Beer Blog Archives

The complete history of The BeerFathers, sorted by the most recent blog posts, for your viewing delight.

Craft Beer – a Hopumentary

An absolutely fantastic video here called “Craft Beer – A Hopumentary” will get your juices flowing about craft beer. The video itself is amazing for its content, editing, and overall production value, but the thing that really sticks out to me are the on-screen text facts that made it into the video: In 1887, there […]

Delirium Tremens

Literally, Delirium Tremens is a severe form of alcohol withdrawal that involves sudden and severe mental and nervous system changes. It’s actually Latin for “shaking frenzy” and the main symptoms are confusion, diarrhea, insomnia, nightmares, disorientation, agitation, visual hallucinations, and extremely intense feelings of impending doom or imminent death. That said, Delirium Tremens is not […]

Mother Earth Weeping Willow Wit

We’re back on the beer review wagon, after being off the wagon for a few months. Technically, I suppose we’re now off the beer review wagon after having been on the wagon, but I for one have never fully grasped the meaning of the whole on/off the wagon phrase, much like Seinfeld: Jerry: Yeah. He’s […]

Beer Company Rankings

Beverage Industry magazine recently published a list of The Top 100 Beverage Companies in their June 2011 issue and it’s quite an interesting read. It deals with beverage as an overall category, which means that segments like beer are interspersed with soft drinks, wine, spirits, dairy, water, etc. It may surprise you (or not) that […]

The Beer Hunter Episode 6: The Best of the British

We’re devoting the entire month of July here at The BeerFathers to Michael Jackson, the famous writer and promoter of specialty beers. He passed away in 2007 but left a tremendous legacy behind in both his books and this gem of a TV series that aired 6 episodes in 1989. It was made by Channel […]

The Beer Hunter Episode 5: California Pilgrimage

We’re devoting the entire month of July here at The BeerFathers to Michael Jackson, the famous writer and promoter of specialty beers. He passed away in 2007 but left a tremendous legacy behind in both his books and this gem of a TV series that aired 6 episodes in 1989. It was made by Channel […]

The Beer Hunter Episode 4: Our Daily Beer

We’re devoting the entire month of July here at The BeerFathers to Michael Jackson, the famous writer and promoter of specialty beers. He passed away in 2007 but left a tremendous legacy behind in both his books and this gem of a TV series that aired 6 episodes in 1989. It was made by Channel […]

The Beer Hunter Episode 3: The Bohemian Connection

We’re devoting the entire month of July here at The BeerFathers to Michael Jackson, the famous writer and promoter of specialty beers. He passed away in 2007 but left a tremendous legacy behind in both his books and this gem of a TV series that aired 6 episodes in 1989. It was made by Channel […]

The Beer Hunter Episode 2: The Fifth Element

We’re devoting the entire month of July here at The BeerFathers to Michael Jackson, the famous writer and promoter of specialty beers. He passed away in 2007 but left a tremendous legacy behind in both his books and this gem of a TV series that aired 6 episodes in 1989. It was made by Channel […]

The Beer Hunter Episode 1: The Burgundies of Belgium

We’re devoting the entire month of July here at The BeerFathers to Michael Jackson, the famous writer and promoter of specialty beers. He passed away in 2007 but left a tremendous legacy behind in both his books and this gem of a TV series that aired 6 episodes in 1989. It was made by Channel […]

Top US Beer Brand Stats (2010 Update)

It’s time for our annual update of our Top US Beer Brands, originally posted for 2007. This information comes from the March 2011 issue of Beverage Industry magazine and is for U.S. sales for 2010. The data is based on sales across all beer categories in U.S. supermarket, drug, gas, convenience and mass merchandise outlets […]

Unibroue Ephemere

Ephemera is defined as “anything short-lived or lasting only a short time.” Unibroue tries to capture the essence of the word with their line of Ephemere beers that were created to feature a seasonal fruit in a white ale base. We’re reviewing the apple version of Ephemere here today. In addition to apple they’ve worked […]

Sapporo Reserve

For this father and son trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, we’re drinking Sapporo Reserve. Of course we didn’t actually go to Japan to get this beer, and technically this beer didn’t even come to us from Japan. Our cans were actually brewed at the Sapporo Brewery in Ontario, Canada. We’ll call it […]

Carlsberg Beer

Carlsberg Beer is brewed by the Carlsberg Group in Denmark, which has been brewing up beers since 1847. It’s now the fourth largest brewery in the world and employees over 41,000 people who make around 300 different brands of beer. The Carlsberg Group actually has a tremendous history of innovation – in 1875 they set […]

Abita Jockamo IPA

We’re overdue for a beer review from our favorite brewery that occupies the same state as Beer Love South Headquarters – Abita Brewing Company (in Louisiana for those not in the know). For this review we’re imbibing the Abita Jockamo IPA. Great back story for the Jockamo – the name comes from the tribes of […]

Sam Adams Honey Porter

The Sam Adams Honey Porter is a great example of the creativity of craft brewers. Take a regular English porter and add some Scottish heather honey to it and create a new porter experience. It pays homage to the traditional porter style, but Sam Adams makes it their own. That’s the mark of a good […]

Highland Oatmeal Porter

Every now and then we get to try a beer from the very state we live in and that’s just a privilege. Today the beer comes from Son Beer Love’s adopted state of North Carolina (home for the last 7 years, so it’s common law now) and the city of Asheville, about 2 1/2 hours […]

Our Beer Ratings Distribution Chart

Here at The BeerFathers headquarters we enjoy the finer things in life – a good beer, a nice meal, a well-written book. We’re sure you do too. But if you’re anything like us, and we know you are, you have an insatiable thirst for information. Not just any information though – infographics. Yes, like you, […]

Beer and Movie Pairings

We all know that beer and food go together. You’ll find tons of beer and food pairings on Google. But what about beer and movies? Do certain beers enhance certain movies and vice-versa? Obviously lots of beer can make a bad movie palatable, but that’s not what we’re talking about here – we’re talking about […]

Kirkland Pale Ale

The Kirkland Pale Ale (technically the Kirkland Signature Pale Ale if you’re of the technical type) is one of the four kinds of beer that you can get at Costco in special 24 pack cases. Just look for “Kirkland Signature Handcrafted Beer” when you’re there in the beer section. The 24 pack includes a 6 […]

Kirkland Amber Ale

The Kirkland Amber Ale (technically the Kirkland Signature Amber Ale) is one of the four species of beer that ship in 24 pack cases of “Kirkland Signature Handcrafted Beer” at Costco. The 24 pack includes a 6 pack each of the amber ale, a German lager, a hefeweizen and a pale ale (for more background […]

Kirkland Hefeweizen

The Kirkland Hefeweizen (technically the Kirkland Signature Hefeweizen) is one of the four varieties of beer that come in the “Kirkland Signature Handcrafted Beer” 24 pack cases at Costco. The 24 pack includes a 6 pack each of the hefeweizen, a German lager, an amber ale and a pale ale (for more background on Costco, […]

Kirkland German Lager

Technically this is the Kirkland Signature German Style Lager, but we feel a little douchey saying the whole thing, so for this review we’ll call it the Kirkland German Lager. It’s one of four beers that come in a 24 pack that you get at Costco of all places. The 24 pack includes a 6 […]

I Am Craft Beer Videos

If you haven’t seen the two best videos in the world on craft beer then look no further – here are the videos for “I Am A Craft Brewer” and “I Am A Craft Beer Drinker” that were done by and include some of the industry greats. Seriously, the best craft beer videos I’ve ever […]

Kingfisher Premium Lager

Kingfish is the well-known nickname for Huey P. Long, former Louisiana governor and senator. It has absolutely nothing to do with this review other than for us to say that maybe there’s some deep-rooted psychological sentimental attachment to the beer name we’re reviewing. See, we’re both from Louisiana, and we can tell you that everyone […]

Widmer Drifter Pale Ale

When Widmer Brothers’ PR agency offered to send us some Drifter Pale Ale to try we couldn’t hit the reply button fast enough. We follow the old rule that if it’s cheap get one, if it’s free get two. So we gladly accepted their offer and got some free beers sent to both Father and […]

Don’t Like the Taste of Beer?

