Triton/Black Acre Collaboration - Sassy Pants

Is it worth drinking? Yeh

Drinkability: 8
Smoothness: 7
Bitterness: 3
Flavor: 8

This beer is pretty tasty, I just expected a little bit more. You can't go wrong with either Triton or Black Acre, so I think that I had set an expectation that was a little to high for this one. If you are a fan of either of these breweries, it is worth drinking. Thinking about it now I can understand, when you get 2 amazing breweries together to make a beer for the first time you probably want it to appeal to all beer drinkers, and not specifically a hop head, or sour head etc. This is a well balanced beer with a little sour kick, a hint of hoppy, and a taste of funk. If you find it try it.

Terre Haute Brewing Company - Stiffy Green IPA

Is it worth drinking? Yes!
Drinkability: 8
Smoothness: 6
Bitterness: 5
Flavor: 8


Terre Haute Brewing Company has released their official (Non test batch) IPA called Stiffy Green. If you are a pale ale fan, you will like this beer. If you only like IPA's that are over hop level 9000, this won't be for you. This was a joy for me, because as I am slightly burnt out on IPA's and tired of many of them tasting so similar. This one is super smooth, and not over the top with hops and bitterness. I was delighted at how drinkable, and flavorful it is. It tastes like a good pale ale, only with a slightly more hoppy aroma, and hoppy finish. This is a perfect beer for anyone that is starting an adventure into IPA's, and starting to develop flavor for hops, and bitterness. It is also great for people like me that are kind burnt out on the "Hopped Out OMG Level 5000000 IPA" being the only IPA's available at the pub. This is a straight forward classic IPA that everyone can enjoy. Good work THBC!

For those of you interested "Stiffy Green" is a local legend here in Terre Haute. It is a concrete bulldog that was a favorite of a local man (pictured left). Once the man died the concrete bulldog was placed inside his mausoleum. The dog had green marbled eyes, and obviously being concrete it was"Stiff". Locals would take others into the cemetery at night, and tell stories followed by shining a flashlight into the mausoleum to see the green reflection of Stiffy's eyes shine back, and scare the person they where telling stories to. This gave rise to many other legends about Stiffy, but that is main, and truthful story. He was Stiff, and had green eyes, so "Stiffy Green" stuck.

The guys at THBC have turned this into a great marketing idea. While they have shirts with the logo seen on the tag hanging from the growler in the picture above. The rear of the shirts say "Get a Stiffy". This is hilariously awesome, and very creative. Many craft breweries are coming up with fun names, and silly one liners to go with them, and this one is perfect.

Saugatuck Brewing Co - Neapolitan Milk Stout

Is it worth drinking? Yeh

Drinkability: 8
Smoothnes: 7
Bitterness: 6
Flavor: 9

I was sitting at the local pub looking over the extensive list of beers they have on tap and I spotted this Neapolitan Milk Stout from Saugatuck Brewing Co.  After inspecting the list a couple times and the waitress waiting patiently, I decided to give this a shot and it was a good pick.  The first thing you can taste with this beer is the flavors of the Neapolitan ice cream.  The strawberry is a bit more prevalent than the chocolate and vanilla but you can taste all three.  Those flavors come out strong but wear off quickly.  They are replaced by the traditional stout flavors we all know and love.  The roasted malts will linger around until your next sip.

This beer is very creamy and smooth with a 6% ABV making it not overpowering with an alcohol flavor.  My first thought was this would make a wonderful dessert beer or even turning it into beer float.  Which is like a root beer float, just substitute the root beer for beer.  I did head over to the Saugatuck Brewing Co's website get a bit more information and they have suggested the following for pairings.  Rich and spicy foods: BBQ, grilled meats. Also, Cheese: Buttery (Brie, Gouda, Swiss).  Beer, cheese, and meats, all my favorite food groups.

While this isn't an everyday beer due to the sweetness, it is still quite enjoyable.  For more information, head over to their website:  Saugatuck Brewing Co

Fountain Square Brewing Company - Hop for Teacher Pale Ale

Is it worth drinking? Yeh

Drinkability: 8
Smoothness: 8
Bitterness: 8
Flavor: 8

Fountain Square has put together a quite tasty, and interestingly flavored pale ale in Hop for Teacher. The interesting thing is that its border line IPA, with each drink my brain, and my tongue where arguing over which style of beer this particular ale resembled most. This was making me confused, and dizzy so I decided to just drink the rest of the beer, and gather my thoughts. It has a highly hopped flavor, and aroma, however the body is light, and smooth. The color could resemble either, but its pretty pale so, we'll go with that. The taste is also light, with a heavy finish of hops, leaving you with the thought "Is this an IPA?" causing a second look at the bottle to make sure that I read it correctly. For all you hop heads out there, this is a great pale ale to try out, as you will be sure to like it. For everyone else I suggest giving it a try, especially if you're newer to craft beers, and not sure if you can handle to super hopped, and bitter flavor of a traditional or double IPA. This beer will help you close the gap and either appreciate or hate hopped up beers. The choice is yours, please feel free to let me know what you think!

