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

Redhook Ale Brewery- Audible Ale

A few weeks ago I got a text message from my brother-in-law, in this message was a picture of Red Hook’s Audible Ale. I immediately wanted to try it, and I got that chance after my beloved Husker basketball team beat Purdue. Let me tell you, this has quickly jumped up my list for a beer I can drink on a consistent basis. Usually when going to a party, I will go with Bud Light or something similar. That, my friends, will change.

This brew is one amazing beer. It has plenty of flavor and a nice aroma but goes down much more smoothly than most craft brews. Of all of the beers I have reviewed, this is by far the smoothest and most refreshing beer I have had. After my first drink, I told my buddy, “This is a beer I could drink a lot of.” This is one of the only beers I have had that really quenches my thirst; with its smoothness and no heavy-hoppy taste, it goes down very easy!

In conclusion, this is one of my favorite American pale ales on the market. If you want to sit down and watch the game, have a few at the bar, or have some while tailgating, this is the beer for you! This is my new go to beer when wanting to have a few. It's easily a five out of five. Go out and give the Red Hook Brewing Company a try; they truly make great brews. Until next time, happy drinking!

Pair with these foods:

-Burgers

-Chicken Strips

-Most bar food

Beer info:

Style of Beer: American Pale Ale

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 4.7%

Color: Golden Brown

Where to buy in the 402:

-N Street Liquor, Lincoln, NE

-Most HyVee liquor stores

Samuel Adams- Cold Snap

Who else is ready for spring? As I decided on which beer I was going to drink during the Super Bowl, I stumbled upon a new Sam Adams beer that was recently released. I am a huge Sam Adams fan, and for those of you who have not tried any Sam Adams beer, you need to. The beer that I decided to buy was the new Cold Snap by Sam Adams. The mixture of winter spices and the orange sweetness of spring make this an amazing beer.

This unfiltered white ale releases an amazingly smooth wheat taste with a snap of spices. The mixture of these spices, along with orange and plum flavors makes this an amazing spring beer. One thing that makes this beer stand out is the Hallertau Mittelfrueh Nobel hops used in the brewing process of Cold Snap; these hops have an ingredient that most other spring beers do not: ground coriander. The spice of coriander seeds work great with the orange peel that is used to brew this beer!

I have tried many different spring beers, and this is at the top of the list. This is one of the better Sam Adams brews I have had,  and it is a must for the wheat beer drinkers. If you are looking for a beer that will give you a kick into spring, this is it! This beer helps us remember that spring is on its way despite the record cold and the snow covered ground. I give this beer a 4 out of 5. It's a great tasting seasonal beer which I encourage all of you to go out and try. Until next week, happy drinking!

Pair with these foods:

-Eggs

-Cheesesteak sandwich

-Quesadilla

Beer info:

Style of Beer: Seasonal White Ale

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 5.3%

Color: Golden

Where to buy in the 402:

-N Street Liquor, Lincoln, NE

-Most HyVee liquor stores

Photo courtesy of Sam Adams website