Iowa Beer

 With new breweries popping up all the time, Iowa is quickly becoming a beer powerhouse state.  There are so many great options available it's hard to know where to start.  Toppling Goliath in Decorah has already made a name for themselves in the national beer industry.  Golden Nugget is a prime example of why.

Sure they make other great beers like Pseudo Sue that get more attention, and their barrel aged beers are really what has gained them national attention.  But when I'm looking for a great IPA, Golden Nugget is at the top of my list.  Now that this beer is readily available, I think it gets overlooked, but it's solid from start to finish.  Fresh hop aroma hits you right way, good solid malt backbone to compliment the loads of fresh nugget hops that go into this IPA.  Yet it's still incredibly smooth, and no too bitter.  Seriously in my top 3 best IPA's I've ever had.  Cheers to Clark and the gang at TG!
http://www.tgbrews.com/index.html

 I've heard a lot about this brewery online lately, but they don't sell in my neck of the woods.  Luckily, my amazing wife, Tonya, picked up this beauty on her latest business trip to Des Moines.

It's easy to see why this is a gold medal beer from the 2014 Great American beer Festival, especially as it warms to room temperature and breathes a bit.  Wow, there is a lot going on in this beer, from the chocolate to vanilla, great malt flavor, and again, it's extremely smooth and very drinkable.

Great work by the guys at West O Beer, I'm looking forward to trying more of their brews, and even have a Smoked Red Ale waiting in my fridge.  If you're in central or western Iowa, you need to seek their out their brews.
http://westobeer.com/

Okay, so Bell's isn't an Iowan brewery, but the are a Midwestern powerhouse.  This Michigan based brewery has been producing amazing beers for a while now, and it's great to see their expansion into Iowa.

Michigan is well known for their cherries, so it only makes since to make some beer with them.  Bell's produces another solid brew with their Cherry Stout, and they do a good job balancing the cherry flavor with their malt.

Bell's is one of those breweries that at any given time, you will find some in my collection, they just make good beer.  Period.

It seems spring has come early in Iowa this year.  The sun is out, the snow is mostly gone, and even the birds are chirping.  Spring is an interesting time of year, because you want to start drinking the lighter beers like IPA's and Wheats, but I know I still have some great Stouts in my collection that I can't let go to waste.  Either way, I know it's time to fire up the grill, and of course enjoy some great craft beer while doing so!

Follow me on Untappd: Crinkletalk
Follow me on Twitter: @Crinkletalk
For other Iowa beer releases and reviews, also check out @iabeerbaron on Twitter.
Also, check out my fellow small town Iowan, Ronnie at http://lifetimebeerbook.blogspot.com/
Remember, life is to short to drink bad beer.

The Land of Cheese and Beer

 In my last blog, I said how New Glarus was one of my Top 3 favorite (non-Iowan) breweries and Enigma is a huge reason for that.
This is a Sour Brown Ale (see link below,) aged with cherries in oak barrels.  If you're not familiar with sour beers, this will be a beer experience like none other.  It's sweet, sour, smooth, yet complex, and always leaves you wanting more.  The first time I had one, I was bewildered by such a brew, and about half way through the glass, I decided it to be one of the beers beers I've ever had.  That still hold true today.  This is a limited release, and only sold in Wisconsin, so hurry to the land of cheese and beer before it's gone!

Pictured below is their Belgian Red with loads of cherries.  It makes the perfect desert beer, it's very sweet, so you might want to share the bottle with someone.
http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/ourbeers/beer/enigma

Desert in a glass

Several weeks ago I brewed a Porter with my fater in-law Larry.  Two weeks ago, I kegged the beer along with a very strong pot of dark roast coffee, and what you see below is the end result.  This young beer already had a thick foamy layer, leading to a smooth, and thick body for a very tasty beer.  This one needs to age a bit, and maybe a touch more carbonation, but it is a winner.  Thanks Larry for the help brewing, now you need to come over and help drink the "Old Man's Coffee Porter."

