The Brewing Projekt Rawr Review

Name: The Brewing Projekt Rawr
Style: India Pale Ale (Hazy/NE style)
ABV: 7%
IBUs: N/A

So I’ve finally gotten around to reviewing beers from The Brewing Projekt (TBP), a brewery that has really taken off in popularity over the past year. Based out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the brewery has become the darling of craft beer drinkers in both Wisconsin & Minnesota, especially the self-proclaimed “Haze-heads” since Hazy IPAs are arguably what TBP is best known for.

Which brings us to today’s beer: Rawr, a name that brings back memories using AOL IM as a means for communication & listening to Taking Back Sunday in my dorm on my old Toshiba Satellite laptop that, by today’s standards, looks extremely brickish & clunky. I will say that the name is kind of a missed opportunity. I mean, why not just name it “Rawr XD” and bring it full circle? Heck, even release a variation of the beer and giving it the name Rawr XD would suffice.

Anyways, let’s take a look at the beer.

Appearance – Bright/Dark hazy orange color with no visible carbonation. The head is nice, solid & foamy and there’s a healthy amount of lacing along the sides of the glass.

Aroma – The nose is a mix of grapefruit, citrus hops, orange peel and light kiwi; All backed up by a solid caramel malt backbone.

Taste – It’s pretty similar to the nose. You got that citra/grapefruit sweetness throughout the palate with that light kiwi flavor in the back. On the back end of the palate & aftertaste is more of that linger citrus sweetness and that caramel malt backbone.

I like this one. It’s got a very nice flavor profile and it’s just straight up easy to drink. The price of admission might be a tad steep, but the flavor makes it well worth it!

The Brewing Projekt Rawr – 9/10

Bell's Bright White Review

Name: Bell’s Bright White
Style: Wheat Beer
ABV: 5%
IBUs: 21

Most of the winter seasonal beers tend to be heavier in style and alcohol content, but Bell’s decided to pull a fast one on us and give us Bright White, which is a Belgian-inspired wheat beer. Now I did some digging and I found out that this beer used to go by a different name: Winter White, which has been around since 2003. When I did some even further digging as to the reason for the name change, the best I could come up with was because Bell’s felt like it. Also, the Bell’s website goes out of its way to inform you that no spices were used in making this beer. In any case, let’s check this one out.

Appearance – A cloudy yellow color with a high amount of visible carbonation. The head is on the soapier side with some good retention and the lacing left behind is rather abundant.

Aroma – Malted wheat and Belgian yeast notes permeate throughout the nose, with a touch of floral hops backing it up.

Taste – Similar to the nose, those malted wheat and Belgian yeast notes dominate the front of the palate, with some bitter & floral hops in the middle. It finishes off with a nice Belgian yeast, banana & clove-like spiciness. In the aftertaste, there’s a linger bitter hoppiness that sticks around for a few moments.

I have to say, I’m impressed that Bell’s was able to pull off the flavor without the use of spices in this beer and stands as a testament to the talent of the crew working there. As a wheat beer, it’s a solid offering from them, but it’s made even more impressive by the fact that they were able to give us such a flavor without having to resort to the typical ingredients of a witbier. It might not be the newest beer on the block, but this still worth your attention, should you get the chance to come across it.

Bell’s Bright White – 8.5/10

Castle Danger Choice Pils Review

Name: Castle Danger Choice Pils
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 5.5%
IBUs: N/A

It’s time to look at an offering from Castle Danger that I’ve had over the past year but am only now taking a closer look at it. I give to you Choice Pils from Castle Danger Brewing.

Castle Danger is does a great job of making beers for the segment of the market that doesn’t necessarily prefer craft beer and Choice Pils is intended to be sort of a gateway of sorts into the wonderful world of craft beer. Plus, I’m digging the old fashioned-style label in a nod to the designs from days past.

