Beer Review – Snake River Brewing Pako’s Eye-P-A

 

Photo courtesy of http://www.untapped.com

I had to go to Jackson Hole for work and while there I had the chance to sample some of the local brews from the Snake River Brewing Company. The brewery was established in 1994. And, when the founders retired in 2007, the brewery was sold to Ted and Noa Staryk thus continuing its history of family ownership. Snake River makes about 50 different beers and has received a lot of recognition in its role as a small brewer. All I can say is for an out-of-towner; I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of the beers that I had the opportunity to sample. One of those beers was the Zonker Stout. Another was Pako’s Eye-P-A.

From the Snake River site:

Beer Review – Snake River Brewing Zonker Stout

Photo courtesy of http://www.beerreviewsprofsudz.com/

I had to go to Jackson Hole for work and while there I had the chance to sample some of the local brews from the Snake River Brewing Company. The brewery was established in 1994. And, when the founders retired in 2007, the brewery was sold to Ted and Noa Staryk thus continuing its history of family ownership. Snake River makes about 50 different beers and has received a lot of recognition in its role as a small brewer. All I can say is for an out-of-towner; I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of the beers that I had the opportunity to sample. One of those beers was the Zonker Stout. Zonker Stout is a foreign stout which is somewhere between a traditional stout and an imperial stout. It is sweeter than a traditional but has a less robust flavor than an imperial and the ABV falls in between the two styles as well.

From the Snake River site:

Beer Review – Schlafly Tripel Ale

On Tuesday (it’s the new Friday, right?), I joined G-LO and the Wookie in a tasting of the Spéciale Belge. Not one to arrive empty handed (my Mama raised me right!), I brought over a bottle of Schlafly’s Tripel Ale. I had picked up the bottle on a trip to Roger Wilco (formerly the Wine Warehouse), in search of the Duchesse de Bourgogne.

Schlafly is a brewer from St. Louis that runs out a 6 bottle year round series, a 6 bottle core seasonal series, a 5 bottle special release series, a 5 bottle limited edition series, a 2 bottle wood aged series and a 4 bottle run of bottle conditioned beers (of which the Tripel is one).

Here is what Schlafly has to say about its Tripel Ale:

Beer Review – New Holland The Poet

As a part of a mixed six, I picked up a bottle of New Holland’s The Poet. I had had their Full Circle Kölsch and the Mad Hatter India Pale Ale so I was familiar with the brewer and I really enjoy an oatmeal stout. New Holland is the brainchild of Jason Spaulding and Brett VanderKamp who founded the brewery in Holland, Michigan in 1996. They have eight beers in their regular lineup, a number of seasonals and also distill whiskey, rum and gin.  

Here is what New Holland has to say about its Poet:

Beer Review – Founders Dirty Bastard

Having already had, and thoroughly enjoying a Founders Red’s Rye PA, I was looking for another beer out of the Founders lineup, and selected their Dirty Bastard. I chose this beer partly for the packaging (I am far too susceptible to advertising), and partly for the style (I really like the Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy style). Founders has quietly become one of the best brewers in the world, and consistently places a great portion of their lineup among the best beers in the world. Their philosophy involves a concerted effort to not brew beer for the masses. Rather, they focus their efforts on crafting beers for a much smaller group that rewards experimentation, and places a premium on taste. Basically, they have chosen to brew beer with themselves as their target audience. If the folks at Founders like it, they reason that others will too. Clearly they believe that if they brew it, we will come.

Here is what Founders has to say about their Dirty Bastard:

Beer Review – Great Lakes Oktoberfest

phot courtesy of http://www.beerblogger.com

As my Oktoberfest beer reviews wind down, I have saved one of the best for last: Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Oktoberfest. G-LO has reviewed several of the Great Lakes brews, i.e. the Burning River Pale Ale, the Christmas Ale, the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, the  Commodore Perry IPA, the Doppelrock Doppelbock Lager, the Lake Erie Monster Imperial IPA, and the Eliot Ness Amber Lager, and we have found that Great Lakes runs out a great line of craft beer. Their Oktoberfest is definitely in keeping with our prior assessments.

Here is what Great Lakes has to say about their Oktoberfest:

Beer Review – Goose Island Matilda

photo courtesy of Goose Island

Recently, I found myself in Kansas City for business. On the way back to my hotel room from the office, I passed the restaurant and found a little Happy Hour underway. Never one to pass up a free beer, I was faced with a choice between Michelob Ultra and Goose Island Matilda. After about a nanosecond of deliberation, I opted for the Matilda.

Here is what Goose Island has to say about their Matilda:

Beer Review – Arcadia Ales Sampler Pack

On the way back from Pappy’s house, I stopped by a beer distributor (oh, the joy of PA liquor laws) that specializes in sampler packs and picked up an Arcadia Ales sampler. In the pack was a little something for each of us, as the case contained the Anglers’ Ale, their IPA, the Sky High Rye and the Whitsun Ale. Arcadia is a relatively new microbrewery (est. 1996) in Battle Creek, MI that specializes in handcrafted British-style ales.

First up was the Anglers’ Ale. From the Arcadia site: