Our Tastes-- SweetWater Donkey Punch!!

Man, tasting new brews is OK! SW's new Donkey Punch is a 10% barleywine with 90 IBUs that does not fit the typical "barleywine" mold. First the bottle is an amazing 1L flip-top with golden foil. It pours a medium brown with a fleet of small particluate matter floating around in it. The aroma shoots a hop rocket right up the ole nare! Now when I bought this new seasonal in the "Catch and Release" series, I expected an almost sweet malt taste, boy were Merry and I wrong (yeah, she's a keeper she tried more than her fair share). The guys at SW have really outdone themselves. If you get a chance to grab this one up, try it. It is not their usual Festive Ale that comes out at this time of year. And the great thing about it is that you don't have to drink it all at once or alone, I've been sampling for 2 days;)

Brew Batch #24 REINKE'S REVENGE 2007

Well it's that time of year again when I brew what has become one of my most look forward to recipes, Reinke's Revenge. It's hard to believe that only 5 other batches have come between the 06' and 07' series. Soon I'll be able to offer a vertical of this single batch. This year I managed to at least get it back into the month it belongs to be brewed in but I was a few days late from the original date itself (10/4). This year I did it on the King Cooker outside and it was a fast and smooth batch. I've got this one down pat and really enjoy brewing it. Nothing like 12lbs. of amber malt and 1.5lbs of mixed crush grain to get the ole "monster" twitching. OG 1.080+0.001 @74F. Hopefully, it's got a long way to fall;)

Our Tastes-- Thunderhead IPA

This a beer I picked up a few months ago and I'll admit I haven't had too many IPAs this summer other than Jamie's new one at MPB (Montgomery BrewPub). Man, did I miss out!! Made by Pyramid Brewing Company Thunderhead IPA has a foam that hangs onto the glass like rubbing cotton on a 2 day old beard! This stuff is nice. And once again I realized that I hadn't had any good IPAs since the conservatives pulled all the SW420 IPA out of the state because it had 6.5%abv (even though it had been here for at elast 4 years not to mention on draft in Auburn for no less than 3!!) However the color and awesome aroma jacks my olfactory receptor cells around like a stepchild. And we all know 50% of your taste is the perception of smell. Made with great light grains and a single hop I've never heard of Tomahawk. At 6.7%abv tread lightly, lest ye be scalped;)

Our Tastes-- 312 Urban Wheat Ale

And finally what I deem as the last of the true summer ales we'll be trying another nice bevy from Goose Island, 312 Urban Wheat Ale. This one has all the makings of a true wheat. The color is standard with a prominent difference in aroma from it's Summertime cousin. The wheat has a definite "wheatie" smell to it and noticably bland taste. Everytime I have one I envision all of the wheat grain going through the mill crushing out the fine white seed starch. Man, wheats have become my new summer fav, I'll be sorry to see them go but so tis the season of life....and beer. (wax on) I'd like to tour Goose Island one day and snap up some of this 4.2%abv brew on draught. I understand wheer the 312 part comes from (area code) but is the wheat really grown in Chicago? I lived just outside of it not too long ago and never saw any wheat fields in Soldier Field.

Our Tastes-- Goose Island Summertime

In keeping with finishing off the summer brews, I'm trying the Summertime from Goose Island Brewery. First things first, the color is a smooth light straw retaining little head on the pour. The Enabler snagged a few of these last year during a trip to the "Windy City". It has an awesome aroma and begs to have more than one drank in a sitting. It is a Kölsch-style beer with a light hoppiness and only 5%abv. No mention of the types of malts orhops used on the site but well worth a try.