Once again, before I launch the 2017 installment of my best and worst, here is the rule reminder: All the beers listed were tried for the very first time in 2017. It does not matter when the beer was released, only that I tried it for the very first time in calendar year 2017. As always, the bottom ten are mostly based on styles that I tried and did not like and are not a slam on the brewery or the beer, just not my…
The first time I brewed beer was an absolute debacle. I was a fresh-faced new home owner in a neighborhood full of empty nesters and retirees. Jim Dandy was my neighbor on the west side of our house and he liked to tip them a little. OK, more than a little. Good news is he liked to share. Many afternoon drinking sessions started with Jim flagging me down while I labored behind an obnoxiously loud hand me down lawn mower, then passing me a Pacifico…
I saw a t-shirt once that had the saying “you can’t drink all day if you don’t start early” emblazoned on the front of it. Don’t get me wrong, I have always been a gigantic fan of day drinking. Some of my fondest memory lapses have come on the tail end of all-day drinking marathons. Thing is, it has probably been over 20 years since I decided to saddle up to a bar stool in the a.m. with the intention of staying until after dark.…
Well, my love hate relationship with Founders has reached a new level with 2017 KBS. As I patiently waited for the release in Southeastern Michigan, I was able to get a bottle to try from KBS week. If you remember last year, I was floored by how strong the coffee was in the 2016 version. In that post I mentioned that I would age some and try them at 6 months and 1 year. I am happy to report that some age on 2016 KBS made…
Before I launch into my best and worst here are the qualifications: all the beers listed were tried for the very first time in 2016. It does not matter when the beer was released, only that I tried it for the very first time in calendar year 2016. Please note that the bottom ten are mostly styles that I tried and did not like and are not a slam on the brewery or the beer, just not my cup of tea for whatever reason (although…
I have heard it said that it is about the journey not the destination. I agree with this most of the time but the beer I look forward to every year created an embarrassing start to my Belgian beer journey. Before I go there, I want to talk about the Blues. No, not seasonal affect disorder caused by lack of sunlight that some of us experience during the holidays, but the grimy gut bucket music that I love so much. Listening to Albert King or…
The Fight Against Sensory Overload Temporary Amnesia When I was growing up there were a couple of places that I used to frequent that are slowly starting to disappear. One was the record store, and the other was the video store. Both of these brick and mortar businesses had something in common for me: they induced sensory overload temporary amnesia (SOTA). Here is how it worked: before I went to the record store I thought of at least ten albums I wanted (for those of…
If we’ve said it once on this site we’ve said it a thousand times, Detroiters are a prideful bunch. It’s been over 30 years since Stroh’s Brewing Company had brewed their iconic beer in Detroit and recently the news was dropped that the classic Bohemian Style Pilsner would once again be produced in the Motor City at Brew Detroit. Since Sommbeer has some pretty strong Detroit and Michigan roots Don Manfredi pitched the idea that he, David, and myself (John) should dive in and review…
There are times in your life where the disappointment is palpable and stays with you. Like when you asked a girl to dance and she said “no”, or you got to the cafeteria late on stromboli day and had to eat a day old cheeseburger. Maybe not life changing disappointment but something I categorize as “slumped shoulder events”. The events that you walk away from the same way Charlie Brown did all the time. There are also times when something pleasantly surprises you. Dark Lord…
Three Floyds is one of my favorite breweries. I have gone on record claiming that I have never had a bad beer from them. In fact, I declared their flagship IPA Zombie Dust as the best single IPA on the planet. So when I heard that they make a stout that is so amazing that it has a whole day dedicated to it, it got my attention. That stout is Dark Lord, and the event is the annual Dark Lord Day at the end of…