Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout Review

Name: Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 9.1%
IBUs: 45

Even though Spring is here, I've still got one more winter seasonal in my reserve that I've been sitting on for a while. Since it's a nice and balmy 41 degrees out right now, I figured today was a great day to warm up with Northwind Imperial Stout from Two Brothers Brewing.

As for the name I couldn't come up with too much, but almost anyone can guess that anything with the name "North" usually implies that it's going to be a darker and/or heavier beer.

Appearance - Opaque black color that makes it hard to pick out any type of visible carbonation. The head is fairly foamy & khaki colored with some very good lacing retention

Aroma - Strong chocolate malts and roasted barley followed by some marshmallow and vanilla notes. Tucked away in the back of the nose is some chocolate-cherry sweetness and bitter hoppiness.

Taste - Strong roasted barley and chocolate maltiness upfront with a surprisingly strong smokey profile. Middle of the palate consists of light vanilla & cherry notes while the back end of the flavor is a mix of dry hops and light roastiness.

I'm one that isn't usually a stickler for consistency but it's always nice to see the nose & flavor identical to each other and that's the case with Northwind. It's got a strong chocolate/roasty flavor profile with enough components underneath to add some much needed complexity. It may not be winter anymore but it is still very much worth seeking out should you happen to see it.

Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout - 9.25/10

Two Brothers SideKick Extra Pale Ale Review

Name: Two Brothers SideKick Extra Pale Ale
Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
ABV: 5.1%

I've been on sort of an APA streak as of late and tonight I'm going to reviewing a beer that was actually recommended to me by Seth from Regular Guy Brewing, which is the Two Brothers Sidekick Extra Pale Ale. Seth happens to be a big admirer of Summit EPA and likened the the aforementioned beer to SideKick. As luck would have it, my local store recently started carrying Two Brothers so I'm able to see just how good this is.

SideKick pours a clear yellow color with a fairly foamy white head. The visible carbonation is rather mild and lacing retention is decent.

The nose starts off with a potent floral hop & yeasty scent, which are backed up by a toffee sweetness and a pale malt noticeable pale malt backbone.

As such, the flavor is not too different from the nose. There is a nice balance between the malty backbone and the floral hops and yeasts. I would say the only noticeable difference here is that it's more resiny than the nose leads you to believe and is most noticeable in the aftertaste.

The palate possesses a fairly light body and the carbonation is also very mild as well. As such, one should not have any trouble drinking this.

While the flavor plays it safe for the most part, SideKick is a textbook example as to how to make a good & balanced APA. If you're not really too sure about what to get on your next trip to the grocery/liquor store, you're not going wrong by trying this out.

Two Brothers SideKick Extra Pale Ale - 8.5/10