Ready to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day 2021? Since… well… we really didn’t get to last year? Suddenly got an extra 1,400$ in your bank account on St. Patrick’s Day morning and not knowing what to do with it? Why not help out those restaurants that have been hurt for this past year!

Its incredibly crazy to see how its been a year since COVID mitigation efforts started, since shut downs were instituted, and we were all locked inside our homes watching Tiger King on Netflix. Looking back at the memories of the blog and my own and seeing just how little we were all prepared for everything happening… how things unfolded, watching event after event get cancelled, shut down or lock down after shut down and lock down, protocols instituted, changes to restaurants, etc…. its so crazy and surreal and unbelievable to look back on. What a time to be alive?!

Reminds me of Frodo and Gandalf discussing “crazy times to be alive in”:

Frodo: I wish it need not have happened in my time.
Gandalf: So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

But here we are, a year out from all those shenanigans (ahh, what a great word to use on St. Patrick’s Day), and its time to celebrate. So what do you do? Let’s help out our local craft breweries instead of just jumping into the Guinness and Irish Car Bombs, let’s look at some of the great craft brewery offerings!

Stouts

There is no shortage of amazing stouts in the area; and by area, I am speaking of my area – which is the Central PA area. Think Hershey, Harrisburg, Middletown, Hummelstown, Annville, Palmyra, Mechanicsburg, etc.

There are plenty of great stouts and we can look at some of them right here. Let’s start with my home town of Hummelstown.

Rubber Soul’s 317 Stout
Rubber Soul just released a brand new coffee stout to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and its named 317 (…if you can figure out why they named it that, please let our intern know, he’s very confused about the name, because the area code is 717).

Click here to read our Beer Review: 317 Stout (Rubber Soul Brewing Company).

It is a lovely, roasty, toasty, coffee stout. Its a Stout – Irish Dry, and its only 4.9%. The Untappd listing for it is:

Beer: 317
Brewery: Rubber Soul Brewing Company
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 4.9%
IBU: None
Untapped Description: Roasty and smooth with a cold coffee finish from the Elementary cold brewed coffee.
Global Untappd Rating: 3.81 (as of 3.17.21)

This would make for a lovely chaser to some Jamison Whiskey, or possibly even could be a wonderful substitute for a Guinness in a Irish Car Bomb.

Troegs Independent Craft Brewery
Let’s stroll over to Hershey now and see just how many different offerings Troegs has in the stout division. (Hint – there’s a few).

First up: JavaHead Stout:

Beer: Java Head
Brewery: Troegs Independent Craft Brewery
Style: Stout – Coffee
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: 60
Untappd Description: JavaHead is like a day at Tröegs; it’s hard to tell where the coffee ends and the beer begins. This creamy oatmeal stout is infused with locally roasted, cold steeped coffee through our HopBack vessel, releasing subtle hints of cocoa, roasted nuts and dark mocha.
Untappd Global Average Rating: 3.7 (as of 3.17.21)

They also have two versions of their Chocolate Stout; regular and on Nitro. My preference is the Nitro (but I also tend to prefer Nitro most times in general, so take that for what it is). They are the same beer.

Beer: Chocolate Stout
Brewery: Troegs Independent Craft Brewery
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet
ABV: 7.1%
IBU: 41
Untappd Description: Our lush and layered Chocolate Stout showcases the best of an anthology of malts and grains: the soft, coffee-like bitterness of roasted barley, the rich caramel notes of Special B, the subtle sweetness of chocolate malt, and the silkiness of oats. Cocoa nibs add the depth of dark chocolate, and a touch of Madagascar vanilla puts a bow on this roasty winter warmer.
Global Untappd Average Rating: 3.79 (as of 3.17.21)

The Nitro version has a different description:
Six different malt varieties, cacao nibs, dark chocolate, lactose, oats, and vanilla combine to produce a decadent Chocolate Stout. Dispensing via nitrogen yields a lush, velvety texture and rich, smooth finish.
It also has a higher global rating – 3.94. (As of 3.17.21)

This is their latest newcomer to their stout market, and it is possibly my favorite. You can see our review of it here: Beer Review: Grand Cacao (Troegs Craft Brewing).

Beer: Grand Cacao
Brewery: Troegs Independent Craft Brewing
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Welcome to Grand Cacao. This deliciously decadent stout is built on a foundation of rich chocolate malt, caramel malt and roasted barley. Cold-steeping on Peruvian cacao nibs and natural vanilla doubles down on the smooth symphony of chocolate, and a splash of milk sugar delivers a velvety sweet and creamy finish.
We taste: milk chocolate, roasty grain, hints of sweet cream.
Global Untappd Average Rating: 3.63 (as of 3.17.21)

Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery
Lets bounce over to Tattered Flag in Middletown now, who have never had any shortness of wonderful stouts on their menu. Just looking at their Untappd menu they currently have at their brewery in Middletown:

• Leprechaun Wraith
• Peppermint Wraith
• Coconut Stout
• War Bonds Breakfast Stout
• Black is Beautiful

And they have a guest tap of Our Town Brewery’s “Bar Room Hymnal”. Which, I was just at last Friday. You can check out my trip to the Lancaster Breweries in one of my latest travelogues here: “Hiking Turkey Hill Point and Visiting Lancaster’s Newest Breweries – Cartel Brewing, Our Town Brewery, and Big Dog Brewing”.

Let’s look at Leprechaun Wraith:

Beer: Leprechaun Wraith
Brewery: Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery
Style: Stout – Other
ABV: 12%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Our Pastry stout base aged in ex Irish whiskey casks for months before conditioning in stainless over marshmallow cream and vanilla. Its like an Irish Car Bomb in a bottle!
Global Average Untappd Rating: 4.01 (as of 3.17.21)

Sounds perfect for tonight’s at-home festivities!

Boneshire Brew Works
Boneshire Brew Works has a wonderful stout of their own that they have for March each year, called Grattan Irish Stout. This is one that is definitely worth a pickup of a 4-pack every year, or at minimum a pint on draft.

Beer: Grattan Irish Stout
Brewery: Boneshire Brew Works
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 4.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: This stout is traditionally dry and super drinkable. Beware of the Leprechaun while drinking this one.
Global Untappd Average Rating: 3.9 (as of 3.17.21)

Be sure to read our review of it here: Beer Review: Grattan Irish Stout (Boneshire Brew Works).

Rotunda Brewing Company
We would be amiss if we didn’t mention Rotunda Brewing Company’s stout – aptly named: IRISH CAR BOMB. We got to have this before their Kegs and Eggs event last year; right before the shut down (just mere days before the shut down). You can read about the event here: Kegs and Eggs (2020) at the Batdorf – Rotunda Brewing Company.

