Beer Label Art

I came across this site the other day, and I thought it was worth sharing.

One of my favorite labels, a decent beer, with one of my favorite artists, Winslow Homer!

One of my favorite aspects of the beer culture is "label art". Its as unique and varied as the beer itself, and you can normally pick out which brewer brewed the beer just by looking at the design on the label. There are just a ton of great beer labels out there, and this site brings them all together in one convenient site. Search by state, or brewer name. You can spend a lot of time here. It even has breweries that have since left us. Check it out!               

                                                                 (click the link below)

Micro Label Guide

This got me thinking. What are some of your favorite labels?

Do you prefer the cartoon, Roy Lichtenstien-esque labels (Ska Brewing, or Coney Island Lagers for example) 

The more serious, elegant ones (I really like Allagash, limited release labels),



Simple, but elegant



or the ones that seem to cross all the lines (Flying Dog has some GREAT label art, done by artist Ralph Steadman)

Label art by Ralph Steadmen

Let me know which ones you like. What are your favorites, the funniest, prettiest. Also, have you ever bought a beer simply because of the label? I will confess to doing this, just once. The beer was New Belgians "Blue Paddle Pilsner". Not a bad beer, but I just loved the label!

I can't wait to hear from you!

Bottoms up my friends!

The Beer Czar

Fruit Beers, Are they all bad???

OK, lately I’ve been thinking I need to break out of my comfort zone, and stretch my interests and outlooks a bit. In all aspects of my life, not just beer. This however, being a beer blog, I figure I will keep the content to mostly beer related topics.

That being said, there is one area of the beer world I don’t really enjoy, at least I haven’t yet, and that is fruit beer. Now, this may have to do with the sort of philosophical aspect of adding fruit to beer. I am somewhat of a purest with a lot of things. I drink my coffee black, I don’t add sauce to a lot of things etc. I like to taste what I am eating, if I have to pile a ton of crap on top of something, or in something to enjoy it, well, that to me means I don’t like it in the first place, so why bother. Of course, something’s just go better when paired up with something. I mean, I’m not going to sit down and eat a bowl of just pasta. Also, sometimes adding additional flavors or something to whatever it is you are enjoying, makes it all that much more enjoyable. I don’t think anyone would argue vanilla ice cream doesn’t taste good, but add chocolate sauce, or hot fudge, you see what I am getting at.


So, I use to think, if you have to add fruit to beer to make it taste good, then the beer doesn’t taste good to being with, and you should try to make the beer better, without hiding behind some fruit. However, now, I think this is short sighted and frankly a stupid way of thinking. If you can take a great beer, and by adding flavor, whatever that flavor may be, and make it even better, or at least equally enjoyable, I see no harm in that, and fact, only expands our opportunities to enjoy as much out of beer as we can. After I thought about it, I recall having some AMAZING pumpkin flavored beer. Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter and BJ’s Pumpkin Ale come to mind.

So, with a new attitude, and renewed outlook on life (at least small aspects of), I decided to break out of paradigm, and jump into something up until now, had limited and not very good opinions of. So, I grabbed a verity of fruit beers from my local Total Wine, and my wife and I sat down one evening, opened our minds, and prepared to enjoy a verity of fruit beers I had selected. Here are my thoughts on the 6 beers we tried; in the order we tried them.

Orange Blossom Ale, Indian Wells Brewing Company, Inyokern, California (abv ?)

It started off pretty good. Poured it out, looked a sort of golden, hazy, orange color, as one would expect from an orange flavored beer. The smell made me nervous. Kind of smelled like someone poured Sunkist orange soda and cheap beer all over the kitchen floor, and left it there on the hottest day of the year. The taste actually wasn’t as bad as I was expecting from the smell. The problem was, there was very little flavor at all. Like someone took the aforementioned Sunkist soda, watered it down 50/50 with tap water, then mixed it with the aforementioned cheap beer at about a 70/30 ratio. Very watery taste, not good, not good at all, OK, NEXT!