If you don’t like that taste of beer and therefore don’t want to try beer ever again, we’re here to help. Tell us what you don’t like about beer in general or specifically about whatever beer someone gave you to try that turned you off beer forever. What we’ll do is offer up two recommendations: […]

Bavaria Holland Beer

Bavaria, for those not in the know, is a state of Germany located in the southeast corner of the country. It’s the largest German state by area accounting for about 20% of the total land of Germany (compare that to Alaska at 21% of the total land of the United States). Now forget all that. […]

Shiner 99 Munich Style Helles Lager

Time for a review of a “legacy” beer – one that is no longer on the market. It’s the Shiner 99 Munich Style Helles Lager, sometimes written simply as the Shiner 99 or as the Shiner 99 Helles Lager. Whatever you call it, it was one of Shiner’s anniversary beers as they were working towards […]

Sam Adams Black Lager

We have an old saying in the Beer Love household: “Sometimes you really need a schwarzbier and may not even know it.” That’s why we now keep one behind glass for emergencies. Nephew/Cousin Beer Love, after a 5 year residency and a 1 year fellowship way out west in the land of the Cowboys, Rangers […]

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

Time for another Father and Son beer review! This time we hit the infamous Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA – a beer that can be tough to find, unless you know people. Or live in a state the doesn’t have a law against selling beer above 15% ABV. Either way. The Dogfish Head 120 Minute […]

Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale

Time for some spice! This Thursday review from John and Dad is on the Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale, which came highly recommended from our pal Darrin Pikarsky, founder of The Charlotte Beer Club. When the guy who founded a beer club recommends a beer, you friggin’ try it! It’s brewed by the Carolina Beer Company, […]

Noel Des Geants

This is a John and Dad bonus Thursday rating, made to wipe the Lone Star taste out of our mouths. The Noel Des Geants is brewed by Brasserie des Geants (formerly Brasserie des Legendes) in south Belgium. The brewery is actually located in a medieval castle in the town of Irchonwelz. The town is famous […]

Lone Star

You may think that Lone Star is nothing more than the Captain from the movie Spaceballs, but you’re wrong – it’s also a restaurant. And a country music band. And a forgettable 1996 movie. And a canceled TV series. Oh and it’s also a beer. That’s where we come in. It’s time for a John […]

What’s Your Go To Beer?

It’s Monday at six o’clock after a long day at the office. You’re headed home past several grocery stores, convenience stores and specialty beer shops. You want to pick up some beers to have that night to relax, take the edge off and maybe enjoy with dinner. You plan on drinking no more than 2 […]

Santa’s Butt Winter Porter

Today’s father and son beer review features the Santa’s Butt Winter Porter – one of the many Christmas/Winter beers that come from Ridgeway Brewing in the UK. You may know them best for their Bad Elf series of beers (Regular, Very, Seriously, Criminally and Insanely Bad Elf – in order of ascending ABV) that come […]

Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout

For our latest installment of the John and Dad Thursday review series we hit the Lump of Coal from Ridgeway Brewing in the UK. Technically the Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout, we’re aiming to find out if it hits the mark as a Christmas beer. The Lump of Coal comes in at 8% ABV […]

Celis White

For the first review of the New Year we’re trying the Celis White, which comes to us from Michigan Brewing (via our friends at The Beer of the Month Club). Interesting story on Celis – it was developed by Pierre Celis, a brewmaster from Hoegaarden, Belgium. He opened Celis Brewery in Austin, TX in 1992 […]

Our Life in Beer 2010

You wouldn’t know it based on the frequency of updates on the site, but we did actually have a life in beer in 2010. Though very few reviews made it to the site Father and Son Beer Love met nearly every Thursday night for our online Skype beer review that results in our handwritten notes […]

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager

This is a John and Dad sit down and have a beer on Thursday night over Skype just like our forefathers used to review and today we’re hitting the Shiner Black Lager – technically the Shiner Bohemian Black Lager. Interesting story on the Bohemian Black Lager – it was originally introduced as one of Shiner’s […]

The Beer Drinkers Dilemma

If some unspeakable catastrophe happened and they could only brew one style of beer in all the world for the rest of time, what style of beer would you want it to be and why? Father Beer Love’s answer: Porter Son Beer Love’s answer: Doppelbock Your answer? Leave a comment and let us know!

Beer Float Social

Son Beer Love’s wife was recently reading a Southern Living and noted an article on beer ice cream floats. The article detailed that beer floats were the perfect Southern experience on a hot summer day. She said “You and your dad have to do this!” And that is just one of the many reasons I […]

Even More of The Most Interesting Man in the World

Following up on our post about The Most Interesting Man in the World delivering great advertising results for Dos Equis, several of our beer loving readers have asked for more of The Most Interesting Man in the World videos. Turns out you’re all as fanatical about them as we are! We’re more than happy to […]

Top US Beer Brand Stats (2009 Update)

A few years back your humble BeerFathers wrote a post about the Top US Beer Brands for 2007. We thought it was a good time to update that post. This information comes from the March 2010 issue of Beverage Industry magazine and is for U.S. sales for 2009. Ready the new bullet points: Top Craft […]

The Most Interesting Man in the World Delivers Results

So I’m reading the latest issue of Beverage Industry magazine (March 2010) and they’re talking about beer, so I’m all ears. Or eyes, as it were, since I’m reading it, but you know what I’m saying. Anyway, they mention the Dos Equis spokesperson – the Most Interesting Man in the World. You know who I’m […]

RateBeer Releases Their Best Beers for 2010

RateBeer.com, one of the two premiere community beer sites (along with BeerAdvocate.com), has released their new Best Beers lists for 2010. They do this every year and it’s always a great list of beers to look through, reflect on and have unusual and violent cravings for. No surprises at the top of the list really, […]

Widmer Brrr

This is another Thursday night review starring your favorite two people named John and Dad. We originally reviewed this on 11/20/2008 after each receiving some free bottles from Widmer Brothers’ PR firm to try out. Once we tried it and realized we didn’t really care for it we were somewhat loath to post it on […]

Panil Barriquee

A rare treat for The BeerFathers – a father and son in person review. No Skype, just two guys drinking some Italian beer together. Wait. Italian beer? Are you kidding me? Italian beer? How good can that be? Isn’t that wine country? Well, we’re here to tell you that Italian beer can be very, very […]

Sam Adams White Ale

This is the last stop in our journey through the Sam Adams Seasonals lineup. For the most part we love the Sam Adams Seasonals – they’re really good, sessionable beers that are generally more balanced than the heavy hitting Boston Lager that Sam Adams is hoppedly famous for. The Sam Adams seasonal lineup goes like […]

Shiner Holiday Cheer

We’re back on track with our regular beer ratings and reviews here at The BeerFathers, after a long break in the beer action. Welcoming us back is as near to a “home” beer as we can get – Shiner Holiday Cheer – brewed by the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, TX, a mere 7 1/2 hours […]

So Long Dr Beer Love – Hello The BeerFathers

Starting today you’ll notice a slight change here at Beer Love central – we are now no longer known as Dr Beer Love. We are now officially The BeerFathers. Why, you ask? Well, it’s a long story but here goes… Back on November 13, 2009, we got an email from Jay Hersh, who politely said […]

Top 10 Reasons To Become A Craft Beer Drinker

There are lots of reasons to become a craft beer drinker, or craftie as we call it. Here’s the top ten: Start up for under $15.00. Requires no expensive equipment or membership dues. It’s no impact and no stress on the joints. Except for an occasional bar fight between the malt mad-men and the hopheads. […]

New Beer Legislation 2009

While the executive and legislative branch is on vacation John and I have taken this time to pass more common sense legislation. This is our first since the Hefeweizen Rule of 2008 which was the first common sense legislation since the No Good Beer Left Behind Act of 2004. This time we decided to work […]

McEwans Scotch Ale

Old Father Beer Love (Grandfather) had to pull a couple of night shifts at Beer Love Medical Center. At my advanced age I don’t do night pediatrics anymore and leave that up to son (Dad) Beer Love now. Tonight I’ll take over the new crop of Beer Love Interns on the night shift. What do […]

Hefe Madness – Finals – Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse vs. Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

Note: This is the The BeerFathers Hefe Madness Tournament, where we put eight hefeweizens head-to-head in a beer tournament to end all beer tournaments, March Madness style. See the original post here. All beers are consumed in weizen glasses with John and Beer Love neighbor Josh serving as the judges. Finals Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse comes in […]

Hefe Madness – Semifinals – Ayinger Brau-Weisse vs. Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse

