Ep 167 - Seven Drinks In The Pines With Ratings

Seven drinks, two guests, and a quiet Northwoods backdrop that makes every pour feel like it’s happening around a campfire. We’re joined by my brother Brian (our resident “mad scientist” brewer) and Larry as we work through a mixed flight that’s intentionally all over the map, then rate each one on our 0 to 5 scale.

We start with Surly Brewing Rocket Surgery Hazy Ale and get into what “hazy” even signals when the hop bite is almost nonexistent and the first note reads floral. From there we crack a wild fruited sour from 7 Hills Brewing Purple Rain and use it as a springboard for a bigger craft beer conversation: why so many modern sour ales taste sweeter than the jaw tightening sours people remember, how souring time changes the final beer, and whether the word “sour” has started to mean something different on today’s labels.

The middle of the tasting brings B Nektar Zombie Killer hard cider (honey and cherry), then a big step up to Surly And The Devil Makes Three, a triple IPA that proves high ABV doesn’t automatically mean harsh bitterness. We also go full experiment with 608 Brewing Cold Lunch Kid, a peanut butter and grape jelly sour, and talk through the brewing mechanics behind peanut flavors, powders, and why oils matter. Near the end, Surly Damien Child of Darkness sparks one of our favorite tangents: a black ale made from the second runnings of Darkness, and what that says about creativity, process, and reuse in brewing.

We close with Angry Minnow McStuckie’s Scotch Ale from Hayward, Wisconsin, compare favorites, and check in on what Brian has fermenting and what he’s planning next (including a dark cherry sour and a spruce tip IPA). If you like beer tasting notes, craft beer style debates, and practical brewing talk that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share the show with a beer friend, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast.

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Transcript

Northwoods Setup And T Shirt Run

0:24

Welcome to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. Hey, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. This is Mike, the Northwoods Beer Guy, and this week we are coming to you from the Northwoods. And this time we are joined by a couple special guests. We have my brother Brian, the mad scientist. He's here. Hello, everybody. And we are also joined once again by Larry. Hello, everyone. So, guys, we're up here in the Northwoods and it's fairly quiet right now. Kind of peaceful. Kind of like it. Absolutely. I'll take it. I was gonna say it's pretty nice out right now. So we're uh just sitting here deciding to maybe try to taste test a few beers here and see what we think of them. You might be wondering, you know, what are you guys doing up in the northwoods? Well, we are doing our annual t-shirt run. We went to, I'm not even sure how we went, 12 or 13 different resorts this week in the last three days. Yep. And got uh, I believe it was four t-shirts a piece. So rather interesting. It's uh you know, it's a tough game, but somebody's got to do it. That's right. So, Brian, what what kind of stuff you got cooking right now, as far as that you know, beers that you're brewing and any interesting things? Oh, right now I'm just trying to play ketchup. So I have a got a chocolate oatmeal stout that's being that's fermenting right now, and a a jalapeno ale going. And then when I this coming week I'll be making a uh sour and get one of them started again. Really? Okay, nice. And then currently you've got we have what 12 beers on tap total. Yeah, you know, and they and you said you do have like a root beer that you you know, you bring in a few. Yeah, we usually try to bring in a 1919, but we haven't been able to get that lately. So we have a root beer for a millstream brewing. Yeah, nice. So things are plugging right along and going well. Yep, good, but you all you know, you also need a break, even though you're making beer, you need a break, so you had to come up here and and hang out with me for a few days. Well, guys, I think uh we might as well get started, huh? We've got how many we got here? Seven beers here, and three of them are in 12 ounce cans and four of them are in uh pint cans, so should be interesting. We've got a few different styles in Sauchcoat. It's gonna be just kind of a all over the board just to try some of these and see what we think. So I guess we might as well crack into the first one.

