There’s no way you didn’t read that in his voice. How can you not read “Oh Yea” and not picture Randy “Macho Man” Savage? Or hear his gravelly voice yelling that? Its one of the iconic wrestling sounds, like Ric Flair’s “WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” or the glass shattering for Stone Cold Steve Austin’s entrance, or the gong for The Undertaker. You know exactly what’s gonna happen.

Wrestling might be a grown man’s soap opera, and it might also be beautiful, choreographed gladiator like ballet, but its also a wonderful story telling platform and media, and its also a host to some amazing characters, personas, and people. Macho Man Randy Savage is one of those people.

If you were a 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s child, you can name some of the greats of your generation I’m sure. For the 80s, I can think of Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson, Randy Macho Man Savage, George the Animal Steele, Harley Race, Junkyard Dog, Sting, Rowdy Roddy Piper, The Ultimate Warrior. For the 90s you have The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, RVD, Sabu, Taz, Mick Foley, Kane, Eddie Guerrero, Brian Pillman, Goldberg.

Interesting fun note; Pilger Ruh Brewing’s one co-owner and partner is Anthony Deppen. A professional wrestler who will be performing at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle (2020) this year. (Super cool dude, down to earth, big craft beer fan, and great wrestler.)

But anyway… I digress. We’re here to discuss beer, not wrestling.

No… really, we must. I insist on it!

Oh… we’re doing this bit again, aren’t we? Like I did in The Growfather beer review? I know the average attention span for most readers is only about three minutes…. so….

Sigh. I was gonna say, ‘so I better hurry up and review the beer’…. but… ugh… must we do this bit for a second time? Really?

Double sigh. French sigh – Le Sigh.

Ok, I’m just gonna push through and do the beer review….

Beer: Macho Man
Brewery: Couch Brewery
Style: Wheat Beer – Other
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Hibiscus Raspberry Lime Wheat

First, I want to thank Bobby Nacho for inviting me out to Couch Brewery on a day when they weren’t even open. He gave me a tour of the place, let me sample all the beers on tap, and even sent me on my way with a four pack – Macho Man, Atomic Clock, Sofia Quemando, and Morning Wood. (This might be the first and last time anyone ever says that Bobby gave them ‘morning wood’……) Anyhoo… you can read about the brewery tour here: Brewery Tour of Couch Brewery. This was part of my trip to Indianapolis, you can check out the article on the second day of my trip (which included the tour of Couch Brewery, me visiting Vandergrift, Pittsburgh, and Washington) here – The Trip to Indianapolis: Day Two.

Couch Brewery is listed as a micro brewery on Untappd. They have 120 unique beers with a global average rating of 3.59 (as of 11.25.20). They are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Now that the background is out of the way, onto the beer itself….

This has a reddish, light, wheat beer appearance. Its primarily clear but a bit dark red, and so becomes a bit opaque / cloudy / hazy in some light and as you drink it. There is a rich frothy, creamy head to this, that leaves a nice lacing on the glass.

Aroma is very heavy hibiscus, raspberry, and grain. You can very heavy raspberry and hibiscus, with the grain bill giving it a body to cling to. There is some lime aroma though its a bit fainter. Overall its floral, and pretty strong – not overpowering or pungent, but a strong floral smell that’s inviting and wanting you to drink.

I even told him at the bar when we were sampling all the beers, that I wasn’t a fan of hibiscus, that I’ve had it in a few select beers (the most notable that I can think of being Crimson Pistil; and I was not a fan) and never really cared for it. Just a flavor that I have found that I am not too keen on. But oh boy… or should I say OHHHH YEAAAAAAA…… this blew me away. Maybe its the raspberry? Or the lime? Or that its a wheat beer rather than an IPA (like the Crimson Pistil), but I was absolutely blown away by this beer, and immediately loved it. There is a lot of raspberry flavor to this, and a lot more lime than I expected from the aroma. Its got a lot of berry, a lot of floral, and a good bit of lime – giving it almost a zesty, citrus, zip to it, a bit of a kick to it. I do really love raspberries in beer (really, any berries other than strawberries, I love blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, mulberries, raspberries, etc.; just no strawberries), and this uses them very well. This is fruity, and floral, and from the raspberries, a bit tart, not fully diving into ‘tart – sour’ country, but just a wee bit of tartness and zip to give it some added taste. It is interesting for a wheat beer, that other than a little bit of the grain taste; it doesn’t taste like a wheat beer (primarily because of how much the floral and fruit flavors overpower the grain). All in all, this is a wonderful, and delicious, and interesting beer, and shows how you can bend styles to be interesting, new, and still very tasty. And hell, it even turned me into a fan of a hibiscus beer, who knew? I recommend it, and I recommend you check out Couch Brewery too. Especially on Black Friday for their Black Stout AHT 2020 event. You won’t want to miss that or this delicious beer!