And you can read our review of the beer here: Beer Review: Irish Car Bomb (Rotunda Brewing Company).

Beer: Irish Car Bomb
Brewery: Rotunda Brewing Company
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: On Nitro.
Global Average Untappd Rating: 4.17 (as of 3.17.21)

Rotunda’s Brewery Pub in Hershey also has a few other stouts on hand if you want to give them a try:

• Lady Morrigan Nitro Stout
• Grasshopper Brownie Imperial Stout
• Death by Decadence
• Car Bomb: Imperial Stout (not the same as the one above)

Green Beer

Maybe you don’t want a stout, maybe you don’t like doing Irish Car Bombs and don’t feel like dropping Jamison and Bailey’s into a local craft brewery’s stout. Maybe you just want a good… old fashioned…. green beer?

Well, you are still in luck!

Staying with Rotunda, they released a green beer at their brew pub in Hershey called Green Goodness.

Beer: Green Goodness
Brewery: Rotunda Brewing Company
Style: Sour – Fruited Gose
ABV: 6.9%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Kettle sour with lactose and conditioned on 7 fruit and vegetable purees.
Untappd Global Average Rating: 4 (as of 3.17.21)

Liquid Noise
Now let’s head across the river to Marysville and see what they have to offer for St. Paddy’s Day. They’ve gotten quite a bit of buzz lately about their recently released green beer in celebration of St. Paddy’s Day. They were even featured on ABC27 News: Liquid Noise on Good Morning ABC27 News.

Beer: A Little Extra – Goin’ Green
Brewery: Liquid Noise Brewing Company
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 30
Untappd Description: Light in body, green in appearance. What else Do you expect on St. Pattys Day?
Global Untappd Rating: (No Average formed yet. Not enough check-ins yet.) (3.17.21)

So let’s celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

Ok, now its time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! And lets do it safely everyone. Still obey precautions and rules and laws. What is everyone planning on doing today? What are your big plans for the day? I’m thinking low-key for myself, as I have a lot of writing to do, and not sure on what all to do tonight. But I might be persuaded to go out and enjoy myself some St. Paddy’s beer. Where at? Maybe a nice dinner with bangers and mash? Or Shepherd’s Pie? Who knows! I have about 2% Irish in me, but on St. Patrick’s Day we’re all Irish for the day! So let me know in the comments what you are planning to do for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!

As always, be safe, be careful, and use Uber or Lyft if going out and celebrating too excessively. Be sure to mind the precautions, and rules, we’re almost there. The light is at the end of the tunnel. April 4th we all will be back to a far more normal world (I cannot wait to drink at a bar again!). Until then everyone, cheers and slainte!

Slainte!

-B. Kline

Be sure to keep following the March Madness and our Battle of the Breweries (2021) Brackets. We are down to the remaining 12 breweries, so hop over and vote!

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think.

I had originally ran out to Harrisburg because I had to go to the DMV to renew my license, only to find out that I now have to go to Enola to renew my license and they are open Tuesday through Saturday (which… of course… today is a Monday). So I walked my dog along the Green Belt and the Riverfront, taking her over to City Island and back, and then decided I’d hit up ZeroDay Brewing. Well… I forgot they are doing the renovations and reconstruction on the old ZeroDay Brewery on Reily Street, and that their new current location doesn’t open til 4PM; so that was obviously a no – go. So I drove home, dropped off Leela, and met Drew and Andy at Troegs.

Sadly, they did not have a cranberry beer, so I only have a cranberry / lemon or lime or something gose I picked up from Urban Artifact for this year’s Thanksgiving. Typically, Troegs does a cranberry every year for Thanksgiving, usually a porter, sometimes something different, and I try to pick up a 4 pack or 6 pack or a crowler of it for the meal. Also, in recent months, it seems Troegs has also really slowed up on their scratch series. Pre-COVID they were doing a new scratch release every Thursday (or nearly every Thursday; and even sometimes doubling up and releasing two on a Thursday), but it seems now they have really slowed up their scratch series, and are releasing them intermittently.

So there was a bit of a dearth in ‘new’ beers for me to try at Troegs today. I was afraid I’d have to drink more when I got home just to hit my requirement of a new beer today, but, I am being a bit cheeky and calling my Mad Elf and Mad Elf Grand Cru picks as ‘new’ since they are technically the Mad Elf (2020) and Mad Elf Grand Cru (2020) vintages. Bit of a loophole… but I’m taking it.

Troegs has slacked a bit on their uptight mandates as well. No longer needing to check into the host and waiting for a text to be seated, and no longer having to “all be together” before seating, I was able to meet up with Drew and Andy who were already seated. Drew ordered a pork waffle thing (no clue), and Andy got fries, I just drank. I had a draft of the Grand Cacao, followed by the Coco-Nator, then the Mad Elf Grand Cru (2020) and the Mad Elf (2020). Funny thing – the very first beer review on the blog here was the scratch Coco-Nator released a year and a half ago – Scratch #375 – Coco-Nator. They then released it later last year as a new seasonal – Coco-Nator, and now its been re-released for the first time this year. And now, here I am, also enjoying a Grand Cacao that I will be doing as another review for Troegs on the blog. (And here I was just thinking to myself how it’s been a ‘hot minute’ since I’ve done a Troegs beer review.) Its almost like coming full circle….

The nice thing about doing the thirty blogs in thirty days thing, is that it gives me a chance to do a lot of reviews I might have skipped, and to really hit a lot of local breweries for the reviews. Getting to do a Tattered Flag one (The Pandalorian) as a recent local brewery beer review. You can see all of my November 2020 posts here: November 2020. Its fun to do a mix-up of local brewery reviews to get the name out and to help promote and because its obviously what I’m drinking, as well as doing some bigger name ones that are maybe from further away breweries or just bigger known beers or breweries, like the Yuengling Hershey Porter or Aslin’s Isolation Anniversary, or Elder Pine Brewing and Blending’s Villeinage.

Troegs Independent Brewing has always put out very strong beers, solid, hard to ignore, hard to hate beers. They are also the biggest local craft brewery in the Central PA area. One of the biggest producers in Pennsylvania, and the East Coast alone. They are often talked about, and one of the more well known breweries. So its great having them theoretically “right in our backyard”. When I was coming of age (of drinking…. legally) (at 21), they were the first real craft brewery that I got into (not counting Sam Adams) and was really the first brewery I visited and went to often. I don’t get to them as much as I used to, and there’s a ton more options now in the area, but they are still a solid brewery.