Surly Rocket Surgery First Pour

2:42

Now, the first one we have is by Surly Brewing Rocket Surgery Hazy Ale. Now, we did we're totally unprepared, we didn't do research before this. We're just gonna kind of wing it now. It does say it's five and a half percent ABV and it's kind of a neat can. It's got uh some rockets on it, it looks like so should be interesting. Now, Brian, if you want to pass over those glasses, we will uh get started here. Now we've had a number of beers from Surly, and they they make a lot of different styles. You know, we've had, of course, darkness, you know, for the uh barrel-aged, well, and most of some of those are barrel aged, not all of them. Right, you know, do a lot of a lot of IPAs, right? They're starting to do some some just straight loggers and and they're out of the twin cities, if I remember right. Yes, yeah. They have one in Minneapolis, and I believe the original one is in either Brooklyn Park or uh Brooklyn Center. Okay, and we have been there, if I remember correctly. The Minneapolis one, yeah. We did a tour there, and it's a pretty good size facility, yeah. So it's it'll be wow, this one's not bad. It's got a little different taste up front. It's almost a little kind of floral. Yeah, yeah. I agree. Yeah, but it's you know, it's a I'm guessing a hazy, it's just a hazy ale, but it's it's gotta be an IPA, right? Or is it just uh does it not have to be? You look at the camera and Brian's speed with you get a little bit of the hot, but it's not that really harsh hot bite. Yeah. I thought it was gonna be like a hazy IPA, yeah. But yeah, I don't think it's I don't think it is. It's just it uh it's different. That is is definitely unique, and I can definitely can get that floral note right up front. And you know, that could be one thing that some people don't really care for for a floral flavor in some stuff, you know. But it's has no hot bite at all. None whatsoever. That's that's pretty impressive. I I'm I kind of kind of like it. It's one of those would I drink like a six pack of it? Maybe not in one sitting, you know, but it's not bad, it's it's better than I was expecting. Would have been good on a hot day. Yeah, that is for sure. So, guys, you know the scale from zero to five by a tenth of a point. Brian, you want to go first? What are you what are your thoughts on it? What would you give for a score? I'm thinking for a score-wise, it's it's not bad, it's pretty decent. I'm probably gonna do a two six. Okay, Larry? I would do a two five. To me, it's just kind of my average beer, nothing really jumps out at me. Sure. Like I said, I I do like how it is very smooth. I could see where that floral note might turn some people off a little bit. Yep. But I I do think that it's it's decent, and I would drink a can of it for sure. But like I said, I don't know if I could go back for a bunch more of it. But like you said, on a hot day, if you have one, you know, this day one, you know, I think it would be pretty decent. I'm gonna go, I think I'll stick with a I'll go a two six as well. And again, I it surprised me, but if they'd went more on the hazy IPA, I might have went higher, I guess. Just because especially that floral note kind of threw me a little bit. All right. Well, there's the first one, guys.

Purple Rain Sour And Sour Debate

5:46

And this one, wow, look at the can on this one. This is a oh here. This one's seven. If I look on the front, I was looking on back, and it's uh yeah. So this is by Seven Hills Brewing, and we've been there, I've been there for sure, it's in Dubuque, and this is purple rain sour ale with grape, with grape drink, cotton candy, and lactose. So I wonder what they mean by grape drink. I mean, I'm guessing like probably either grape concentrate or okay at the brewery. You were doing kind of an interesting thing. It was with this beer, wasn't it? Yes. So whatnot, what is it you guys do, or not all the time, but what is it? Well, on Sundays down there, we like to take different beers and mix them. So we actually mixed this beer with some peanut butter whiskey, and we were calling it PBJ. Okay, and it tasted really good. Nice, it definitely has a grape color to it, you know. It's definitely that darker, kind of a purplish. I think this is considered a sour. Yeah, you know, what it's not overly doesn't make your jaw tighten up when you drink it. What are your thoughts on that? Because it's to me, it seems like the sour market is meant almost more way sweeter. Yes, I agree, and you know what I mean? And it's not that I'm complaining because those ones that are tart where it hurts your jaw and all that, that's so tart. I don't I'm not like a big huge fan of that, but I'm just not I think uh that market has just had to evolve. Just like anything when people are buying the sweeter ones a lot more, so they're gonna there seems like they're stopping to make the ones that hurt your jaw when you drink them. So yeah, I think it's just the just the market, the demand. So, you know, I'm just wondering, like you said, the the market has had to evolve and stuff. I'm just wondering, should they still call them sours? I almost think they need to subdivide, take the sour, the tart ones, and keep them sours and make these like sweets or something. You know what I mean? I don't know what you think on that. It just seems to me like sour is a little bit of a misrepresentation on a number of them now. Well, it I don't know. I I think they'll still call them sours just because of the fact that the yeast grains that you use to make these basically when they're making them, they're not souring them as long. Okay. If they if they kept them in the fermenter longer, you know, with that yeast grain, then it would get to be the real tart. Okay. So that's part of it that they're like pulling it out or ending it faster or sooner than they normally would. Okay. Interesting. Because yeah, I you know, Jim and I have talked about that a lot too, and it's just like it just seems like more and more. Yeah, there's there's some of them that you know, when you like if you're cattle sour and that, you can you have to go say a minimum of 24 hours. Well, okay, you can go let them sit up to 72 hours before you finish it. So yeah, it comes down to how long you let it sit in there and do its thing. Yeah, I mean, we've talked about Barntown before and with Sylvan that we've all been to. They had some sours there that were not sour, they were very good. You know, I think people that know what they're doing on these new generation of sours, if you want to call them that. I mean, there's some really good ones out there. Yep. You know, this one it does have a little bit of a tartness to it, but not over the top, right? Right, you know, so I'll give them credit for that. Larry, what do you think? What are your thoughts and what would you what would you give this one? Well, you know, I'm not a big fan of the sours, but this one here actually isn't bad. And just by itself, you know, since I'm not a big fan, I'd probably go a 2-5. Okay, but like I said, we have mixed it with some other things, and then it's pretty good then. So right. Yeah, I'd agree. I'm gonna go with 2-5 as well. It has that where it's a little bit like a Jolly Rancher grape flavor. Right. Yeah, right. Uh but then it does have that little tartness to it. So it is, in my mind, it is a little bit closer to a sour. You know what I mean? What I think of as a sour than what uh some of the other ones have been. But yeah, I think it's a good, a good job, and I can definitely see where when you mix something in with it or something, it makes it an interesting drink. I think a lot of these too that aren't overly sour like this are more of like a Berliner Weiss type beer, also. So they and but they still call them it's still in the sour. Oh, that is part uh like a okay. Nice. That's well, that's good to know. So I think a lot of people would be interested to hear that. Awesome. Well, let's move as well keep going, huh? Oh, Larry's that he's just fallen behind. Oh, look, he's all