Epic Brewing - Fermentation without Representation, Imperial Pumpkin Porter

Is it worth drinking? Yes!

Drinkability: 7

Smoothness: 5

Bitterness: 0

Flavor: 7

Do you know what time of the year it is?  Yes, it's pumpkin season!  From the pumpkin spice latte to the pumpkins beers.  For the next couple months, everyone will be drinking and eating everything pumpkin.  I'm not going to say that I don't partake in the enjoyment of the pumpkin.  Personally, the pumpkin pie is one of my favorite deserts of the season.  There is nothing like enjoying a nice slice of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or Christmas, but now we have pumpkin beers to keep us warm on those long, cold nights.

Today, I took the plunge and crossed over to the dark side with the Fermentation without Representation, Imperial Pumpkin Porter.  Upon first opening the bottle, this beer didn't come off as too strong, but that was soon to change.  As it released, the beer became stronger with each sip.  This wasn't a bad thing.  While the alcohol content made it strong, the pumpkin and spices in this beer provided for a great flavor.  I didn't feel the after taste to be overpowering either.  

Epic brewing advertises this beer as such "The essence of the fall!  This beer explodes with aromas of sweet spices giving way to chocolate and roasted malt.  Flavors are reminiscent of fresh-cut pumpkin and chocolate and complimented by hints of clove, fresh Madagascar vanilla beans, nutmeg and allspice."  While I didn't notice the chocolate as much, the pumpkin and spices were more prevalent, but not in a bad way.  All in all, I really enjoyed this fantastic porter.  Seeing how it is a limited run, get yours before they disappear.  If you like porters and pumpkin beers, you will enjoy this Imperial Pumpkin Porter from Epic Brewing.

To find more information on this beer, follow this link: Epic Brewing

White Flame Brewing Company - Weakness, Chocolate Vanilla Porter

Is it worth drinking? Yes!

Drinkability: 8
Smoothness: 8
Bitterness: 0
Flavor: 8

This delicious porter was brought to me once again by my gracious friend Dave Holland. Weakness, is an incredible chocolate porter that isn't overwhelming in chocolate flavor. There are subtle hints of vanilla in the finish. It's quite potent, but won't knock you over. It's a well balanced beer, and you can tell that this brewery takes pride in what they do.

The story behind the brewery is quite fascinating, you can watch the video below or check out their story at whiteflamebrewing.com . I like how they operate, all of their beer is only available in their brewery/taproom/restraunt. They are very small, with a small brewing setup. I like this because I think traveling to breweries, or having great friends that live close and will bring some hard to get beer is part of this "Craft Beer Explosion" that they speak about on their site. If you get chance to get near Hudsonville, Michigan stop in, and take home a "Crowler" or two!

Terre Haute Brewing Company - Carp Slayer Pale Ale

Is it worth drinking? YES!

Drinkability: 8
Smoothness: 8
Bitterness: 5
Flavor: 10

Im excited to review the Terre Haute Brewing Companies, Carp Slayer Pale Ale. This is mostly because I'm super excited that my home town now has a brewing company! Again... for the 3rd time.. I think it will be different this time around as it has some great, young, and enthusiastic beer practitioners behind it. Ill get to the details of the brewing company later in this write up if your interested.

As for the flavor, just take my word for it, its good! I don't really know how to describe it. It looks like a standard pale ale, however the flavor is nothing like I have ever tried before. I wrote this review, and sat on in for nearly a month trying to think of ways to describe the flavor to the masses. I also tried it with friends, and their take on it is the same as mine. The top note is slightly bitter like an IPA, but the body is medium, its not harsh, and very drinkable. The finish is of citrus and slightly earthy, this is incredibly hard to describe but, incredibly delicious! As of the time of this writing the Terre Haute Brewing Company's beers are only available at the brewhouse/taproom/brewpub. I'm not sure what the plans are for the immediate future as far as distribution, but the taproom is well worth a trip.

If you are in the area of eastern Indiana, we are roughly 70 miles southwest of Indianapolis, along I-70, please come check out this brewery. You will not be disappointed. This brewery has been in the region for over 100 years, and was at one time one of the largest breweries in America. It is famed for the creation of Champagne Velvet beer, before the Upland Brewing Company acquisition. The second time it opened it started brewing the Champagne Velvet beer again, along with several other beers, named according to their flavor. The single owner, single brewer company struggled, and eventually closed. Now its back, and in full force with an excellent team, and modern mindset with the previous owner involved, and backing it up! Please read more at www.terrehautebrewingcompany.com