So let’s break down this latest seasonal beer from Troegs Brewing:

Beer: Grand Cacao
Brewery: Troegs Independent Brewing
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description:

Welcome to Grand Cacao. This deliciously decadent stout is built on a foundation of rich chocolate malt, caramel malt and roasted barley. Cold-steeping on Peruvian cacao nibs and natural vanilla doubles down on the smooth symphony of chocolate, and a splash of milk sugar delivers a velvety sweet and creamy finish.
We taste: milk chocolate, roasty grain, hints of sweet cream

As per usual with a stout, this is dark black, jet fuel black, Razor Ramon hair black. Stephen Hawking black hole black. Black as my….. (oh…. thats too easy….) ….anyway… moving on from the apt description of somebody’s heart and soul that I know….. This is a dark black beer. It had a nice creamy foam head to it, not big, but not small, nice carbonation, and nice lacing on the glass. Good bubbles that were diverse and varied in size.

The aroma is very chocolaty, very cacao, very baker’s chocolate. As me and Drew and Andy were discussing, like with the Yuengling Hershey’s Porter, which is a super sweet chocolate, we kind of (the three of us in consensus) agreed, that we prefer a more bitter baker’s chocolate to a chocolate stout. This smells just like that. This has more of the bitter, earthy, nib, roasted malt, chocolate smell to it.

Taste is surprisingly smooth, but its not the overly sweet Hershey’s syrupy / syrup taste that the above porter has. Despite this being smooth, silky, and creamy, its more of the bitter chocolate notes. The roasted malt and caramel also gives it a very deeper, darker tone and flavor, and brings out more of the bitter and earthy notes, rather than the sweet chocolate. That not to say that this isn’t sweet or creamy or smooth or silky, it is all of those things and more. I think there’s just more complexity to the flavor in that it provides a bitter chocolate taste, while being creamy and smooth and silk and sweet. A nice complexion and degree of difference between the vanilla and the bitter, between the sweet and the bitter, between the cacao nibs and the vanilla and milk sugar. This tastes more like the hot cocoa you get at a football game once the negative 10 degrees sets in fully and turns your hot cocoa into ….well… regular cocoa. Or the milk after a very chocolaty cereal and you ate all the cereal and are now draining the bowl of its chocolatey milk. This is also a pretty crushable drink too. I could easily down a six pack of the 12oz cans of these (thanks Deuane for the can by the way), or if they ever re-release it in four pack at 16oz cans, I could drink a few of them in that size as well. The 6.5% is pretty low (lower than Troegs own Perpetual IPA – their flagship and staple beer and IPA), so its enough to give you a good surprising buzz after a can or two, but not enough to send you hurting for a hangover the next day. (Jokes on my buddies too, telling me I’ll end up with a headache and hangover from the Mad Elf Grand Cru and Mad Elf I had after the Coco-Nator and Grand Cacao…. I don’t get hangovers anymore……..) A low ABV but high flavor stout is always perfect for the fall months and fall weather leading into the more wintry weather and months. This will go great for Thanksgiving and Christmas parties… I mean…. your own personal home get together’s of Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Not sure if this will become a seasonal regular for Troegs or if this was a one-shot done deal, but if it does become a seasonal regular each year, I will certainly be looking forward to it. Make sure you stop out at the brewery for some of this, not sure if the cans are hitting the distributors or stores, but its at the brewery, and its also on draft at the brewery, so make sure you at least get a try of it before it disappears.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.87 (as of 11.23.20)

This turned into a rather longer winded beer review than I intended, but hopefully you stuck around for it, as its now dragged me from 11PM when I started this til just a wee bit after midnight – 12 – so I’m still counting this as upholding my ‘post’ for the day of the 23rd. (Especially since the time stamp and posting of this is based on when the article was started, so I fly by on a technicality there.)

Be sure to check out some of my other Troegs beer reviews:

• Beer Review: Haze Charmer (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Beer Review: Scratch #417 – Orange – Lemon Peel IPA (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Beer Review: Scratch #400 – Pre – Prohibition Lager (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Multiple Beer Review: Scratch #394, Scratch #395, Scratch #396, and Mad Elf (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Two Beer Review: Fresh Fest and Trail Day Pale Ale (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Multiple Beer Review: Fest Lager, Scratch #385 Krausened Dunkel Lager, and Scratch #386 Tangerine – Passionfruit – Guava Tart Ale (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Beer Review: Fuzzy Nudge (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Multiple Beer Review: Scratch #382 Blackberry Lime Tart Ale, Scratch #383 Hazy IPA (Citra, Galaxy, and Simcoe), Dear Peter, and Naked Elf (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Multiple Beer Review: Scratch #379 Krausened Keller Pilsner, Scratch #378 DIPA, Scratch #377 Oat IPA, and Scratch #376 Passionfruit and Guava Tart Ale (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• Beer Review: Scratch #375 Coco-Nator (Troegs Independent Brewing)

For those interested in the Trip to Indianapolis, you can read more through the following articles (some full length articles, some recap articles):

The Trip to Indianapolis – Full Articles:

• Day One: Thousand Steps Trail, Juniata Brewing Company, Ghost Town Trail, Levity Brewing
• Day Two:
• 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

As always everyone, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the beer review and your time here at The Beer Thrillers. Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, and if you want, comment or ask any questions please feel free to do so. Love hearing from you all.

Also be sure to stay safe this Thanksgiving week, with COVID-19 and everything going on, this is going to be a tough week, and one where everyone needs to do their best to stay safe and healthy.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Well, I certainly had a “busy” day yesterday. …Not really, but it felt like it with ‘all that driving around’ I did. I capitalized on some great deals local breweries were doing, and supporting small businesses and local businesses, I ventured forth, with mask, and while practicing social distancing, and stopped at several breweries (Pizza Boy, Ever Grain, and Tattered Flag). With mask, and hand sanitizer, I was like a gunslinger in the Wild West venturing forth and collecting my wares.

Since I can’t visit as many breweries / or even really check out new breweries, I thought up a way to do both. In a win-win kind of situation for myself, and local breweries here and afar. Using some of the beer groups online, I have set-up a few ‘local for local’ trade boxes. (My first two deals are with South Florida and Fort Worth Texas). What it is, is simple. 40-50$ worth per box (so roughly 9-10 16oz cans) from ONLY local smaller breweries (Boneshire Brew Works, Tattered Flag, Ever Grain Brewing, ZeroDay Brewing, etc. Troegs Brewing is kind of the cap due to their distribution). So while I gather my goods, the guys I’m trading with are doing the same in their areas. So we are still buying local, (both them and myself), and we’re trading, so we get to try out new stuff in the process, most likely from places we won’t get to visit (or not likely anytime soon at any rate). Plus, as a bonus, it helps get the various breweries exposure in areas they don’t normally get seen. Like I said, this is a win-win for everyone. Win for me, win for the traders, win for the breweries.