Appearance – Clear yellow color with a high amount of visible carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass. The head itself is fairly soapy and there’s some light lacing along the sides of the glass.

Aroma – Nice potent pilsner malts on the front of the nose backed up by some nice citrus & bitter hops. I’m also getting some nice biscuit notes in here as well.

Taste – The first thing that pops up is that strong pilsner malt backbone mixed in with some biscuity flavor. The back end up opens up to some mild citrus and floral hoppiness, with the aftertaste finishing off with a mild hoppiness that lingers for a couple seconds. Otherwise, the aftertaste is quite dry.

In addition to having a great flavor profile, this is a nice, sessionable beer that is perfect for pretty much any occasion. It’s a beer that is made for drinking and not thinking about and, quite frankly, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Castle Danger Choice Pils – 8.5/10

Central Waters Salted Maple Stout Review

Name: Central Waters Salted Maple Stout
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.75%
IBUs: 32

Winter continues its icy grip on the Midwest, so leave it to the residents of the region to come up with ways to deal with the cold. Which brings us to Central Waters’ Salted Maple Stout, an imperial stout brewed with, what else, maple syrup. Oh and they’ve also added a dash of salt for good measure.

It’s worth noting too that while writing this article, I’m wearing what many would consider to be stereotypical Midwestern attire, which consists of a red plaid shirt, tan jeans and a pair of hiking boots. Hey, you have to dress for the occasion!

Appearance – Pitch black with a nice foamy tan-colored head. The lacing left behind is on the spotty side.

Aroma – Strong chocolate malt and roasted barley encompassed by a nice maple sweetness that doesn’t come across as too overpowering.

Taste – Dark chocolate and roasted barley start things off before transitioning to a subtle maple sweetness on the back end of the palate, while still maintaining that dark chocolate bitter sweetness. Aftertaste consists of some mild roastiness and a dash of floral hops and boozy heat.

You know, I like this! It’s nice, warm, possess a good flavor and, to top it all off, the price I paid for this was quite reasonable. It’s by no means the most complex imperial stout out there but this one is nice to sit back and sip on during a nice, quiet winter evening.

Central Waters Salted Maple Stout – 8.5/10

Drekker Ectogasm Review

Name: Drekker Ectogasm
Style: India Pale Ale (NE/Hazy)
ABV: 7%
IBUs: 65

In my last article, I mentioned that certain breweries have gained a rabid following and it seems like their beers are dominating social media pages, at least on my end. Another brewery that has gained that reputation is Drekker Brewing, located in Fargo, ND. In fact, it seems that the breweries of the Fargo-Moorhead along with smaller metropolitian areas like Rochester, MN have gained a rabid following in terms of their beer offerings.

Much like Junkyard in my last article, Drekker is known specifically for their Hazy IPAs and sours. Today, I have what many consider to be Drekker’s flagship beer, which is their Ectogasm Hazy IPA. This is one of those beers that you consistently see online but the second you try and find it, it mysteriously vanishes like Sasquatch in a shaky potato-quality video posted on Youtube at 3am in the morning. Well, as we say to the God of Death: Not Today. This is because I have somehow come into possession of Ectogasm, so let’s take a look!

Appearance – Bright hazy orange color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head itself isn’t what I’d call foamy since it’s quite thin but it has good amount of thickness to the surface so, we’ll just call it thick. Also, there’s nothing here in terms of lacing. I know it’s been said before but this has the look and consistency of orange juice.

Aroma – Rich citrus hop and orange peel notes, along with fairly potent bitter hops and mild grapefruit notes.

Taste – The front of the palate starts off with a vibrant citrus hop and grapefruit fruitiness, while the back end gives way to a moderate bitter-piney hoppiness and mild toffee malts. The aftertaste is a mixture of that citrus and bitter hop aspect, which lingers for a moment before fading away.

I enjoyed this beer quite a bit. It’s nice, bright and easy to drink. It’s nothing that I haven’t already seen in a Hazy IPA before but this one is most certainly worth checking out, should you come across it.