Zombie Killer Cider Sweetness Check

10:20

caught up. Well, we're gonna change a little bit here. We're going to a hard cider with honey and cherry. This is by B Nectar. Now, I I correct me if I'm wrong, but I think pretty much all they do are like ciders in that. And this one is their zombie killer. And there, look at the label on that one. That's a pretty interesting. Yeah. Did we say did this one have I'm I'm just stepping back here what the ABV was? 6.4. Okay, that was on the the purple rain. All right, now the B nectar zombie killer. Uh let's see, does it say five and a half? So it'll be interesting. For a long time, I really wasn't a big cider fan. The lot of them taste real similar, but I've I've had a few where it definitely has a different flavor to it. And B nectar, I think they do a number of them that are a little different. So we'll it'll be interesting to see how this one is pass that down. Uh as far as aroma goes, I mean a little bit of aroma, but not a whole lot. But do get the apple kind of a smell. Boy, that one's kind of sweet. Yeah, a little bit, yes. Reminds me a lot of apple juice. Yeah, I was gonna say, definitely. I guess a hard cider is kind of like a cider, you know. It almost makes you thirstier after you drink it. Hey, maybe not what they want. It could be, you know what I'm saying? Or you drink it all side and you're like, oh, I need some water to kind of wash that down. It's not bad. I mean, I don't think it's bad at all. I don't know if I drink a lot of them though. No, I just I think it that overly sweet might wear on you. It kind of gets you a little flavor overload, so to speak. Heartburn is what I noticed. Yeah, I was drink too much of that, I would get heartburn from it. Yeah, I was gonna say I think that would be a possibility for sure. And I know I always bring it up on a lot of these things that you know it reminds me of something you get heartburn from. But yeah, I could see where a few cans of this it would be kind of now you haven't done ciders at all, have you? Okay. No, and and in Iowa it's a be a separate license to use. I believe ciders and wines. Or they fall into the same one, yeah. And then beer is on its own. So legally, I don't believe we we would be able to without getting the other license. Right. And is it are they made, I mean, in the same process as a normal beer? Do you think do you know, or not really? It's similar, I believe, but I I've never made one. Right. So you but so I can't say for sure 100%. Just yeah, it's you you follow the same kind of process, but yeah, you're not adding any hops or anything into it. Oh, sure, yeah. Yeah, that is that makes sense. So because you definitely don't have a hope taste at all to it. So yeah, I score-wise, my thoughts on it, I agree with what you just said. I think that it could be heartburn, very sweet. I'm not sure if I'm getting much cherry flavor at all. No, just the apple. And you know, I'm not as far as a honey beer, I'm not the biggest fan of them typically. I do like meads, but you know, a lot of times honey gives it kind of a weird taste to me. But this this is alright. I'd go, I'm gonna go like a 2.4, I think, just because of more of the heartburn aspect and the the fact that after I drank this, then I'm thirstier than when I started. So I'm going 2.4. I think I'll go along with you on the 2.4. I was gonna do a 2.3. Just seeing the ciders that sell at the brewery. I don't know if this one would sell very very well. Okay. Yeah, people like to want it more where they're the sweeter still, but you get like like strawberry or some other flavor. Yes. Fan favorite. Yeah, and like I said, I just I don't get cherry out of this one. So they're looking more for like the other flavors besides just a plain cider. I mean, when you've had some peach ones down there, they go over real quick. Yeah, they sell out real quick. Okay, interesting. Yeah, it's it's kind of wild how the like that market too was pretty good for a while. And they've had to evolve, like you've said. So it's just like anything, I suppose, that every category out there has to keep growing and changing and either matching or making a new demand for from the consumers. Yep. So, all right. Well, guys, that was the the three shorties we'll call them. So now we're gonna move into