I'm going to keep this entry short, and in turn, will be adding another very soon.  A few Iowa beers will be highlighted next time.

Cheers!!!

Time sure flies!  I intended to write this over a week ago, and I still need to keg my Coffee Porter.  Sometimes I tell Tonya to get a better job so I can be a stay at home dad/brewer.  She just tells me to be quiet and go to work.

 My wife saw this beer when we were at the store, and said I should try it.  I decided to take her advice, and I was pleasantly surprised.  The Castaway Chocolate Orange IPA by Thomas Creek was much lighter than I expected, and had nice freshness from both the hops and the orange peel.  The chocolate was very subtle yet added a nice addition to the flavor profile.  I believe this was my first offering from Thomas Creek, but after having this, I know it won't be my last.

 I first had a Killer Penguin 2 years ago, and it easily became one of my top 5 favorite Barley Wines.  I know I should have let this beer age for a bit, but sometimes you have to live for the moment.  Guess what?  It's still a fantastic beer.  Thick, sweet, hoppy, but not overly bitter.  This is the way I want my Barley Wines.  Congratulations Boulder Beer Company on another fine brew!

I have a hard time when someone asks me what my favorite style or beer is, because it really depends on what beer I feel like that day.  As for breweries?  There are so many amazing breweries in Iowa right now, I won't even try to answer that question.  I will say, that at this current time, my 3 favorite non-Iowa breweries are Dogfish Head, New Glarus, and Deschutes.  Out of those 3, I can honestly say that Deschutes is the only one that I've enjoyed every beer of theirs that I've has so far.

 Foray IPA was no exception to this.  This is just what I'm looking for in a Belgian IPA.  Light, crisp, tart, not too much funk, not too bitter, and easy to drink.  (By the way, the 2nd glass from this bottle was much cloudier and more interesting that the first.)  On a side note, when ever I go to a breweries website, and it asks for your birthdate, I always enter mine, even though it takes longer to do so sometimes.  Anyone else do the same thing?

Sam Adams was a great company for getting me, and many others into craft and home brewed beers.  These days, I don't drink much from them, but every now and than it's nice to have something familiar.  I have always enjoyed their Imperial White.  This one is spicey, hoppy, not too heavy, and that makes it a great beer any time of the year.  Cheers to Sam Adams and all                                              they have done for the brewing community!

This is how I start my day in Iowa

This morning I clicked the unlock button on my key fab, and saw the door locks slowly creep up (instead of their usual snap to attention.)  I guess that means it's cold outside?  Even though it protested a bit, my car did start, and I made it to work on time.  During the day, I was trying to decide what new beer to enjoy on this ridiculously cold day in Iowa.  For some reason I had the Oasis song Wonderwall in my head, and than I had this in my head all day "and after all, you're my Narwahl."  Luckily I have one in my fridge!

 This is one of those beers that I think actually lives up to the hype.  I don't think it's the most complex Imperial Stout in the world, but it's a damn good one.  It's thick, sweet, balanced with bitterness, and very smooth to drink.  This doesn't have to be the last beer of the night when you drink it, because it leaves you wanting more.  There are a lot of Imperial Stouts that may be good, but are so thick and heavy, you just don't want another brew for awhile.  I think Sierra Nevada does a good job with balancing this beer to make it everything we love about Imperial Stouts, yet making it easy to drink.

Finally, in the real world, my Aunt Joanie passed away last night.  Joanie and Joe lived next to my grandmother when I was growing up, and we would see them often.  They are two of the kindest and caring people I know.  I remember Joanie watching me sometimes as a kid when I was sick.  She'd let me lounge in her recliner and we'd watch old episodes of things like the Brady Bunch.

The two of them always had smiles on their faces, big hugs to give, and the love they had for each other and their families was always evident.  My heart goes out to Uncle Joe for losing the love of his life, and I know Joanie is already in heaven beginning her new journey.

