Southern Tier Bourbon Smash and Gin & Tonic

If you have been following my blog for awhile now then you know I have mixed feelings about Southern Tier Brewing Company. While I do think some of their beers are wonderful, most of them, especially recent releases, have left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. My low batting average with recent Southern Tier releases has significantly lowered the amount of time their beer takes up real estate in my refrigerator:

I still find myself curious about each new offering I see from them, but rarely does that curiosity get me to actually purchase one. This blog is about one of those rare times curiosity got the best of me. I not only purchased one of their offerings I had yet to try but two. The only issue about writing about it on a beer blog is the fact that neither one is a beer. They are both mixed cocktails and they are both surprisingly good.

I will start with Bourbon Smash. If you are a fan of bourbon & ginger ale, you will really enjoy this take on it. Southern Tier Bourbon is showcased nicely but does not over power. It is balanced nicely by the strong flavor of ginger and a refreshing touch of lemon on the finish. The can says there is mint in the cocktail but I did not taste any. It is a touch on the sweet side, but I did not think it was cloying.

Speaking of sweet, Southern Tier's take on a Gin & Tonic is a bit sweeter than I would have liked, but it is still quite good. It is floral, refreshing and also really showcases the gin. The use of cucumber instead of lime was also a fantastic choice for this canned cocktail. I wish the sugar was dialed back a touch as I could see that being off-putting to some, but overall this is a really impressive canned cocktail.

I feel like this is the first positive blog I have written about Southern Tier in quite sometime. I honestly wish it was about beer but unfortunately the praise here is going to their distillery. If you are looking for a great Southern Tier beer, I highly recommend checking out their recently released Fall offerings Warlock Pumpkin Imperial Stout and their Harvest ESB. If you are looking for something different and refreshing for your summer drinking, I highly recommend both the Bourbon Smash and Gin & Tonic. Oh, and for my next blog, I promise to go back to writing about a beer.


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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Founders Lizard of Koz

Welcome to my new readers who saw me on 13 WHAM's Good Day Rochester!
For the video of our "Holiday Pub Crawl" Click Here

As a beer drinker, I absolutely love the holiday season.  Breweries from across the country seem to release some of their best beer around this time of the year. From old favorites, to new exciting beers, there is no shortage of great beers to try. What is not ideal is the impact this has on my wallet. It almost feels as soon as I find one exciting beer, I find out another one is just hitting shelves. For this week's review, I parted with 17 dollars and picked up the latest offering from Founders Brewing Company, Lizard of Koz.

For a huge fan of barrel aged beers from Founders, Lizard of Koz sounded very exciting. A bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with blueberries, vanilla and chocolate seemed like it was going to be an automatic 5/5. I actually got nervous that this blog would sound more like a commercial than a critique. As soon I got my first whiff of the aroma, I immediately knew this wasn't going to be the case. The aroma of Lizard of Koz is practically just chocolate & blueberry. The taste of Lizard of Koz is practically just chocolate & blueberry. These flavors are so dominant that nothing else really gets a chance to shine here. I had to keep looking for any presence of the barrel and if I did not let Lizard of Koz warm a bit, I would not have found it. There is just a little oak & bourbon on the finish which is nice, but there needed to be more. Enduring the sweetness of the chocolate & blueberries became extremely tiresome midway through the glass. If you are wondering how sweet this beer actually is, think hot chocolate packet mix sweetness with blueberry syrup on top of that. Once my glass was empty I was more concerned about getting a cavity than refilling my glass.

To me, Lizard of Koz is a huge miss from the makers of amazing barrel aged classics like KBS, CBS, Backwoods Bastard and Project Pam. I say “to me” because I genuinely believe someone else will really enjoy this beer. For people that have a “sweet tooth” this beer might be right up your alley. If you read my review above and thought that it sounds good, I would strongly encourage you to pick up a bottle. I promise I will be leaving the rest of them on the shelves.