Triple IPA Myths And Smoothness

14:45

the big boys, the uh pint cans. So, and again, these are in no particular order. We just set them on the table. So the next one that we have is it once again by Surly, and this is End the Devil Makes Three. And boy, I wish it was a little bit lighter out here. It's a triple IPA, I believe. Yep. Yep. Uh can you add something there? Uh the sad part is it's a black can. They wrote it in like dark red, and we're sitting outside right now, and it's starting to get a little darker out, and it's 10.6 AB. All right, we stepped her up a little bit there, boys. It doesn't say what the IBUs are, or at least I can't read it. Okay, but 10 and a half, he said. Yes. Okay, so we will give this a shot. So once again, this is End the Devil Makes 3. Just pouring this, I can definitely smell the way you smell hot. I've noticed I like the higher ABV IPAs, cuts down on the actual hot flavor, though. Oh yeah? Is that something that you have seen, Brian? Yeah, the well, you get into the triple IPAs, the EBV is so high that there's so much sugars in it that it's the gives it more of a sweet flavor. Oh yeah. Yeah, I agree with you. Yep flavor, but it doesn't have a bite, it's it's still so sweet. It's a lot a lot smoother. You know, we did a podcast where we started off with uh pale ale and then uh an American pale ale, and then uh India pale ale, a double, a triple, a quadruple. And it was kind of something because you I I honestly thought, okay, the higher you go, it's gonna get stronger and stronger and stronger. But you're right, it really the hop kind of went down a little bit, and it was more you know, the ABV was went up. Yeah, but I you know they'll they'll have a higher IBU rating, but you don't notice it because of how much malt there is and it's so sweet that yeah, that's pretty wild because like I said, that's what I think a lot of people misunderstand about it. They think when you see double it's twice as strong as regular, triple is even stronger, you know. And that's not necessarily the case. I mean, ABV-wise it is. Yep. But you know, again, you you think that a lot of these would be so hoppy you could hardly stand them. And it's this was good, it's not anything like what that would be, you know. Yep, that happened to me with the when I made that hop head IPA. It was I think it came in at it's either eight and a half or nine percent. But I was I was trying to make a super hopped beer, 99 IBUs, and there was like nothing. Oh yeah. It uh I had two you know, two darker grains I used, so it just it just masked all the hops. So what did you do? I mean you sold oh no, we we sold through it. Yeah, it we the second keg I stuck back in the back of the cooler and let it age for a couple more months, and uh and that really balanced it out. Okay, and they it was pretty good at the end, you know, when it after it had time to age longer, right? But it yeah, you see the 99, and people are like, nope, not even gonna try it. Here, don't be fooled. Yeah, yeah, well, you know, that's one of those things we've talked about a lot, is a lot of times people will see certain words on the can or the bottle, and they're like, Oh, nope, I'm not a IPA guy, or I'm not barrel age guy, or you know, and a lot of times, because like like a hoppy pilsner, you you know, those are out there, but you see when they see a lot of people see that word hoppy, I think that turns them off, I'm not even gonna try it. Bring it up, you know. And sometimes you just wonder, man, is that are they doing themselves an injustice for you know putting some of these words out there? Yeah, uh, but I but again, you gotta describe it, you know. Right. And they they do it too, so that way that the a lot of the craft beer people will will try it. Right, exactly. It was like, oh, it's a pilsner, yeah. And they just walk past it, yeah. But you're like, oh, it's a hobby pilsner. Yeah, Jim was telling me a story that a guy he knows actually was they went someplace on vacation, and I apologize, I do not remember where they were at, but he went to a brewery, craft brewery, and he came back and was telling him, he goes, Man, I tried this new beer at this place. It was unbelievable. He goes, Have you ever tried a pilsner? You know, and they're like, he goes, Have you ever tried Bush Light, Miller Light? He goes, That's what they are. So it was just kind of funny that you know, so he I don't think he really digs too deep into a label or anything like that. But it was just kind of a funny story, you know. I was like, Oh wow, that that's haven't heard that one before. So so Brian, what's uh what are your thoughts and what score would you give of the and the devil makes three? I like I like this one. I'm gonna go score-wise, I'm gonna do a three on this one. I was gonna say a two-eight. I mean, it's it's good. You know, for me, I agree with you. I think it's probably I'll split the difference. I'll go a two nine. I like it. Yeah, a pint can, I'm not sure. Yeah, you know, I it would be one I'd share. I don't I'm just not sure. And if I did finish the can, I don't know if I'd get another one, you know, because it does have that little bit of a stronger, you know, vibe to it. But at 10.5%, it drinks really smooth. It didn't feel didn't taste like a ten and a half percent. No, you know, so I give them credit for that. So that's really good. And and now the three, I'm trying, I think it's because it used three different hops, don't they? I think I believe. Yes. So we'll have to look into that a little more, but it's it's pretty cool, it's good. So, well, boys, we're gonna move on to the next one here.