Thanks to April for the pictures, and her updates throughout the process.  I'm sending prayers and love for the family, and I'll see you all soon.

Holidays/Beer/Life

 My last blog ended with me starting to prepare a "Best Of" beer list for the year.  As I was getting it together, I noticed many other bloggers and beer writers were doing the same thing, so I decided to leave it to them and enjoy the holidays.

The last few years, my parents have rented a cabin for the weekend so we can all get together for the holidays.  It gives us a chance to catch up with each others families, without many outside distractions.  There's no wifi, no TV, not much for stores around either.  It's just a time to come together and enjoy each other. In that spirit, I thought I'd write less about the beer rating and more how I felt in the moment.

 Pictured to the right is my father, Dick, rocking the rare double 'stash.

 Every year, my brother in-law Dale, and myself, bring a variety of beer to share for the weekend.  We sampled many good brews while watching a family talent show.  Luckily, the spirits also helped us enjoy my mom's version of Willie Nelson's Pretty Paper.  We heard stories from my dad, a dance from my niece, and saw a puppet show amongst other talents.

There was no snow this year, so the kids couldn't go sledding, so they had to find other things to keep them entertained.  Below, My son, Joseph's displaying a scar drawn by Malia in her effort to entertain herself and keep the boys calm.

Fresh from Germany

Christmas eve, we usually go over to the in-laws for supper and few drinks.  Pictured to the right is a few of the better brews from the evening (even though Larry may not agree.)

My boss recently went to Germany to visit her son.  While there, they toured a brewery and brought me this 22% ABV gem.  It drank like a whiskey, but had the taste of a sweet IPA.  I found it similar to Dogfish head's 120 minute IPA.

My Christmas Haul (Tonya is getting very good at buying beer)

Larry, Gary, Pam, and Sherri

 Saturday after Christmas we went over to Tonya's aunt Pam's house for their annual Christmas gathering.  As usual, there was too much food, beer, wine, and whiskey.  I always enjoy going over, it's always a fun time, and you never know what specialty beer or whiskey will be passed around.

 The last holiday gathering is always at my in-law's house the weekend of New Years.  There's always plenty to eat and drink there too.  We all bring interesting beer selections for sampling, some we've been saving for months to share.  Anchor Christmas Ale changes every year, and we always sample the current one.  Some are better than others, but they've all been good.

 A newer tradition we've been doing is a "Chopped" contest.  The women get 3 ingredients to cook with, and the guys get another 3 to try out.  This year, the women had raspberry yogurt, Triscuts, and mangos.  They made cheesecake, smoothies, pie, and taco casserole.  All of them were very good, but I was partial to Tonya's taco casserole (she was also the overall winner of the night.)

 The men cooked with cottage cheese, Funions, and Tobasco Sauce.  We made a cheese ball, a cheese dip, a cottage cheese cup, and fried cheese balls.  Jared and Chad tied for first for the guys, but I was still pretty proud of my cheese balls.  I liked them, and I hate cottage cheese.

 After all that food, we needed a keg of Christmas beer to wash it down, right?  Seems like we barely even put a dent in it.  Larry and I are still drinking from it.  The rest of the weekend we enjoyed games, presents, watching football, and of course, more food and beer.

Below, is a picture of my homebrewed Amber Ale, and another Christmas must from Schlafly.

My Nugget Galaxy Amber Ale

This is my dog Toby.  This has nothing to do with beer, but he is my constant companion.  Working at a veterinary office, he gets to come to work with me nearly every day.  This is him showing off at the office after getting groomed.  Toby is a goofball, that loves attention, treats, and playing with our cats.  Too bad the cats don't enjoy him as much.  He's a bit bored this time of year, since it's too cold for playing fetch so I try to get him plenty of toys and rawhides to distract him (although, earlier this week he did destroy Joseph's foam football.)  For him,,Spring can't get here soon enough!

