Bell Time Beer Review – Craft Beer Confluence IV
Saved from craftbeer.com and by the Brewer’s Association.
I didn’t get much help from friend of the site this year. Some of them are repeats since a lot of them live in Columbus. Luckily we got the staff plus my younger brother in four different locations in the country so the variety of beers holds up which is the main point of this yearly column. You can find good beer anywhere.
Brian – Pittsburgh PA
Brewery/Beer – Rhinegeist – Knowledge
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Style: Double IPA
ABV: 8.5% IBU: 98
Description: When in Cincinnati, I have always enjoyed drinking Rhinegeist. Rhinegeist has
done a fantastic job marketing their beers outside of Cincinnati and I have been able to find it at
my local distributor. Now that I can get it more frequently, I’m a happy man. Knowledge was
my go to beer for 2017. Every time I saw it at the store I wanted to pick it up. High ABV and
smooth taste that I thoroughly enjoyed! Knowledge is piney, resiny and dank with notes of
grapefruit and pineapple.
Brewery/Beer – Conshohocken Brewing – Yes, Have Some
Location: Conshocken, PA (Philadelphia, PA)
Style: Golden Ale
ABV: 5.6% IBU: N/A
Description: Yes, Have Some is a light-bodied Blonde Ale, well balanced ale with Pilsner malts
and subtle notes of spice from hops. I’m not one for Golden Ales but this one had a little more
flavor than most. This golden ale is pale in color with some hoppy notes making it crisp and
refreshing.
Brewery/Beer – Flying Dog Brewing – Chocolate Habanero Stout (Heat series)
Location: Fredrick, MD
Style: America Stout
ABV: 8.1% IBU: 50
Description: I had to try the Flying Dog heat series beer. Typically, I am underwhelmed by the
amount of heat in these types of beer if there is any. Flying Dog, on the other hand, produced a
beer that taste like sweet chocolate with heat that lingers. The heat factor borderline on too hot
for my wimpy taste buds. I’m glad someone finally nailed the “hot” beer.
Brewery/Beer – Spoonwood Brewing – Cold Drip City
Location: Bethel Park, PA (Pittsburgh, PA)
Style: Coffee Golden Ale
ABV: 5.8% IBU: 24
Description: This coffee blonde ale is surprisingly light and flavorful. It pours light blonde in
color but you can definitely smell and taste the coffee. The coffee flavor is a shock to the system
considering the pale coloring of the beer. This beer was quite refreshing and smoothing
drinking.
Brewery/Beer – Four Strings Brewing Co. – Rectifier 2X IPA
Location: Columbus, OH
Style: Imperial/ Double IPA
ABV: 8.1% IBU: 84
Description: According to Four Strings website, their American Double IPA is made with loads
of dank, resinous American hops to create a bold mix of citrus, floral and tropical notes – an electrifying concoction for all of you hop heads. It had me going back to the cooler constantly to get another one.
Eric – Des Moines IA
Brewery/Beer: Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. – King Sue
Location: Decorah, Iowa
Style: Double IPA
ABV: 8.00% IBU: 100+
Description: Toppling Goliath’s gold standard, pseudoSue, was on my list last year. If that was the T. rex, King Sue (bear with me, I don’t think this analogy holds up) is the meteor that killed the dinosaur. (See, pseudoSue is not dead, and King Sue still has a dinosaur theme. I’m getting worse at this.) King Sue is two times everything that pseudoSue is – fragrant, hoppy, crisp, and rare. A buddy’s friend runs a grocer’s wine and spirits section, and when he snagged a few bottles, my friend opened one, and I could smell it from across the house. Since then, whenever someone texts me that they see a few bombers at the store, I run to an ATM for some fast cash and tell them I’m good for three. So worth it.
Brewery/Beer: Exile Brewing Co. – Spellcheck Stout
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Style: Coffee Stout
ABV: 8.00% IBU: n/a
Description: I must confess: This beer is the result of three of my ad agency’s clients’ products: It took Exile and Chocolaterie Stam to concoct the Sir Moch-a-Lot beer, and then locally owned convenience chain Kum & Go added their Java Ridge coffee to the mix to create Spellcheck Stout. (Oh, and it’s brewed in whiskey barrels from Cedar Ridge, which is about 90 miles east of us.) Giggling at the spelling of the C-store name? That’s where “spellcheck” comes from. I work here every day, so I’m totally used to it. And because I work here, I got dibs on Spellcheck Stout. Good work, you three: Every flavor is distinct but fits right into the mix; nothing dominates, everything compliments. If you’re into stouts, chocolate stouts, coffee stouts, or any combination of the three, get a growler next time you’re in town. It’ll have you saying “good night” every morning.