As the picture above shows, I stopped at a few places – three to be exact – Pizza Boy, Ever Grain, and Tattered Flag. In these ‘troubling’ and ‘unprecedented’ and ‘uncertain times’ we need to do all that we can to help support local businesses, support local breweries, the small mom and pop shops, those struggling during these rough times. Many are just like us, struggling and eeking out an existence as best as they can, just like us. And if we don’t step up and help them now, they won’t be here afterwards, after the dust (and virus) settles.

Many are doing deals. Al’s of Hampden / Pizza Boy is doing a “3 for 30$ Before 3PM” daily deal. Your choice of any three things for 30$ total. Medium cheese pizza, dozen wings, or six-packs of Pizza Boy beer. I used it to get pizza for the girls and a six pack for myself. A mix six pack of Pizza Boy (2 Mango River, 2 Printemptuous, and 2 Blue Collar Lager), and two medium cheese pizzas for 30$ is one hell of a deal. At Tattered Flag, Sunday through Thursday (so no Fridays or Saturdays) they are doing crowlers – 3 for 15$. Anything on their tap list is available. Thats an amazing deal! Thats 5$ for a 32oz crowler, three times over. You definitely can’t beat that. My first time going I got the Blackberry Gose, the BA Mint Chocolate Stout, and the Rye Peppercorn Saison. This time I got the Oat Lager, Double TMI IPA, and the Rye Peppercorn Saison again (sadly they were out of the Teutonic Hefeweizen Peanut Butter). At Ever Grain I grabbed a four-pack of their newest beer – Peanut Budder One.

Which leads me to the actual beer review….. Peanut Budder One!

Beer: Peanut Budder One
Brewery: Ever Grain Brewing Co.
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet
ABV: 6%
IBU: None Listed
Untappd Description: The Udder One Milk Stout finished with peanut butter, cocoa nibs, and vanilla.

This is a variant of their Udder One Milk Stout, so if you enjoyed this, most likely this will be up your alley, especially if you love peanut butter. (Which I am a massive sucker for! The Molly Pitcher Peanut Butter Porter is one of my all-time favorite beers.)

Appearance for this gem is just as a stout is meant to look. Razor Ramon dark black hair. Carbonation was spot on, leaving this with a wonderful pillowy and creamy looking brown foamy frothy head. Diverse bubbles in the foam as well as good lacing always shows you the quality and craftsmanship that went into the beer.

Aroma is like a melted Reese’s Peanut Butter cup in stout form. Its peanut butter goodness from as soon as the can is cracked, with a nice good, roasted malt backbone to it. You get the notes of the vanilla, some caramel malt, but its dominated by the lustrous and delicious smelling peanut butter. There is a slight bready smell, but its extremely subtle and just the barest hint of it. The cocoa nibs gives it that bit of chocolaty smell that completes its ‘Reese’s Cup’ aroma.

And to further that analogy…. it tastes just like drinking a Reese’s Cup too. Even more so on the taste than on the aroma. This is a wonderful and well made stout (just like the original – Udder One Milk Stout). Ever Grain is one of the best local breweries, and they put so much skill and craft into each of their beers, and it shows with beers like this, their passion and dedication to their craft – on full display in a beer like this. This tastes just like a sweet, milk, stout should taste. Its got the creamy vanilla smoothness that goes so well with the dark malts, and it has a tremendous mouth feel. It is a good sipping beer but its also a good quick drinker too, and at 6% either is fine. It might be a bit ‘too rich’ to be fully crushable, but at 6% its not going to kill the brain cells too quickly. There’s a lot of really wonderful flavors with this beer that all accompanies and works well with each other that it works really great. This has strong notes of peanut butter, vanilla, coca nibs, and a hint of malt, caramel malt, and even a slight bready note. It has a good mouthfeel that gets a bit watery but not too bad as it drains out of your glass and down your throat, its not cloying, not too sweet, but has a creamy rich smooth taste, and its an easy flowing beer. There is no off flavors and no lingering bad after-taste. This is just simply a really well done and tasty beer all around.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 4.06 (as of 4.17.20).

I will be sending out my packages to Texas and Florida on Monday and Wednesday and should be receiving mine then about two-three days later. I will be sure to post what I get in response. Beer trading is definitely one of the fun things to do with these beer groups. I know I love seeing the beer mail (porch bombs) on groups like the Whalerz, etc.

Thanks for checking out the blog and reading the review. In the upcoming week I should have a lot of interesting news for everyone (including new writers, and potentially the [slow roll-out of a] new website for the blog). So be sure to stay tuned for all of that! We’re always trying to grow, do new things, innovate, and provide you all with the latest interesting content to read. Potential future things also include podcasts and videos, so we will definitely be having much more in store in the year to come. So be sure to click FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE here, as well as check out our Facebook and Twitter pages and like us and follow us on those as well. And don’t forget our Instagram page as well. (So much to keep up with!)

Cheers everyone and please stay healthy, can’t wait to see all of you again after this is all over! Please continue to support your local breweries and businesses! Cheers!

-B. Kline

(PS Note: Books behind the beer are: You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney and When the Earth Had Two Moons by Erik Asphaug)

Always a good idea to do a review… by drinking beer. Like when you brew beer, you need to be drinking a beer to do it. Just laws of nature really. So while I was writing last night’s NewFangled Brew Works: Pils beer review, I was sipping on this, and it was tasting mighty good.

A few weeks ago I did a local for local beer trade setup through the Home Brew Talk Network. I sent quite a bit of Boneshire Brew Works, Tattered Flag, Troegs Independent Craft Brewing, and Pizza Boy, and received the above from the Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina region.

I had previously had the Adjective Animal by WISEACRE Brewing Company and did a review. And I also had the Crosstown Brewing Company’s Boat Drinks: Pina Colada and did a review as well. I just cracked the Paradise Lost by Southern Prohibition, so you can most likely look forward to seeing a beer review of that in the near future.

Beer: Gotta Get Up to Get Down
Brewery: WISEACRE Brewing Company
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet
ABV: 5%
IBU: 15
Untappd Write-Up: Enormous amount of Metropolis coffee straightens out the milk stout.

Appearance is a black brownish stout. It has the look, taste, texture, and head of a nitro beer. Its silky smooth looking, leaving a very distinct lacing. It has a big brown robust head that has lots of fine to large bubbles and craters along the top. It looks like the krausen in an open fermenting tank.