Peanut Butter Jelly Sour Reality

20:13

This is by 608, and we've been there in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This is their cold lunch kid, and it's kind of funny because we were talking about purple rain and some things you guys have done to you know add a little to it. This is a peanut butter and grape jelly sour. Kind of funny. I didn't realize that that's what it was when we were talking about the other one, and it says contains peanuts. Now, where is the ABV on here? I'm trying to oh, five percent. So this is one of the probably our lowest one, I think, so far. So we'll give this bad boy a try and see what we got. This is also once again in a pint can. Oh boy, another colorful one. I'm interested to see if it has like powdered peanut type flavor or if it has more of a you know, actual peanut butter. Aroma, I'm trying to figure out that it's a little different. Yeah, get the peanut butter on the aftertaste. Yeah, and get a lot of the grape right up front. Yep. Oh yeah, that's a little different. You know what I mean? It's not offensive or anything, but that transition between the grape and the peanut butter is kind of a I don't know how else to describe that, you know. It's just kind of a little different flavor. Have you made you've made a beer with peanut butter in it, haven't you? I have not. Oh, you haven't? I thought you did okay. It's on my list of ones to do here. Okay. But yeah, it uh I'm pretty sure, like on this one too, I'm sure they use the PB powder. Okay. Just because you wouldn't want the the oils from the actual peanut butter. Okay. It just seems like sometimes you can definitely tell there's that granulated powdered peanut butter. In other ones, it's not quite like that. So could can they actually use peanuts? Or do they have to Yeah, you can use nuts and they just have to make sure they roast them. Okay, because that gets rid of the That's where I messed up that first time when I I did that peanut butter or uh not peanut butter, it was the nut brown ale. Okay. And I used Father Filbert's nuts. And just I didn't roast them again, so I didn't know what I was doing. Yep. So I just drowned them up and put them in a bag in with my mash, and yeah, it took quite a while for it to come around. Oh really? It just kind of sat there. It uh well yeah, it I bet that was one that I forgot down in the in the cellar. Uh-huh. So it after we tried it after like four months and it was horrible. Oh, really? But then two years later we tried it and it was the most amazing beer you've ever had. Really? Yeah. You just typically don't want to wait that long, dude. No, no. So yeah, so you'd have to roast them and then then grind them up and do the same process, but as we roasted. Okay. Nice. Well, Larry, what are your thoughts on the cold lunch kid? I'm gonna give it a 2-6. I mean, I don't know if I'd it was one or I'd like to try it, but I don't know if I'd run out and buy another four-pack, you know. Right, yeah. So you want a two-six, you said? I'll go two six. Okay, I'm gonna go with two three. The main reason I do like, you know, the initial flavor, I like the aftertaste is good, but that like I said before, that transition where the peanut butter kind of kicks in, it's got kind of a little different flavor, and I'm not exactly sure if I'm sold on it or not. So yep, and for me too, this one this I could probably only do a taser glass of it. Just because I could definitely tell at the acidity of it, it would it would mess up my system. Right. But I would I'll do I'm gonna do a two-three on it as well. Okay, yeah, I don't know. I really haven't had where I've tasted a peanut butter and jelly, any kind of jelly where it's really kind of worked. Yep. I mean, really good where you're like, oh yeah, that tastes just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You know, I really haven't found that yet. This one is close, they're getting closer, yep. You know, for sure. And again, like you said, I just think it's I could see the heartburn thing kicking in, you know, and it's just kind of eh, you know. So, so I don't know. I guess we'll just leave her at that and kind of go from there.