Family is what keeps us going.  Beer is there to join us on our journey.  I think of it like music.  There are songs that come on the radio and take you back to a specific time or feeling in your life.  For example, every time I hear Everclear's Santa Monica, I think of the road trip to Delaware with my friend Waylen in is Mustang convertible.  Having a good beer can evoke those same feelings.  Take this Dogfish Head 61 Minute IPA, it's a typical Dogfish Head brew, but I'll never forget the first time having one at their brewpub in Delaware with my sister Amy, and my wife Tonya.  So don't forget to enjoy those moments with those who are important to you, and give your dog an extra scratch on the head to remind them you love them,

The holidays are over, and it's time to brew more beer.  Larry came over to help me brew a coffee porter (a gift he received last Christmas.)  And since we were brewing, we might as well enjoy a good brew too!  A few days later, the porter is happily fermenting away, I'll have to find some good coffee to add at kegging time in a few weeks.

I can't believe it's been that long, but 5 years ago, Tonya and I lost our twin girls.  They died pretty far along during pregnancy.  We were both so excited about her being pregnant again.  I was a bit nervous about twins, but I was up for the challenge.  Unfortunately it didn't work out that way.  After they passed, we had to go to Iowa City so they could be delivered.

Tonya, myself, and my mom got to spend about an hour holding them before we had to say goodbye.  It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life, but I will always cherish that hour I had with my little girls.

And along the lines of the little things we remember, I'll never forget the text I got from my friend Dan that day as we waited for the doctor.  Dan had recently had a heart attack, and that day had a pacemaker put in.  His text simply read "anyone need a jump?"  A little levity was welcome on such a draining day for us.

I'm not sure why, but this week has been particularly emotional for me.  I don't know what makes this different than other years.  I do sometimes think how are lives would be different with them around.  I can almost picture the two of them in princess dresses singing Let it Go, and annoying their older brother (who would secretly love it.)  I think about them every day, and can't express my sadness for not having them in my life.  I also try to do my best to appreciate what i do have, an amazing wife, and unbelievable son, and great friends and family.  To me, that is what the holidays and life is all about.

Sorry this post got off topic and is written a bit choppy, but sometimes, I feel writing can be a bit therapeutic.  Anyway, I'd love to know what drink you enjoyed most during the holidays, post it below in the comments, and i may feature it in my next post.  To see what I'm drinking and how it rates, follow me on Untappd, search for Crinkletalk, or follow me on Twitter - @Crinketalk.  Until next time, Prost!

Beer Changes with the Weather

 As the weather gets colder, you'll find many beer drinkers turn to darker, thicker beers like Stouts.  I am no exception to that, not to say I still don't enjoy a good Pale Ale, Lager, or IPA too.  Some of the best Stouts in Iowa, and in the country are from Millstream Brewery in Amana, IA.  http://www.millstreambrewing.com/  They are the oldest craft brewery in Iowa, and I think with all the new exciting choices of breweries we have these days, they sometimes get forgotten.  I'm here to tell you, that is a big mistake.  Their standard brews are perfect examples of high quality, dead on representations of their styles (i.e. Bock or Pilsner.)

But Chris really showcases his creativity with their Brewmaster's Extreme Series.  The Great Pumpkin Imperial Stout is exactly what I crave in the

fall.  It's a thick and complex Stout with loads of smooth pumpkin flavor.  This is one of my favorite pumpkin beers, and must have every autumn.

New to the lineup this year is the Raspberry Latte Stout.  I love a good coffee beer, but they are not easily found.  I thought Chris found a perfect balance of his great Stout, good strong coffee flavor (but not over powering,) and just a hint of raspberry.  Being a home brewer, I know how hard it is to blend the flavors properly, and on this beer there are so many great ones coming together it would have been very easy to mess this up.  I thought they nailed it.  This is a great beer that I can't wait to share with my brother in-laws at our next get together.