Watermelon Ale, from The Phoenix Ale Brewery, Phoenix, AZ (4.8% Abv)

I checked this one out on beer advocate, and was surprised it rated so high. There are limited reviews, by all scored it in the high 3’s, even 4’s (out of 5). I scored it a 2.65. I liked the idea of this beer, I just think the follow through was lacking. Not many flavors at all, some watermelon flavor, but light, which is fine, but there aren’t a lot of other flavors to back it up. Sort of like a light lager, with some watermelon flavor. Pretty unexciting, this tasting is not off to a good start!

Festina Peche, Dogfish Head, Milton De (abv 4.5%)

OK, we’re getting better. This isn’t what you would expect from a typical fruit beer. It’s not “fruity” or overly sweet. In fact, this is more sour, but in a good way. The peach flavor is there, tart and easy to detect, but not pronounced. This is a refreshing beer. I actually liked this one a quite a bit. OK, so maybe these fruit beers aren’t so bad!

Summer Shandy, Leinenkugel Brewing Company Chippewa Falls, WI (abv 4.2%)

If you want to know what this beer tastes like, all you have to do is this. Wash your dishes with some dollar store lemon scented dish soap. When you are down, take the dirty dish water, and mix it say, 60/40 with any cheap beer, doesn’t matter what kind, Bud Light, Molson, Colt 45, something like that. That will give you a pretty good idea of what this abomination tastes like. Now, let me say this, I like Leinenkugels, quite a bit in fact. I have had some great beer by them (Big Eddy RIS is awesome!), but man, what the hell were they thinking? This just might be the second worst beer I have ever tasted (Bud Light Chaldea still holds that dubious distinction). OK, so my faith in Fruit beers has been shaken back to reality.

Wild Raspberry Ale, Great Divide Brewing, Denver Co, ( abv 5.6%)

OK, this one wasn’t too bad. Then again, I could have been drinking 3 day old milk and enjoyed it after that last beer. However, this one was decent, not what I would consider great, but I enjoyed it. It poured a sort of ruby/purple color, which interested me. Smelled like raspberry jam mixed with beer. The taste was good, I was little disappointed it didn’t have a stronger flavor. Both the raspberry and beer flavors were muted, someone lacking. It was an enjoyable beer, but again, not something I would say was great. Very middle of the road.

Wild Blueberry Ale, Sea Dog, Bangor Maine (abv 4.6%)

OK, maybe I am partial to all things Maine (it’s my home state), maybe it’s because blueberries are one of my favorite fruits, or maybe it’s because this one was just good. I enjoyed it. Of all the beers we tried, this one had the most “beer” flavor. This one actually tasted like it was actually brewed WITH blueberries. The rest of them (with the exception of the Festina Peache) tasted like beer that had fruit flavor added as an afterthought. The blueberry was very noticeable, in both the aroma, and the taste. It had a real ripe, fresh quality to it as well. Very enjoyable!



OK, so, what did I learn from this exercise in “life course deviation”?

1.) Its fun and exciting to try new things. I mean, I’m not ready to head to a nude beach, or attend an Art Film Festival, but you know what I mean.

2.) Not all fruit beer is bad!

3.) If the label said “Summer Shandy”, just drink some watery lemon dish soap, and save yourself a hangover.



I can say, with the exception of Summer Shandy, and Orange Blossom, I would drink all these beers again. I may not seek them out, or pay for them, but when handed a Watermelon Ale, or Blueberry Ale, I will gladly accept it with graciousness, and appreciation, and drink it. Its summer, and what better time to enjoy a beer with a little fruit! So, I would suggest, take a little time out of your busy summer schedule, and schedule an evening or two to enjoy one or two fruity beers. You may find one you like!

If you have a fruit beer you like, and you think I might enjoy, by all means, let me know, and I will give it a try. If I can’t get it in Arizona, and you really want me to try one, let me know, I’ll drop you my address, and you can send it to me, and I will happily send you a fine Arizona beer in return for your efforts.



Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar

Welcome to LA Steve Nash!

I am not a basketball fan, at all. My daughter Jordan, is fast becoming a huge one (she is a Miami Heat fan however, don't ask!). I do however follow the Celtics and the Suns to some extent, and want to see both teams doing well. On that note, our beloved Phoenix Suns recently traded one of the most beloved Suns ever to put on a purple and orange Jersey, Mr Steve Nash, to the much hated rivals in LA, the Lakers. Obviously, and for very good reason, LA fans are excited about this. Recently while driving down the freeway, some fans got to express that gratitude by giving Mr Nash a beer, without stopping! Pretty funny video, check it out below....

A few of my thoughts on this video;

1.) I was actually surprised to realize that Keystone is still around, and even more shocked to find out someone is still actually buying it (and seemingly enjoying it, maybe a little too much)

2.) Welcoming someone to your city by giving them a Keystone (light no less)? Isn't that like welcoming someone into your home by kicking them in the nuts? I think I would rather get kicked in the nuts actually.

Regardless, its a fun video, and pretty cool, and I wanted to share it with you!

Bottoms Up my Friends
The Beer Czar

Cool Beer Website....

Occasional, I like to share some new ( to me anyway), or intreasting, informative beer webiste I tend to either stumble accross, or have someone share with me (the later is the case this time, thanks Chris E).



http://www.beerstreetjournal.com/



This website called "Beer Street Journal" is a great site to stay on top of, or learn about new brews coming out, as well as some of the latest brewery news, or other informative articles. So, I know its not much, I wanted to share with you all. Enjoy, bottoms up my friends!

Beer in Cans, its OK, really, it is!

OK, this is something that has sort of bothered me for a while now, but lately, I am getting a lot of "comments" regarding beer in cans, so I thought I would make my feelings known on the issue.

Bottles vs Cans?

I've heard a lot of people making comments, discounting beer in cans, completely! Most simply say "beer from cans tastes like metal" Really? No it doesn't, I promise you. Let me ask you this, do you say that about draft beer as well? Because, NEWS FLASH, that draft beer you are drinking could have come from a keg made from aluminum as well, and I have never heard anyone complain about their draft beer tasting like metal (as a reader pointed out, some kegs are also made of stainless steel, either way, both are metal, kegs are not made of glass, thank you Hughes!). Truth is, the beer never even makes contact with the aluminum, thanks to a synthetic lining that has been gracing the inside of your hated beer can since, oh, before WWII! (1935 to be exact!). Truth it, the "metal" taste, its all in your head, I promise.

To try and prove this, I've done little "experiments on friends. I've taken beers available in both bottles and cans, and had them do a blind taste taste. I would pour it in two cups, and ask them to tell me which one was the canned, and which was the bottle. As you would expect, they were only ever correct about 50% of the time, which, you could chalk up to just a lucky guess. So, I would take it further. I would give them each a cup, and tell them this is the can, and this is the bottle (however, I would tell them incorrectly, telling them the bottled beer was the canned, and vice verse), and almost every time, they would tell me the one they thought was the bottled beer tasted better (see, all in your head). Next, I didn't tell them which was which, and ask them to pick the best beer, 3 out of 4 times, they would tell me the canned beer was better. So, no matter what, no one will ever convince me that canned beer is worse then bottled. If there is a differance in taste, canned beer is better, and here is why....

One of my favorite beers, and it comes in a can!

Cans are actually a better way to store beer. They are completely air tight, no chance of the cap leaking, or oxidizing, and rusting. Also, one of beers biggest enemies is light, and cans let absolutely ZERO light in. Bottles let in some light, depending on the color of the bottle, that is why brown bottles are best. (the other, and probably dumbest thing people will tell me "I only drink beer from green bottles" O really, why is that, you like that awful skunk flavor?).