Aroma is what you would expect of a milk / sweet stout… but with a twist! Very heavy coffee aroma. Powerful, kicking in the front door and requiring things of you, strong coffee aroma. Like that one teacher’s breath first thing in the morning when you were in high school as he yelled at you for being late to class… …but… with a sweet after-smell. There is notes of sugar, lactose, of the roasted malts, notes of a bit of caramel and overall a sweetness that after the upfront smell of the coffee is very interesting, very soothing.

Taste is …whew… a punch and a mixture and a nice gentle hug afterwards telling you everything will be ok again. There is a very weird first sip, but it blends well afterwards. It is super smooth, super bubbly, very much as if it was a nitro. Not quite sure how thats pulled off, especially since its a regular can, no “nitro can” like Left Hand Brewing or Guinness Brewing have released. But there is a cold brew coffee upfront taste that is really strong, and then it just quickly blends and melts into this super sweet, super smooth, super sugary, super lactose, like sweet stout. The two different tastes; the coffee with its bitterness, and the lactose and sugar heavy sweetness combine to make one very interesting stout. Its almost hard to describe in a way just how all the flavors act, blend, concoct, and create a very unique beer. This is definitely one of the more interesting and distinct beers I’ve had in a very long time. I would highly recommend everyone who is able to find WISEACRE beers to try and locate this one; just for its uniqueness and distinct flavor.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75-**** (I legitimately went back and forth on this for this beer, and if I was a “Supporter” on Untappd, and able to use the tenths to rate things, I’d probably rate this anywhere from 3.80-3.95 or so.)
Global Untappd Rating: 3.99 (as of 11.24.19)

As some of you might be aware (those who read the blog consistently); we have recently added a home brewing section. Led by AJ Brechbiel and his Default Brewing. We are very grateful to have him and his fellow brewers who will be offering a lot of sage advice, insights, thoughts, opinions, and lots of other valuable information for home brewers (as well as people who would just like to read about brewing, the creation of beer, etc.) He wrote their introduction today, and you can find that blog posting here: Cheers from Default Brewing!. So be on the lookout for more articles from him and the brewing team from Default Brewing. I have it from a good source (….ok… AJ told me this himself) that he is looking towards writing a big article post each Sunday with occasional smaller blog entries throughout the week on random dates/times. So you will definitely get plenty to read!

So stay tuned everyone, there is a lot going on here at The Beer Thrillers and we hope you sit back, grab a nice cold drink, and enjoy reading what all we have to offer!

-B. Kline

Day four, and we’re kicking it up a notch here at The Beer Thrillers. Bigger, badder, bolder, better…. or other cliche crap marketers say. But all that withstanding, what I’m really doing is a multiple beer review again. Following a lecture at the Mid-Town Scholar by philosopher Eleanor Gordon-Smith promoting her book “Stop Being Reasonable” I walked down to ZeroDay to have myself a flight, read some of the latest book I purchased at Mid-Town Scholar, and be entertained by the antics of people playing trivia.

As I typically like to do when visiting breweries I don’t get to too often (its been about 4-5 months since I was last at ZeroDay) I get a flight, relax for a while, slowly sip, and if alone, read. And following the lecture at Mid-Town Scholar thats exactly what I chose to do. ZeroDay does great flights. Up to six beers at a time, for 2$ each for a total of 12$ (plus tip). Thats about as good and unbeatable of a flight as you can make. And ZeroDay typically has pretty top notch beers to boot, so thats as good a combination as you can make.

So I maxed out and went for a full six, with five new beers for me, and one I wanted to give a try to again, because the first time I didn’t enjoy it but was hoping my opinion of it would change. (And it did, not super super much, but it did.)

Beer: Sogni D’oro
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet
ABV: 8.8%
IBU: 15
Untappd Write-Up: A Biscotti inspired Pastry Stout brewed with 2018’s Dream Beer Winner. Sweet and Savory, this nitro stout is a dream in itself!

Started off the flight with basically a pastry stout (though listed as a Milk / Sweet; the style “Pastry Stout” isn’t used much in Untappd and isn’t fully recognized by a lot of people; the new Pastry Stouts would often get listed as Milk or Sweet Stouts under the old style guidelines).

Appearance is interesting for this one, not black, and not fully brown either, it has almost a purplish hue to it.

Aroma is sweet smelling, vanilla, some rich malts, bready smell to it. A good whiff of this gets you that biscotti smell but you also can already pick up the nose of booze on this one… which leads me to…

Taste… immediate booze which is interesting since its only a 8.8% (ABV) so its kind of odd to get a bite of booze right out of the gate. Especially non-barrel aged, so no added bourbon, scotch, whiskey, etc. flavors from a barrel for this; so the booze bite is odd, not bad really though. Its not off putting, just a “oh… hey… ok….” kind of immediate reaction. There is a very nice malt backbone to this that gives the biscotti bready flavor a great profile to work on. The booze taste lightens off and your left with a very fine tasty pastry stout.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.68 (as of 11.4.19)

So this is the one I’m giving a second try to. The first time, I did not enjoy it, but this time that has improved. So either my palate or tastes changed, or the beer has, or my opinions / reflections of the day have, maybe it was my mood, or who knows what, perhaps bad tap lines, who knows.

The first time I had it was June 7th, 2018 and my Untappd rating was **.75 and gave it a: “Ehh… typical cream ale but a bit worse off.” Not a whole lot to go on, and I apparently didn’t feel like giving a really good, in-depth review, but apparently I must have thought it very bland and boring and not too tasty. That has changed a bit. I got a lot more flavor out of it this time.

First thing I’ve noticed looking back, is the appearance has changed. The one I had in 2018 looks much lighter, more straw colored, more like (hate to use this as a comparison point, but I think its apt) Miller Lite or Coors Lite. The one I had in 2019 is a bit darker, more amber-brown hued, and looks to have a fuller body.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here, so lets get the stats out:

Beer: Wastin’ Daylight
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 4.9%
IBU: 12
Untappd Write-Up: Crisp and refreshing, this light-bodied cream ale brewed with corn is the perfect brew to sit back, relax, and waste some daylight with.

So as I was saying, the hue for this (now anyway) is a light amber to brown. Still see through, still transparent, but darker hued than previously. It also looks to have a fuller body. This is what is leading me to think there was a recipe tweak or change since the first time I’ve had it.

Aroma is thin, not a whole lot going on, you got some light flavors of vanilla and cream and a light smell. Cream ales typically aren’t known for a robust aroma (at least in my experience, I’ll admit I’m not fully diverse in this style).

