New Glarus Fat Squirrel Review

Name: New Glarus Fat Squirrel Nut Brown
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 5.5%

I mentioned in a previous review that New Glarus brought back a couple of their beers which were previously regulars. The first being their Uff-Da Bock and the other, which I have here tonight, Fat Squirrel which is their Brown Ale. I recall having this a couple years back while vacationing in Wisconsin Dells but at the time reviewing it wasn't exactly high on my priorities list. However since it is now (at the time of writing) 28 Degrees and snowy instead of 82 Degrees and sunny, now's a good time to take a look at it.

Fat Squirrel pours a hazy orange color with a slight crimson tint. The head is off-white that starts out foamy but settles to a thin yet semi-foamy look which leaves behind some good lacing. The visible carbonation is also pretty mild in appearance.

The nose starts out with a strong roasted barley scent with chocolate, nuts, and some mild floral hoppiness.

The flavor is also quite roasty with chocolate, hazelnuts, roasted barley, roasted malts and floral hops. Not too different from the nose but still pretty good.

The body is also fairly light in weight with some pretty strong carbonation.

Fat Squirrel doesn't do anything too special to set itself apart from other brown ales out there but it's still a good, enjoyable beer. Anyone who's a fan of brown ales and happen to find themselves in Wisconsin should definitely check it out.

New Glarus Fat Squirrel - 8/10

Horny Goat Exposed Review

Name: Horny Goat Exposed
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 4.9%

I recently got a bottle of beer from a co-worker of mine to try out to see if I like it. It's from a company called Horny Goat Brewing but it's owned by a company called Rex Beverage Holdings. From what I have gathered, their primary beers are the Horny Goat Brand but I could be mistaken.

I recall seeing Horny Goat in a few stores while I was in college. A couple years ago when I was still in school, I remember it being on sale at Zipp's Liquor near the back of the store right next to the malt liquor cooler and thought nothing of it.

Now thanks to my Co-worker, I now have the opportunity to try out their Exposed Cream Ale. From what I understand, alot of beer made by Horny Goat rely heavily on double entandrés and if you need to look up what that means, you're probably not old enough to read this blog.

Exposed pours a hazy yellow color with a fizzy white head and high amount of visible carbonation. Since there's no lacing, it has a very clean finish.

The nose starts things off with some pale malts and grassy notes.In the back are barley and cereal grains with a cardboard like quality.

Flavor has a maltier grassy taste but is otherwise the same as the nose with a less pronounced cardboard flavor.

Body is light and moderately carbonationed, and it comes across as rather crisp and refreshing.

If you were to take Spotted Cow and mix it with a Budweiser, this would be pretty close to that. It's not as bad as it could've been, but I wouldn't buy this. The good thing about this? I got this for free.

Horny Goat Exposed - 5/10

Anchor Old Foghorn Review

Name: Anchor Old Foghorn
Style: Barleywine
ABV 8.8%

Anchor Brewing is most well known for their Anchor Steam Beer to most beer drinkers out there but many people seem to forget that they make other beers besides just Steam. Last year, Anchor Brewing announced they were going to bring back Old Foghorn, their barleywine, after an extended absence. Up until recently finding it has been somewhat of a chore, but here it is!

Old Foghorn pours a clear crimson color with some high carbonation and a filmy head. There's no lacing here so it finishes clean.

The nose starts things off with caramel malts, plum, and dark fruity notes along with some mild citrus hops. It's got an almost ”Dubbel” like quality to it.

The flavor is pretty malt forward with strong caramel malts, plums,light spice and mild citrus hop notes. The aftertaste is a sweet caramel and grapefruit taste. The Dubbel-like quality is present here as well.

The body is fairly light in weight and carbonation is moderate, so it gives some character to the flavor.

For a barleywine, it's rather tame considering it's flavor and ABV. However it's still a great beer and an approachable one at that. Anyone curious about the style should definitely check this one out!

Anchor Old Foghorn - 8.5/10

Castle Danger Local Fresh Hop IPA Review

Name: Castle Danger Local Fresh Hop IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7%

Earlier this year when I was visiting Duluth, I did a review of Castle Danger Brewing's George Hunter Stout and found it to be quite good. Well now that I'm living in Duluth, I think I'll be going back there more, just like I did last weekend! It was a cold windy and rainy afternoon that was reminiscent of a Nor'Easter we had just a few weeks ago. We were north of Two Harbors when it started picking up and we could feel the wind push on the car. But lo and behold we had made it.

While I was at the brewery (you can find the pictures in my George Hunter Review), I had the chance to talk with Clint MacFarlane and his plans for the new brewery that's scheduled to be open for business in Spring 2014. During this time, we talked about the Fresh Hop IPA he had made with Cascade Hops and Brewer's Gold hops made locally from Brule, WI. Since I've been craving a good Wet Hop IPA, and a local one nonetheless, I decided to make it my growler of choice for the visit.

Local Fresh Hop IPA pours a nice clear orange color with a soapy filmy head, sparse lacing and high amount of visible carbonation.

The aroma gives off a fairly pungent caramel malt and citrus hop scent with some grapefruit and grassy notes. While not particularly complex, each component is vibrant in it's own way.

