!

REVIEW: Flat 12 Pogues's Run Porter

Today's beer is the last from my visit to Indianapolis. It's a porter from Indianapolis' own Flat 12 Beirwerks. Flat 12 is a fairly new brewery and has only just very recently begun bottling. While I was in the liquor store in Indy, looking for something I couldn't find back home, This funny little label caught my eye. And I'm always game to try a porter. To the beer!

REVIEW: Arcadia London-Style Porter

I found today's beer in the back of the fridge. I had honestly forgotten it was in there. I've got plenty of beers chilling waiting to be reviewed and this one sort of got lost in the shuffle. While I was looking through the fridge for something to drink for a review this long lost porter sounded pretty tasty. To the beer!

REVIEW: Great Crescent Coconut Porter

I'm keeping the local beer coming. This one isn't a Cincinnati beer, but it is from just down the road in Aurora Indiana. They're fairly new and I've been hearing about them for the last few months. I was at The Party Source recently and saw a bunch of their 4 packs. Naturally I had to go for the coconut porter. Intriguing right? To the beer!

REVIEW: Epic/ DC Brau Fermentation Without Representation

Lots going on with today's beer! First of all it's a collaboration beer, and a collaboration between two breweries that I have never had a beer from. Salt Lake City's Epic Brewing and DC Brau out of Washington DC. I always keep an eye out for collaboration beers. You don't often see collaboration pilseners or collaboration pale ales. Collaborations are chances for brewers to try something they normally might not. This one is no exception. It is an imperial pumpkin porter. Now I know, pumpkin beers are wildly out of season. But I just found this one at Jungle Jim's, I love drinking them, and it's my blog. If I want to review a pumpkin ale in March, there's nobody that's going to tell me not to. To the beer!

REVIEW: Founders Porter

Time for my second review from the great Founders Brewing out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I did a quick review of their new All Day IPA which I really enjoyed. If you missed that one, it can be found here. There's some debate in the craft beer community on the real difference between a porter and a stout. I'm not even really sure how to differentiate the two. The two styles both originated in England in the 18th century. Originally stouts were stronger versions of porters. Today those lines are often very blurred. There isn't really a discernible difference between a lot of stouts and porters. I've had plenty of big strong porters and plenty of lighter bodied stouts. All I know is that I quite enjoy drinking both. Enough of my yammering, to the beer!