Flavor is much better this time around. You get a rich creamy mouthfeel. You got some nice relaxing sippable flavors that make this a whole-day crushing beer. A keg of this late summer going into fall would be wonderful for pre-bonfire start (and of course one the bonfire kicks off then you go into the heavy stouts before passing out).

My Untappd Rating (NOW): ***.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.35 (as of 11.4.19)

Beer: Market Research
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 75
Untappd Write-Up: After years of conducting our own market research and brewing experimental batches, we developed this West Coast style IPA. Highlighting Amarillo, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops, Market Research has a level of perceived bitterness, which is balanced by a prominent malt backbone. Enjoy this crisp, clear IPA time and time again because it’s not going anywhere!

Its always nice to find a well made IPA – West Coast (or regular or American) style. In a market dominated by New England IPAs, Milkshake IPAs, and the like, its great to find the occasional West Coast IPA, especially one thats done well, and not just meant to be a hop bomb to distinguish itself purposefully from the sea of NEIPAs.

This looks just like your prototypical West Coast IPA. Light brown strawish earthy coloring. This is not a knock on it, this is exactly how it SHOULD look, and it does that exactly.

This smells perfectly like a well made IPA. Very hop forward, but not total hop bomb. You get notes of the grain and malt but the hops do powerfully overtake it. Amarillo, El Dorado, and Mosaic are some of the more “juicy” hops so they provide a very strong aroma note.

This was fun to drink. It seems rare that I get to drink a good hoppy West Coast IPA anymore, unless its done too overblown. Like their making a point by being as hoppy as humanly possible with extreme IBUs and thirty different hop varieties thrown in. This falls in a nice place, just right, not too hoppy, not unhoppy either. Just right. Mouthfeel and drinking it is nice, little thin, but overall its a solid beer.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.89 (as of 11.4.19)

Beer: Peach Novelty
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: Fruit Beer
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 45
Untappd Write-Up: With loads of fresh peaches from Strites Farms, this bright and sunny peach milk sugar IPA hopped exclusively with Mosaic, is like sipping sunshine and rainbows, and is sure to hit all the right strides.

Here’s another one of those ‘oddities’ of Untappd and everything else. Its listed on Untappd as a “Fruit Beer” but it specifically says in the write-up “Milk Sugar IPA”. And if you see it, look at it, drink it; you’d know this is a Milkshake IPA far and above anything else. I don’t know if its because of how peach forward it is, but whoever entered this one into Untappd did it a bit of an injustice. I’d assume they even promote, market, and write it on their draft lists as a Milkshake IPA, no “fruit beer” style anywhere to be found with this beer. (Not a knock on fruit beers, I love them too; just this a fruit beer it is not.)

Appearance for this is your spot on NEIPA / Milkshake IPA. A sugary hazy, opaque, unfiltered IPA. The sediments floating, the look of sugar coating the glass, the hazy yellow glow.

Aroma though is extreme peach. Almost as if cutting a peach right in front of you. There is some notes of vanilla but the peach is just extremely overpowering on the aroma front.

Taste is pretty much just the same. Peach dominates. Extreme domination. Extremely dominating. (I probably popped up in all the wrong sorts of SEOs and search engines now… oh boy…. oh well….) This has a rich creamy feel to it, and with the peach flavor, it does very much feel like drinking a peach milkshake. So if you don’t like peach you probably want to avoid this, otherwise its a terrific beer.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Rating: 3.8 (as of 11.4.19)

So let me just change gears a slight bit and preface the rest of this entry…

Everything up to and prior to this was written this morning before I went to work. But I ran out of time and had to finish up tonight. Well, after work, I stopped at the Gin Mill in Lebanon and just now got home to finish. So the last two beers for this multi-beer review are after having a few drinks at the Gin Mill and after a long day of work. So take that for what its worth.

Beer: Oktobock
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: Bock – Dopplebock
ABV: 8.7%
IBU: 26
Untappd Write-Up: This one was Theo’s brainchild. As a creative team, we wanted to start focusing on craft lagers as a new series. ZerØday Pilsner was our first go, and Oktobock is the second iteration. Think the drinkability of a Marzen lager with the deep flavors of a Doppelbock.

This is pretty much a mashup of a Bock and a Marzen, and its very tasty for it.

Appearance is darker in color, similar to how bocks and marzens both are. Both of these styles look relatively similar that its not an issue. And this coloring matches up with both.

Aroma is bready, heady, and more on point with a marzen. Though once again, marzens and bocks can smell and taste and look pretty similar.

Taste is pretty complex. There’s a lot to this. Its bready, its heavy, its got some nice fall flavorings with complexity, its got a deep and heavy mouthfeel, its got a deep and heavy malty grain bill that really tastes and acts complex, it looks deep, it looks interesting, it tastes even more so.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.77 (as of 11.4.19)

Beer: Lucky Cat Lien
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: IPA – New England
ABV: 5.4%
IBU: 70
Untappd Write-Up: This Hazy IPA is opaque in appearance but light in body, and the use of rice in the grain bill really lets the hops shine. Generously hopped with a combination of experimental 07270, Amarillo, and Vic Secret, drinking a glass of Lucky Cat Lien reminds us of enjoying papayas and grapefruit in a tropical oasis.

I think looking at it, and at first sip, I wanted to like this more than I should have. That isn’t to say that this is a bad beer. Just not what I was expecting or wanting, and kind of talked myself into (perhaps) rating it a bit higher than it deserved.

Appearance is heavy and dark and opaque. Its a hazy orange-juice color, with a nice ring of head but not too much. This is certainly unfiltered.

Aroma is pretty hoppy but not too crazily so. Theres not a whole lot to smell in a NEIPA like this, but a nice hop aroma definitely adds to the overall of the beer, somehow adding to the actual taste.

Taste is a good NEIPA. Not amazing, but good. It did taste a bit less than most NEIPAs I’ve had. It had the haze, it had the hop, it just… the flavors might not be jelling that well, or maybe something was just a bit off in the beer or recipe or production or something.

My Untappd Rating: ***.50
Global Untappd Rating: 3.64 (as of 11.4.19)

Thank you for reading this long winded review. Sorry the last two were a bit short and not as in-depth as the others. But… well… I had two Toppling Goliaths, and a Dewey, and a bit more than that, to drink at the Gin Mill.

And this concludes #4, just 26 more to go!