Note: This is the The BeerFathers Hefe Madness Tournament, where we put eight hefeweizens head-to-head in a beer tournament to end all beer tournaments, March Madness style. See the original post here. All beers are consumed in weizen glasses with John and Beer Love neighbor Josh serving as the judges. Semifinals, Beer Battle 2 Ayinger […]

Hefe Madness – Semifinals – Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier vs. Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

Note: This is the The BeerFathers Hefe Madness Tournament, where we put eight hefeweizens head-to-head in a beer tournament to end all beer tournaments, March Madness style. See the original post here. All beers are consumed in weizen glasses with John and Beer Love neighbor Josh serving as the judges. Semifinals, Beer Battle 1 Weihenstephaner […]

Hefe Madness – Round 1 – Paulaner Hefe-Weizen vs. Erdinger Weissbier

Note: This is the The BeerFathers Hefe Madness Tournament, where we put eight hefeweizens head-to-head in a beer tournament to end all beer tournaments, March Madness style. See the original post here. All beers are consumed in weizen glasses with John and Beer Love neighbor Josh serving as the judges. Round 1, Beer Battle 4 […]

Hefe Madness – Round 1 – Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse vs. Arcobrau Weissbier

Note: This is the The BeerFathers Hefe Madness Tournament, where we put eight hefeweizens head-to-head in a beer tournament to end all beer tournaments, March Madness style. See the original post here. All beers are consumed in weizen glasses with John and Beer Love neighbor Josh serving as the judges. Round 1, Beer Battle 3 […]

Hefe Madness – Round 1 – Ayinger Brau-Weisse vs. Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat

Note: This is the The BeerFathers Hefe Madness Tournament, where we put eight hefeweizens head-to-head in a beer tournament to end all beer tournaments, March Madness style. See the original post here. All beers are consumed in weizen glasses with John and Beer Love neighbor Josh serving as the judges. Round 1, Beer Battle 2 […]

Hefe Madness – Round 1 – Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier vs. Pyramid Hefe Weizen

Note: This is the The BeerFathers Hefe Madness Tournament, where we put eight hefeweizens head-to-head in a beer tournament to end all beer tournaments, March Madness style. See the original post here. All beers are consumed in weizen glasses with John and Beer Love neighbor Josh serving as the judges. Round 1, Beer Battle 1 […]

Hefe Madness

With March Madness and college basketball finally done the Beer Love wife reminded me that the sports we watch in the Beer Love household are pretty much over until football season kicks off in the fall. So we decided to create our own sport to both celebrate and get us through the spring and impending […]

The BeerFathers Spell Irony P-B-R

So yours truly was recently invited to attend the greatest of American past times – minor league baseball – with his beer pals Josh and Trent. The Charlotte Knights were squaring off against the Gwinnett Braves and we were right behind home plate. That’s when we were approached by a young lady in a Charlotte […]

Guest Post: Quest for the Perfect Beer List

Editor’s Note: While The BeerFathers are out on paternity leave, he’s having his online beer consiglieres post for him – this one comes to us from The Beer Babe. As a beer reviewer, I’m always a bit picky about the restaurants and bars that I seek out. I love trying out new places, but nothing […]

Guest Post: Left Hand Milk Stout

Editor’s Note: This is a guest rating from The BeerFathers’ Circle of Trust – this one comes to us from Scott over at TheBrewClub.com. Being a Lefty myself, and also a lover of good Milk Stouts, I am really looking forward to trying this Milk Stout from Left hand Brewing Company out of Longmont, Colorado. […]

Where in Time Are the BeerFathers?

So, The BeerFathers haven’t made a house call here in quite a while. We can only offer our apologies and one terrific excuse – the newest addition to the Beer Love Household – Anna Jewel Eklund, born on the Ides of March. So – we’re taking a bit of a breather from the site while […]

Sam Adams Winter Lager

You probably know that we’re fans of the Sam Adams Seasonals lineup. We don’t hide that. They’re usually quite a bit more balanced than the regular Sam Adams Boston Lager, and we like that because we like our taste buds to retain the ability to actually taste things. See, it’s a proven fact that too […]

Our Life in Beer 2008

Apparently we blacked out during the month of January because we’re just now getting to our 2008 year in beer review. And what a year it was! We wanted to go back through 2008 and see what we learned, what we liked and how we grew. We had 113 posts last year – 64 of […]

Mackeson XXX Stout

Picking back up with our Father and Son Thursday review sessions, we’re hitting the Mackeson XXX Stout, pronounced Mackeson Triple Stout. Opinions vary on the pronunciation of Mackeson – we’ve seen everything from “Mack-E-son” to “Mickasen” so we’ll just agree to disagree. Though technically an InterBrew (now InBev) beer, it’s brewed by the Boston Beer […]

The Beer Scene on Bourbon Street

The Beer Love wife and I took a trip to New Orleans back in September for our babymoon (the last big trip before the baby comes) and happened to find our way to Bourbon Street. Though The BeerFather has been to Bourbon Street several times before (I am from Louisiana, mind you), unfortunately I wasn’t […]

Smithwick’s Irish Ale

I found this at CPWM for for $1.69 a bottle. Original date of test was 6/29/08. It’s brewed from by Guinness and it’s actually pronounced Smitiks. Beer temp. 48.0F – 8.9C. This beer has an IBU of 20 (from ask Michael) and ABV of 4.5%. In a pint glass I got an average 2 in. […]

Anchor Liberty Ale

This is actually classified as an American Pale Ale. To beer newbies it would be more like an India Pale Ale (IPA) elsewhere. This has a 90% rating overall and a 95.6% style rating on ratebeer.com. It has an ABV of 5.9% and I couldn’t find an IBU rating but I’ll guess at least 40+. […]

Murphy’s Irish Red

Picked this up at CPWM for $1.89 plus tax. I also had the help of the Lovely Mrs. Beer Love in this review from 6/27/08. Used a pint glass and got a large 3 inch frothy off white head. Beer temp. 47.4F – 9.2C, ABV – 5%. The head dissipated quickly and there was almost […]

Otter Creek Pale Ale

This is another BOTMC sample from John, thanks again son. Original tasting was on 6/11/08. This has an IBU of 40 and is 4.5% ABV and came in a 12 oz. bottle. Beer temp. was 46.5F – 7.9C and I used a pint glass. It poured a hazy amber orange with a 2 in. fizzy […]

Left Hand Deep Cover Brown Ale

This came from BOTMC – a really great gift for any beer lover on your gift list, heck you can even give it to yourself or me if you just have to. Beer temp. 44.0 F. I used a pint glass and got a large 3 in. foamy light brown head that dissipated slowly with […]

Hofbrau Original

Who wants to go to Munich? I see a lot of hands up and somebody standing in his chair waving both hands yelling “YES!” Sorry, that’s me. You’ll need a passport and a big fistful of money. If you have two big fistfuls of money I have my own passport. Barring that we’ll just grab […]

Sam Adams Octoberfest

We’ve written before how the Sam Adams seasonal beers differ quite a bit from their flagship beer (Sam Adams Boston Lager) – namely in that we like them and most of them aren’t overly hopped. Mind you, we respect the Boston Beer Company and their aggressive approach to beers – they don’t half ass anything […]

SuperBigAssBeerCo, Inc., LLC

From the InBev Completes Acquisition of Anheuser-Busch press release: “Effective today, InBev has changed its name to Anheuser-Busch InBev to reflect the heritage and traditions of Anheuser-Busch.” Blink. Blink blink. I understand why they went with Anheuser-Busch InBev, I really do. But I’m always a little taken back when a company has a chance to […]

Redhook Double Black Stout

When we got the email from the PR agency for Redhook asking if we’d like samples of their Double Black Stout it didn’t take long for us to reply that we’d be happy to oblige. It also didn’t take long for us to appreciate how insanely cool it is to have a beer company send […]

The BeerFathers Are In

Well, it’s been a while now, hasn’t it? How do we explain our near month long absence? Just ignore it and hope you didn’t notice? Not The BeerFathers’ style. It plays out like this: Father Beer Love had foot surgery and was not able to do a tasting for several weeks while he worked on […]

Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout

Thursday beer review time with Father and Son Beer Love is once again upon us. This week we go back to one of our favorite breweries – Bell’s Brewery up in Kalamazoo, MI – and try the beer named after the city – the Kalamazoo Stout. You may recall we’ve reviewed several other Bell’s beers […]