Another thing people say is, bottles keep my beer cold longer then cans do. Well, this is certianly the case, all I can say is, if you are drinking beer directly from the bottle or can, you aren't completely tasting the beer anyway, since you can't completely take in the aroma of the beer drinking right from the bottle or can anyway.

There are many other advantages to cans as well. They are cheaper, lighter (making them cheaper to ship), canning lines are faster then bottling lines, as well as less expensive, easier to open (don't need a can opener)...you get the point.

So please, turning up your nose at canned beer, is really just ignorant, and snobbish (that is my opinion). I challenge you to go out, and try a few craft beers in cans, you will be pleasantly surprised. More and more craft brewers are making their beer available in cans, most notable, Sierra Navada. Some, like Oskar Blues beers are only available in cans, and I have to tell you, their Ten Fidy Stout (at 10.5% abv) is one of the best Russian Imperial Stouts on the market, bottle or can!

So lets stop all this "cans are bad" bull, and get these false ideas out of our heads, and start loving beer for whats inside the can or bottle, and not what it comes it, I assure you, you will not be disappointed!

If you do try some beer in cans, and you are surprised by the results, please, let me know, I would love to hear your story!

Bottoms up my friends!

Short's Expansion!

Its no secret that on this blog, that we LOVE Michigan beer! After all, whats not to love? I mean, some of my all time favorite beers come from The Wolverine State, among them, New Hollands Dragons Milk, Founders KBS and Devil Dancer, Bells Oberon, Acadia's Ship Wreck Porter, I could go on, and on and on. While the number of breweries in Mich is still relatively small, the quality of the brewers currently residing in the mitten are nothing short of great, in my humble opinion.



Brewed in Michigan!

One of the smaller, and dare I say "quirkier" brewers is Shorts Brewing, in Bellaire, MI. Set on Main St of this small, quaint, Rockwell-esque town, this brewery is small, but daring. One look at their list of beers, and you see beers ranging from a simple brown ale, or IPA, to a slightly more strange PB & J Stout, S' More Stout, Key Lime Pie Ale, and a host of many others most brewers haven't even imagined let alone having the temerity to actually brew, and sell!





My Father in Law leaving Shorts

 Shorts has been around since the early 2000's, started by Joe Short, and group of friends. With a goal to create unique and exciting beers for local consumption. They currently operate a little pub, that is quaint, comfortable, although, to the first timer slightly confusing, but still very fun. My In Laws are lucky enough to have a summer lake cottage just a few short miles from Bellaire and Shorts, on Intermediate Lake. I had the pleasure of stopping by Shorts last summer for some wonderful pizza, and a 5 beer sampler. While with every daring, risk taking venture, not everything is going to work, as is the case with some of Shorts brews. Some fall short of being even good, while others are an absolute grand slam!

My sampler consisted of 5 Beers...

My Shorts Sampler





Beer Czar enjoying a Cornholio!



Bananarama- a sweet, (almost too sweet) fruit beer, that I think was good to try one, glad I did, wouldn't get again

Saison du Shorts - a great, flavorful, refreshing take on a great summer style!

Cornoholio - A 7% abv Baltic Porter, while not the greatest version of this style I've had, it was a very good version, I would buy this again, for a cool, winter evening around the fire pit.



Mrs Czar, and my mother in law at Shorts



Mama’s Strawberry Milk - I'm normally not a fan of fruit beers,and this beer is a great example of why that is. WAY too sweet,tasted like a light ale, with strawberry syrup in it, not a fan!

Chocolate Wheat - a great, very chocolaty American Porter! I liked this one a lot, despite the huge chocolate presence, I normally find unpleasant, this one worked well!

Before heading to shorts, I had spent the afternoon with a six pack of their Nicey Spicy, a very pleasant, drinkable herb spiced brown ale. As well as thier famous Huma-Lumpa-Licious IPA, a great IPA.
Also, a few Christmas's, my in laws sent me a bottle of their Peaches and Cream, from their very popular 2007 Imperial Series. Now, I know I said I don't normally like fruit beers, but this one was awesome! Not a ton of fruit, but enough to be obvious as to what you were drinking. A well crafted beer.