Damien Black Ale From Darkness Grains

24:11

Well, hey, we're on to the second to last one here. Another surly, and this is Damien Child of Darkness Ale. Look at the scary face on that. That's scary. And it is a six only six and a half percent. I thought with the label like that it was gonna be higher. Well, they make Damien when they're making darkness. The first run is darkness, then they do a second run on the same greens. Oh and make us and make this beer out of the greens from darkness. Really fun. So on the back of the can, it has a little write up here from the blackest depths of the brew house, Damien, a dry hopped black ale, spawns from the usually discarded remain remnants of darkness. Flavors of roasted malt and dark brown sugar are suffocated by hop aromas reminiscent to of tangerine and pine. So I had no idea that that's what this was from darkness. They just rerun it. Interesting. I guess is there a lot of places that you've heard will do something like that? Or do you not really the only one that really you know promotes it is? Surely guys, okay. But I've heard I have heard of smaller breweries doing it. If they do an Imperial Stout and then they'll there, they'll run their Imperial Stout and then they'll run another batch. Okay. Just to get like a 4% beer out of it, also. Okay. Didn't uh Surley also make a whiskey out of like Furious or something, or so they had somebody distill it. So they they did a liquor, a liqueur or how do you say it, out of darkness. Okay. And they've done a whiskey out of furious. Interesting. I remember Sand Creek, they did a whiskey out of Oscars. Yeah, and so it's kind of interesting that the places are starting to do some of that. You know, and when we were at between the bluffs, we talked to the gentleman from New Glaris, and they they said that they've been distilling for 10 years. They've got like some source of alcoholic whiskey or something that's been aging for 10 years, and they're actually adding a huge distillery on to their facility, so it'll be interesting to see when that's open. So, anyway, let's get back to Damian. Boy, that that's got a hoppy to it. That's got a hop, you know. The aroma is definitely a hop aroma. Flavor, you can taste it. That's interesting. I'm still kind of blown away by the the story on what it uh what it is. Yeah, this the the the black, it's a black ale, they call it considerate. I am surprised that it was still six and a half percent. You know, a lot of them that I've heard of that do it, it's like a four percent beer, the next one that they do, but I suppose their equipment is so huge that it so when they rerun it, because it's already taken a lot of the sugars and such out of the grain, right? You're just getting the rest of them on is that why it's lower. Yep, maybe okay so there is still some fillet sugars in there. However, two hours or however you know, hour, however long they do it. Yep. Huh, interesting. So, Larry, what do you think of Damien? I mean, I like darkness, so Damien's alright, but uh I probably don't like it as much as I like darkness, but I would still I'd go two seven. Okay, I am a hundred percent agreement. I really like darkness. Now, they've had some versions of darkness that are a little, you know, the variants I've been kind of eh, you know, but there's been a number of them that they've got some really good variants of too, besides just the the normal darkness. And I agree, I like those better, I think, than Damien. It's still very good. I could drink a can of it for sure. I don't know if I'd go more just because it does it definitely if you're not into hop, I don't you wouldn't really want this, you know. So I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go at 2.5, I think. I'll put it there again. I I think they do a good job considering the story, and I had no idea that that's how it came about. So that's really cool. And the artwork, you gotta give them credit for that because that's our freaky looking doll face on there. Yep. I do like this one. I wish it had a little bit more of the roasted, roasty notes to it. It seems like the the hops have kind of overpowered a lot of it. But I'd say I'm gonna give it a a uh I'm gonna do two six on it. Okay, yeah. Like I said, that's it's surprising. Like I said, I had no no clue on that how they did it or what or how it came about. That's really cool. Trying to think of any, yeah, I don't like we had said I haven't heard of a lot of other companies doing it. I'm sure some do. But it's uh it's an interesting thing, and hey, if you can do it, you know, I'm sure the cost they don't have as much cost into it, you know. Nope. All right, boys.

