Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Yumm....hops. Not as hop loaded as some, this is as much an American Strong Ale as a DIPA. It reminds me quite a bit of DFH 90 Minute IPA, but seems a bit more quenching, somehow. Pours a dark gold with a small stand of eggshell foam. Medium bodied mouthfeel with zero alcohol burn, even the booze flavor is nearly imperceptable. Caramelly, grainy malt, rich hop flavors. Simcoe and Cascade, while evident meld together seemlessly and the Tettenang really elevates it to the next level with a spiciness which marries the hop and grain flavors. Really, quite an accomplishment.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

I'm not sure if this was lackluster offering as much as I'm spoiled with smoked porters. Slightly roasty aroma, without much depth. Deep ruby/brown with a small cap of head and nice lacing. Medium bodied and drinkable, lower carbonation. Low smoke character and boring porter backing. Sadly, I could just not get excited about this beer...

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A flavorful and excellent Xmas Ale, while rather conflicted. It lies btween Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and Boulevard Nutcracker Ale, hoppy and citrusy with spicy overtones, yet malty and sweeti without bitterness, yet harboring a bitterness unseen by most. A fine, brooding, holiday beer.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

As much of an ESB as a hoppy blonde as a Pale Ale, the point is, its a damn fine English Ale. Hoppy, bright, solid malt backing. Its straightforward and simple, just like this review.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

What a winner of a Schwarzbier, here! Clean, layered maltiness dominates the aroma with wafts of spicy hops sneaking in. Shockingly smooth acorss my palatte, from the fine, soft carbonation to the dry, refreshing finish. Poured a dark, very dark brown with a small cap of head and tiny wisps of lace. Rich malty flavor, mild hop bitterness, layered melanoidin and grainy malt flavors with light flavors of bitter chocolate. Its a winner! Upon further review, this one has seemed to have taken on some diacetyl, minus a few points...

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Smells like Christmas! Orange rind, sweet malt, cinnimon, cardamom, allspice/clove and others dance around a tiny hop punch, this is a winter warmer for sure. Pours a deep amber with very little head and lace. Low carbonation, warming in the mouth and on the swallow, pleasant but not memorable. Spicy and malty sweet in great balace with a touch of warming alcohol, who needs eggnog! This joins my OSA, O'Dell's Isolation and others in the cellar.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

The 15th Anniversary Ale from Schlafly, and its a nice little celebration. Very festive aroma, spicy and fruity to the max. Orange, pepper, clove, coriander, vanilla/chocolate, banana and sweet malt top the list, with peaches and other fruits following. Pours a mildly murky brown/copper. Rather thin and flatter across the palate than expected given the inspiration for this one. The flavors follow the aromatics beat by beat. On the whole, a nice Dunkel Witbier, or Spiced Dunkelweizen or whatever it is...I like it.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Another nice surprise from He'Brew. Pours with a very malt accented and grainy aroma with some muddled hops coming through as it warms. Deep dark brown with a great, fluffy, tan head. Coating mouthfeel with nice carbonation, soft and filling but not sticky. Very balanced flavors, full grain flavors, hoppy bitterness with spice and floral flavors. A nice beer, it fall on the complicated side rather than complex, but it still a nice effort, it should age rather well.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Another great find. Pours with a coffee/cocoa nose and that distinct baltic character. Deep dark brown with a nice cap of head that hung on shockingly well for a 9% brew. Rich mouthfeel and coating but not the least bit syrupy. Well attenuated and very malty in flavor, rich and roasty. This would pair phenomenally with vanilla bean cheescake or seared beef tenderloin, or even venison kebabs. A great brew, buy it, drink it, buy more, cellar it, then drink more.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Smells of coffee, chocolate, sugar and malt. Pours deep ruby/brown with nearly no head. Thick and syrupy mouthfeel, very low carbonation and very thick. Quite sweet and despite the 6.8%abv it still feels forced, almost like they took a smaller porter and, well, treated it like a port, adding DME and vodka or something. On the whole, not bad, but less than inspiring.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

Another taste courtesy of Nick at the TapRoom. Aroma starts with coffee/chocolate, vanilla, wood, bourbon, alcohol, malt sugar, brown sugar, dark dried fruits, very nice. A bit lightly colored for an Imperial Stout, but still thick and viscous with very little head kicked up. The mouthfeel is a bit on the thin and hot side, but silky smooth. I think some age may round out this edge. The flavors mimicked the aromatics to a T, very nice, I hope they can hold up over the long haul. A very nice beer that I can't wait to get some more of and see how it ages. RERATE: After having this from the bottle today, I must say, the mouthfeel and texture in general are much improved, its far creamier than I recall and the flavors are in much better balance than I recall. However, I don't know if the base beer has enough cajones to survive the really long haul that some others are built for. However, time will tell. In the mean time, this is one helluva mean beer!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