Inside Shorts Pub

Now, why am I writing about all this after almost a year or more from enjoying them? Well, like so many other Brewers in the Great Lake State, Shorts is expanding, big time! Sadly, Shorts is all about Michigan, and doesn't distribute outside the state, so we will still have to rely on loving friends and family to send us our Shorts fix, or why not just head to Bellaire and spend a few hours enjoying the many many eccentric ales this brewery offers! Expansion is always good news, even for those of us unlucky enough to live outside the small reach of this great little brewery! Congrats to Shorts, and good luck, I hope to see soon!


Read all about Shorts expansion here....
Shorts Brewing's $2 million expansion...

Beer at the Olympic's...

So, anyone planning on heading to London for the 2012 Olympic Games? Plan on having a beer while there? If so, bring a little extra cash, cause its going to cost you! Read this story...(click the link)

Beer at the Olympics

Honestly, I'm not sure why people seem at all surprised by this, I mean, its about in line with the cost of a large beer at the ball park. Still, thought it was a good read. So, a beer and a plate of fish and chips will cost you just over $20? Is that worth it? At least you get to enjoy some long jumping while you eat.....

Can I brag for a minute..

Just wanted to take a minute and brag! My little blog is now on the Beer Bloggers Conferences "Complete List of Beer Blogs"!! Check it out!

Complete List of Beer Blogs

The blogs are listed alphabetical, and mine is listed under "the", so its near the bottom, but still, I was pretty excited to see it on there! Thanks everyone for your interest and support, it means a lot to me!

So bottoms up, have a great weekend, and lets get together and have a beer!

Sincerely
The Beer Czar

Cheers, and thank you everyone!

Aging Beer, a few things to think about...

A while ago, a friend of mine suggested I do a piece on aging beer. I thought it was a great idea, and planned on doing it, but as seems to happen so often, life sort of took over, and I set the idea aside for quite a while. However, recently, I've been seeing a lot on other beer sites about this very topic, and upon looking into my own "beer stash" I decided the time had come to revisit this topic, and offer just a few helpful tips to those thinking of, or already cellaring a "beer stash". So, thank you Lisa, this was a great idea, so here you go!

My dream cellar!!

The most common question I am asked is "what kinds of beers are the best for storage?". As with most things, there is a simple answer to this, then there is a more lengthily answer. The simple answer, almost any malty rich beer with an ABV of at least 8%, ideally 10%. Easy as that, right? well, yes, and now. Aging changes characteristic's of beer. It depletes some, deepens others. Try to avoid most "hoppy" styles, like IPA's. Hop flavor is almost always best enjoyed fresh. Some double, triple IPA's will age better the normal IPA's. Beers such as Dogfish Heads 120 Minute, Founders Devil Dancer are examples of more extreme IPA's that will age pretty well. In fact, I have a few 120 Minutes in my cellar as we speak.

If you still have a few questions, he is a general list of some styles that age well.



A great Barleywine to cella. I have a six pack from 2012 back to 2008 each in my cellar



Baltic Porter

Barleywine
Belgian Golden Strong
Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Belgian Tripel
Berliner Weisse
Doppelbock (above 8% ABV)
Eisbock (above 8% ABV)
Flanders Red Ale
Gueuze
Lambic (despite a low ABV)
Old Ale
Russian Imperial Stout
Scotch Ale
Wood-Aged Beer







Look for rich, malty beers, darker ales like double or Baltic porters, wood aged brown ales, and especially barleywines.