 When I first started to truly appreciate good beers, New Belgium was a mainstay for me.  These day, I don't buy them very often any more.  Is this because they aren't a great brewery?  No, it's because there are so many excellent options out there, I rarely buy the same beer multiple times anymore.  Sometime it's nice to get back to a familiar taste.  Their 1554 Black Lager is a perfect brew for that.  It's an extremely smooth beer, but still packed with complex flavors.  I think this is an excellent beer to try if you think you don't like dark beers, this may be the one to change your mind.

 The Bitter End by Two Brothers as an interesting take on a Pale Ale.  Good hop balance, and an unusual grain choice made this beer memorable to me.  I haven't had much from this brewery, but what I've had, has always been good and solid.  This is certainly a brewery worth trying.

 The beer I got from Doug (thanks to the Lions, see my last post,) was St. Bernardus Prior 8.  It's a tradition Abbey Dubbel, and it's exactly what I want and expect from this style.  It's thick and sweet with just a bit of the alcohol burn you'd expect from a Dubbel.  This is a great beer, and made all the better, because it was free and the Detroit Lions won.  Thanks Doug!

 I have some friends that I occasionally supply with some of my home brew.  A few weeks ago, I gave Pam a bottle of my Nugget Galaxy Amber Ale, and was surprised with a 6-pack sampler of New Glarus.  They are one of my favorite breweries, but you can only get them in Wisconsin.  Next time you get there, skip the cheese and check them out.  http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/

Spotted Cow is a mainstay for them, it's a light, yet flavorful brew that any beer drinker can enjoy, not just us beer geeks.

Speaking of beer geeks, I've been seeing this beer pop up on the Iowa beer Baron's Twitter feed lately (@iabeerbaron,) so I thought I should try it.  I was not disappointed.  Sour beers are an acquired taste.  The ones I like, I really like, and the ones I don't, I would never drink again.  This falls into the first category.  It's a great blend of maltiness and sour, and I found it very refreshing.  This is my first beer that I've tried from Destihl, and I can't wait to try more.  http://www.destihl.com/




Below is my brother in-law Dale.  He's one of my family members that appreciates a good beer.  So when the family got together for thanksgiving, I had to share a Dale's Pale Ale with him.  This Pale Ale is loaded with hop flavor and bitterness, but also has a great malty backbone to balance that out.  Oskar Blues is another brewery that I have enjoyed the few selections that I've had so far, and can't wait to get a hold of more.  http://oskarblues.com/


My next blog, I will list some of the best beers I've had this year.  Please feel free to share your favorites in the comments below.  You can also follow me on Twitter @Crinkletalk or on Untappd - Crinkletalk.

Road Trip

 Who in their right mind would drive 15 1/2 hours to party for 10 hours, than drive back the next day?  Apparently me.  When The Chive offers you 2 free VIP tickets to ChiveFest Dallas, you have to go.  So, after work Thursday, I drove 2 1/2 hours to Des Moines, IA and stayed with Sherri and Doug (my wife's Aunt and Uncle.)  After having to physically force Doug to pay up on a bet from a year ago, where my Detroit Lions beat his Washington Redskins, I took my beer and left for Dallas.  ChiveFest here I come!
ChiveFest is a music fest put on by www.thechive.com  Lots of bands, lots of beer, lots of shots, and a ton of interesting people from all walks of life.

 My personal favorite, was the John Butler Trio.  He played a ten minute instrumental that was ridiculous.  Seriously some of the best guitar playing I've ever heard.  It ranks right up there with my old college friend Paul.  I've never heard of this band before, but I'm going to be checking them out, they were very entertaining.

 If you know me at all, than you know I'm not a big fan of country music.  Jake Owen was the headliner for this event, and although I knew who he was, I really didn't know any of his music.  What I can tell you now is that he's a hell of a musician, and he put on a great show.  I really enjoyed his music, his performance, and he seems like a pretty damn cool guy.  I'd say ChiveFest did a hell of a job putting together their musical lineup, and can't wait to see what they do for next year.