Drekker Ectogasm – 8.5/10

Junkyard Church Giggles Review

Name: Junkyard Church Giggles
Style: Sour – Fruited
ABV: 5.9%
IBUs: N/A

In my absence from beer writing, there have been certain breweries that have gained a cult following of sorts and it seems that every time I log into any of my social media accounts, I can’t go two minutes without seeing a post featuring the said brewery with a caption along the lines of “OMG BEST BEER EVAR!!!!” Oftentimes, I don’t necessarily buy into the hype of what other people say about beers, mainly because I like to reserve judgment on my own terms. That and I’ve been burned before by buying into the said hype.

One of these breweries is Junkyard Brewing Company, located in Moorhead, MN. Best known for making their Milkshake IPAs and Sours, they’re located in a part of Minnesota that was, up until a couple years ago, a craft beer wasteland on account of the lack of breweries in the general vicinity of West-Central Minnesota. I decided to go out of my way this past week and try and locate their beer since any offerings from them seem to fly off the shelf as soon as it arrives. As luck would have it, that wasn’t the case on my last expedition. Which brings us to their Church Giggles sour ale, which is described as a cherry pie tart. It’s made with 800 lbs of cherries, vanilla and graham cracker sprinkles; Complete with Dana Carvey’s Church Lady on the front of the cover.

What are Church Giggles, you ask? Well according to Wiktionary, they’re described as: Uncontrollable laughter or giggling that occurs inappropriately in an inappropriate place and time, as when in church.

Appearance – Dark ruby red color with a mild amount of visible carbonation rising up from the bottom. The head has a foamy salmon pink color but there’s nothing here in terms of lacing.

Aroma – Strong cherry notes and pilsner malts are present upfront. I’m also picking up on some light graham cracker & vanilla tucked behind that cherry fruitiness.

Taste – That cherry tart/sweetness is ever present upfront and throughout the palate but those mild vanilla notes from the nose are suddenly standing shoulder to shoulder with the cherries. Backing that up on the rest of the palate are that graham cracker and pilsner malt backbone, which helps in balancing everything out. The aftertaste, as you might expect, consists mainly of a cherry tartness, which lingers for a few moments.

Wow, I have to say that my cynical assumptions about their beers not being as good as people say they are were horribly unfounded! Which is my way of saying that this beer was fantastic and that the crew at Junkyard really knocked it out of the park with this one.

Sours have never really been a preferred style of mine but after having this, I think I owe it to myself to check out more of them going forward. It goes without saying that you most certainly must check this out should you get the chance!

Junkyard Church Giggles – 9.5/10

Short Fuse Low Spark Review

Name: Short Fuse Low Spark
Style: American Pale Ale (Hazy/NE)
ABV: 6.5% per the can (5.25% per Short Fuse’s website)
IBUs: 20

Next up in my Short Fuse beers is a Hazy Pale Ale called Low Spark, which is a Hazy American Pale Ale made with Sabro, Strata & Citra hops. Doing some research on the name, the only thing I could come up with was the album The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys by The Traffic. In any case, let’s see how the beer is!

Appearance – Hazy dark yellow color with no visible carbonation. The head is fairly foamy and there’s a good amount of lacing left along the sides of the glass.

Aroma – Rich mango and citrus notes permeate throughout the nose, along with some apricot and pineapple notes. If there’s one word I’d use to describe this beer, it’d be “tropical.”

Taste – That tropical flavor that was present in the nose is out in full force here. Mango and pineapple sit on the front end of the palate while the back end opens up to a mainly citrus flavor. The aftertaste consists of a lingering mango and malty finish.

Another solid beer from Short Fuse as far as I’m concerned. It’s nice, vibrant and juicy and anyone who’s a fan of hazy pale ales will love this one.

Short Fuse Low Spark – 8.5/10