Coors Banquet

For our recently fallen beer comrade Jerry Reed, who passed away on August 31, 2008, Father and Son Beer Love decided to devote a Thursday night review to the beer that Snowman and the Bandit worked so hard to deliver to the fine folks in Atlanta. This one’s for you, Snowman. Coors Banquet, which also […]

The Great 2008 Beer Ratings Adjustment

We just recently posted our 100th review and to celebrate we decided to look back over all 100 of our previous reviews. What did we find? Well, besides the fact that we really, really love beer we found that we dropped the ball on a few of our ratings. Most of the ones we dropped […]

Pilsner Urquell

For this week’s Thursday Father and Son beer session we decided to try the Pilsner Urquell, which states right on the bottle that it is “The Original Pilsner.” This one is a favorite of Beer Love neighbor Jerry who sent over some great history on the beer. For starters it’s brewed in the town of […]

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

It’s another Thursday beer review where Father and Son Beer Love get together, fire up the computer, video conference each other and have a beer. It’s a little known fact that this was actually Alexander Graham Bell’s vision when he invented the telephone in 1876. Tonight’s review is the Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. Don’t be […]

Michelob Amber Bock

Our 100th beer review. To celebrate? We’ll have a beer. We strategically made Michelob Amber Bock our 100th beer rating because for both Father and Son Beer Love, and a large number of our Beer Love friends, this was our breakout beer. By breakout beer we mean the one that got us over the rank […]

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

We’re getting oh so close to our great fake milestone of 100 beers here at The BeerFathers that we can taste it. And you know what? It’s quite refreshing. Right now we’re sitting at 99 different and unique beers reviewed and rated and this week we’ll be unveiling our 100th beer. 100 beers. Arbitrary? Yes. […]

Shiner Bock

Thursday means just two things: Must See TV (if this is the 1990s) and Father and Son Beer Love bringing you their beer review of the week. This week we hit the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas for a little Shiner Bock action. We’ll talk in more detail in a future post about breakout beers, […]

Entire Butt English Porter

In our latest segment of the John and Dad Thursday night beer review, we get together for an Entire Butt English Porter from the Salopian Brewing Company in the UK. What’s the Entire Butt besides a great name and perhaps a description of what a guy likes most about his lady? Well it’s actually a […]

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout

Father and Son Beer Love start each Thursday morning looking forward to Thursday night, which is when we have our weekly beer review. For this week’s review we each picked up a bottle of Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, actually listed on the bottle as Young’s Luxury Double Chocolate Stout. It’s brewed by Wells & Young […]

Hurricane Preparation

First let me say this, my heart goes out to all the people who had to evacuate and possibly suffer loss because of Hurricane Gustav. Since I live about 5 hours north of the gulf coast we usually only experience wind and rain to some extent and our major issue is usually either some mild […]

Great Fake Beer Names

Being a guy, I love movie quotes. I really love them. A lot. It’s a weakness (or maybe a strength?) for just about every guy I know – friends and I can have entire conversations where nothing but movie quotes are passed around – no actual other words are used. Entire conversations. Really. The fun […]

Kulmbacher Eisbock

Thursday beer review time again, meaning Father and Son get together and have a beer. Nothing better in the world! Today we revisit the Kulmbacher Brauerei AG to give the Kulmbacher Eisbock a try. We recently tried the Kulmbacher Edelherb and weren’t too impressed with the results. The good news is they completely redeem themselves […]

Where to Buy Beer Online

List Last Updated: October 2011 We’ve all been frustrated at some point with the beers in our local market (Father Beer Love calls Shreveport/Bossier a vast “Stout Wasteland”). So what are your options if you who have a poor beer selection where you are or if you just want to find some good stuff that’s […]

Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel

Thursday Night Lights time here at The BeerFathers – meaning a Father and Son Beer Love review. For our prime time performance we’ve got the Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel in the spotlight. As you know Flying Dog makes a good variety of beers and we love just about every one of them. They’re consistently in […]

Duck Rabbit Milk Stout

It’s Thursday Beer Love time – which means Father and Son have a terrific excuse to drink a beer together in the name of Beer Love Science. We’re The BeerFathers after all, lest we forget. This week we have the Duck Rabbit Milk Stout as our test subject. Past experience with Duck Rabbit beers have […]

Beer Etiquette Tips

Fellow beer blogger David posted a great list of Beer Etiquette Tips over at Musings Over a Pint. These are tips for us craft beer drinkers to remember when we deal with the rest of the beer public. A few gems to comment on: People are entitled to their own opinions about beer – This […]

Dogfish Head Aprihop

In yet another Thursday night Father and Son Beer Love review, we decided to try the Dogfish Head Aprihop, especially after seeing some good notes about it on Twitter. Our other experience with Dogfish Head was their 90 Minute IPA, which we really enjoyed – the Dogfish Head Aprihop is actually an IPA as well. […]

New at The BeerFathers: The Beer Dictionary

Father Beer Love and I were chatting recently and we both mentioned that it would be nice to have a dictionary of some of the beer terms we frequently use on the site. Not an all-encompassing beer dictionary, but just something that we could use as a reference and those who read the site could […]

Lindemans Peche Lambic

In our ongoing Father and Son Thursday night beer review saga, where we never have an offseason, we finally reviewed our very first lambic. For the occasion we chose Lindemans Peche Lambic, which comes to us from Lindemans Farm Brewery in Belgium. Judging from this first review we wouldn’t mind visiting Lindemans Farm Brewery, falling […]

New at The BeerFathers: Timely Beer Photos

We’ve added a quick new feature to the The BeerFathers site that we’re jazzed about – timely beer photos. As you know we have featured our old friend – the dark beer in the tulip glass – prominently at the top right side of every page since we relaunched the site in May this year. […]

Kulmbacher Edelherb Premium Pils

It’s Thursday Father and Son Beer Love beer review time again. This week we wrangled up a Kulmbacher Edelherb Premium Pils, which is a Bavarian lager brewed by Kulmbacher Brauerei AG. We poured our 4.9% ABV, 12 ounce bottle of Premium Pils into an American pilsner glass (how appropriate!) and got an initial temperature of […]

Abita Purple Haze

In yet another Father and Son Thursday night beer review, we head down to south Louisiana and stop back by the Abita Brewing Company. We’ve visited many times before and we’re usually not disappointed. This time, however, we’re not exactly happy customers. The Abita Purple Haze is one of the staples of their lineup and […]

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

In our ongoing Thursday night father and son review series, we virtually visited the Flying Dog Brewery to sample their Gonzo Imperial Porter. We picked this one up as a 4 pack for around $9 and were excited to see it in some mainstream grocery stores like Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods, in addition to […]

Ask The BeerFathers: Who Stole Your Beer?

A reader writes: Q. So you had 99 beer reviews on your site and now you’re sitting at 88. What happened? Where did your beers go? Who stole your beer? A. Astute reader, you are correct – we were sitting gloriously at 99 beers on the wall and then we dropped to 88. So where […]

Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock

It’s Thursday Father and Son Beer review time again! This time we’re hitting the Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock, and we were primed for it by several of our beer peers who said this one was an absolute treat. You know what? They were right. This is one of our new favorite beers. Not only is it […]

Sam Adams Summer Ale

We can be a little hard on the Sam Adams beers here at The BeerFathers and we know that. Their regular lineup hits the hops really hard and we’re admittedly not hop heads like some of the Beer Love community. Also their Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is hands down one of the worst beer experiences […]

Beereaucracy

It’s time for the craft beer SATs here at The BeerFathers! Read the following list and tell us which one of these things doesn’t logically belong: Bass Beck’s Boddingtons Budweiser Franziskaner Hoegaarden Lowenbrau Spaten St. Pauli Girl Stella Artois If you guessed Budweiser, you are correct. In the “huh?” deal of the year, Anheuser-Busch and […]

Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter

In our ongoing Father and Son Beer Love Thursday night review series, we decided it was time to test a “local” beer – the Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter. A mere 4 hour drive from the home base of The BeerFathers (East) is the The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, located in Farmville, NC. Duck Rabbit touts themselves […]

St. Bernardus Abt 12

Currently the 29th best beer in the world overall at RateBeer.com, the St. Bernardus Abt 12 is a very interesting Abbey ale. This is another in our father and son Thursday night beer reviews and for this one we used a goblet, as recommended. This is a quadrupel and the bottle is 11.2 oz with […]

Krusovice Cerne

This is our first ever schwarzbier, which is just a fancy German way to say black beer. It’s brewed in the lager style by Kralovsky Pivovar Krusovice (The Royal Brewery of Krusovice) in the Czech Republic. Dad picked this one up at Gomer’s in Lee’s Summit for $1.69 a bottle on a recent trip to […]

Ask The BeerFathers: So Just What Do the Ratings Mean?