 If you're familiar with The Chive, than you probably know Mac.  He's known for his love of cats, his dead pan facial expressions in photos, and his ability to make a complete fool of himself.  You may not know, that Mac is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  He came right over to me, and immediately asked if he could get a photo of him on my lap.  To be honest, I would've been insulted if he didn't, seeing many of his past photos.  He said my lap was comfy, and hung out for a few minutes shooting this shit.  This is a guy I could hang out with and never have a dull moment.  Check him out on Twitter  @macfaulkner

Kat is the Chivette who made this trip possible.  When I told her that I didn't get a chance to get a picture with her in Denver, She went to The Chive's Co-Founder, John, and got me the VIP tickets.  She also made sure I had the chance to meet John before the night was over.  Kat has always been extremely nice online to me, and she's just as kind in person.  Thanks again for inviting me to the fest. You can follow her on Twitter @Miss_Kittyy

After meeting Kat, Mac, John, and Jessie from The Chive, I was pretty blown away at how nice they all are.  Obviously this is part of their job, but you can tell they all genuinely enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone, and are just all around good people.  Please check out their Chive Charities page, and see all the good they are doing with their time.  https://chivecharities.org/

Hanging out at ChiveFest with  my cousin Bobby

  One of the coolest experiences of the weekend was hanging out with my cousin, Bobby. Other than on Facebook, I didn't really know Bobby, I was pretty young the last time we saw each other.  He (along with his wife, Becky,) very graciously opened their house to me.  I got a chance to catch up with him, Becky, Scott, and my aunt Joanne.  Before Chivefest, Bobby took me on a driving tour of Dallas, culminating with lunch at http://www.hardeightbbq.com/  The best ribs I've ever had, hands down.

 I had a great time at ChiveFest with Bobby while he was there, and can't thank him and Becky enough for driving out of their way to pick me up, and get me safely back to their place.  I had an absolute blast with them, and look forward to seeing them in the future, hopefully sooner than another 20 years or so!

 I have always enjoyed Shiner Bock, and have heard it's better in Texas, again thanks to Bobby, I found out that is true.  I also has several KCCO Gold lagers at ChiveFest, and they were great.  Smooth, and easy to drink, yet they had a really good, clean flavor.  This is not my favorite style by a long shot, but I could very easily have some more.

Pictured to the right is one of my favorite breweries, Toppling Goliath.  They are located out of Decorah, IA, and are quickly gaining attention for making amazing beers.  Zee Lander is no different.  A very smooth, and easy drinking IPA, Zee Lander continues in the TG tradition of making super hoppy beers without making them overly bitter.  The best part about this beer is, it was my least favorite of all the TG beers I've had so far, and it was still great.  http://www.tgbrews.com/site/

Dogfish Head is the brewery that really opened my eyes as to what beer can be.  In my opinion, their Indian Brown Ale is simply one of the best Brown Ales on the Market.  http://www.dogfish.com/

In contrast to TG, where I have enjoyed every one of their beers, I actually truly dislike some of Dogfish Head's beers, but I think that's OK.  They try to push the boundaries of what beer should and can be.  Some of those beer are incredibly amazing, like any of their IPA's, Burton Baton, and Palo Santo Marron, and some I would be fine never drinking again like Raison d'Extra (which is my brother in-law, Dale's favorite.)  To me, that's what makes them so interesting.

I have some great beer at home, that I'll be writing about in the next blog.  Until than, you can keep up with me on the beer app Untappd search for Crinkletalk, or follow me on Twitter @Crinkletalk.  Thanks to all that helped make this last post so memorable for me, and to my amazing wife, who puts up with all my shenanigans. Until next time, keep drinking good beer and Chive On!