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 3.81 (as of 11.25.20)

Speaking of Black Friday, do check out Couch Brewery’s website (Couch Brewery) to find out more information on their Black Stout AHT 2020 event. It sounds amazing! You can also fin out more on their Facebook page – Couch Brewery.

You can also find out more about my trip to Indianapolis, and getting to tour Couch Brewery, by the links below:

The Trip to Indianapolis – Full Articles:

• Day One: Thousand Steps Trail, Juniata Brewing Company, Ghost Town Trail, Levity Brewing
• Day Two: Rock Furnace Trail, Allusion Brewing Company, Couch Brewery, Riverview Park, Hop Farm Brewing Company, The Meadows Casino
• Day Three:
• Day Four:
• Day Five:
• Day Six:
• Day Seven:

The Trip to Indianapolis – Recap Articles:

• The Trip to Indy
• The Trip to Indy – Day One Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Two Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Three Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Four Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Five Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Six Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Seven Recap
• Recap and Stats

Brewery Tour:

• Couch Brewery Tour

Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow, and a safe Drinksgiving or Friendsgiving or whatever you are doing today, and a safe Black Friday on Friday. There is a lot of great local small brewery options for Black Friday; you don’t have to go crazy for the Goose Island (couch AB In-Bev) Bourbon County Stouts. Either way, whatever you do, stay safe and socially distanced! Cheers!

-B. Kline

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All is not lost; the unconquerable will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield; (And what is else not to be overcome?) That glory never shall his wrath or might Extort from me, to bow and sue for grace With suppliant knee and deify his power, Who from the terror of his arm so late Doubted his empire[.] (I, 106–114)

– Satan
John Milton’s Paradise Lost

While writing the review for the ‘Gotta Get Up to Get Down’ WISEACRE Brewing Company‘s beer last night, I drank this up, quickly, easily, and very happily. Getting home from work, and writing up the review, and reading over AJ Brechbiel’s first entry with Default Brewing: Cheers from Default Brewing! I had my first can. Walked my dog Leela across town, and came back to watch the Survivor Series and the latest Rick and Morty episode, I had my second can of this. Wish I had an entire four pack, or six pack, or eight pack, or twelve hundred pack of this delicious, super tasty, super juicy, fantastic brewski.

The beer mail that contained Southern Prohibition’s Paradise Lost, as well as the several others that I’ve reviewed: Crosstown Brewing’s “Boat Drinks: Pina Colada“, WISEACRE’s “Adjective Animal” and “Gotta Get Up to Get Down“. (I didn’t show the duplicates in the picture.) And for reference point, that’s Leela providing protection for the beers in the background. (She is a border collie pure breed, rescued, and she is named after Turonga Leela from Futurama.)

So now, as I sit watching another Flyers game and also switching back and forth with the Monday Night Football game of Rams vs. Ravens (go Rams I guess…..) and even jumping to RAW occasionally, I’m sipping on another Southern Prohibition beer – CROWD CONTROL – a double IPA. The green can in the above picture.

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”

John Milton, Paradise Lost

For this review, I’m reviewing the Double Dry Hopped version of Paradise Lost. They have released cans of both the Doubled Dry Hopped and the regular version of Paradise Lost. The both have similar, but different can artwork.

Beer: Double Dry Hopped Paradise Lost
Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 8.1%
IBU: None Listed
Untappd Write-Up: Like the title says, Paradise Lost that’s double double dry-hopped.

The Non-Double Dry Hopped Untappd Write-Up: Deep golden and opaque, Paradise Lost is our hoppiest beer to date. Massive tropical fruit and pine aromas escape the top of the glass thanks to the dose of Lupulin powder and a heavy handed double dry-hop. Clinging to the flaked oats like a life preserver, hop oils remain in suspension creating full flavors of peach, mango and pineapple. This is a beer celebrating our fondness of hops and how we utilize them, and like all IPAs it is meant to be drank fresh.