-B. Kline

Its been a hot minute since I’ve been to Ever Grain (the brewery), so I figured it was about time and I was due to try some delicious beers from them (absolutely always love their beers). They have such a fantastic brewery and a lovely place that is just so inviting (inside and outside) that I always love going there. Sadly, it just feels “so far away” from the Hummelstown area. Its really only a 18-22 minute drive (Google Maps flips and flops on this, depending on time of day, traffic, local events, etc.), so in actuality its not REALLY that far away, more like it just feels that way (due to having to cross the river I suspect) so its kind of a mental impediment.

Saturday while at work a co-worker mentioned about how she saw the Cinn-a-Bun and the other beers that Ever Grain was posting on their Instagram. You can actually check out our first post on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B24Mt-FgJD8/ . Hopefully as I figure out more about it, we’ll be posting more on there (I know a lot of people use Instagram rather than FaceBook or Twitter or even Untappd or ….. Myspace?!). But needless to say, she saw the post on their Instagram about it and got excited about it and was talking about how much she loves pastry stouts and such, and to be honest, I definitely do too. And over this past weekend (Saturday and Sunday, the 21st and 22nd of September) Ever Grain celebrated their 3rd Anniversary. (Feels like they’ve been open much longer, especially with the quality of their beers!). So I had to stop and get her a crowler of the Cinn-a-bun, plus, I definitely wanted to try out all these lovely delicious sounding beers myself. So… thats just what I did!

The brewery has undergone a few changes since I was last there (probably back in maybe October or November of LAST year). They now have a side-bar and restaurant (ran by Kurt, and its called Little Bird at Ever Grain) and their main bar area now opens up in two different directions. On a nice (and still warm) September night like Tuesday was, it was lovely. I chose to sit out in the patio area and read while drinking (like I usually do) and watched a cornhole tournament (or at least a cornhole competition) unfold.

I unfortunately didn’t have a lot of time to spend (pretty much just enough time to grab the flight, sample it, read about 15 pages in the process, take in the ambience, and get the crowler to go), so I didn’t get anything to order from Little Bird. I also got there at 8:50 and the place was due to close at 10PM, though when I left at 9:20-9:30 it was still hopping and the tournament/competition was just ending. But all I’ve heard is amazing things and seeing Kurt’s posts on Facebook, the food looks absolutely phenomenal and delicious.

I was quite surprised by how busy they were at even 930 at night, on a Tuesday, especially given that their Google Maps, Untappd, and Hop Plotter, listings all had them scheduled to close at 10PM.

It was a fun, loud, jovial atmosphere both inside the brewery and outside, especially in the grass area between Ever Grain and the boxing studio and the oyster restaurant. This is what is so great about breweries – bringing communities and people together. All kinds of groups of people hanging out inside at the bar area, at the tables, families with kids, guys watching sports on the TV, outside people playing cornhole and having a blast together, and I think the couple at the table near me were on a first or second date (a lot of new questions about each other), possibly even met there at the brewery.

Looking at the extensive (13+) beers they had available, I decided to go the route of dark, heavy, boozy, and I definitely loved the flight I picked out, and would highly recommend it to everyone making a one-time stop in at Ever Grain. My flight consisted of a (barrel aged) barleywine, a porter, a (barrel aged) Imperial / Double stout, and a milk / sweet / pastry stout. So it was definitely a heavy, boozy flight, and also a very dark one. It was delicious! Let’s break it down.

Beer: Barrel Aged Barleywine
Brewery: Ever Grain Brewing Co.
Style: Barleywine – American
ABV: 14%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Write-Up: Smooth, lively & fruity we barrel aged this beer in Buffalo Trace barrels for a year. On a cold evening, you will be warmed from the inside out!

This was an absolutely wonderful barleywine, and as anyone who knows me knows, I love barleywines. The bigger, the bolder, the higher the ABV, the better. And this matches all of that. This is what a barleywine should be, and its definitely everything I love in a barleywine. Aged in Buffalo Trace barrels; which gives it an edge and a kick that just adds to the beer and puts it over the top.

Aroma is strong malt, strong notes of the boozyness before you even dive into the taste. It has a spicey and stone fruit smell that is heavy and stays in your nostrils.

Appearance is light to dark brown, an earthy brown one might say (or tobacco spit coloring if you’re feeling for an apt and disgusting coloring description). Its mostly on the light-brown spectrum moving upwards. Not a whole lot of head nor does there ever need to be for this. (I was also granted this for free since someone had ordered a taster of it and then didn’t want it, so even though I picked this for my flight, I didn’t have to pay for it, so it might have sat for a few minutes.)

Taste is splendid. Immediately heavy booze, heavy traces of the wood and barrel aging process, bourbon-scotch notes. Dry finish but nothing too dry and nothing bitter. No cloying, no off flavors, no astringency, no sourness. Mouthfeel is heavy but in the right ways.

This was definitely the right beer to start off this flight with!

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 4.18 (as of 9.26.19)

Beer: You Think Darkness is Your Ally?
Brewery: Ever Grain Brewing Co.
Collaboration: H.L. Horse
Style: Porter – Baltic Imperial / Double
ABV: 8%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Write-Up: You like dark beers? You’ve merely adopted the dark; this beer was born in it. In the cold, dark lager cellar it grew strong & emerged a deep, complex porter slightly roasty with a rich malty sweetness.

Didn’t realize it until after I checked it in and saw that it was a collaboration beer (no mentioning it on the sign or anywhere else). The Untappd page lists it as a collaboration with a “home brewery” named H.L. Horse. The page on H.L. Horse has no description or information, and lists them as having 18 unique beers to their name and 31 ratings (so no total global rating). So not sure the history on this collaboration.

Aroma is roasty, malt forward and heavy. It has a complex nose but generally speaking its more malt forward and roasty then it is anything else that I can fully distinguish.

Appearance is jet engine fuel black. Its sucking in light and not letting any of it return, ala a black hole. For a taster glass, it had a nice head to it, a nice simple foam with varying bubbles and a creamy look to it. This is the abyss that Nietzsche talks about, and if you keep staring at it, you will fall in.

Taste is a complex matter on this one. It is very dry, very bitter, at times too bitter, and at times too dry, but ultimately as a whole, it tastes alright. It tastes like first sip is overly bitter and dry, but middle sip is ok, and last sip the dryness and bitterness kind of even out. Hard to explain in that. This is heavy too, you can feel and taste some of that 8% that lurks in the depths of this dark beer. You get the roasty malts and even possibly a slight smokiness but that is very subliminal and very limited.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 4.01 (as of 9.26.19)

Beer: 3rd Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout
Brewery: Ever Grain Brewing Co.
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 14.3%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Write-Up: A complex Imperial Stout aged in Wolford Reserve & Apple Brandy barrels which impart rich bourbon, chocolate, and roasted flavors.