I had a sample of this pulled off by one of the brewers at Tom Schlafly's new book signing a while back. In fact this is not barrel-aged, but it is oaked, and well oaked, at that. Smells of rich malt, alcohol, vanilla, caramel and dried, dark fruits, hops are minimal...this could probably pass for an old ale. Copper brownish, with little head and nice legs on this small pour. Rich and coating mouthfeel, velvety smooth and not chewy at all. Woody, malty, rich and warming, medium-low bodied for a barleywine, but this one just fine in my books. Its no Bigfoot or Old Crusty, but a softer, woodier beast. RERATE 2006 Vintage: I sampled a bit of this again at the St. Louis Microfest with one of the Schlafly fellas. This beer has come together in the months since release and at a year since brewing, it is doing quite well.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Smells of spices, cinnimon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. While I don't care for the cloves/allspice as much and I prefer more of a caramelly background to tie the beer together, this lighter boddied, copper colored pumpkin ale ain't bad. It does taste like pumpkin pie, but I prefer pumpkin beer...seriously.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

A well made, overhopped IPA, bordering on Imperial in some respects. Very C-hoppy aroma, very floral and fruity. Hazy golden with little head. Lively, refeshing tongue presence. Very hoppy flavor, nice bitterness and low maltiness behind lots of citric and floral flavors. On the whole, quite nice.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A fine example of an Abbey Dubbel from Michigan. Fruity and spicy aroma wafting over a light brown body which laced a bit before the head collapsed. Dry and lively, as it should be, yet thinner bodied than some. Slight dark fruits, some spice and herb, lower malt/caramel/candi syrup character. A nice one. Well the commercial release I did find more simiar to an Old Ale or Belgian Strong Ale...very much molasses oriented.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A very nice APA to kick off a little hop binge before dinner at the Great Dane before Great Taste of the Midwest. Nice hoppy aroma, grassy, mildly herbal and quite floral and citric. Slightly hazy golden and a small foam stand. Lively and refreshing in the mouth with some proteinacious (haha!) body. Nice APA here, good balance and leaned quite a bit towards the lupulin. A nice one, for sure.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Saaz-ish aroma with plenty of pilsner malt, too. Clear and gold with bit 'o foam. Clean mouthfeel, but too carbed for a big beer. Emphasis is more on the malt with this tamer Imperial Pilsner (as compared to the Samuel Adams), which is to say the bitterness is not even as pronounced as with many Czech pilsners. This was enjoyable, but I prefer the Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This porter kick I'm on continues to get more interesting, especially with these Baltic types availible here now. Chocolately roast, slight toffee, crisp maltiness and a small tick of alochol in the nose. Poured a very deep brown with fluffy brown head and great lacing. Smooth and lightly creamy in the mouth with just enough carbonation to keep it lively. Rich and malty flavor without sweetness, and low bitterness, as expected. Another great find to keep you warm this winter. Quite excellent.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Pours with slight caramel and grainy maltiness, rather subtle. Woody/copper brown with small stand of foam built of rather large bubbles. Uninspiring mouthfeel but unoffensive, nothing wrong, but nothing memorable. Some astringency. Nutty, malt, minor caramel, backing bitterness but on the watery side. I nice one, but I have higher standards from this brewer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

What a nice Schwarzbier! So few and far between anymore...ahh...what a shame. Aromatic with Saaz, light malt and light roast. Deep dark brown/black with ruddy highlights and fluffy eggshell head that laced nicely. Very smooth mouthfeel and quite refreshing. Simple but well balanced flavors make it fine Czech Schwarzbier...if I may be so bold. A very nice find.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Wow! What a gem! Found this at Whole Foods, Brentwood for the low price of 1.99/ 500mL bottle...damn. Poured with a rich aroma of baker's chocolate, licorice, coffee and toffee with a deep dark body and tan head. Rich and filling across the mouth with soft carbonation and very blanced aftertaste. Flavors deliver on the nose and is very well balance. Quite a treat, get one for today and one for the cellar.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Had this at the Brews BJCP Class, while an ok example of its style...this was a lager and not an ale...to be fair, I'll judge it for what it is. An amber ale lacking in character. Its two dimensional, with a cereal like graniness...with a red color, thin bodied and uninteresting, with its only complexit being an earthiness I had to really reach to find...if it was there at all.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2001 Vintage Sampled 10/06 at the St. Louis Brews BJCP class. A very nice old ale. Deeply malty nose with oxidative notes of figs, raisins, sherry and melanoidins, very pleasing. Pours dark ruby with a tiny head that fades into legs. Creamy but light mouthfeel, coating but not sticky. Rich maltiness and dark fruits with port/sherry notes as well. A perfect dessert beer and nicely aged.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Had a pull on tap at the brewery. Poured copper-brown with a small stand of eggshell head over the crystal clear body. Hmm...I wonder what a Keller-Fest would be like. Crisp and carbonated in the mouth, quite refreshing in contrast to the heavy Scotch ale. Nicely malty, but a bit thin, small hop bite. Overall, quite nice.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Thanks again to Florian Kuplent for taking this to the st. Louis Brews meeting. This is surprisingly good. It doesn't fit a style well, Robust or Brown, I found it to be more of a Carnegie style porter (a small Baltic Porter). Roasty, chocolately, slight coffee flavors and quite smooth with very light caramel and blancing bitterness. I actually look forward to more of this one...time for a free tour!