Ballast Point Peanut Butter Victory at Sea Imperial Porter

This 10.0% ABV is from the Ballast Point Brewing Company of San Diego, California. It is made with coffee and natural flavors, which I am assuming include peanut butter. 

The beer pours just black. There is a relatively short head of tan foam. The aroma is dark roasted malt, milk chocolate, and light roasted peanut butter. The taste follows the aromas, much more chocolate than peanut butter. It is sweet, but not overly so. The finish is just this side of dry, with a moderate bitterness that has a slightly off metallic or medicinal note. I think the coffee is just coming off as bitterness. The mouth is a bit watery for the style and ABV. It gets a little better as it warms up, but overall, it is pretty disappointing.  

I had one peanut butter porter before, that of Dangerous Man Brewing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There's was light years better than this, tasting like a liquid Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Boulevard Snow & Tell

The Boulevard Brewing Company is in Kansas City, Missouri. This is their seasonal 6.3% ABV oak aged Scotch ale. 

The beer pours dark brown and ruby colored. There is a short head of tan foam. The aroma is dark fruits and malt, with a bit of oaky astringency. The taste follows the aromas, but is ramped up, loads of roasted malt. The finish is dry and oaky, with moderate, woody, bitterness. The beer drinks smooth, with moderate carbonation. This is a nice winter sipping beer.  

Odell Isolation Ale

The Odell Brewing Company is in Fort Collins, Colorado. This is a 6.1% ABV winter seasonal. 

The beer pours a medium dark brown with some gem like orange garnet. There is a half inch of tan foam. The aroma is malty, dark fruits, with some roasted notes. The taste follows the aromas, roasted, malty, with lighter notes of dark fruits. The finish is moderately bitter and just on the dry side. The beer drinks very smooth and easy. This makes for a nice take on a winter ale.  

In 2011: The beer pours dark copper and burnt orange.  There is a quarter-inch of creamy and foamy off-white head.  The aroma is malty and fruity, caramel, cherries, citrus.  The taste is roasted, toasted malt, nutty, with a grassy citrus note right before a somewhat bitter finish.  Excellent!

Pearl Street Brewery D.T.B. Brown Ale

The Pearl Street Brewery is in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This is their 4.6% ABV brown ale. 

The beer pours a medium dark brown, dark amber in color. There is a short head of light tan foam. The aroma is malty, toasted, nutty and caramel. The taste follows the aromas, roasted and toasted, nutty and caramel. There is sweetness, but the finish is just on the dry side. The bitterness is low, and the beer drinks easy, with moderate carbonation and a medium body. This is solid, and tasting good.  

Sierra Nevada Wintertide Ale

This 6.0% ABV spiced winter ale is from Sierra Nevada Brewing of Chico, California. It is part of the 2017 Snowpack winter sampler. The beer is b rewed with coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

The beer pours a very dark brown with ruby tints. There is a short-lived head of light tan. The aroma is spiced, roasted, nutty, caramel malt. The coriander and ginger are apparent. The taste follows the aromas, solidly malty and spiced. The finish is moderately bitter, there is a note in the bitterness that doesn't match. The beer drinks smooth, with fine, very tingling carbonation.  

Bell's Winter White Ale

Bell's Brewery is in Comstock, Michigan. This is their 5.0% ABV Belgian inspired wheat ale. Most white ales add orange peel and coriander. Theirs tries to replicate similar flavors through the yeast used.

The beer pours a hazy orange golden with some sedimentary chunks. There is a relatively short head of white foam. The aroma is toasted grain, with definite spices and citrus, in this case added by the yeast and not, like most white ales, orange peel and coriander. The taste follows the aromas, hitting the same notes. I am not a big fan of white ales, I like this one better than most as it's flavors are more subtle. The beer drinks with a light, but stinging carbonation and general smoothness. The end is lightly bitter.  

St. Pauli Girl

This 5.0% ABV lager is from Bremen, Germany. 

The beer pours a very clear golden in color. There is nearly an inch of white foam. The aroma is sulfurous, but not too much for the style, along with crusty bread, and some hay and straw. The finish is dry, with a moderate grassy bitterness. There is a slight off metallic note at the end. The beer drinks very crisp, refreshing.  

Sierra Nevada Holiday Haze IPA

This 6.5% ABV India Pale Ale is from Sierra Nevada Brewing of Chico, California. It is part of the 2017 Snowpack winter sampler. 

The beer pours a hazy lemon yellow and dark golden. There is an inch of thick white foam. The aroma is citrusy, mango skin, with some passion fruit. The taste follows the aromas, bright, adding in some pine. The finish is very dry, with a grapefruit astringency, and moderately bitter. The beer drinks with a soft body and medium carbonation.   

New label art for 2018: The beer pours a hazy golden and peach. There is an inch of thickly foamy white head. The aroma is fruity, citrus and light tropical, with some pine notes. The taste follows the aromas, hitting the same notes, adding in blueberry and distinct lemon, and ending with a fairly intense bitterness. The beer drinks very easy, extremely soft and smooth.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout 2017

This is the 2017 vintage of Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Stout. It is a 14.7% ABV stout aged in bourbon barrels. 