A reader writes: Q. I understand you have a 10 point rating system but what do the ratings really mean? Why is a 9 better than a 8 or a 4 better than a 3? A. That’s a really great question and one that we had to do some soul searching to answer. As we’re […]

Les Trois Mousquetaires Aramis Red Lager

In the ongoing father and son Thursday night beer review saga, we test drove the Aramis Red Lager from Les Trois Mousquetaires up in Quebec. It must be tough being a brewery in Quebec knowing that you’re going to always be compared to the gold standard for not only Quebec but for all of Canada […]

Strawberry Beer Menage a Trois

We were so smitten with the Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager that we said “Hey, why not try even more strawberry beers?” Then we took it to the next level and said “Hey, why not try the other strawberry beers at the same time, Pepsi Challenge style?” The end result – now we hate strawberries. Strawberry […]

Beer Pairings: Beer and Poker Night

So I posed a question recently on Twitter asking for some ideas on a good craft beer for me and the boys to consume massive amounts of at an upcoming poker night. The rules were simple – no high ABV and no high price tag. A quick note – the Twitter beer community is fantastic […]

Three Floyds Brian Boru

Fellow beer lover Dave took a trip to Three Floyds Brewery recently and was gracious enough to send me a care package containing a Brian Boru and a six pack of Gumballhead. These were my first two 3F beers and they’ve only left me clamoring for more. Thanks Dave! Also worth noting was this was […]

Chimay Blue

In our ongoing Thursday night father and son beer review campaign, we ventured into Belgium to have a visit with the star in the Bieres de Chimay lineup. Chimay Bleue, or Chimay Grand Reserve, is a 9% ABV treat. Always a good go-to beer, it ventures in a much different direction from many of the […]

Flying Dog Road Dog Scottish Porter

This selection came from BOTMC (Thanks John) and comes from the Flying Dog brewery of course. It isn’t available here so it was a rare treat for me. Beer temp. 53.0F-11.4C 5.3% ABV. The beer was ruby brown in color with a 2 inch foamy head which was light brown in color. The head dissipated […]

Wild Blue

I saw this in a local store but waited till I could find it as a single after my experience with AB craft type beers. Beer temp. 47.6F – 9.4C at 8% ABV. It poured a magenta-purple body with an 1 1/2 inch frothy head that I can only say was the color of a […]

Redhook Long Hammer IPA

This is just my second IPA. My first was a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA and was a great intro to the style. The style seems to be popping up like mushrooms after a three day rain. Beer temp. 40.2 F -4.8 C. Used a pint glass and got a 1 1/2 inch off white […]

Top US Beer Brand Stats

Note: This post was written in 2008 for the 2007 stats. We’ve since updated it for the 2009 stats (here) and the 2010 stats (here). In a recent issue of Beverage Industry magazine (April 2008) there is a category focus on US beer consumption for 2007 that gives some really interesting stats by sales. The […]

Beer Rule: The Hefeweizen Law

We seriously love the hefes here at The BeerFathers. It’s almost unnatural. There’s just something about the wheat and the lemon and the banana and the slight pepperiness and the overall je ne sais pas that just gives us the goose bumps. Because of this we’ve decided it’s time to create The Hefeweizen Law: I […]

Les Trois Mousquetaires Imperial Weizen

In yet another Thursday father/son beer tasting we gave the Imperial Weizen Summer Wheat Ale from Les Trois Mousquetaires a long look. This one comes in a 1/2 ounce-robbing 11.5 oz bottle and by the time you’re through you’re thinking that other 1/2 ounce would be just about right. The ABV comes in at 8%, […]

Why We Love The Weekends

We love the weekends because you get to do a little grilling, a little Mario Karting and a little drinking of the good stuff. We love the weekends because you occasionally get perfect weather and get to hang out with the family, friends and pups you love. We love the weekends because you get to […]

Big Changes Coming at Guinness

Guinness is revamping the St. James’s Gate brewery – they’re going to upgrade it to produce only for the Irish and British markets and handle tourists. A new brewery is being built that will make Guinness for export and it should be commissioned in 2013. This means a significant space reduction once the new brewery […]

Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager

Louisiana is a special place in the The BeerFathers household – son Beer Love was born there and spent his first 25 years there. And though Father Beer Love wasn’t born there, he’s called it home for well over 30 years. Because of that Abita beers may get a special nod in the beer love […]

Beer Love 2.0

We launched the first official redesign of the The BeerFathers web site this week, meaning we’re officially version 2.0, with a web 2.0 look. And officially we will never use that term again because we hate it. This site redesign got started a little under a month ago and we took the opportunity to update […]

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

For Mike. This is our first memorial beer tasting, in the memory of our co-worker and friend Mike White. I found out after his passing that he was a big fan of the Dead Guy Ale, so on the way back from his funeral some fellow co-workers and I decided to stop at World Market […]

Recession Resistant Beer Coming Soon, Nay, Already In Stores…

There’s another new beer in stores now. Not select stores, but EVERY store that sells beer. You can even find this new beer at convenience stores like Circle K and 7-11. It’s called Recession Resistant Beer and it’s inside every bottle or can you can pick up everywhere beer is sold. Check out the full […]

Anheuser-Busch Spewing New Beers Willy Wonka Style

It’s interesting to note that A-B is using Michelob as the brand to launch most of their more diverse craft brews. They’ve got their two staples – Michelob and Michelob Light, plus Amber Bock, which to most people I know was their “breakout beer.” They’ve since pushed out Porter, Marzen, Pale Ale, Wheat and Honey […]

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Currently #91 on the RateBeer.com Top 100 Best Beers in the World, the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is an IPA force to be reckoned with. This is another in a series of Thursday evening reviews between Father and Son Beer Love, but this one wasn’t a phone review, it was our first ever video […]

Top 50 Craft Beer Companies Announced

BeerTown.org has released some stats on the American craft beer scene for 2007, including the top 50 craft beer companies by sales volume. No surprises at the top of the list with Boston Beer (Sam Adams), Sierra Nevada and New Belgium sitting in the top 3 spots. I was happy to see though that the […]

Bell’s Expedition Stout

Go ahead and put on your to-do list, if you’re ever in Kalamazoo, MI, to visit the Bell’s Eccentric Cafe where you can try most of the Bell’s Beers on tap. We’d say you also need to visit Bell’s Brewery as well, but it’s not open to the public. We base this directive solely on […]

And the Fastest Growing Beer in America Is….

Think you know what the fastest growing beer in America is? We’re not just talking craft beers here but all beers. Specifically year-over-year growth in 2007 in supermarkets. The winner? Blue Moon. The full article is available here.

O’Fallon Smoked Porter

The latest Thursday night Father and Son Beer Love Session features the O’Fallon Smoked Porter. The smoked porter concept was new to us so we were pretty anxious to give it a shot. We like smoked and we like porters, so let’s blend the two and dive in. The O’Fallon Brewery is conveniently located in […]

Dark Beer Death

The BeerFathers respect people who get all scientific with their beer tasting, and the folks over at Rate Beer definitely get a beer glass raised in their direction for their latest endeavor – A Going Blind Tasting. 25 imperial stouts in one evening. Twenty. Five. Bottom line is it turns out to be a little […]

Boulevard Bully Porter

The Bully Porter (technically written as “Bully! Porter”) comes to us from the Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, MO. This is another in a series of Thursday evening phone reviews between Father and Son Beer Love. The 12 oz bottle features a 5.4% ABV and we served it up in an American pint glass […]

Schlafly No. 15 Ale

The Schlafly No. 15 comes to us from the Saint Louis Brewery in Missouri, the same state that houses Grandmother and Uncle Beer Love. This is another in a series of Thursday night phone reviews between Father and Son Beer Love. We poured the 6% ABV 12 oz bottle into an American pint glass and […]