Citrus hops, caramel malts and grapefruits are fairly prominent in the flavor with a bittersweet resiny aftertaste. Much like the aroma, it's not what I'd call complex but still very vibrant for what it is. On top of that, it actually has that wet hop taste that has been eluding me for a while!

The body itself is pretty lightweight but contrary to my earlier observations, the carbonation is actually quite mild. On top of that, it's got a very smooth & creamy texture, giving it extra points in terms of drinkability.

Local Fresh Hop IPA is an incredibly smooth & well-balanced wet hop IPA. At the same time, it isn't overwhelming either like others in the same category. I would consider this to be a very approachable wet hop IPA and I could definitely see this being a regular visitor in my fridge. Make the trip up to the brewery, grab a growler and see for yourself.

Castle Danger Local Fresh Hop IPA - 9/10

Surly Abrasive Ale Review

Name: Surly Abrasive Ale
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 9%

Around the last two months of each year, Surly Brewing likes to pay homage to what it was before it became a brewery. You see the parents of Omar Ansari, owner of Surly, ran an abrasives facility in the current building for 35 years before Omar took over and converted the building into a brewery. Hence the name!

When Abrasive was first released a few years ago, it was originally called 16-Grit (another type of Abrasive) and was made to comemmerate the end of Growler sales but it has since been renamed and is released as a Fall/Winter seasonal.

Abrasive pours a clear orange color with a thin foamy head and mild carbonation. There's also some good lacing along the sides of the glass.

Nose is fairly mango & apricots forward with grapefruits, tangerines, citrus & piney hop notes. Very fruity smelling and reminds me of Dreadnaught.

Strong citra-piney hops and mango fruitness take the lead in the flavor with grapefruits and a caramel malty backbone. The aftertaste is equally malty & resiny in flavor.

It's got a fairly heavy body and some mild to moderate carbonation so in terms of texture, it's pretty manageable if you're used to it.

Simply put, this is an outstanding Imperial IPA! It's got a nice mixture of hops, malts, and fruity sweetness & quality that rivals that of 3 Floyds Dreadnaught. Anyone looking for a showcase of what the Imperial IPA can do should seriously look into this.

Surly Abrasive Ale - 9.5/10

O'so Lupulin Maximus IPA Review

Name: O'so Lupulin Maximus IPA
Style: Imperial India Pale Ale
ABV: 9%

It's not often that I buy a beer that has something so unusual about it that I buy it on the spot without having any prior knowledge about the beer. Save, of course, for Rogue Voodoo Maple Bacon.

Yet somehow O'so Brewing had managed to do just that with their Lupulin Maximus IPA. What's so unusual about this beer you ask? In each bottle there is at least one hop cone. I say ”at least” because in the pictured above, there were two inside. The label even has a warning on it advising potential drinkers that there may be hop cones contained within the bottle. It is worth mentioning however that the two of the other bottles in the 4-pack only had one hop in them while another had none in it.

Eat your heart out, Hoptimum!

Lupulin pours a nice hazy orange color with a filmy head, good lacing retention and low amount of visible carbonation.

The Aroma consists of some pretty pungent citrus hops, apricots, mango, and mild caramel notes.

Citrus hops and mangos are very strong upfront in the flavor. This is followed by some caramel malts, piney hops, and some mild grapefruit notes. The aftertaste is a strong bitter citra-hop flavor.

It's got a fairly heavy body and some moderate carbonation so it's got a slight bite to it.

The name ”Lupulin Maximus” translates roughly to Bitter Hop Superior. While it's certainly not what I would call bitter with the exception of the aftertaste, this is still a bold and excellent Imperial IPA. The flavor may very slighty depending on the hop cones (or lack thereof) contained, but this is one Imperial IPA that is worthy of the name Maximus.

Oso Lupulin Maximus IPA - 9.5/10

Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout Review

Name: Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout
Style: Sweet Stout
ABV: 6.6%

I ought to review something from Duluth for a change and what better place to start than Fitger's Brewhouse. The original brewery was established in 1857 and continued to operate for 115 years before shutting down in 1972. At it's peak, they made over 100,000 barrels of beer in a year, which even by today's craft brew standards is alot!

Then in 1995, the old brewery complex was bought by it's current owners and now houses a hotel, fitness center, bookstore, 2 nightclubs, and a few clothing stores; As well as a couple other places I may have missed. But Fitger's Brewhouse is probably the biggest draw out of all business at the complex because they are known around the country for making some quality beer. On top of that, it's very close to where I live!

For my first in-depth Fitger's Brewhouse review, I decided to review a beer that is on their tapline pretty much year-round and that is their Big Boat Oatmeal Stout.

Big Boat is pitch black with a thin brown head, with light carbonation and no lacing; Giving it a very clean finish.

Roasted barley & oatmeal permeate the nose upfront in addition to some chocolate malts and some mild hoppiness. The flavor is alot more sweeter than roasty with oatmeal, chocolate malts, caramel-toffee sweetness and some mild, but noticeable, hops.

The body is moderate in weight and somewhat thick but the carbonation is very mild which gives it a very nice creamy texture and easy drinkability.

Big Boat Oatmeal Stout is an easy drinking stout with enough vibrancy to make this a very enjoyable beer. If you're ever in Duluth and happen to come upon Fitger's, this is a great beer to get yourself started on.

Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout - 9/10