Also, look at the label, not only for the ABV, but look for key "hints" in the description that will hint as to weather or not a particular beer will age well. Obviously, terms like "barrel aged" or "oak aged" means the beer has already aged to some extent in wooden or oak barrels, imparting the flavors of the wood in the beer. Aging the beer even longer can enhance and heighten some of those woody flavors, which to me, is always a good thing. Check out a piece on barrel aged beers I talked about earlier here, any beers in this article will age VERY well. The term "Reserve" is another indication of a beer that will age. These are normally high abv, rich beers, normally special or limited release beers. Chimay Blue is a great example of this, and a beer that ages wonderfully. Bottle Conditioned beers also age well. These beers contain live, active yeast in them. The live yeast aids in the beers ability to mature, and age. Also, look for the term "Brettanomyces". This is a strain of Belgian yeast that use to be a natural addition of the brewing process. It gives the beer a sort of "funky" or sour taste. These beers are normally best consumed after some time on the shelf.

This is a pic of my collection (does not include my 5 six packs of Bigfoot)

Once your decided what beers you want to store, you need to be able to keep these beers in "ideal" conditions if at all possible. Light and heat are enemies to beer! So you want to keep beers in a cool, dark place, preferable at a general, consistent temperature of about 50-55 degrees. Basements are good for this, however, you want to be careful that the basement is not too damp, as this will corrode and rust beers that have metal caps, so be mindful. A dehumidifier can help in this situation. If you are like me, and do not have a basement, a closet will work well, which is wear I keep mine. Even a kitchen cubboard and/or liquor cabinet will also work, although space may become an issue as your collection grows.

The most important aspect, is too keep sunlight away from the beer! Light striking (happens when beer is exposed to sunlight), and causes that sort of "skunk" funk flavor in the beers, normally associated with beers in green bottles. This is cause by a compound called "isohumulones". This happens when "When beer is exposed to light, these compounds can decompose in a reaction catalyzed by riboflavin to generate free-radical species by the homolytic cleavage of the exocyclic carbon-carbon bond." or something like that (thank you wikipedia).

isohumulones

You can store some styles in refrigeration as well, however, not "refrigerator" temps, more like wine cooler temps. Light lagers, IPA's, Wheat Beers and others can be stored for some time at temps about 45-50 degrees.



Wine coolers do have one distinct disadvantage however. Bottles are stored on their sides. Beer is best stored standing up. This is for a couple of reasons. One of them being flavor. If the beer has a cork, this can impart some of the corks flavor in the beer, which isn't nearly as tasty as wood/bourbon flavors of barrel aged beers! Also, laying down prevents the yeast for settling on the bottom, making the beer more susceptible to oxidation, which you do not want.

Something else you want to think about, especially as your collection grows, is how you are going to catalog and track your collection. I like to keep an excel sheet on my cellar, that tells me what beers are in it, when I put them in, and how long they have been in there for. It is important to make sure you update your list, however you decide to keep it, with every addition or subtraction to your collection.

Probably not "good" anymore!

Another question that comes up almost as frequently as what beers to store, is how long to store them for. There is really no good, or wrong answer to this. One thing to know is, you don't have to worry about the beer "going bad". It isn't like milk, or OJ. It won't spoil. It may taste like crap after 25 years on the shelf, but it won't spoil (unless the cap/cork has been compromised). There are a few things to consider. High Hop'ed beers, like IPA's, and pale ales won't age well after after just a few months, 6 tops normally. While some barelywines or Imperial Stouts can age for 10 years or more, and get better and better with each passing year. Each beer is different, even different beers of the same style. Best suggestion, ask around, ask your local beer beer guy, or use on line forums like Beer Advocate or Rate Beer These sites are full of people that store and taste beers, as well as exchange ideas and knowledge about beers.

resist the urge!!!!

My best advice, is experiment, and ask questions. Again, there is no wrong or right. If you like the taste of a 5 year old IPA, by all means, store your IPA for 5 years. This should be fun, don't take it too serious. I can tell you from experience, the hardest part of cellaring beer, is resisting the urge to drink it!!!

Three Floyds!