Beer Fridge

The BeerFathers household (East) is plus one now with the latest addition to the family – the dedicated beer fridge. That’s right, I finally had so many beers in our real fridge that my beautiful beer love wife finally said “Enough!” and I got my wish. This bad boy is actually a converted wine cooler […]

Red Tail Ale

This was in my first 10 pack from CPWM (Cost Plus World Market) and thought I would try it again to see if my taste had changed from 7/26/05. Beer temp. 47.1F-8.6C. Using my go-to British pint glass I got a large 2.5 inch foamy off white head on top of a hazy amber orange […]

Staying the Course

Last night I was enjoying a delicious Duck Rabbit Milk Stout (review to come later) out on the patio, throwing the toys for the dogs and enjoying the beautiful 70 degree evening that is more often than not springtime in Charlotte. As it proceeded to get dark I came inside and sat down on the […]

Fort Collins Brewery Chocolate Stout

The Fort Collins Chocolate Stout is another in a series of Thursday night phone reviews between Father and Son Beer Love. Fort Collins Brewery, out of Colorado, makes a good number of beers. The Chocolate Stout has a great graphic design to it with a lipstick kiss mark next to the beer name on the […]

Raise Your Beer Glass To Sam Adams

As I’ve written about before, the ingredients that go into beer are experiencing extreme price increases, leading to a shortage of things like hops. Combine that with the recent announcement that Boston Beer (makers of Sam Adams) just posted a huge 4th quarter increase in profits (despite the 21% increase in the price of goods) […]

Sprecher Special Amber

Brought to you from the fine folks at the Sprecher Brewing Company in Glendale, WI, this Special Amber Lager is their best seller. It’s a medium bodied German style lager, checking in at 5% ABV and it was was served up in an American pint glass. The initial pour yielded a large 1 1/2″ frothy […]

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse

After the fiasco with the Moosbacher I wanted to show the Lovely Mrs. Beer Love a good weissbier. Just so happened to have one of these on hand, as the weissbier law is set to go into effect. Beer temp. 42.7F-5.8C. a .5L bottle poured a hazy yellow gold with a large 2.5 inch frothy […]

Boulevard Zon

Zon is another offering from the Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, where Father Beer Love went purchase happy on his latest trip to see Grandma and Uncle Beer Love. It should be noted that like many of the beers from that Missouri trip, we may have waited to long to review this one. This […]

The Perfect Evening, An Ingredient List

Take getting home before the sun goes down, one mild, almost-spring evening in the lower 60’s, your back patio, a bottle of Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel, a weizen glass, your two trusty miniature schnauzers, a frisbee for the white one, a tennis ball for the black one and two rousing 20 minute games of fetch while […]

O’Fallon Lemp Jurassic Dark

Picked this up in Mo. and even though it had a dinosaur on the label since I only had one John let me keep it. It’s from the O’Fallon Brewery and the label says ” A Truly Extravagant Beer ” I didn’t know what it was so guessed at the temp. and went with a […]

Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout

Note: The Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (March 12, 2008): […]

Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale

Note: The Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (March 11, […]

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer

The latest Thursday night phone review between Father and Son Beer Love features the Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer from Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City, Mo. This one is bottle conditioned in a 12 oz bottle with a 4.5% ABV. It should be noted that we had gone over the expiration date on this when […]

Cheers to Craft Beers!

This article over at STLtoday announces that craft beer sales are up 12% last year. Money quote: “Sales by independent craft brewers grew 12 percent by volume and 16 percent in dollars last year, according to the Brewers Association” It also mentions that since 2004 craft brew dollar sales have grown 58%, and that craft […]

Unibroue Don de Dieu

This one is brewed by Unibroue in Quebec, and you know to expect good things from Unibroue. Great story behind it – it’s named after Samuel de Champlain’s (the founder of Quebec) boat – The Don de Dieu. Quebec came to be known as the land of the “somewhat of a great people” and the […]

Moosbacher Weissbier

Note: The Moosbacher Weissbier was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Father Beer Love Review (March 2, 2008): Let me start […]

Outrage

This is in response to John’s blog about the new beer taps coming to the U.K. If they start in the U.K. and it spreads across Europe what’s next? The Nat and the Beast? I’ll be forced to go to the land of my ancestors (if the dollar gets stronger against the euro) and defend […]

Yay! Oh, Wait!

The Good News: There will be 40,000 new beer taps installed at pubs and restaurants in the United Kingdom this year! The Bad News: They will all be dispensing Coors Light. See the full story at the Denver Post. What do you think, is this our way of punishing the UK for The Beatles still […]

That Brewery In The Sky

As you ponder this rant keep in mind the song “Spirit in the Sky”. A while back I posed the question to John, if you knew it was your time to go to that that “Great Brewery In The Sky” what would be your choice of a last beer? This was some time back and […]

Vacation Notes

The lovely Mrs. Beer Love and I went to see the Missouri clan – mom and brother Beer Love and Maggie the wonder dog last October. In the local grocery store I found area-brewed Boulevard brand wheat beer and Fat Tire Amber Ale and got a six of each. In the county seat I found […]

Christmas Spirit

I keep two types of beer in my home in two different locations. One, Beer Of The Month Club selections (thanks son), other beers new to me waiting for review and beers I like and am holding in the dining room with the wine I’ll just call the good stuff. Two, the beer I can […]

Beer Clams

AB is back at it again in their beer labs, twisting their mustaches and infusing beer with new and exciting non-beer things. This time it’s Clamato – a mixture of tomato juice concentrate and reconstituted dried clam broth – and though it sounds a bit off I’ve read it’s a very popular cocktail mixer. They’re […]

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

In our ongoing Thursday night beer reviews via the land line, we came to a real champion that’s very hard to say and spell, especially after you’ve lapped up the entire bottle like you were in the desert and had just found an oasis of beer. So here goes: The Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier is brewed […]

Abita Golden Lager

Beer temp. 42.8F – 6.8C, ABV 5.25%. Initial pour gave a 2 inch fizzy white head and a yellow body. The head dissipated slowly with virtually no lacing. Malt aroma was cereal and honey, hops had a citrus aroma and misc. aroma was of vegetables, mainly corn. The initial flavor was a light sweetness and […]

Costco Entering Craft Brew Beer Battle

There’s an article over at Advertising Age detailing an interesting development in the craft brew beer market – Costco, one of the top warehouse club stores (along with Sam’s Club and BJ’s), will start offering it’s own private label (Kirkland Signature) line of craft brews. Kirkland Signature is Costco’s store brand (or private label brand […]

New AB Offerings

It looks like Anheuser-Busch is continuing their focus on the craft beer drinkers market (that would be you and me) with a few new offerings (the full story from the STL Today is here): Wild Blue – an 8% ABV blueberry lager. This has been sold in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois and is coming to […]

Ask The BeerFathers: Why Are There No 10 Out of 10 Ratings?

A reader writes: Q. I’m a bit surprised that you don’t have any 10 out 10 ratings. What gives? A. You’re not the first to notice. We are being quite stingy with our ratings, at least initially. Why? Here’s our logic: how can you truly rate something as the top beer if you don’t have […]

Brasserie Des Rocs Triple Imperiale

I’ll admit I’ve dragged my feet on posting the review for this one. I was very excited to find a 4 pack at Total Wine a few months back because this is a RateBeer.com Top 100 (number 83 on the 2007 list). Alas, I’m finally just now finishing the fourth one. Initial impressions of this […]

Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss

Beer temp. 42.4 F (5.7 C), ABV 4.92%. Pours sparkling gold color with a large frothy white head that dissipated quickly with fair lacing. The carbonation was soft. Malt aromas were biscuit and cereal, hops aroma was citrus – possibly lemon or lime. Yeast aroma was dough and misc. aroma was pineapple. The initial flavor […]

Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss

Beer temp. 45.1F (7.3C), ABV 4.4%. Pours peach color with a small, fizzy, white head that dissipated quickly with virtually no lacing. The carbonation was soft and had a hazy appearance which I like in a wheat beer. Malt aromas were biscuit, honey and wheat. I could find no hop aromas with maybe a touch […]

Imaginary Beer Tap

I would like to thank one of my favorite authors Patrick F McManus and toast him with a mug of really good beer for his story about the imaginary gun for the idea. Awhile back I was talking to John on one of our regular visits and posed the question if you had a beer […]

Beer With Food? Take That Wine!