Brewery/Beer: Lion Bridge Brewing Co. – Compensation
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Style: Dark Mild Ale
ABV: 4.5% IBU: n/a
Description: I believe this used to be called “Workman’s Comp,” but gender neutrality and a sensitivity to people falling down on the job must have stepped in. I don’t drink as much malty beer as I used to. Compensation is my foot back in the door to that party. It’s got a sweetness to it that cuts down on the darkness (I’m not a huge dark beer fan) but that doesn’t make a guy (or gal, or injury-prone worker) recoil. People note the cocoa and caramel tones; I drank my first one way too fast, and to me, that’s a sign of quality.
Jeremy – Charlotte SC
Brewery/Beer: Sugar Creek Brewing Co. – Sugar Creek Saison
Location: Charlotte, NC
Style: Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 6.6% ABV IBU: 25
Description: I’ve been going to Sugar Creek for three years and up until this September I had no idea they had a Saison. I have gone through a progression of beers starting with the Raspberry Ale, the White Ale, the IPA and now the Saison. What you get here is a robust smell of spices followed by a strong pallet of flavor. It drinks easy and by easy I mean real smooth and tasty. It may not be a new beer but this was definitely my favorite this year.
Brewery/Beer: The Unknown Brewing Co. – Gamble Everything IPA
Kevin – Columbus OH
Kevin DiFrango/Stunt Granny LLC
Brewery/Beer: Dogfish Head – Pennsylvania Tuxedo
Location: Milton, DE
Style: Pale Ale
ABV: 8.5% IBU: 50
Description: This beer was talked about on Stunt Granny Audio Presents OHPA 95, as one of Ken’s favorite beers of the year. It’s on my list too. Pale ale is right up my alley from the start of drinking beer rather than my hop lovefest that my palate has evolved into. For that, see my list of Columbus beers from last week. This beer has some spruce in it to provide some bitter then they had northwest hops to give it a slight citrus tang. It’s not overwhelmingly citrusy though which is a nice change of pace. Lots of hops flavors out there and I don’t always need them to be citrus inspired.
Brewery/Beer: Fat Head’s Brewery – Dos Decadas
Location: North Olmstead OH
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.5% IBU: NA
Description: This beer was made for Mad Mex, a restaurant chain. How they scored a fantastic recipe is a head scratcher since they aren’t a large chain in these parts. Maybe it is in Cleveland. I do think the surprise of the location found that helped this beer stand out more than some others. But to get to the beer itself, it’s a hoppy wonderland without the extra funk of the Imperial style. Unlike the review above though, this one was citrus heavy which matched well with the Mexican inspired food.
Kevin DiFrango/Stunt Granny LLC
Brewery/Beer: Great Lakes Brewing Co. – Nosferatu
Location: Cleveland OH
Style: Imperial Red Ale
ABV: 8.0% IBU: 70
Description: I could put this beer on my list every year. It inspired my own Imperial Red Ale that I brewed for my wedding and my friend’s wedding the following year. The maltiness that is created from grains used to make a red ale are more sweet than other types so the 70 IBU isn’t in the front of your palate as much as the back. It also just flat out doesn’t taste as hoppy which happens with any higher gravity beer. One needs more hops to bring out their flavor. This beer is a staple every year around Halloween. Great Lakes distributes much further than most “local” (Using quotations since they’re Cleveland based) so most readers should be able to find some in season.
Brewery/Beer: Bell’s Brewery – Hopslam Ale
Location: Comstock, MI
Style: Imperial India Pale Ale
ABV: 10.0% IBU: 70
Description: This beer is much like the beers on my Columbus list. It may have actually been the beer that unlocked my Imperial IPA taste buds since I consumed it back on February. This beer is a little sweeter in the grain bill which curbs the edge off of the six varieties of hops but it isn’t as sweet as Nosferatu so the hops come through much more prominently. They then dry hop it with Simcoe hops to give it a fantastic fragrance when you go to drink it. You can’t ask for much more out of a beer than this one. The best news, it’s in season right now so go and find it.
Kevin DiFrango/Stunt Granny LLC
Brewery/Beer: Arrogant Brewing – Bourbon Barrel Arrogant Bastard
Location: Escondido CA
Style: Pale Ale
ABV: 8.1% IBU: 100
Description: This company is a spin off of Stone Brewing which is headed by (former?) co-owner of Stone Greg Koch. His plan is to be a gypsy brewer and make different versions of this beer at different breweries around the country. As you can tell by the decor on my table, this beer was another one that I consumed early in the year but still remember. It’s almost in the same category as Nosferatu as one I could put on this list every year. It’s one of the reasons I started to like Stone Brewing in the first place since they used the recipe originally. There’s a great sweetness to like Nosferatu but unlike it the extra 30 IBU helps to make the hops more prominent. This beer is also aged in Bourbon barrels which gives it that extra pizzazz to really cap off a great beer.
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