Zip Line Brewing Company- Nut Brown

Continuing my reviews of amazing fall beers, I turn to my favorite brewery, which just so happens to be in Lincoln. If you follow my blog, you know that I have reviewed a few beers from Zip Line Brewery; this week I'm reviewing the new Zip Line Nut Brown. To be totally honest, before I tried this beer, nut brown beers were very low on my list, I usually really dislike them, but, of course, Zip Line changed my feelings!

For those of you who want to try a new dark beer, I would highly recommended this brew. Also, for those of you who usually dislike nut-brown ales, you need to give this one a shot. I have been seeing this every time I go out to eat or am at the store, but I have told myself not to get it, because ‘you don’t like nut brown’. But, Zip Line always has my heart; therefore, I decided to give it a shot! This brew is simply put, amazing. The rich combination of hazelnut and caramel instantly hits your palate, while the amazing aroma of caramel and great taste throughout the entire drink makes it one of the better brown ales I have ever had.

Overall, this is a beer that you should try even if you are not a dark beer or nut brown ale fan. Give it a shot! I can promise you, you will not be disappointed in this amazing beer! What's the best part? It's brewed in our great state capital and available at most bars and restaurants around Lincoln. Until next week, happy drinking!!

Pair with these foods:

-Cheese and Crackers

-Grilled Steak

-Fall Veggies (ie. Squash with rice)

Beer info:

Style of Beer: English Style Brown Ale

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 5.8%

Color: Dark Brown

Where to buy in the 402:

-N Street Liquor

-Hy Vee

-Mellow Mushroom- Rail Yard, Lincoln, NE

-Zip Line Brewery, Lincoln, NE

Shiner Bock- Oktoberfest

Want to try another great beer for in October? This is my favorite month and a great time for beer, so I would suggest you tune into my blog over the next month. The list of great Oktoberfest beers is endless, one of the top five for me is Shiner Bock Oktoberfest. Before this year, I had not tried this amazing brew, but I stumbled upon it at N Street Liquor as I browsed their selection. I love Shiner Bock overall, so I figured I would give this one a shot. Just as I figured, it is amazing!

This brew is known as a Marzen-Style Ale, a traditional German style ale that is known for having a medium body with a malty flavor.  The thing I love about Marzen style ales is the fact that they have incredibly rich flavor to start off and leave you with a dry hoppy finish. Shiner hit a home run with this brew; if I had to only recommend five fall beers, this definitely would be in the five. The rich flavor, working with the hops leaves you desiring another.

For those of you interested in trying fall beers or are a fall beer lover, this is a beer for you. This beer becomes available in late August until the end of October; make sure to act fast, as it does not stay on the shelves.  I hope you enjoy this great brew. Until next time, happy drinking!

Pair with these foods:

-Calzone

-Pizza

-Brats off the Grill

Beer info:

Style of Beer: Marzen-Style Ale

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 5.7%

Color: Cleveland Browns Orange 

Where to buy in the 402:

-N Street Liquor

-Hy Vee

-Mellow Mushroom- Rail Yard, Lincoln, NE

Photo from Shiner Bock website

New Holland Brewing- Ichabod Pumpkin Ale

Where are all my pumpkin lovers? With fall upon us, I am going to be cranking out some beer reviews of a bunch of new fall beers. I am a huge pumpkin fan myself, so when I recently walked through N Street Liquor with my wife, I was on a mission to try some new pumpkin beers. Instantly the cool name and label of New Holland Brewery stood out; their great pumpkin beer is Ichabod Pumpkin Ale after the famous story of the Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane. This beer is something worth talking about. Those of you not familiar with New Holland Brewing, here is a little history. Founded in 1996 in the small town of Holland, MI, this microbrewery originally planned on only serving Western Michigan, but it quickly outgrew those intentions due to the popularity and taste of their great beer. Currently they brew about 10,000 US beer barrels a year.

The first few sips of this beer will instantly leave you wanting more. The initial taste of pumpkins, followed up by a warm cinnamon and nutmeg taste make this one of the better pumpkin beers I have had. What I love about this brewery and this brew, is that they are made with all natural pumpkins, nutmeg, and cinnamon and no artificial flavoring. I have been drinking pumpkin beers since I was legally able to drink, and this one is close to the top of my list. If you are looking for a great beer to drink after a nice warm, roasted chicken dinner and hot apple or pumpkin pie, this is it.

I have had a few pumpkin beers that don’t use real pumpkins but instead use pumpkin flavoring, and there is clearly a huge difference. Trust me when I tell you, it is worth the three extra dollars for a six pack if it’s a choice between being made with real pumpkins or pumpkin flavoring. I highly recommended this beer to all of you pumpkin lovers out there, and if you have not had the joy to try a pumpkin beer, this should be your first! Until next time, happy drinking!