Check out this article over at STL Today on the increasing popularity of beer dinners: Brewers pushing beer as part of fine dining experience It’s basically saying that breweries are wising up to the popularity of beer and pairing it with food dishes, ala the wine-food pairings we all know that are an ever present […]

Schlafly Saison

I brought this one back from a trip to the Kansas City area and only had one so I couldn’t give one to John and I’m really sorry I didn’t. Beer Temp. 42.8F – 6.1C. 6% ABV. Pours light amber with 1.5 inch off white head with large bubbles. Aroma light caramel with a hint […]

New The BeerFathers Features

Though The BeerFathers web site already packs a good amount of both beer and love, we felt it was time to add something to the mix – a little lagniappe as we call back in the Bayou State. So, we decided to end our glorious one-way communication and give you some tools to interact with […]

New Belgium Trippel Belgian Style Ale

The New Belgium Brewing Trippel Belgian Style Ale is another in a series of phone reviews between Father and Son Beer Love, M.D. This one logs in at 7.8% ABV, which is a little bit light on the alcohol side compared to traditional triples, which usually clock in at 9% plus. We tried it out […]

Beers From the Past

In response to an e-mail about old time beers, 1960’s… Two spring to mind, the first is Champagne Velvet. We (me and two friends I’ll just call ohhh “Norman and Mike”) discovered this on a trip to Lake of the Ozarks in the summer of 64. It was a 3.2% so it could be sold […]

Note on Ipswich Original Ale

(This refers to the Ipswich Original Ale Review). It’s my belief that there are almost no bad beers (refer to the 0 list). I’ve heard the same thing about dogs and kids. I suggest trying the Ipswich (since I still have one left) with a sweet stout (but don’t waste a really good one) for […]

Ipswich Original Ale

Another beer consumed in our ongoing Thursday night beer review sessions, the Ipswich comes to us from the Mercury Brewing Company in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Dad got this one from his Beer of the Month Club, which makes a great gift, as he will attest to. A semi-aggressive pour yielded a 1/2″ head that dissipated rather […]

Go Flying Dog, Go!

I found an interesting little nugget of information recently – Flying Dog will be relocating all brewing operations from Denver, Colorado to a larger, state-of-the-art brewery in Frederick, Maryland. Increased raw material costs – hops and malt leading the way – prompted the move, and as a result we will see an increase in Flying […]

What Does That Have To Do With the Price of Tea in China?

In what I’m sure will one day be a case study in a graduate economics class, the raw materials that go into making beer (I’m sure you know them by heart) are experiencing extreme price increases, due in part to bad weather in Europe hurting malts and a dramatic decline in domestic hops growers (91% […]

New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale

In our ongoing regular Thursday night phone review series, we have a look at the Fat Tire, which is brewed in Fort Collins, Colorado by the New Belgium Brewing Company. John notes that he remembers having this on tap at a restaurant before, but doesn’t remember which one – possibly Weber Grill in Chicago? The […]

It’s Time For a Beer Caucus

To celebrate the Iowa caucuses, I’m proposing we select a day and time for annual beer caucuses. A caucus is defined as “a meeting of the local members of a political party especially to select delegates to a convention or register preferences for candidates running for office.” This really isn’t much different from what we’re […]

Arcadia London Porter

In what has become a regular tradition, we now review a beer together on our usual Thursday evening call. The Arcadia London Porter was the first beer we reviewed using our new The BeerFathers Beer Review Form, which will soon be available to the drinking public. First off, this is one of the all-time great […]

Hoegaarden

“Who-Garden” – this is one of those beers I’ve drunken probably ten plus times without writing a review. It’s finally review time so I can reverse engineer exactly what it is I like about it so much. We can start with the obvious – it’s a wheat beer. Further details: 4.9% ABV, brewed by Hoegaadren […]

Single-Handedly Saving the Beer Industry One Beer at a Time

Good news: TheBeerFathers has single-handedly revitalized the beer industry. Or not. But the beer industry is regaining some of its steam and in 2007 recouped some of the losses it had been experiencing to, of all things, mixed drinks, thanks mostly to the surging interest in craft beers, such as those featured here on The […]

A Beer Love New Year

Happy new year from The BeerFathers! To celebrate we’ve made some resolutions for ourselves and are excited about the beers we will consume, nay become one with, in 2008. We’ve got a backlog of paper reviews we’ve got to type up and post from 2007 and we will begin doing that shortly. Full apologies for […]

Unibroue Chambly Noire

This is a Unibroue brew, which should immediately tell you that it is a top tier beer. I’ve never seen this one before and picked up this and another “new to me” Unibroue on a recent trip to Total Wine. It’s a 6.2% ABV and the bottle reads “Dark Ale on Lees.” Unsure what this […]

Widmer Hefeweizen

I must admit I really like good hefe’s and on a 92 degree summer day I was looking forward to one. This is new to the area so I got a single. Beer temp. 39.9 F-4.6 C. Pours a cloudy amber gold with no head. Aroma of lemon and grain but not the distinctive biscuit […]

Beach Bum Blonde Ale

This is by A.B. Beer temp. 41.3F – 6.1C. Pours medium gold with a fair white head that faded quickly with no lacing. Mild sour citrus aroma. Not much depth to the malts with a fair amount of bitterness and some sourness but I’m thinking it’s not all hops. The citrus that I smelled at […]

Stella Artois

This is a Belgian lager, the first one I’ve seen so I thought I’d give it a try. Beer temp. 44.6 F (7.0 C). Clear light gold color with a fair white head. Mild hop aroma with maybe a touch of hay to it. Mild malts with not much body but a surprisingly rich mouth […]

Trappistes Rochefort 8

Let me start off by saying this is a superb beer. It however suffers the unfortunate fate of being the second Trappistes Rochefort beer I’ve consumed – see my previous review on the Rochefort 10. With that said, any beer that has to suffer through having such a stud of a big brother can’t help […]

Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

Paulaner makes some terrific beers and their hefeweizen is no exception. This natural wheat beer is, as are most wheat beers, a perfect summer beer. This one is in my top 3 for hefes (Flying Dog In Heat Wheat, Ayinger Brau-Weisse and this one, in no particular order). This one is 5.5% ABV and initially […]

Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale

I saw this in the store and when a pal said it was good I invested in a six pack. Some people invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds – I invest in beer. At least I can drink my investments (is that liquidating them?). It’s made by Blue Moon. Beer temp. 48.2 F (9.0 […]

Heineken Dark

We all know about Heineken and their reputation as an “ultra-premium” imported beer. It seems Heineken is a status symbol of sorts, even though most people openly admit that it suffers from skunk beer syndrome (it is said that green bottles do very little to protect against this skunky smell). Heineken Dark is a completely […]

Guinness Draught

This is by far our most strenuous test to date – the Guinness Draught 4 way test. Guinness is classified as a dry stout and it comes both in cans and bottles (as well as on tap). We wanted to do a bottle vs. can test to find out which beer delivery system really tasted […]

Abita Turbodog

Turbodog is a dark brown ale brewed and bottled by Abita Brewing Company in Abita Springs, LA. The bottle reads that it: Is brewed with a combination of pale, crystal and chocolate malts Is dry-hopped with the finest Williamete hops Is fermented using a unique German alt yeast Uses pristine Artesian water of Abita Springs […]

Theakston Old Peculier

I’m pretty sure I’ve had this one before but I have misplaced my first hundred reviews so I tried it again. Beer temp. 49.8 F – 10.1 C. Pours dark amber brown with med. tan head that faded quickly. Molasses aroma with coffee undertones. First taste has pleasant malts and very light hops. Malts have […]

Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager

After enjoying Flying Dog’s In-Heat Wheat, I was anxious to try some of their other offerings. I found a variety at Total Wine, which I think has moved into first place on my list of places to buy beer in Charlotte. The next few reviews will probably be Flying Dog reviews. The Old Scratch is […]

Thomas Hardy’s Ale

The story of Thomas Hardy’s Ale is a rich one. It is reportedly the world’s most famous vintage beer, and the scarcity of the beer seems to be half (or more) of the allure. It is bottle conditioned to mature in the bottle like wine and is actually classified as a barley wine. It is […]

Black Sheep Ale

At the prompting of one of the staff at the Cellar I thought I’d try this Yorkshire ale. It came in the .5L size which is a favorite and cost $4.99. Beer temp. 51.6 F -10.9 C. Pours medium amber with a good tan head and lively small carbonation. The head held well and fair […]

Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale

After trying the Black Dog Ale I was leery of this but the challenge of a new beer was hard to resist. This one is also from Spanish Peaks Brewing. Beer temp. 48.0 F- 9.2 C. Pours light amber and clear with no head or lacing. Wheat-biscuit aroma with faint fruit and caramel undertones. First […]

Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale

New to the area I couldn’t resist trying it. Bottle says it is an English style amber ale from Spanish Peaks Brewing. The brewer was originally out of Bossman Montana but moved to Denver which seems to be a Mecca for brewers. Beer temp. 33.4F – 1.3C. Pours medium amber with an off white thin […]

Red Stripe

After several high gravity stouts and Belgian style ales I thought I’d have a good hot weather lager. Use a pilsner glass. Beer temp. 43.8F – 6.7C. Pours medium gold with a nice white head that holds fairly well with nice active carbonation. Slightly sweet aroma, without much hoppiness. First sip is slightly sweet with […]

Westmalle Tripel

The Westmalle Tripel Trappist Ale surprised me out of the gates on my initial pour – I was expecting a dark pour (akin to the Rochefort 10 – a quadruple ale), but this is a strong Belgian pale ale with a golden blond pour. I had that brief moment of panic, like when you have […]

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

This is Ayinger’s version of a double bock. Going up against my beloved Paulaner Salvator (the original double bock) is no small feat. Not surprisingly, it stands head to head with a tremendous personality that stands out as its own beer, not some also ran double bock modeled in the same style. Once again, Ayinger […]

Unibroue Maudite

I see John proposed some fine legislation. We could call it the “Hefe In Every House Law”. I realize that not everyone drinks, (these are people who when they get up in the morning feel as good as they will feel all day) so if I can get their addresses I will try to keep […]

Ayinger Brau-Weisse

This is an authentic Bavarian hefe-weizen which means a top-fermented wheat beer – and you know to expect good things from wheat beers. Initially pours golden and almost clear into a pint glass with a decent soft white head that hangs around for a few minutes, similar in color and appearance to an American pilsner […]

Pete’s Wicked Ale

Pete’s Wicked Ale is touted on Pete’s Wicked web site as “USA’s Number 1 American Brown Ale – the hip and stylish alternative to typical stodgy craft beers.” After obtaining a six-pack and test driving it over the course of a few weeks I’ll have to admit it’s a damn strong American brew. It’s brewed […]

Flying Dog In Heat Wheat Ale

Note: The Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat Ale was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (April 6, 2007): […]

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Note: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Father Beer Love Review (April 6, 2007): North […]

Sam Adams Boston Ale

Having been taken to the proverbial beer shed due to lack of postings I’ll try to do better. I’m better at tasting than typing. Beer temp. 50.9F. Pours light amber with a thin head. Caramel aroma, definite pronounced caramel malts come through first and as it fades the hops take over. Hops really work on […]

Gouden Carolus Ambrio 1471

We’re starting off with a Belgian Amber Ale here, refermented in the 1 pt, 9.4 oz bottle it comes in. It boasts a healthy 8% ABV and is said to be named after the gold coins of the Emperor Charles V. The ale has its roots as the first traditional town ale of Mechelen and […]

EKU 28

EKU 28 is a German eisbock – an ice bock.* Like most ice beers it means it’s stronger than normal – this happens to be the strongest of the bocks, which are already pretty potent. The process starts off with a doppelbock and freezes it in order to remove a portion of the water, resulting […]

Abita Mardi Gras Bock

Pours light amber with a beige head and caramel aroma without the distinctive yeasty bread aroma that comes with the wheat in a bock. Head didn’t last very long. Fair depth to the malts with a definite caramel taste. Fairly hoppy aftertaste and a definite sweetness, a medium heavy finish. The sweetness helps mellow out […]

Young’s Oatmeal Stout

Note: Young’s Oatmeal Stout was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (March 21, 2007): I’ve tried other […]

Bruegel Amber Ale

This is classified in the “Beer” book as a strong Belgian Amber Ale. That may be the wrong classification. It’s lighter than I thought an amber ale would be. The pour is good – light to medium carbonation – and the color is a nice, true amber with a little red in it. It has […]

Trappistes Rochefort 10

Note: The Trappistes Rochefort 10 was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (March 2, 2007): The Trappistes […]

Duvel

A Belgian golden ale at 8.5% classified as strong ale. I tried one of these about 18 months ago and really liked it when I was new to the game (or is it the sport) of tasting beer. Have been holding one in the fridge for that long so wanted to try again before it […]

Ayinger Oktoberfest Marzen

Note: The Ayinger Oktoberfest Marzen was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (February 28, 2007): I was […]

Ettaler Curator Dunkler Doppelbock

This one came recommended from the owner of Brawley’s. I must admit the idea of a dunkel doppelbock was intriguing. Pour is a dark brown, I had to hold it up to the light to make sure it wasn’t black. A decent head, but nothing to write home about, it went away pretty quickly. It […]

Grolsch Amber Ale

Pours medium amber color, not much head, I may have it too cold. Definite caramel aroma – caramel overpowers hops in aroma. Smooth taste with caramel malts coming through along with a definitely hoppiness I would call medium to medium heavy. Detect a tiny bit of sweetness but very hard to discern among the bitterness […]

Boddingtons Pub Ale

Pours light amber or dark gold color with very smooth creamy head. Aroma is creamy and smooth too. Carbonation is very light to almost non-existent. Another word about the head is it is so long lasting, the best I’ve seen since my last pour of a Unibroue product, and head clings to sides of glass. […]

Hacker-Pschorr Weisse Dark

Ah, the traditional dark wheat from Munich. A nice dark amber pour with a nice head that dissipates quickly. It has a great bread and roasted malt aroma. It’s the kind of aroma that makes you wonder why they don’t make cologne smell like beer. Great smell. It has a smooth taste, like most wheat […]

Mahr’s Brau Christmas Bock

Note: The Bamberger Original Mahr’s Brau Christmas Bock was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (February 19, […]

Paulaner Salvator Double Bock

Note: The Paulaner Salvator Double Bock was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (February 19, 2007): Call […]

San Lucas Cerveza

Brewed in El Salvador, it pours med. gold with a thin white head. Aroma is clean and crisp. Taste very mild with light malts and extremely mild hops. Little aroma and a very clean finish, maybe a little too light. This bad boy is one you could pour many of on a hot summer day. […]

Gose Original Leipziger Bier Spezialitat

“Die Gose,” as it is referred to on its website, comes in the most unusual bottle – almost like the front of the bottle is actually the back and the back is actually, well, blank. Maybe they just don’t have good graphic designers or maybe it’s on purpose, but it is unique. The minimalist design […]

Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale

Technically, the Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale Limited Edition by Anheuser, the label says ale aged on bourbon barrel oak and vanilla bean. Curious? Me too. Pours light amber with a definite vanilla aroma and something else I can’t place – maybe caramel. Vanilla taste comes through very strongly fairly sweet with very weak hops. I […]

Redhook Winterhook Winter Ale

The Winterhook by Redhook pours light amber. Head light tan and rather thin. Caramel aroma. The caramel taste comes through but rather sharp hops hide any sweetness. Has 6% alcohol which earned it an extra point. Color and alcohol the only good points I could find. Glad I only bought one. Leave on the shelf.

Ayinger Jahrhundert Bier

Note: The Ayinger Jahrhundert Bier was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post. Son Beer Love Review (February 3, 2007): This is […]

Abita Wheat

Pours medium gold but non-cloudy. Distinctive wheat aroma. Head thin. Miss the wheat taste and surprisingly heavy hops. Way too much hops for a hefe or weissbier. The appearance was clear, not cloudy, should have been warned. If this is a hefe why was it clear? Where was the hint of sweetness and the lemony […]

Unibroue Trois Pistoles

A dark brown Belgian ale with a thick head that clings to the glass as you drink it. It smells fruity and tastes a little bitter with a lot of flavors coming at you and has a bit of a hoppy finish. It does feel good in your mouth though. It definitely is a force […]

Sam Adams Cherry Wheat

This beer is bad. How bad? I poured 4 of the 6 bottles down the sink. A single tear was shed because I hate to see any beer go to waste, but this was undrinkable bad. Too hoppy, too much cherry – it was almost medicinal. Yes – almost like that cherry robitussin you had […]