The beer pours jet black. There is an inch of light brown foam, but it is surprisingly fizzing, and disappears rather quickly. The aroma is very dark roasted malt, dark cacao, light coffee, raisins, dark fruits, oak, molasses, sherry, and very light char. The taste follows the aromas, adding in even more char, along with all the dark roasted malt, dark fruit, and sweet notes. There is much sweetness, but the finish is semi-sweet, with light bitterness. The beer drinks very soft and smooth, very little carbonation (I'm not sure what that fizzy head was all about). The beer is warming without being hot at all. This is definitely ready to drink right now, but as with all BCBS, it will be interesting to see what some age does to a bottle.  

Schell's Snowstorm 2017 Rye Ale

This is the 2016 winter offering from the August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm, Minnesota. They were established in 1860 and they are the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States, behind Yuengeling. Every winter they release Snowstorm, featuring a different style of beer every year. This year it is a 6.1% ABV Rye Ale.

The beer pours a dark amber-copper-brown-orange in color. There is a half-inch of light tan head. The aroma is soft, toasted dark bread, with a lighter note of dark fruits. The taste is roasted and toasted malt, well toasted bread, with some hints of dark fruits, some of the tang, but little of the sweetness. The finish is fairly dry with little bitterness. The beer drinks with a moderate body, and a balanced mouthfeel. This is pleasant.  

Boulder Slope Style Red IPA

This is a 6.4% ABV red India Pale Ale. It is from the Boulder Beer Company of Boulder, Colorado. I think it used to be called their winter IPA.

The beer pours a very dark amber, red-brown in color. There is a half-inch of light tan head. The aroma is mild, citrus, tea, and toasted caramel, with some dark fruits. The taste follows the aromas, a nice blend of malt and hops, caramel and fruits, with some tea flavor. The finish is dry and moderately bitter. The beer drinks with a crisp carbonation.  

Potosi Cave Ale

The Potosi Brewing Company is in Potosi, Wisconsin.  All of their profits go to charity, according to the bottle, although said charities would appear to be the Potosi Brewery Foundation and National Brewery Museum.  The brewery is also home to the National Brewery Museum.  The Potosi Brewery originally brewed from 1852 until 1972 when it was shuttered.  The brewery was slowly revived starting in 1995.  This is their 5.5% ABV amber ale. 

The beer pours a deep and bright amber and copper in color. There is nearly an inch of off-white to very light tan foam. The aroma is malty, caramel, toffee and plums. The taste follows the aromas, hitting the same notes, sweetness in the malt, but a finishing wave of grassy bitterness. The beer drinks easy, moderately carbonated and mostly smooth.  

In 2011, it appears it was "Pure Malt Cave Ale" and had a higher ABV. This beer pours an orangish-amber-copper in color and is somewhat cloudy.  The aroma is fresh, lightly aromatic, slightly floral and fruity.  This is an interesting beer, fairly unique.  I guess it is most like an English bitter.  It is fairly light, fruity and floral on a subtle malt base.  I am a bit surprised it is 6.5% ABV, your typical English beer akin to this would have low 4 or high 3 percent.  This would be a great session beer.  It is very pleasing, tasty yet light.

Surly Darkness 2017

The Surly Brewing Company originated in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and now also has a destination brewery in Minneapolis. Darkness is their annual special Russian Imperial Stout release.

The beer pours a deep black in color. There is a tall, thick, foaming head of light brown. The aroma is deep, dark roasted malts, loads of chocolate and dark chocolate, dark cacao, mocha, char, dark fruits and dark dried fruits. The taste follows the aromas, intense loads of dark roasted malts, lots of chocolate, very sweet. The finish is sweet, but the aftertaste is bittersweet. The beer drinks very smooth, soft, rich, with very light carbonation, a very wonderful mouthfeel.  

Potosi Brewing Good Old Potosi

The Potosi Brewing Company is in Potosi, Wisconsin.  All of their profits go to charity, according to the bottle, although said charities would appear to be the Potosi Brewery Foundation and National Brewery Museum.  The brewery is also home to the National Brewery Museum.  The Potosi Brewery originally brewed from 1852 until 1972 when it was shuttered.  The brewery was slowly revived starting in 1995.  This is their 4.5% ABV golden ale.

The beer pours a dark golden to very light amber in color. There is a half-inch of white head, not long lasting. The aroma is lightly toasted malt, with hints of caramel, toffee, and sweet potato. The taste follows the aromas, malty, sweet, but with enough hops to come to a somewhat dry finish. The bitterness is very light. The beer drinks smooth and easy, moderately carbonated.  

I am assuming that 2017's Good Old Potosi Golden Ale is 2011's Good Old Potosi Beer, although the ABV is different:

This 5.0% ABV beer pours pure golden in color with a half inch of white foamy head.  The aroma is crisp, slightly sweet, slightly tart, with a bit of grain and some aromatic hoppiness.  The taste is slightly sweet, but also with some crisp tartness, like an apple.  The overall effect is an aromatic and floral lager.

New American White Trash Lager

This 4.8% ABV American lager is from New American Brewing of Ankeny, Iowa. It uses pilsner malt and flaked corn. 

