Weekly Beer Reviews Pt. 1

Greetings folks! Just by sheer chance, we have Jacob back as a guest taster this week. He happened to be passing through, and we happened to be passing judgement on some brews. So here goes with Part 1!

Stone IPA

It has been a while since we have welcomed one of my Top 5 single IPA's on tap. Stone makes a triumphant return onto our wall with this soapy and citrusy ale. The nose is full of lemon, grapefruit zest, cracked pepper, and ranch. The taste was pleasantly bitter with subtle flavors of citrus, soap, parsley, and cracked pepper. The finish has the bitterness lingering with lemon and mineral flavors. This IPA drinks easy, but is heavy on those soapy hops.

Mike, Tyler, and Jacob's Rating - 8.5/10


Founders Centennial IPA

Founders is one of my favorite breweries out there, and each time I try it I want to like their IPA. This will not be that time. The nose is interesting with aroma's of fresh linen, chinese food, shrimp, pine, and floral hops. The nose alone threw me off, though Tyler sung its praises. The taste is very bitter, which almost overpowers the light flavors of lemon juice, black cherries, and soap. The finish is incredibly dry with the bitterness ramping up even more to mask the flavors of pomegranite and blackberries. Tyler loved this beer. Jacob and I did not. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Mike, Tyler, and Jacob's Rating - 6/10


Founders Imperial Stout

This is one of Founders most impressive beers and is only available for about 2 months out of the year. If you are a stout lover then you owe it to yourself to give this great beer a try. The nose is wonderful with strong aroma's of rich dark chocolate, cream, smoke, chicory, cognac, and vanilla. Tyler declared that it had the best nose of any stout. I couldn't disagree. The flavor is rich and chock full of chocolate and coffee grounds. Softer flavors of maple wood, cherry wood, and blackberries made for a wonderful flavor. The finish was bitter and had wonderful tasting notes that included coffee beans, 70% dark chocolate, espresso, raisins, and light hints of smoke. This is truly an impressive stout.

Mike, Tyler, and Jacob's Rating - 9.5/10