Good Ass Beer Review

Name: Good Ass Beer
Brewed By: Rhinelander Brewing Company/Minhas Brewing Company
Style: Light Lager
ABV: 4.2%
IBUs: N/A

I've got a beer for everyone today and it's one whose origins are interesting to say the least. Before I get into that, lets turn back the clock a few months. It all started back in July when I had moved back to the Twin Cities after living in Duluth for the past two years. Unbeknownst to myself, living in Duluth had kept me in the dark about some happenings that were going on in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, despite my constant visits to the Twin Cities & my daily readings of area news sources like the Star Tribune and City Pages.

As I was driving to work the Monday after I moved back, I was listening in to the Half Assed Morning Show on the 93X Radio Station when one of the prizes that was being given away was 20 cases of what they called "good ass beer." Naturally I assumed that they were giving away 20 cases of good craft beer like Stone, Indeed, etc. It wasn't until I got to work that day that I found out that the beer was literally called....Good Ass Beer.

So where did this Good Ass Beer come from? How did it go from being a virtual unknown beer to something that the local rock station was promoting the hell out of? Well, I did some digging around and I found out the Rhinelander Brewing Company in Rhinelander, Wisconsin makes this beer but they either do, or did, contract brew at Minhas Brewing Company in Monroe, Wisconsin, which is the 10th largest brewery in America. I also know Minhas does a lot of contract brewing along with City Brewing, which is based out of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

As for the beer, the can is very basic in design. It's plain white in color with just two logos which is show donkey with a bottle cap as a halo with the words "Have a Good Ass Time!" below and on the back of the can is the Surgeon General's warning and some nutritional facts; Who knew that this beer has almost one full gram of protein? The can reminds me of a lecture I had during my junior year Economics class. My professor told us that he was so broke that he bought a 6-pack of beer that was a white can that just said "Beer" in big, bold, black letters on the front and nothing else.

Appearance - Very pale yellow color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head has a good amount of volume to it but there is no lacing left behind at all.

Aroma - Cereal grains, cardboard sweetness, light cooked veggies, some pale malts and a light hint of booziness. Nothing really much else here

Taste - Pale malts, cereal grains and cardboard..........is that all? No more flavors? Not even an aftertaste? Nope, that is all I am getting here. There isn't even the appearance of a single hop, it's almost like they were not given an invite to the flavor party.

I think a better name would be Bland Ass Beer because that this what this pretty much is: bland. Now I can see myself drinking this when it's a hot summer day with temperatures reaching an excess of 100 Degrees but that is probably the ONLY time I would be drinking this beer.

In defense of this beer, the price point is very low at around $4 a six-pack and around $15 for a twenty-four pack. When you look at it from a economical point of view, you are getting your money's worth so I guess I could recommend this if you're on a budget. And.......I suppose if you are looking to ween yourself off of beers like Michelob Golden Light or Bud Light, then this would be a good beer to start with but that's pretty much all I can say that is good about this beer. If you have a couple extra dollars to spare, buy yourself a better six-pack.

Good Ass Beer - 4/10

Boulevard Imperial Stout Review

Name: Boulevard Imperial Stout
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 11.5%
IBUs: 63

Now onto the second to last beer in the Boulevard Brewing Great Eight Variety Pack is their Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels. I was originally going to call this "Boulevard Smokestack Imperial Stout Review", but I discovered that this whiskey barrel aged version of the Imperial Stout is, in fact, their regular Imperial Stout, even when you consider that they have a couple other Imperial Stouts out there, one of which I have already reviewed on this blog.

Appearance - Pitch black with a foamy brown head with some excellent lacing retention.

Aroma - Strong whiskey & oakiness, followed by a solid chocolate malt backbone and some roasted barley. Of course, I'm also getting some mild vanilla sweetness and a hint of booziness.

Taste - Woo-wee! The whiskey is strong with this one on the front of the palate, along with some potent oakiness. Towards the middle & afterwards is where you start to see that strong chocolate maltiness, roasted barley and vanilla sweetness. The aftertaste is more of that whisky booziness and oak with some light roastiness and hop bitterness. There's also a light encompassing smokiness that adds some dimension to the flavor.

If you like barrel-aged beers, this beer is for you. Some may find the whiskey aspect of the flavor to be a bit too overpowering for their liking, but when your beer is in high in alcohol content like this beer, it's to be expected. As for me, the whiskey aspect of the flavor is a bit too much of a good thing for my liking and this is coming from someone who loves barrel aged beers. However, everything else is just fine in terms of flavor.

