Founders Brewing Co. – Dirty Bastard  – This beer is a year round offering from Founders. It’s a Scotch Style Ale that is different from the others I’ve tasted. They use seven types of malt which I’m not used to. That is usually reserved for hops. I thought to myself that there was a weird funky in the drink. The thought was confirmed when they mentioned in their write up to using hints of smoke and peat. I remember a Great Lakes Beer called Grassroots Ale. It tasted like dirt. The beer met it’s demise quickly and for good reason, it tasted too much like grass. This beer puts just enough in there to make things interesting. They also don’t shy away from the hops in this beer because it comes in at 50 IBU. It helps to mute the sweetness of the malt concoction. It also adds up to one interesting beer that is just a “Wee Heavy” at 8.5% ABV. Go to the link above if you want to find this beer. It’s definitely worth your liver malfunctioning.

New Belgium Brewing Co. – Snapshot – I don’t remember hearing about Snapshot when I went to the New Belgium tasting back in December. Of course, I’m not sure you want a nice and light spring or summer beer when it’s colder than a witch’s ample cleavage. They did have a campaign on Instagram to #Snapshot it when the spring did roll around which is exactly what I did back in April (Cough, difrango11, cough). It’s a nice, smooth wheat beer that has many expected notes like coriander and grains of paradise. They throw you for a loop by making it just a little bit sour. The souring agent Lacto helps give it a nice pop at the end. New Belgium uses a small dose of Cascade hops at 13 IBU to give the lacto something else to latch on to. Because it is a spring beverage, it is sessionable at 5.0% ABV. Despite it being a tailor made for spring, this one is available year round so take your own #Snapshot of it.

Rogue Ales – Dead Guy Ale – I have found memories of Oregon despite the fact that I went there with my ex-wife. Since they had been established in 1988, I had a chance to try them. I don’t think I did. I will make up for that mistake now with a double dose from this fine brewer. This beer is a German Maibock which means plenty of malt which is awesome. They “only” use five types of malt in this beer while using two types of hops (Perle & Sterling). Rogue also provides their proprietary yeast which I don’t think has the same potency as Belgian yeast. The number of types of hops doesn’t equate to IBU, in this case is at 40. It has a definite influence on the taste to, again, curb the sweetness of the malt. There is no funk attached to this beer like the Dirty Bastard. It won’t turn you into a dead guy as quickly as the Dirty Bastard since it’s just 6.5% ABV. If Dirty Bastard is worth a malfunctioning liver, this one is worth letting it shut down.

Rogue Ales – Mocha Porter – Because it’s a different version of malt, roasted that is, I do love my porters and stouts. The malt is piling high in this article. This beer is at the head of the class with eight types, two of which are trademarked – Rogue Farms Dare & Risk. The Chocolate and Kiln Coffee malts help to bring in the Mocha side of this porter. I don’t think the coffee overwhelms the taste although it still is fairly prominent. They also use two branded hops varieties with Rogue Farm Rebel & Liberty to help balance this beer out. I don’t think of roasted malts providing as much sweetness as regular malts but they must because this beer has an IBU of 54. It comes out neither sweet nor hoppy. The Mocha Porter does come out at the right thickness and has a nice creamy head. It’s everything a porter could want to be which includes being lower in alcohol at 5.3% ABV. I’d drink this beer in the morning, if that were acceptable in the working world. If for some reason, they don’t sell Rogue in your area, there is nothing to fear. Their online store allows you to buy their beers in singles and some packages. You’d be wise to try from this company.

Don’t forget that less than two weeks away is #IPADay 7 August 2014. I suppose I’ll have to post something about an IPA that day. Go out and enjoy a #SippyTimeBeer this weekend. I know I will be at the Ohio State Fair. – Kevin