Angry Minnow Scotch Ale And Rankings

28:50

Well, we're on to our last one, and this one is representing Hayward, Wisconsin. This is from Angry Minnow, and this is McStucky's Scotch Ale. And does it say trying to see if they have the ABV? I am not seeing. I'll have you take a look, Larry. I'm not seeing where it says. Now we ran into Hayward. Unfortunately, both times you went into Hayward while we were up here, it was before the tap room opened. And if you've ever been to Hayward in the summer, it's crazy busy. And it's like, how long do you want to hang out in town, you know, to wait for them to open? So we actually did buy this at the local liquor liquor store in uh in Hayward. So yeah, I'm not saying it. Uh, I'm sure we could ask our friend Google. Right, not a problem though. We'll uh crack into her and we have some quote unquote neighborhood dogs barking, as you probably hear, ladies and gentlemen. So we apologize for that. Well, right off the bat, I really like the color on this one. You know, it's nice and dark, and definitely has and you can see it's like dark amber, like a yeah, almost a red, not quite a red, but it's definitely a dark amber. Yeah. White head on it. I don't know if there's much aroma. I get I do get like a scotch ale kind of aroma, kind of multi. Yeah. Yep. It's pretty good. I like that. That's one one beer I need to get down yet. Is a scotch ale. I was gonna ask you if you've done a scotch ale. I've only done I did one and it didn't turn out. Okay. So I ended up just dumping it. Okay. So I need to try another batch. And I don't know if I just got a bad batch of yeast or or what. Does it use a different kind of yeast? Or is it yeah, there's there's a scotch ale yeast that you can use. Okay. So I'm gonna see, I'm gonna do some look and see if I can find a different brand. Gotcha. And try and make another batch of it. You know, scotch ales, it's kind of funny because they're one of those types of beer. It seems like you you really like them or you don't. Yeah. You know, because our friend Tom, he really doesn't care for scotch ales. You know, and it's like kind of interesting because I I like them. Yeah, I think they're good, you know. And Oscar Blue, they make old Chubb. That's a really good scotch ale as well. I knew they made one, but I couldn't remember what the name of it was. Yep, and if they do a really good job of it, and I don't know, I I really like them. And but it is true, there's been a few of them I've tried that are, you know, but you can say that about anything, you know. Yep. Well, I want I'd love to make one similar to the elderberry scotch ale. Yeah, stay in creep. Yeah, that was so good. That was kind of a funny story because they would do Oktoberfest in Black River Falls, and we went to it a few different years, and I remember the first year they had the Scotch Ale on tap there, and we got they had like these fancy like ceramic mugs, remember, that you could get and you could fill them with the beer. And so we went up and said, We want the scotch ale. And the lady porn goes, No, be careful, these are nine percent or something like that. We're like, Okay, yeah, fill it up, lady. Yeah, just we're we're professionals, we know what we're doing. Well, a friend of ours, we uh he went for a little beer run with Brian and myself, and and then when he got back home, he didn't impress his wife with his actions, and we'll leave it at that. And he blamed it on the elderberry scotch ale. So I mean, if you gotta blame something, I guess. I guess. So he uh wasn't a fan of elderberry scotch ale, then I guess. Well, you know, and or it wasn't a fan of him, I guess. Yeah, yeah. Well, he he claims that was the problem, but yet we had given him some beers and we gave him some, and I'm not sure what happened, but they disappeared. So okay. He just the mixture was off a little bit. That's funny. Yeah, it's this is a good beer. I think it's really smooth. And again, like I said, I do like that Scotch ale flavor. Yeah so I'm probably gonna go like I'll go with three on it. I mean, I I could drink another can of it. Yep, you know, I I think that it's it sits really well and it's got that good flavor, and yeah, and so you need to really make sure you're working on that. Out of everything we had today, I'd say this was the best beer. You like this one, the the top one? Yeah, yeah, you know, and like like it was you know, from the beginning we said we're kind of all over the board with these beers, so it it was really not a fair we couldn't it's hard to compare them to each other, but just to compare them towards the style, I think this is a good one. So, what do you give it for a score? I'm gonna do a three-one. I'll go three. Okay, yeah. So I'm guessing you said Brian that your top one was the Scotch ale. What would you say? What do you think your second place one would be? For me, it was probably the Devil Makes Three. I would I'd agree with that. Yeah, I'd I'm probably going. Honestly, is either the Devil Makes Three, or I hate to say it, the rocket surgery was up there, but I think that the Devil Makes Three was you know just a little bit better. So I agree a hundred percent.