Overall I would rate Lizard of Koz a 2/5. A surprisingly disappointing offering from an outstanding brewery.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter, Instagram & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Weyerbacher 21st Anniversary Ale

It feels like it's about a 1000 degrees outside and it is humid as all hell. While sweating profusely I thought to myself, “nothing pairs better with this kind of weather than an imperial stout.” So I went to my fridge and grabbed the brand spanking new offering from Weyerbacher, their 21st Anniversary beer. Even though the style of the beer may not be season appropriate, I could not wait for better conditions to drink this bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with cocoa & vanilla. That style of beer, despite sitting outside literally roasting, still sounds absolutely wonderful. Weyerbacher 21st Anniversary is also a beer that I am sure hit my market in a limited quantity. So I want to get the word out whether this beer is worth seeking out or not. Even if the bottles sell out fast locally it may be sitting on shelves in other markets or available on draft. And if it is anything like Weyerbacher's Sunday Morning Stout, then it would be a must-try and worth going the extra mile for. So I felt despite these warm and treacherous conditions, a review of this 11.9% stout had to happen.

Weyerbacher 21st Anniversary pours a brownish black with a light brown head. There was practically no head retention whatsoever. Roasted malt, smoke, chocolate and oak stood out in the aroma. Everything I tasted initially was very similar to the aroma. I was immediately hit with a lot of smokey, roasted malt. The smoke really stands out above all else. There is also a light vanilla sweetness and a hint of bourbon on the finish. My initial impression is that this could have spent some more time in the barrel. The very light flavors that the barrel aging imparted on this beer are nice, but they felt underdeveloped. The oak is there but after every sip I took I wanted more.  As it warmed the pleasant vanilla sweetness rose to the forefront before a smokey, bitter finish. The flavors here have a lot of potential, but the beer is just too thin, under-carbonated and underdeveloped. I am not saying this is a bad beer. It is just not as good as it could have been.


Overall I would rate Weyerbacher 21st Anniversary a 3/5. This is a fairly underwhelming barrel aged stout from the same brewery that makes Sunday Morning Stout. It is not worth going the extra mile for.

I would also like to have a moment of silence for my fairly new Spiegelau stout glass that did not make it through this review. This fantastic glass and I had a brief but good run. It will be missed.


Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Clown Shoes Bluegrass Billionaire

The first barleywine I ever tried was somewhere around 2004-2005. I remember it like it was yesterday, I was at a bar with my dad and as usual I looked for something on the menu I had yet to try. The only option I found was Brooklyn Monster Ale. So like most beers at the time, I ordered it without any idea of what it was and just hoped I would like it. It turned out I absolutely hated it. It was thick, rich, sweet, boozy and had the consistency of cough syrup. It was safe to say it was unlike anything I had tried up until that point. I actually thought it was so bad that maybe the entire barleywine style was not for me. It literally took almost a decade for me to try another barleywine. The only reason I did that was because it was part of the Goose Island Bourbon County line of beers. I absolutely loved that one and from that point on I have absolutely loved the style. Lagunitas Olde Gnarlywine, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale and Bells Third Coast Ale have become just a few of my fairly easy to find favorites. But even though I am not afraid to try it again, I have still yet to revisit Brooklyn's Monster Ale. The reason for that is aside from Sorachi Ace, I have not liked anything I have had from the Brooklyn Brewery. But perhaps it would be fun to revisit Monster Ale down the road for another review. For this review though, I decided on a more “out of the blue” barleywine, Bluegrass Billionaire Bourbon Barrel Aged English Style Barleywine from Clown Shoes.

I realize I could have reviewed a non-barrel aged barleywine but I did not for two reasons. The first being the most obvious; bourbon barrel aged beer in general is more fun to try. And second, reviewing Bluegrass Billionaire also helps me justify my 14 dollar impulse purchase of this 22 oz. Bomber. So as I poured the dense, cloudy reddish-brown barleywine with a light tan head, I could not help but think this was a win for everyone. The aroma was pleasant and really showed off the barrel aging. There was caramel, vanilla, fig, bourbon and oak. When I took my first sip I immediately noticed a pleasant, earthy hoppiness. As I continued to work my way through the glass the flavors of caramel, vanilla, fig, date, raisin and bourbon shined nicely. But an earthy, oak & boozy finish subtracted from the beer. I realize I am complaining about a 12.5% ABV beer having a boozy finish, but I feel it could have been hidden better. If I had patience I realize it probably would have smoothed out a bit by placing it in the cellar for awhile, but I did not want to wait to drink it. A definite positive trait about this barleywine is that it's not too sweet. I recently had Bourbon Barrel Aged Thor's Hammer from Central City Brewers and the syrupy sweetness of that wore on me the further I got into the glass. The earthy hoppiness of Bluegrass Billionaire helps prevent the sweetness from becoming overwhelming. providing a nice sense of balance.