Boulevard Imperial Stout - 8/10

Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale Review

Name: Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale
Style: Saison
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 38

Next up in the Boulevard Great Eight Sampler Pack is the Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, which is a Saison. As you may have guessed from the name, it comes from the brewery's number 7 fermenter tank which, according to the brewery, is where all their Belgian-Style ales come together perfectly.

Appearance - Very hazy orange color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is nice and foamy and the lacing is sticky and abundant.

Aroma - Very Belgian yeast forward with a hefty amount of citrus & floral hops. I'm also getting some peppery aroma along with some pale malts and light booziness.

Taste - Belgian yeasts, cloves and cracked peppers, followed by some mild citrus and floral hoppiness. The back of the flavor has some of that pale maltiness & bitter hoppiness. The aftertaste is light citrus/bitter hops, and Belgian yeasts. Throughout the flavor, there is a mild but noticeable encompassing booziness. However it blends together with everything else nicely.

Much like The Calling before it, Tank 7 is an excellent bee. It also holds the distinction of where the flavor actually benefits from having a boozy taste as opposed to hurting it, so kudos to Boulevard for pulling that off. So if you see this on it's own or in 4 packs, this one is certainly with checking out.

Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale - 9/10

Boulevard The Calling Review

Name: Boulevard The Calling
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 75

I recently came into possession of the Great Eight variety pack from Boulevard Brewing and it contains four of their highly renowned beers. The first beer I will be looking at is The Calling, which is an Imperial IPA. Why is it called The Calling, you ask? Well the brewery so happens to give us a reason why it is called such:

The Calling is an undeniable IPA we were driven to make. It's our tribute to like-minded dreamers, adventurous spirits, and glass half-full optimists. It's also our most heavily hopped beer ever, bursting forth with unmistakable tropical fruit and pine hop aromas and flavor supported with a slightly sweet malt character, tapering to a crisp, dry finish. Heed your call and enjoy.

Appearance - Dark hazy orange color with a thin but foamy head. The lacing retention here is also pretty good as well.

Aroma - Pungent citrus and grapefruit notes upfront. I'm also getting some pale & toffee malts, particularly towards the middle, along with some surprisingly prominent yeastiness.

Taste - Rich citrus & mango notes with some grapefruit rind. Some bitter hops towards the back end of the palate, of which there is some moderate toffee maltiness along with some lighter pale malts and mild yeastiness. I'm also getting some light apple notes, mainly in the aftertaste.

This is a fantastic beer. It's nice and fruity yet it has an excellent malt backbone to help level things out. Be careful though because looks can deceiving as it doesn't taste like an Imperial IPA should, which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. Myself? I love it and you should too.

Boulevard The Calling - 9/10

Tallgrass Bourbon-Barrel Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat Review

Name: Tallgrass Bourbon Barrel Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat
Style: Milk Stout
ABV: 5.8%
IBUs: 20

Recently Tallgrass Brewing has been releasing some limited edition beers using the Explorer Series moniker. Today I've got their Bourbon Barrel Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat, which is a bourbon-barrel aged version of their existing Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat, a beer that is also a variation of their regular Buffalo Sweat.

However there is a bit of a twist here. In addition to being barrel-aged, this beer also has some cinnamon thrown in to give the flavor a bit of an extra twist. Personally, cinnamon wouldn't have been my first choice in terms of things to add to this beer but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Appearance - Pitch black color with a foamy khaki colored head. In terms of lacing, however, there isn't really anything here.

Aroma - Oatmeal, chocolate malts, vanilla and lactose notes on the front of the nose, followed by some fairly strong oak notes and cinnamon spiciness. Despite my earlier statements, everything blends together quite nicely and, dare I say, it smells like a good beer for the holidays. Interestingly enough, I'm not picking up on any kind of heavy roastiness.

Taste - Cinnamon & vanilla start things off while being backed up oatmeal notes, chocolate malts & lactose. On the back end of the palate is where you get a tiny hint of roastiness followed by more chocolate malts, oakiness, & vanilla with a slight cinnamon zing at the very end.

I have to say I enjoyed this quite a bit. It has a nice vibrant & varied flavor profile and everything ends up blending together quite nicely. If this is what the Explorer Series has been up to so far, I can't wait to see what other offerings come of it. I've been told availability is limited on this beer so be sure to snag it if you so happen to stumble across it.