Now, if you talk to "beer geeks" around the United States, and you ask them, what is the biggest beer release there is. I would venture to guess, Three Floyds release of "Dark Lord" would be amongst the most mentioned, along with maybe Kate the Great, KBS and a handful of others. I have never had the pleasure of drinking a Dark Lord, so I have no idea if its worth the hype or not. However, Roving Beer Czar corespondent Uncle Gary had the pleasure of visiting the Three Floyds pub on his way back from his visit to Arizona and New Mexico, and he was kind enough to share it with us. Here is what he had to say.....



Well Worth the Trip


by Gary W. Morrison

 

Indiana's Three Floyds Brewing is statically located in just the right place: not to far from Chicago and close to the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Just off the highway that cuts through the northern part of the state and in the city of Munster, 3 Floyds, 9750 Indiana Parkway, Munster, IN 46321, is an easy-to-get-to place for people from Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan.

But its location is not the reason that draws so many people to the brewery and has people willing to wait as long a 90 minutes at times to get inside. As you can guess, it has to be the beer.

Suzanne Golec and Mandy Dolliver

Friends Suzanne Golec and Mandy Dolliver found the eclectically decorated 3 Floyds to be a convenient meeting place prior to attending a play that Mandy's brother was performing in at a nearby town. Suzanne lives only 10 minutes from the brewery while Mandy is 40 minutes away. They find the brewery is a convenient meeting place.

"I like coming here, it gives me the chance to try something different all the time," she said, referencing the beer menu of 20 brews by 3 Floyds and 13 guest beers.

"My favorite is Zombie Dust," she said. "I always go back to that."

Mandy hasn't proclaimed a favorite, saying: "I'm trying something different each time until I do."

Larry and Carol O'Donnell

Larry and Carol O'Donnell "live nearby," but only have been going to 3 Floyds for a short time because Carol had a previous aversion to beer.

"Beer didn't taste good to me because I was going through menopause," she said. “About the only thing I could tolerate was Killian’s.

"Now that I'm through with that, I find that I now like good tasting beer and I stay away from that light tasting stuff."



The brewery's main stays are Alpha King, 3 Floyd’s flagship beer that is a big American pale ale that pours deep amber with a creamy head; Robert The Bruce, a complex malty brew derived from roasted and crystal malts; and Gumballhead, an American wheat ale brewed with Amarillo hops and a generous portion of American read wheat.

Aunt Linda with a glass of Gumballhead

Yet to single out just those three as mainstays is doing 3 Floyds a disservice. Believe me, they are all good. While I haven’t tasted them all, I am working my way through them. My wife, Linda, and I often take that little detour when driving from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Chicago.

Golden Tickets

At the end of April each year 3 Floyds has a special run of Dark Lord, an imperial stout that beer aficionados say: "It's to die for." Well, if not to die for; at least to wait in a long line for after traveling great distances.


In the past, the brewery issued "Golden Tickets" to people for Dark Lord, but not anymore. People can now go on line and secure their quota and forgo a wait in line with the chance of not getting anything.



"Each ticket will be an allotment," said manager Joe Skertich. 'The amount varies from year to year. "We announce on Face book and Twitters so people can come in and buy Dark Lord without having to camp out."

A ticket safely in hand I required for entry to the event, Skertich said. If a person does not have a ticket, they cannot get in. The ticket gains entry and people exchange it for a Golden Ticket that has a scratch off portion. If lucky enough to be a winner, they will have the opportunity to purchase a version of Barrel Aged Dark Lord in a screen printed, hand numbered, was dipped bottle as a cost of $50.

And lastly, not to be forgotten is the brewery's other big attraction, which is its food that I can personally attest to. Unlike other breweries that serve typical bar room fare, 3 Floyds outshines them all. The brewery offers up a menu selection of meat and cheese plates, combination plates that include grilled baby octopus, mussels and chicken liver; sandwich plates; main course meals; pizza and desserts.

All of this comes together to make that previously described 90 minute wait to get inside (usually on the weekends) seem like nothing, nothing at all.