I would consider drinking Clown Shoes' Bluegrass Billionaire a fairly positive experience. It may not be as good as I hoped it would be, but that's not saying it was a bad beer either. What I am trying to say is there are better barleywines out there. While I would like to see what Bluegrass Billionaire tastes like with some aging on it, I do not foresee a second purchase in my immediate future. Even though I liked it, I would still recommend spending that 14 dollars on something else.  The main thing I want you to take from this review is just because a style of beer did not work for you in the past, it is still worth giving a second chance to down the road.

Overall I would rate Clown Shoes' Bluegrass Billionaire a 3.25/5. The main thing I want you to take from this review is that just because a style of beer did not work for you in the past, it is still worth giving a second chance to down the road.


Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard Ale

I'm a huge fan of bourbon barrel aged beer. Bourbon County Brand Stout, Founders Backwoods Bastard, Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine and Founders KBS are some of my personal favorite beers. I enjoy them so much that, if they are on tap in my area I will recruit my friends to go try those beers with a level of enthusiasm that makes it seem like we are attending the Beer Super Bowl. Because of my fondness for those beers I seem to think any beer that spends time aging in a bourbon barrel is going to be fantastic. And while that is definitely not the case, I seem to fall for it every time.

On a recent visit to my local beer store, I stumbled upon Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard Ale from Stone Brewing Company and immediately picked up a couple bottles. While I was excited to try it, I've always had mixed feelings toward Arrogant Bastard Ale. I always thought the name of the beer was fantastic and the label on the bottle is hilarious. The flavor of the beer however has never quite been as good as I wanted it to be. Over the years I've revisited it from time to time hoping for different results but I always seem to arrive at the same conclusion, it's a mediocre beer that relies on its name to sell it. But I felt it was time to push those feelings aside. This version of Arrogant Bastard was aged in bourbon barrels and that gave it a clean slate and a strong desire for me to like it. But would I?

Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard pours a slightly hazy dark red with a lingering khaki head. The aroma is full of caramel malt and dark fruit with citrus, pine and oak. The initial flavor is pine and citrus with a caramel malt backbone, basically Arrogant Bastard. The flavor progresses to some pleasant vanilla and toffee sweetness from the oak before a slightly bitter pine finish. The most noticeable thing is the absence of bourbon flavor which to be honest I found most disappointing. The flavors of the oak clearly come through and do in fact add to the flavor in a positive way. However this isn't the oak aged version of Arrogant Bastard, this is the bourbon barrel aged version. Another thing I felt was lacking was proper carbonation. While it wasn't flat it was certainly lacking the proper amount of effervescence it required.

Grading Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard is difficult. While it is an improvement on the original beer, the barrel aging should have added more to its flavor profile. That being said, the added layers of sweetness brought a better balance to the aggressive hops of the original beer. But at the same time the lack of carbonation reminded me of drinking out of an old 2 liter bottle of soda. It might not be flat but it certainly was close. What I am basically trying to say is while this is not a bad beer, it just feels like a missed opportunity at making a really good one.

