Lucid Foto IPA

Lucid Foto is an American IPA which I suppose makes it an American Indian Pale Ale so....it's an IPA made in America. It's good. It's an IPA. It doesn't reinvent the style or anything but it tastes good. 6.5 on the Drinkenscale and 65 IBU. I would like to say more about this beer but I don't have much else to say. You like IPA? You'll like this beer? You don't? You won't. It's just that simple.

I'll talk a bit about the brewery instead Lucid Brewing is out of Minnetonka, Minnesota, another one of the fine craft brewing establishments here in the north. I've had a few beers from them in the past and they've always been quality. I'll be sure to keep drinking and talking about Lucid in the future!

Founder's Rubaeus Fruit Beer

Founder's has put together a really unique beer and I like it. It still tastes like a beer but there is a strong raspberry flavor going on here. It's advertised on the bottle as a "PURE RASPBERRY ALE" and it tastes like that. Fruit beers can go south quickly, you get a mediocre beer flavor covered up with some weak fruit flavor. This is not that beer. This is delicious. The raspberry flavor is fantastic, and it's put on top of a good beer. It's a 5.7 on the Drinkenscale so it can get the job done without overwhelming you.  The only downside I can find it is it a little too sweet but it's definitely not cloying. The tartness of the raspberry just works.

Lake Superior Deep Water IPA

Another Duluth, Minnesota brewery brewing beer, Lake Superior Brewing makes some really good beer.  This is a black IPA from them so its got the IPA flavors mixed with some maltyness. I think the perfect word to describe this beer is like. I don't love it, I don't hate it, I just like it. It's very drinkable, the maltyness goes well with the citrus of the IPA. It's a very light but dark beer so it makes a good beer for someone wanting some of that roasted dark beer flavor without that roasted dark beer feeling. I actually don't know the ABV on this one so I can't put it on the Drinkenscale but I can say there is little to no alcohol flavor. Good beer. I wish I had more to say about it but I don't. It's a good beer.

New Holland Dragon's Milk

Dragon's Milk...the legendary nectar drawn from the teat of a mythological beast. New Holland has fermented and bottled this amazing liquid and bestowed it upon us mortals to sip upon...and you better sip on it. This is not a chugging beer at all. It hits SPINAL TAP on he Drinkenscale (that's 11 for you philistines out there), you have a duty as a human being to sip on this beer. It burns a little going down but then, what would expect from dragon's milk? It's a double stout. That's two stouts for the price of one. It's aged in bourbon barrels and the flavor really comes through. This is not necessarily a beer guy's beer. You don't sit around watching the game and pounding Dragon's Milk. You drink one every now and then, savoring it's flavor and then you don't drink another for awhile. Too much dragon's milk can be a dangerous thing. Everyone who likes beer should give this a taste.
I believe the Khaleesi herself, Daenerys, drinks this from time to time though I think she gets it straight from the source.
Find some...drink it...thank me later.

New Holland White Hatter

New Holland calls their White Hatter a WPA. It falls somewhere between a pale ale and an IPA and it really skates the line quite well. When you combine two styles of beer, you can end up with something that ends up lacking in both departments. However, with their White Hatter, New Holland has really created something unique. It has some of the citrus and hops you'd expect from an IPA combined with the subtlety of a pale ale. Where Oskar Blues failed me a little by advertising their beer as an IPA, New Holland calls theirs something different and so I knew to change my expectations. That doesn't mean this is some amazing beer, it isn't, but it is good. I"d drink it again. Also, with it falling on the lower end of the Drinkenscale at 5.5 you don't have to worry about getting too drunk.

Oskar Blues Pinner Throwback IPA

Oskar Blues is the creator of one of the best beers ever made, Old Chub on Nitro. This however is a very different beast. Pinner is what they call a "throwback IPA". I'm not 100% sure what that means but this doesn't remind me of an IPA at all. It lacks the bitterness and the strong flavor I associate with an IPA. It honestly reminds me more of a pilsner. It has some of that citrus flavor you expect from an IPA but it's so subtle that you might miss it. I like this beer, but since I was expecting something different I was disappointed. It's a low 4.9 on the Drinkenscale which makes sense with it's overall weak flavor. I don't know...this is a hard beer to judge because of my expectations. I feel like I'd have to drink it again to really give it a fair shake and maybe I will in the future. Going in knowing what to expect might raise my opinion Pinner quite a bit. As it stands though, I would have a hard time recommending this beer as labeled. If you go in expecting IPA prepared to be left wanting.

Surly Cynicale

Surly usually doesn't let me down. This Cynicale is really good, but I just drank that Founders Imperial Stout and I think it's having an impact on my opinion of this beer. After that thick, luxurious, Imperial, this ale lacks a little, It's a real good beer though. Here's the thing...look at that picture. I fit the entire can in that glass without spilling a drop. It was a PERFECT POUR. People go through their whole lives without a pour like that. Where the beer goes slightly over the lip of the glass but never dribbles out. AMAZING. Beer'd Baron you've done it again you handsome devil!

Oh yeah, the beer. Good, almost great. A saison to the definition of the term. 6.5 on the Drinkenscale but doesn't have any real alcohol flavor so a very drinkable beer for anyone.

Seriously though..that pour. Just amazing.