Dale's Pale Ale

I read some random reviews and knowing that I am a fan of the American pale ale, I had to pick these cans up to see what the fuss is about. I am shocked I was able to stomach down five of these over time and only had one remain in the fridge. With a lot of beers, if I have more than one, I really give it a curve on taste, slowly drinking them to ensure I'm not dismissing a great beer because of the food I'm eating. This beer stared at me every time I thought about pulling a beer out of the fridge and the thoughts of foul, bitter, aromatic crap bubbled in my gut. I must not be trained for the major hops league, but this beer is disgusting and acidic. I have not seen this served in restaurants or bars or on tap, it's no wonder, this stuff ranks high in beer that only a select few could appreciate.

Flying Dog Hefeweizen

This is the first Flying Dog brew that I drank where I couldn't even bear to take another sip after the first. This was straight battery acid mixed in with sour funk. I'm not sure how this even passed a taste test. This is not something I can imagine drinking with any type of cuisine to stifle the taste. The only thing this beer has going for it was the label art, other than that, this is nothing more than a paperweight when filled and recyclable bottle when empty.

Green's Dubbel Dark Ale

I fell for the organic paper bowtie of a label on this beer and did have high hopes of it tasting pretty good. I could tell by the smell of it, I wasn't going to be happy. The sour definitely stood out and combine it with the bitters of a dark ale, it's not a winning combination. I couldn't drink the whole thing, it went straight down the drain to beer heaven. Ever since I was a kid, I used to always rationalize things and why they existed and would come to the conclusion, someone(s) out there must like this stuff, that's why factories keep making it! I'm instantly seeing a giant popcorn flavored jellybean and wondering why it still exists. As an adult, I realize that it is pretty much true, someone must be buying this stuff up. I just haven't met those people yet.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Before the Winter is done for, I'd have to put this up and write a bit about it. I'm a big fan of Brooklyn brews not only because they're local, but they're different in taste than a lot of other beers I've come across. The Black Chocolate Stout pours out dark like ink, like a hefty stout, and I could smell the burnt and roasted chocolate grits just by hovering over the glass. Unfortunately, that burnt smell is what it tastes like: bitter with obvious hints of burnt bits. I really wanted to like this, but it just wasn't very good to drink more than a few sips of. As for acquiring that taste for it, I just couldn't, half a glass later, it was still not palatable. Unless someone likes espresso flavored beer, this isn't something I'd recommend trying.

Goose Island India Pale Ale

Being from the northeast and all, I don't know any breweries coming from Illinois but I read something about Goose Island and had to give it a shot. This one smells good, I mean I know it seems weird to smell the bottle once you open it, but if it's going to be bitter and rancid, you'll know right away before it hits your tongue. This one packs a lot of flavor into one beer, there is not a whole lot of carbonation but enough to keep it not tasting too flat, and it's certainly not a beer for folks who do not like the taste of hops. After just having one, this beer left my mouth incredibly dry, like I have eaten a bag of cottonballs. I thought I was losing my mind and continued to drink glasses upon glasses of water to try to get it evened out. I gave it a rest and days later tried it again, same result. As much as I want to like this beer, the aftereffects are not desirable and I can't imagine drinking more than one of these in one sitting because of it.

St. Peter's Cream Stout

After trying one St. Peter's brew, I had to go ahead and try another. I'm a stout fan so I immediately gravitated towards this. Maybe I got a skunked bottle, but this was absolutely terrible in bitterness, dull flavor and being barely carbonated. I can equate this to a black cup of Starbucks coffee, room temperature and sitting around for an hour. Needless to say, I couldn't stomach the whole thing to acquire any taste for it and ended up pouring it down the drain. I haven't given up on St. Peter's in general since I liked the English Ale so much.

Black Sheep Riggwelter Yorkshire Ale

I've never heard of Yorkshire Ale but I picked this up thinking it would be just be a darker ale. Little did I know it would be so bitter and hard to drink that I couldn't finish the whole thing. Sometimes, it's hard to judge a beer by the first few sips, but half a glass later, I still couldn't get past the burnt and bitter taste to enjoy it. I'm guessing this is an acquired taste, but I could not see myself trying to acquire the taste for it.

Black Boss Porter

I found this a mile from my neighborhood, a Polish brew, deep dark and heavy in alcohol. This is probably the first random beer I picked up that after a few sips, I had to pour it down the drain. The one I picked up was pretty flat, barely carbonated, heavy on the bitter and sour at once with an obvious hint of probably rotten.