Fallen Cherub, to be weak is miserable, Doing or suffering: but of this be sure, To do augh good never will be our task; But ever to do ill our sole delight: As being contrary to his high will Whom we resist[.] (I, 157–162)

– Satan
-John Milton, Paradise Lost

Firstly, I could go all day quoting Paradise Lost, as its an incredibly easy book and piece of work to quote; plus its just a fantastic piece. So much so that many Christians believe much of whats written in it as Christian faith through and through. Similar to Dante’s Divine Comedy (aka Dante’s Inferno) where the imagery is so succinct, so profound, and so deep, that many Christians believe much of what Dante and Milton wrote are on the same level as The Bible itself.

But I’ll digress from Paradise Lost; the book and piece of fiction, and instead describe and review Paradise Lost – the beer, the fantastic, juicy, dank, tasty beer.

Appearance is very much keeping with the tradition of New England styled IPAs. Bright orangy glowing deep yellow to golden orange juice looking beer. Its hazy, its juicy, its dank looking. Its completely non-see-through-able. There is no sediment, and its probably filtered, but just the process makes it look so deep and dank and heavy. This is just one of those beers that looking at it you know its going to taste good.

Then you get to the aroma, and you are definitely sure its going to be good. It is just a straight up juicy punch of hops in your face. This is a very fruity, very juicy hopped up beer. All kinds of notes of peach, mango, pineapple, full on upfront assail and assault you. Then just to keep you on your toes, you get hit by some pine and zest with just a wee bit of earthy hop notes.

And finally, we get to drinking this beaut. And a beaut it is! Firstly its looked delicious, secondly its smelled delicious, and finally – well hot falling angel – it is delicious! There is a whole lotta flavor happening in this beautiful beer. A full glass of this bright orange juice will gift you with a whole lot of wonderful juicy, fruity, flavors. Peach, mango, pineapple attacking your tastebuds like a bunch of angels revolting. (See all of the allusions, and these great literary call-backs I’m doing? There’s some industry, zopes and tropes, and other crap I’m doing here, its like I’m trying to do something great and literary here…. something epic….. something so massive… that it would be like discussing Heaven, Hell, and the beginning of everything leading the end times…… Nawwwwwwww…… I’m just doing a silly beer review; disregard all of that.) Carrying on… this is a very delicious New England stylized IPA. Its very juicy, its very hoppy. You get lots of juice and dankness right up front, with the fruity hops taking the forefront, with the peach and mango in spades with some pineapple. This tails off into a little bit of bitter and interesting pine and earthy hop notes. Making for just a full well rounded, delicious IPA. The 8.1% ABV slowly creeps up on you and by the end of the 16 ounces it lets you know its there. (Just try drinking two of these with no food and having taken a dog for a walk; that 32 ounces of 8.1% ABV will really let themselves be known!)

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: (Regular Version) – 4.1 – (Double Dry Hopped Version) – 4.29 (as of 11.25.19)

“Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven.”
– Satan

― John Milton, Paradise Lost

The count down to the end of the month continues. Still going strong with the blog. And still going strong with my new beer a day. 25 days down, and 25+ new beers, and 25 blog posts done. 5 more to go. With one being Thanksgiving, and depending on any cool “Black Friday Stout” events I’m able to make it to on Friday, a possible special Friday event.

I’d like to try and get out to a new brewery before the month’s end. But with work, and the holiday, I’m not sure I’ll be able to. We’ll see though, and fingers crossed, hopefully I will.

For more great quotes from Paradise Lost you can check out the following sites:
* Good Reads – Paradise Lost Quotes
* SparkNotes – Satan’s Best Quotes from Paradise Lost
* Top 10 Favorite Quotes from Paradise Lost

Hopefully you all enjoyed this more literary bent beer review. I enjoyed writing it. I love getting to combine two of my great passions, reading and and books and beers. So finding a beer that is so literary bent on its own (well, on its namesake anyway) made for an easy choice to review. Now to find a beer named ‘Of Mice and Men’ or ‘Flowers for Algernon’ or perhaps a Star Wars themed ones…. or…. a Space Balls one….. like…. say the “Moon of Vega“. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, hint, hint on a future beer review there….

Also, always on the lookout for beer or nerdy themed beers. So if you know of any, let us know in the comments. I’d love to see some different beers I haven’t had or heard of yet and to do beer reviews of them.

Hopefully you all liked the review, let us know in the comments, let us know on FaceBook or Twitter. Let us know by clicking the subscribe so you can read more reviews. Or let us know by clicking the like or rating this post. We, all of us here at The Beer Thrillers, appreciate all the feedback we can get. It’ll help us grow and get bigger and better, so please let us know!

Cheers and enjoy everyone!

-B. Kline