This one surprisingly clocks in higher than the barleywine on the ABV charts for this fun outing. Climbing all the way up to 14.3% (the barleywine was a 14%). And this one felt heavy, but not as boozy as the barleywine. Aged in Wolford Reserve and Apple Brandy barrels rather than Buffalo Trace. Their 2nd Anniversary Stout was an aged Dark Necessity stout and clocked in at 11.2%. Their first anniversary stout was an 11% bourbon barrel aged stout. So you may or may not be noticing a theme with their anniversary stouts.

Aroma is kind of your typical for a stout. Malt, some chocolate, a bit of coffee maybe, a richness and a creamyness to it, a little bit of bourbon from the barrel aging.

Appearance is just like the Your Darkness, very black, maybe not quite as dark as the prior, but definitely dark. The head is a white slight foam, creamy in appearance. Unlike the Porter (Your Darkness) which had a more dark brown / peanut butter colored head to it.

Taste on this one is a bit interesting, and I found it sadly lacking. Not completely and overly lacking, but just… not quite what my expectations were probably before going in. I definitely imagined it being their big, bad, best stout, especially with a 14.3% ABV and with it being their “3rd Anniversary Stout”, plus anytime I have a “barrel aged” beer, I expect just a bit more out of it. Primarily due to cost going up on it (cost both for us as consumer and cost by the brewer). But also because of all the added work that goes in, to the transferring, to the procuring, to the sampling, etc, etc, etc. Just to reiterate, I did like this beer, it just didn’t fit the description and didn’t fit with my mental head on it. It tasted a bit thin, not flat, but thin, almost going towards watery but not there. It didn’t have a concrete bourbon flavoring to it either that I really expected it to have. There was a sweetness to it, which kind of surprised me. Could be the chocolate? I don’t know, it definitely didn’t have the bitter chocolate or the cooking chocolate flavor and taste to it. Thats for sure. Some roast malt notes but very slight.

My gut reaction response when I had it (encapsulated on m Untappd check-in): ” Interesting stout, kind of a sweet taste to it. Tastes thin and light, but is 14%, no real bourbon flavor. I like it, but doesn’t exactly fit the description or seem right, not sure. I do like it though, can’t fully put my finger on it.”

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 4.18 (as of 9.26.19)

Beer: Cinn-a-Bun
Brewery: Ever Grain Brewing Co.
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet
ABV: 5.6%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Write-Up: A decadent dessert Stout brewed with milk sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, & dozens of fresh cinnamon buns from The Pennsylvania Bakery in Camp Hill. All of the rich flavors & aromas you’d expect from a cinnamon bun, conveniently infused in a Stout!

The purpose of the trip, to grab a crowler of this for Haley, my co-worker who saw this on Ever Grain’s Instagram or Twitter or whatever on Saturday (yea, I’m not very social media savvy but trying to get there for the sake of this blog). So I grabbed a crowler of this, got the flight for myself (can’t stop at a brewery without having at least one beer), and the total came to 19.25$ (well, 23$ after tip). So hopefully when I go back to work Saturday (yea… Saturday is my Monday) and I surprise her with it, she’ll like it. Fingers crossed. Always good to earn brownie points.

Interestingly, with the lead ingredient being fresh cinnamon buns from The Pennsylvania Bakery, it reminds me of the various cakes I’ve gotten from there in the past (ones for various parties and such like my moms birthday). Its one of the best bakeries around, an absolutely fantastic place.

So there is definitely a lot to unpack with this beer, and surprisingly its also the lowest ABV of my flight (by a fair margin, the other beers being a 14%, 8%, 14.3%).

Aroma is cinnamon heavy, bready, notes of vanilla and sugar. You can smell the cinnamon buns from The PA Bakery upfront and heavy. The cinnamon itself dominating most of all. But you can definitely get a bready quality there, and notes of the vanilla.

Appearance is like the last three, jet engine fuel black. (This is always one of my favorite descriptors, only followed up by “Razor Ramon hair black”, which maybe I’ll switch to using that more.) Nice small ring of head to this, whitish to slight cream colored.

Taste is a pastry stout bomb in your mouth going off. Everything you think about in a pastry stout is right there exploding immediately. Breadyness, sugary, creamy, vanilla, all sorts of flavors. Lactose. Bread. Vanilla. Smoothness and creamyness. The cinnamon is pretty heavy to going mild and adds a nice note to the beer. I think the cinnamon kind of overpowers some of the vanilla and creamy lactose notes, but not too much, and definitely not enough to offset the beer. This finishes just as good as it starts and it never gets bad at any point. Nice aftertaste of a cinnamon bun, just like it was fresh from Grammy’s oven.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.93 (as of 9.26.19)

For those curious, the book I’m reading is “How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems” by Randall Munroe of XKCD fame. Very funny book and I highly recommend it (I’ll soon be done with it and posting a review of it on my GoodReads if you want to check it out.)

As you can see I’m getting better with linking things, and working harder to incorporate more links and pingbacks to our other articles and such, and will be combing back over some of our older articles to start adding in links and updating them.

We were recently approached by a brewery named MidWest Coast Brewing Company to cover their opening of their brewery and taproom. They are a new brewery in Chicago and they invited us to do a brewery tour (which won’t be a while due to travel issues) as well as to do a write-up and kind of an interview with them to help grab some attention for their opening of their new brewery and taproom. So expect to see that article soon.

Likewise, expect to see quite a few new beer reviews, and comb back through for some others that got date-logged backwards due to when I started writing them. Also, my event write-up for the Lititz Brewfest I attended Sunday should be completed tomorrow, and will be posted here, as well as submitted to Breweries in PA. So you’ll be able to read it in both places. (Likely our blog will contain a bit more than their version will, mostly personal stuff I’ll post here before posting there.)

Also, for the second week we stayed at #11 on The Top 100 Beer Blogs on FeedSpot. We’ve only been listed for 3 weeks, and we debuted at #120, and then went to #11 in week 2 and stayed there for week 3. So that is definitely a high honor for us.

Last night, spent a fair amount of time at D.Scott’s practicing and setting up stuff for the podcast we’ll be doing together. He is currently thinking of the name of “Off the Rails” and it will be the two of us playing old NES and SNES games and discussing everything under the sun, while drinking beer, and talking craft beer as well. I’ll be sure to plug that here when things progress. (As a heads up, it will be a bit more ‘edgy’ than this blog is.)

Thanks for the look, hopefully you liked the beer flight review, I highly recommend checking out Ever Grain soon before these leave the taps (and not likely to come back), and make sure you all keep clicking the like, the subscribe and follow, and comment whenever you want, we appreciate hearing from you!

-B. Kline

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