Fall is Here

So, after doing well with my back for several months, the pain is back.  As I had mentioned in my August 3rd post, I have developed Spinal Stenosis in my lower back this year.  It has just added another obstacle for me to over come.  I noticed the pain coming back in the beginning of August, and every day, it got a little worse.  Thanks to the games the insurance companies like to play, it took me 6 weeks before I could get into the specialist for a spinal steroid injection for some relief.  In those 6 weeks, I deteriorated rapidly, forced to be dependent on my cane and wheelchair again as the pain got worse.

I finally had my injection last week.  Let me tell you, this is not a fun procedure.  After numbing the area with lidocaine injections, they insert a long needle into my back guided by x-ray.  When they believe they found the correct spot in my spine, they inject some dye.  An extremely sharp burst of pain, lets me know they're in the correct spot.  That's the good news, they're in the correct location.  The bad news is they still need to inject 4cc of steroid solution into my back and there's zero room of it, so it will be going directly onto my nerves.  Painful.  Every time he injected a small amount, intense, shooting pain in my lower back and going down my legs.  It takes about 10 minutes for this process of injecting some, letting me recover, and injecting more.  To put it in easier terms.  He's injecting the equivalent of a can of soda into a space the size of a pea, and that pea is engulfed by stinging jellyfish.  Good times.  The next few days were pretty uncomfortable, but I'm finally starting to get some relief, and every day I wake up with a bit less pain.  Enough of the torture, let's talk beer!

It's Fall, so that means the pumpkin beers are hitting the shelves.  Some are great, some, not so much.  One of my favorites (not shown) is Schlafly's.  It's thick and sweet, and really is like drinking a pumpkin pie.  I've already had one this season!

My second pumpkin beer is from Shock Top.  Really not that great, but I can say I've had worse.  For me, if I'm going to drink a Shock Top, I'll stick with their Apple, it's much better.

 You have to love New Glarus.  Whenever I get over to Wisconsin, I always try to find their "Thumbprint" series.  It's basically them letting their brewmaster make whatever he wants, and it's always good.  Scream IIPA is no exception.  Very smooth for a double IPA, and loaded with citra hops.  This is a great beer.  It reminds me of  a higher alcohol Psuedo Sue from Toppling Goliath.  Both beers are worth a try.

 Shown is Shiner's Oktoberfest.  This is a fairly good representation of the style.  Nothing wrong with it, just nothing special either.  For my money, I'd rather drink locally, and go with an Oktoberfest from Millstream Brewery instead.

Here is on of the first pours of my "Nugget Galaxy" Amber.  This one turned out great.  Great fruitiness from all the hops, yet not overly bitter, and very easy to drink.  While not the most exciting of styles, I do feel that my Amber Ales can compete with the best breweries in the world.  If you're in NE Iowa, give me a shout, I'll be happy to let you try one!


Recently, I won tickets to Chive Fest Denver, and decided to say what the hell, and took a last minute road trip to enjoy the fest.  While there, I met some great Chivers, and got to hang out with my oldest friend.  I was able to see John, Mac, and the Chivettes, but didn't get the opportunity to talk to or get a picture with them.  After expressing my disappointment to the above mentioned on Twitter, I was shocked when I got a direct message from Kat, one of the Chivettes.  She said she was sorry I didn't get to meet them too, and after talking with John, they offered me VIP tickets to Chive Fest Dallas on November first.  I have to tell you, I was, and still am, totally blown away by their kindness.

If you aren't familiar with The Chive, please check them out.   www.thechive.com
The website is a mix of pictures and stories of silly things, good looking women, an awesome online community, and amazing charities.  http://thechive.com/2014/10/01/this-is-the-story-of-a-young-girl-and-a-very-special-puppy-15-photos/  This is why I Chive.  It looks kind of silly from the outside, and some of it is, but these really are some great people doing great  things, and I'm proud to be a Chiver.