surly wet

Another wet hop beer. This years uses Centennial and Cascade hops. Grassy, floral and piney, this is a very well done IPA. It may be a little subdued compared to Surly's other hoppy beers, but I highly recommend it.

founders harvest ale

Fresh hop beers are in season and that's a very good thing. Piney and tropical hop flavors with balanced malts make this as good as every other year I've had it.

tallgrass ethos ipa

Some citrus, resin and it's not too malty. Overall pretty solid.

half acre beer hates astronauts

Lucky for me I happened to be in town the weekend that Half Acre was releasing this awesome beer. This single hopped citra IPA is the official beer of the comic God Hates Astronauts by Ryan L. Browne. Browne also provided the excellent label artwork. I was unfamiliar with the comic until I picked up this beer and checked it out. It's funny, weird and definitely worth checking out. The beer is great. I love citra and as mentioned earlier, it's a single hop IPA that also uses only vienna malts. It is pure unadulterated citra goodness. The citrus flavors and bitterness are well complimented by a light malt profile, coming in at a very easy drinking 7% ABV. Half Acre's hoppy offerings are some of the best around and this is no exception.

stone 17th anniversary götterdämmerung ipa

This is an interesting beer. It uses pilsner malts and German hops, eschewing Stone's usual affinity for American hop varieties. I appreciate what they were trying to do, but I wasn't a fan of this one. There was a weird peachy taste to it. I didn't enjoy this as much as the R&R Coconut IPA. I am glad that Stone keeps pushing styles and making beers that are out of the usual, without getting too weird.

pliny the elder

A standby that I will get most of the time it's available. There are a few other IPA's that I prefer, but this strikes a very good balance of grapefruit hop flavors and malt backbone. It's not too sweet and isn't a full on hop assault, it's just a really well balanced, incredibly drinkable IPA.

2nd shift brewing el gato grande

This is one of my favorite local beers and one I will definitely miss from the area. Amazing aroma, nice tropical/citrus flavors and a bit piney at the end. It's not that bitter and has a slight sweetness, but not too much. Alcohol taste is non-existent. Between this and Katy, a barrel aged brett lambicus fermented saison 2nd Shift are doing some of the best beer in the St Louis area.