Brian’s Upcoming Brews And Sour Demand

33:44

So yeah, I guess Brian, what what kind of stuff you got coming, you know, dreaming up for the the brew tanks in the future, in the near future. Oh well, you what do you have right now? You said you had a a chocolate stout. Yeah, so right now on tap for my beers, we have a Dalmatian ale, which is just I always say it's a good lawnmower beer. We have a cream ale, pumpkin ale we still have on a mosaic IPA. That's probably our top seller for the IPAs, yep, and then a half aweisen. I still have a half aweisen on. Then I have the chocolate oatmeal stout going, and then a jalapeno ale. Okay. Like I said, then I'm gonna do a dark cherry sour next. Do you get a lot of requests for sours from your patrons? Okay, it goes it goes in streaks this time of the year. Yeah, I would say say a third of the people coming in are asking if we have a sour. Okay. But yeah, then I need to get uh I need to get a brown ale going still. I need to get some more IPAs on. Uh like I said, right now I'm kind of playing ketchup. Yeah, it uh it's been a whirlwind right now. Is there going to be any time in the near future that you may have a certain spruce tip IPA from a certain uh someone you know as spruce trees? Yep, yeah. I need to get that going too because it yeah, I need to get rid of the last spruce tips I got from you. So when I get more from you. Yeah, so then I can replace them. Yep. Okay, cool. Well, yeah, that's great, man. I'm glad that you know you're you're plugging away. Like you said, you're playing catch-up a little bit. You know, the the brewery had you kind of backed off a little bit on brewing for uh a while, and but now it's full, you know, full bore again. Yep. I've been definitely seeing a lot of your advertisements on Facebook for different you know things. You had a musician there recently, and you got some really cool things, I think, cooking to bring people in to have some fun and and do some stuff. Yep, you know, it's like I said, it's exciting right now. It's it is scary. We're uh we're running the police now, so yeah, we're gonna we're doing everything we can to get crowds back in again. Yep. Well, and I'll I'll tell you, you can't make a good beer without a good keg washer, and you've got that going on now. So yes, Fleury did tell me the story of learning experience on washing kegs. That's right. We learn from our mistakes, yes, and that one sounded like it was rather, yeah. You only do it once, you only do it once you'll probably never do that again. Never say never, though. That is true, yes. It is hard to say never because at some point you'll probably yeah, crazy. The secret is to keep your mouth closed. There you go. Oh my word, that is

Wrap Up And How To Reach Us

36:35

funny. Well, hey guys, I have you know, thank you so much for coming up here and spending a few days together and running around uh you know to this one, you know. We've we've one time we had talked about oh, maybe we could do a podcast along the way, but these shirts were having to drink the same beers or the same whatever, you know, from the same company to get them. So it's you're just it's more you're from different locations, right? Yeah, yeah, and it is a marathon. So the fun part with this was just going to all the different resorts, yeah, even though you're drinking you're drinking the same things at all of them, it's just yeah, but a lot of the people that you run into, you only see them this time of the year, so that's that's good too, you know. Yep, exactly. Well, cool guys, thank you so much. Thanks for bringing a bunch of these beers with, and we will definitely have more information with some exciting news in the future from Brian coming up. But uh, once we get all that good gets in place, then we'll we'll head down and we'll do some on location stuff and and definitely try and build it up, you know. Awesome. Well, cool guys. Again, oh Larry, I guess did you did I ask you what your favorites were? I think you told me. You said it was the okay. Scotch Hale and then uh the demo and the Del May Street. Yeah, I apologize. I totally spaced that off. But yeah, awesome. Well, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for listening. And like we always say, we hope your campfire is always warm. Your beer is always cold. See, thank you for listening to the Northwoods Beer Guy podcast. If you have a question, a comment, or a beer you'd like us to review, please feel free to send us a message at Northwoodsbeerguy at gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you're on Untapped, look up Northwoods Beer Guy and send a friend request. Until next week, I hope all your campfires are warm and all your beers cold.