Joe's Pilsner

This one claims it's not your old man's pilsner, which it's not--it's definitely different, but not necessarily for the better. I'm not a fan of pilsners generally, but this one didn't improve by being not quite a true pilsner.

Avery IPA

Old Jubilation

A beer with a lot of complex flavor that never ends up completely coming together. An okay beer.

The Reverend

I decided to give quadrupels a second shot with this one, but as with the first one (The Sixth Glass) I didn't want to dive in on my own, so instead waited until I had some friends to help me out. I ended up splitting the bomber three ways, so it wasn't too much to drink. Even though it began strong, and I initially disliked it, by the end it wasn't such a chore to drink, and I even felt this kind of high alcohol beer might have a place in my regular line-up. Since shortly after finishing it off, we began one of the most spirited and exciting games of Twilight Imperium I have yet played, I can definitely vouch for its power as a social lubricant. (And I won, which goes to show it never hurts to liquor up your opponents.)

Karma

Another Avery beer, a Belgian ale, which I thought was not very tasty. There are a lot of Belgian-style ales that lean heavily on their spices, and you have to try a lot of them to find the right balance of spices for you.

Fumator

This beer is pretty unique. When I ordered it at The Rackhouse, the manager on duty, who was checking up on us, said it would "blow my mind," and looking back it seems he probably had a mischievous grin on his face. I was looking forward to it--here was a beer that was a completely different style I'd never tried before, a rauchbier. I was a couple beers in, but it was supposed to have a strong flavor so I could hopefully still enjoy it. Apparently, the beer is aged in barrels that had been previously used to age Stranahan's whiskey, giving it a unique whiskeyesque flavor.

When it came, I was surprised because it came in a little snifter. And it stank. It was so smoky, I could barely drink it. Really, it was disgusting. The Lapsang Souchong of beers. I did manage to work three-quarters of the way through what must have been an 8-ounce serving (or less!). Maybe some of y'all would like it, but me . . . definitely not.

duganA

A bomber on a Tuesday? Now we're getting wild. Seriously, this is a really good beer, if you like hops, as I do. According to its label, it strives to do what St. Lupulin does, tease out the essence of hoppy flavor via its distilled oil, but it doesn't succeed quite as well. While it's easy to get strong hops in a beer with bitterness, it's a lot harder to get the kind of flavor that St. Lupulin does with remarkably little bitter aftertaste. That doesn't mean duganA is not a great beer. Still highly recommended.

Ellie's Brown

Avery

New World Porter

Avery