Tallgrass Bourbon-Barrel Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat - 9/10

Shmaltz He'Brew Death of a Contract Brewer Review

Name: Shmaltz He'Brew Death of a Contract Brewer
Style: Black IPA
ABV: 7%
IBUs: 70 (supposedly)

Up until recently, Shmaltz Brewing did all of their brewing at other facilities via contract brewing for the past 18 1/2 years until they recently opened up a place to call their own in Clifton Park, New York. To commemorate this event, they released a new beer called Death of a Contract Brewer, a black IPA made with 7 different types of hops and 7 different types of malts.

You may have noticed that everything in this beer revolves around the number 7. It's not just a coincidence, this is actually intentional. There is a Jewish tradition called Shiva, meaning "Seven" in Hebrew. For seven days, family mourns the loss of a family member who passed away. The tradition also says that it is customary for visitors to bring offerings of food to the family of the deceased. Since the brewery had recently stopped contract brewing, this beer was brewed to acknowledge this event and also to turn a new chapter in the life of the brewery. Even during my interview with Jeremy Cowan, we discussed this beer for a bit, which is one of the reasons I decided to grab it while I was at the store the other day

Appearance - Very Dark brown that almost comes across as completely black. The beer itself takes on a dark crimson color along the edges when held up to a light. The head is pretty thin for the most part and has a light brown color to it, along with some moderate lacing.

Aroma - Strong bitter piney hops with notes of grapefruit rinds. Towards the back I'm getting some of that roasted barley scent and a good amount of chocolate maltiness & coffee grounds that gives this beer sort of a chocolate orange aroma.

Taste - Interestingly enough, it's very roasty in the front of the palate along with some of that chocolate maltiness. In the middle though is where I'm starting to get some of that potent bitter hoppiness, which lingers throughout the rest of the flavor. On the back end of the palate, that hop bitterness is joined by some coffee grounds and mild grapefruit notes, all of which linger on long after you take a sip. The hoppiness becomes a lot more prominent as the beer warms up to the point where it takes equal footing with the malty & roasty elements of the flavor.

I'll be honest, I was all ready to call this more of a Black Ale rather than a Black IPA, but as I let it warm up, that hoppiness really starts to shine through and gives the overall flavor a much needed balance. Even if this were a Black Ale, I still think this is a great beer to commemorate the transition from contract to having a place to call your own.

Shmaltz He'Brew Death of a Contract Brewer - 9/10

Clown Shoes Flight of the Angry Beast Review

Name: Clown Shoes Flight of the Angry Beast
Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 10.75%
IBUs: N/A

Another new Clown Shoes beer has arrived on store shelves, but this is an interesting concoction this one is. According to the brewery, Flight of the Angry Beast is a mix of their Blaecorn Unidragon Imperial Stout, Undead Party Crasher Imperial Stout & Billionaire Barleywine. All of these beers have been aged in either bourbon or scotch barrels.

Since this is a mix of 3 different beers, I initially had no idea what to classify this as so I'll go along with Beer Advocate's classification of an American Strong Ale.  I'll be totally honest too, I have never been into beer cocktails and the idea does sound like one but on a much....grander scale.

Appearance - Black color with a mild amount of visible carbonation climbing up the sides of the glass. Head is dark khaki in color and quite thin in appearance. As for the lacing, it is very sparse and barely there.

Aroma - Strong chocolate malt, whiskey and vanilla notes, paired with some mild citrus and grapefruit hoppiness. Also some mild roasted barley and oak notes towards the end

Taste - Strong chocolate malts and vanilla once again upfront, plus I'm picking up on some peated scotch and whiskey notes. That grapefruit and citrus hops are much stronger in the back and more present than in nose. Aftertaste is a mix of oak, bitter hops, vanilla and roastiness. It's worth noting too that the barrel aged aspects of the flavor (scotch, bourbon) are quite powerful here

There's obviously more Imperial Stout going on here than Barleywine...but I like this. Yes, the mixture of two strong but polarizing styles is somewhat bizzare and will turn some people off to this beer but if you're looking for a good variety of flavors, then I would highly recommend checking this beer out. Plus if you enjoy barrel aged beers, you will find plenty to love here.

Clown Shoes Flight of the Angry Beast - 9.25/10