Pair with these foods:

-Roasted poultry

-Root vegetables

-Bowl of peanuts

Beer Info:

Style of Beer: Pumpkin Ale

ABC (Alcohol by Volume): 5.2%

Color: Orangish Brown

Where to buy in the 402:

-N Street Liquor

-Hy Vee Liquor

Goose Island- Oktoberfest

After a long spring and summer at work, I finally have some time to work on my blog! Over the summer, I had the joy of drinking different beers from many different breweries. With my favorite month of the year coming up, as well as my favorite season for beer, I am going to review a beer that is one of the best fall beers I have had.

Before I tried this brew, Sam Adams Octoberfest and Summit Brewery Octoberfest were my two favorite fall beers. Never did I think these two could be outdone, but they have been by the Goose Island Oktoberfest. I had this beer for the first time last week at the Mellow Mushroom in downtown Lincoln. As I looked over the beer menu, our waiter informed me that he liked this beer even better than the famous Sam Adams. I thought in my head, ‘there is no way that this is true.’ Boy was I wrong!!

This beer is simply amazing. When you first bring this heavenly nectar to your lips. The smell of toffee instantly hits your nose. As you take the first drink, the taste of apricots and sugar instantly fill your mouth. The great mixture of dried fruits and bitterness make this one of the best beers I have had the joy of drinking.

To get the amazing dried fruit flavors in this beer, Goose Island uses a famous German hop, called Hallertau. These are hops that have a very mild aroma, along with a fruity and spicy flavor.  Overall, this beer is one of the best I have reviewed and clearly one of the best beers I ever have drunk. Make sure you pick it up quickly, as it will be off of the shelves in late September.  Until next time, happy drinking!

Pair with these foods:

-Calzone

-Pizza

-Brats off the Grill

Beer info:

Style of Beer: Imperial Stout

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 6.4%

Color: Copper

Where to buy in the 402:

-N Street Liquor

-Hy Vee

-Mellow Mushroom- Rail Yard, Lincoln, NE

Boulevard Brewing Company- Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

It has been a long few months. With the weather finally turning nice and a busy storm season so far, I am finally sitting down to write my first summer beer review. If you’re looking for a great summer brew, I have just the one for you! For all of my Boulevard beer lovers out there, you surely will love it.

Boulevard Brewery hit a home run when they started brewing my favorite, Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. Even though this beer is available year round, it is an amazing summer brew. With a citrus aroma and a sweet, light grapefruit flavor, they've created a great refreshing brew for a hot summer day.

Tank 7 was made when the Boulevard brew masters were working with different variations of Belgian-style farmhouse ales. After many attempts, they concocted a great mixture of grapefruit-hoppy notes and sweet flavor with a dry finish, making this a work of art in the brewing world.

For all of you beer drinkers out there wanting to try something new this summer, I suggest you give this a shot. It recently was ranked in the top 50 beers you must try by Paste Magazine. For the best taste, this should be used in a goblet glass, which mixes the flavors just right! Until next time, happy drinking!

Pair with these foods:

-Roasted Chicken

-Pork

-Cheese

Beer info:

Style of Beer: Belgian Farmhouse Ale

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 8.5%

Color: Light Yellow

Where to buy in the 402:

-N Street Liquor

-HyVee Liquor

Four Peaks Brewing Company- Sunbru

After the long, windy weeks of March, which included a great trip to Phoenix for some spring training baseball and a short notice trip to San Antonio to root on Nebrasketball, I finally have some time to write on my blog. This week I will be reviewing a great brew that I had while I was in Phoenix. The second day we were there we hit up a local brewery/restaurant called Four Peaks Brewing Company. I had the joy of trying a few of their beers, which I will review over the next few weeks. This week I'm starting off with Sunbru Kolsch Style Ale.

After the first sip of Sunbru, I knew this was going to be a beer that I liked. With the temperature being in the mid 80s, I wanted something that could quench my thirst. The waitress told me that no beer would do a better job, and she was correct! This beer goes down so smoothly with its medium body and slightly hoppy flavor, made this brew one of the most refreshing beers I have had.

Klosch Style Ales come from Cologne, West Germany. The beers from this region are known for low bitterness and light body, which is a great style of ale. If you are not a big fan of hoppy beers, this is a good one for you. The bad news is that this beer is not available in our state. Four Peaks Brewing Company has many World Beer Cup winners, making this brewery a must visit the next time you are in Arizona. The amazing beers and great food make this one of the better restaurant/breweries that I have been to. Until next time, happy drinking!

Pair with these foods:

-Seafood

-Salad

-Cheeseburger with mozzarella cheese

Beer info:

Style of Beer: Kolsch Style Ale

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 5.2%

Color: Light Yellow

Where to buy in the 402:

-Sadly, not in the 402