Overall I rate Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard a 2.75/5. It's worth trying if you are a fan of Arrogant Bastard Ale. But if you are a fan of bourbon barrel aged beers it feels like a disappointment.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

The Muddy Imperial Stout by Goose Island

I have to admit pretty much anytime I visit the grocery store I feel I have to check the beer aisle. Most of the time I walk out of the aisle with nothing. Nevertheless I feel I have to check because of that exciting moment every beer enthusiast loves, finding something new and exciting. I did just that on a recent visit when I came across The Muddy Imperial Stout by The Goose Island Beer Company. Now if the Bourbon County Series has taught us one thing, The Goose Island Beer Company knows how to make an incredible stout. I didn't think for an instant this was going to be in the same ball park as Bourbon County but I thought there was a chance it was the equivalent of tailgating outside of said ball park. Please pardon the bad sports metaphor but I was very excited about that. Add in the fact that this imperial stout according to the bottle featured “amplified sweetness with licorice notes” I probably could not have gotten it in the cart fast enough. The only question I was left with was, is this beer going to be as exciting as I think it's going to be?

The Muddy poured a thick black color with a dark tan head that went away almost immediately. The aroma was slightly sweet, full of roasted malt with chocolate and a hint of coffee. The aroma was also slightly boozy but with an ABV of 9% that is not completely unexpected. And while The Muddy is a fun name for a stout, unfortunately it accurately described the flavor. The roasted malt was easily detectable initially in the flavor but shortly after that the outrageous candy sweetness dominated my palate. It was so overpowering that any of the subtle flavors that I was doing my best to detect were pretty much “muddied” by this sweetness. The worst part to me was the fact that the licorice was practically nonexistent. As I made my way through the glass I kept hoping the next sip was going to be the one where I tasted the licorice, sadly this never happened.

When I was finished with The Muddy all I was left with was an empty glass and a whole lot of disappointment for this completely missed opportunity by Goose Island to create something new and creative. And it is also a reminder that unfortunately not every new beer we spot is as good as we hope it would be. But it is beers like The Muddy that make us appreciate when we find that good beer that much more.

Overall I give The Muddy Imperial Stout a 1.5/5. While it is not completely undrinkable it reminded me more of an extremely sweet cheap liqueur then it did an imperial stout.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

A Crafty Look at Miller Fortune

For a lot of people shopping for beer can be just like trying to find something to watch on Netflix. You go in looking for something new and exciting but after 10 minutes of looking you choose something that's safe, familiar or nothing at all. The purpose of this blog will be to help inform you what is out there and if it is worth your consideration. That being said you may not always agree with the opinions in this blog but if they lead you into finding something you like, then I feel I've done my job.

Since this is a brand new blog, I've decided to start it off with a brand new beer whose advertising display is currently taking up plenty of space in my local beer isles. That beer is Miller Fortune. Now starting a beer blog off with a famous brewery like Miller is not exactly the adventurous start one might expect. But my interest was peaked by a major brewery trying to market a Bourbon style Golden Lager and I can't imagine I am the only one.

For the past few years beer giants like Budweiser, Miller and Coors have tried to keep up with the public's growing interest in Microbreweries and with mixed results they have tried to diversify their lineup by brewing beers that cater to the microbrew crowd. And for every success story like Coors' Blue Moon, there is a failure like Budweiser American Ale. As I stared at the giant display I wondered which side of the coin Miller Fortune would fall on. After tasting it, I unfortunately think it's going to be the latter. Although, that is not to say that Miller Fortune is a horrible beer.

After pouring from a cool-looking 12 oz bottle, Miller Fortune displays a clear amber color with a thin white head. The aroma is sweet with a hint of corn and for a brief moment actually reminded me of bourbon. But unfortunately upon tasting there is no bourbon in the flavor, just the familiar cheap Miller flavor we have all come to expect over the years. But before I could completely write this beer off something surprising happened and the beer finished with a very nice caramel sweetness that tries its hardest to momentarily to make you forget you're drinking something that's average at best.

On the plus side, what Miller Fortune may lack in overall flavor it makes up for in drinkability. The beer is surprisingly smooth and boasts a rather strong 6.9% ABV which it's pleasant aftertaste hides quite well. Basically what I am saying is if someone handed it to you at a party you'd enjoy it but forget about it the moment the bottle was empty. And with that being said, at 7 dollars a six pack your money is better spent else where.

Overall: I'd rate this beer 4.5 out of 10. It's basically Miller Genuine Draft with a higher alcohol content and a better aftertaste.




To discuss this column or all things beer follow me on Twitter at @ACraftyLook.

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!