Not my favorite beer picture but it’ll do.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Inc. – India Brown Ale – I could have named this column the mutt beer column since three of these four beers are hybrid beers. This one is the most complex since it’s a mix of a Scotch Ale, IPA and an American Brown Ale. I probably could have used the Scotch Ale to be cut out of this equation since I’m not a fan of scotch. It’s similar to a beer being barrel aged because it tends to overwhelm the other flavors. It does come with a nice 7.2% ABV and is not that bitter with a 50 IBU. You can use their Fish Finder to figure out if you like this blend of beers.

Seventh Son Brewing Company – Black Sparrow IPA – Seventh Son had the brilliant plan to open on Thanksgiving Day but from 9-12, I believe. The closing time is what I forget. It allowed my lady and I to pick up a couple of growlers before heading to her parent’s place to enjoy some turkey and football. I knew her father wouldn’t drink Black Sparrow because he is definitely not a hops man. I had assumed, for some reason, that my older brother’s taste in beer was similar to my younger brother’s taste. If you read the Round Table of Dunks Part 1, you’ll know that my older brother’s taste is nothing like my younger brother’s. I had bought the IPA for him to drink during the Miami Hurricanes at Pitt Panthers tail gate party the day after Turkey Day. I ended up doing the drinking at the tail gate though when I found out he didn’t like IPAs. This beverage continues my path down the hops rabbit hole. The roasted malt again makes a difference that takes the edge off the giant dose of hops. Another fantastic beer from this company in the heart of Cbus.

Shock Top Brewing Company – Belgian White – The main reason I told the tail gating story is because of this beer. It is quite the shock (seriously, no pun intended) to the taste buds to go from a black IPA to a Belgian wheat beer. Just a brutal turn around in flavor profiles. I will not be doing that again. I would be fine drinking this beverage again though. It has orange in it for sure and was highlighted more by the lemon peel and not as much of the line peel. It has a nice cloudy orange look. Shock Top drank smooth after the initial swig. This beverage comes in at a tail gate friendly 5.2% ABV. I’m sure I don’t need to list the availability of this beer considering it’s made by Anheuser Busch.

Zauber Brewing Company – Portergeist – Zauber sent out a tweet to see what this beer should be called. I knew it’d be a dark porter so I figured Schwarzwald, Black Forest, with all of the Germanic references in their lingo would be a good fit. They didn’t think so. Boo. Another reason that seems like a good name is because it is a mix of a porter and a Schwarzbier. Double boo. Because of the mix, the beer is thinner than I like my porters but that’s okay since I don’t know the usual mouth feel of a Schwarzbier. Like most porters, I can taste the coffee coming through but the chocolate doesn’t quite touch my palate. There’s just enough vanilla in it to be a nice highlight. The ABV comes in at 5.0% and has a low 31 IBU so if you like dark beers without too much bitter, this one is for you. Too bad this in a Columbus only choice.