The beer pours a very light golden in color, champagne-like. There is an inch of white, foamy head, relatively long lasting for the style. The aroma is light, crisp, clean, dried grain, with a light floral, grassy note. The taste follows the aromas, but is not as light, more depth than the aroma, grain and floral grassy, with a bit of bread and honey. The finish is mostly dry with light bitterness. The beer drinks crisp, carbonated, and refreshing. This is a quite nice American lager.  

August Schell Electrik Empress

This 5.9% ABV beer is from the August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm, Minnesota.  Schell's was established in 1860 and is the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States. This beer is part of their Noble Star Collection of Berliner weisse style beers that they make in their original 1930's cypress tanks. This one was aged for five months on 6,600 pounds of plums.

The beer pours cloudy, the color of plum flesh and red grapefruit rind. The aroma is tart, plums, tart plums, wood, and an amalgam that comes across as light smoke. The taste follows the aromas, hitting the same tart and fruity notes, with wood and earth. The beer drinks smooth and lush, but with a tangy finish. This is really tasty, and would be great to drink with your Thanksgiving feast.  

Pearl Street Brewery Dankenstein Imperial IPA

The Pearl Street Brewery is in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This is a 10.0% ABV and 146 IBU imperial India Pale Ale.

The beer pours a dark copper and amber in color. There is a massive, billowing, overflowing head of light tan. The aroma is band aids and yeast. This smells and pours infected. The taste follows the aromas. This was bottled on October 5, 2017, so age is not its problem. What a shame, it would be nice to try this as it was intended.   

Pearl Street 17-Up Anniversary Gose

The Pearl Street Brewery is in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This 5.0% ABV gose style is brewed with lemon and lime essence to celebrate seventeen years of Pearl Street Brewery. 

The beer pours a lightly hazed golden in color. There is an inch of white head that slowly fizzles down. The aroma is lemony, a bit of lime, tart, with a bit of malty, citrus sweetness below. The aroma is balance, the taste is wildly sour and tart, still with lemon-lime flavor. The beer drinks with a light, watery tartness.  

Potosi Tangerine IPA

The Potosi Brewing Company is in Potosi, Wisconsin. This is a 6.5% ABV India Pale Ale brewed with tangerine juice.

The beer pours a dark orange, light amber in color. There is nearly an inch of off-white foamy head. The aroma is a big, bright, juicy blast of tangerine, over a lightly toasted caramel malt. The taste follows the aromas, a huge blast of tangerine, just enough malt to hold it all up, and then a dry finish, moderately bitter, like biting into tangerine peel. The beer drinks smooth, with moderate carbonation.  

Pearl Street Brewery Linalool IPA

The Pearl Street Brewery is in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This 6.8% ABV India Pale Ale is brewed with Northern Discovery hops, indigenous to Wisconsin, and found growing in the wild in 2007. Linalool is the aromatic substance that gives hops its essence. 

The beer pours a deep, dark golden, nearing amber. There is a tall, thick head of white to off-white foam. The aroma is fruity, citrus and berries, particularly strawberries. The taste follows the aromas, lots of strawberry, some citrus, over biscuit and toasted malt. The finish is bracingly dry, grapefruit astringency, and moderately bitter. The beer drinks easy, smooth, with soft carbonation.

Alaskan Heritage Coffee Brown

This 7.0% ABV brown ale brewed with Heritage coffee is from the Alaskan Brewing Company of Juneau, Alaska (as is Heritage coffee).

The beer pours dark brown. There is a short head of light tan foam. The aroma is full of cold press coffee, with an underlying sweet, roasted maltiness. The taste follows the aromas directly, full of complementary sweet malt and fresh pressed coffee. The finish is sweet, with a light coffee bitterness. The beer has just the right body to hold up all its flavor, without being heavy. This is a nice coffee ale.  

Robinson's Trooper Hallowed

The Trooper beers are inspired by Iron Maiden, developed by lead singer Bruce Dickinson, and brewed by Robinsons Brewery of Stockport, Cheshire, England. The song from which it takes its name, The Trooper, was inspired by the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava, in 1854, during the Crimean War. This one is a 6.0% ABV Belgian-style ale.

The beer pours a gem-like dark amber and garnet. There is a short lived head of tan foam. The aroma is malty, caramel, toffee, fruity, plums. The taste follows the aromas, hitting the same notes, malty, caramel, with a fruity tang, and a bit of fruity yeast esters. There is sweetness, but some dryness in the finish. The bitterness is low. The beer drinks easy, with just enough body to hold its flavors.  

Three Floyds Gorch Fock German Style Helles Lager

This 5.0% ABV German style helles lager is from the Three Floyds Brewing Company of Munster, Indiana.

The beer pours a clear, solid golden in color. There is over an inch of white, foamy head. The aroma is mild, clean, bready, with a touch of honey. The taste follows the aromas, bread, a touch of sweet, a clean floral note, with a grassy bitter finish. The beer drinks easy, refreshing, with a solid, but easy drinking body. This is an enjoyable lager.  

(the label is cool, but wrap-around, so several pictures to capture it)