New Glarus Road Slush

March 13, 2023

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Road slush is a stout from New Glarus. This one has always been hard to find.. even here in Wisconsin, so when I see it I get it right away.

Road Slush is an Oatmeal Stout that is clocking in at 6.2% so it does have a bit of weight to it.

Of course tis oatmeal stout pours a supurb foamy head on top of a very dark brown body. Yea, brown. I would cll this black so much. But it crtainly looks great being poured with its cascading bubble show.

A blast of coffee-like roast and sweet grains hit me during the pour.  Even a bit of hop and light chocolate is getting through that layer of foam. That smells so good.

The taste profile is just as good as it looks and smells. Same roastiness and hops are right up front. A good earthy hop that reminds me of Goldings or similar and that coffee/chocolate roast is so evenly matched.
Its not a dry beer thats for sure, but that sweet grainy, oatmeal backbone stays mostly in the background and lets that roast shine.

As with other oatmeal stouts, the mouthfeel is full but not heavy. That oatmeal silkyness makes the beer feel like it has substance while not being thick, which is good because the carbonation is medium or lslightly ower.

You have to say Road Slush’s balance is tward that roasty malt and grainy sweetness, but the hops in the taste, aroma and even the bitterness level are definitly part of the show.

Its a bigger beer at over 6%, but its easy enough in body and overall taste to be one easy drinking stout, so keep that in mind because this one can sneak up on you.

This is just a great beer all around. But sadly its only seasonal. I would drink this year round.
We seem to be on a dark roasty beer resurgence which is good news. And great beer like this will help keep that trend going. 4.5/5 

Polka King!

March 6, 2023

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Another local,, well semi local beer. Door County Brewing‘s 5.3% Polka King English Porter. I have have this many times, at many venues or events before, but never really reviewing, And it’s been a while now,, so here we go.

Pours Black. No other way to describe it.  Thick shiney head that sticks around. Cannot see much for clarity or bubbles, the blackness sucks the light from it’s surroundings.

Very light on aromas. Slightest ever chocolate. Slighty grainy. Faint roast, but not much of any hop or yeast. But that thicker head may be blocking alot. So will check back after a few sips.

Taste is that dark roast right up front,, but turns to hop taste quickly after. Not hop bittering so much as hop taste. And those hops are doing the brit kind of taste. Not your citrusy American style. 

Back to that wonderful roast though. Wow! This is what the beer world is missing nowadays. Not a chocolate bomb, just good old roasty black malt. Firm, I guess you would call it, but not over the top. 

Now the body here has decent carbonation that plays with the bittering perfectly. I can feel it bitting my tongue, but It does not come across as bitter. A good body that has a silky feel to it. There is substance to it, but very crushable.. This is not a one and done.

Oh the more this warms up the better this is getting. This beer is roast and hop taste. The aromas are now starting to stand out more as well.  I do not know what I would add to make this any better than it is. 

I am thinking to my self that I cannot describe it as good as it really is because  I just wanna drink and enjoy it.

Feels like this beer has stepped out of the portal of craft beer drinkers past. About as good of an old school, no bull shit Porter that ever was. You do not find beers like this any more. 

This nails everything I like, and everything I ever wanted in a roasty beer. 

4.5/5 from me,, and I’m going to grab another one.

Titletown Dark Helmet

February 27, 2023

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Been a long time since I have had me a Titletown Dark Helmet. The local Schwartzbier offering. This used to be one of my favorite beers by Titletown Brewing. Is it the same beer that it was after a couple of years,, and new ownerships? Let’s see.

I’m actually having this one at what they are calling “The Depot” a pub type resteraunt that is where the original Titletown brewing was located, but since moved on to bigger spaces… Just across the parking lot.

Dark Helmet was poured for me into a regular shaker pint with a very nice ligh tan thick head that really stays through the entire drink.

The beer seems somewhat colder than normal, but still get a good whiff of chocolate and sweetness.. along with just the faintest of grain. Nothing harsh or out of place.

And as the name implies, it is dark,, but would not call this black. Deep dark mahogany with nice reddish highlights and clear as a bell where you can get a glimpse.

Yes this does taste as good as I remember. Light, somewhat grainy with background chocolate and a smooth roasty note. Very balanced between the light sweetness and the hidden bitterness to keep it in check. And with that easy bittering comes a softer layer of hop flavor thats is there if you look for it especially the more it warms..

With a much lighter body than it looks like it should have, it still has substance and its spot on carbonation really fills it out..

So a Schwarztbier is basically a dark Pilsner. This version does take a few liberties with that description and does a few things of its own,, but is still a dark, easy going, light drinking that really surprises the non-dark beer crowd.

As said before, Dark Helmet has always been a great beer, but somehow fell off my radar during thier business shuffling. But I amd glad to see that it is just as good as I remember.

If you get to Titletown Brewing, Or the Depot for that matter, don’t pass on this one. If you are in distribution range, it out there in cans.

I as always.. am giving this a 4/5. Enjoy

Good Dog Porter

February 6, 2023

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So I have been hearing some good things about this beer lately. Its a local, and one that I have had several times before. But,, it just never was something I was a big fan of. But I was assured that things have turned around with it.

The last time that I reviewed Good Dog, it was a nitro pour, but I have had this in bottles before, and this time around it will be a regular C02 pour. So lets get to this.

Served to me in a regular pint glass. Much colder than I would have liked if I had a choice. But it does look very good! A nice light tan head that doesnt really hang around, even with the carbonation bubbles coming up. I wouldn’t say this was black, but about as close as you can get. Very very deep brown. Sure looks tasty.

Aroma is fairly light. A bit of chocolate and some grainy notes. Just the slightest bit of sweetness, but thats about it. Nothing for roast, or hops or any yeast. Yes it is quite cold, but I was still hoping for something.

But in the taste, along with that bit of chocolate, is a bit of back malt. Not big, but there. The sweetness is trying to hide that grainy note, but it is still there. After doing a bit of warming I can start to get just the faintest bit of hop flavor. Old school hops. But just just as with the rest of the flavors, its melding in with everything else. And that is a good thing. Everything is there, just enough to notice, but not standing out. I may have talked my self into detecting a bit of yeast ester, its so faint that it might not even be there, but I do like how what ever that might be made me go look for it.

The body is not what I would call thick, but it definitely not thin. I think that this higher carbonation is making it feel just a little thinner than what it really is. But that carbonation seems to be helping the bitterness. If it was not as carbbed as it is, it would probably feel a bit under hopped. but as it is,, its right where I like it.

Well. I have to say that this iteration of Good Dog Porter is much better than what I have had in the past. It has always been a subtle porter, and it still sort of is,, but its layers now have just the right amount of oomph behind it. I certainly hope that this is the final version, and I am guessing it will be now that Zambaldi’s is in its stride.

I can now say that I like this beer, and am glad for that. Its hard enough to find a decent Porter or Stout these days, much less one that is made mere blocks from me. I am going wo give this a 4/5. And after this one, I am going to go find me a 6 pack to bring home.

AFTER NOTE:

A couple days after that beer I stopped at a different local place and they also had Good Dog on tap. I grabbed one just to see if anything would change in a different local, and happy to say that it was was just as good there,, (for breakfast this time), as the last one. Cheers!

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