KOTBR #137: Superbeer

The idea of a superbeer™¹ - a beer composed of the combined flavors of two or more highly regarded individual beers - is perhaps a new idea in craft beer. Yes, there have been collaborations before, but (as far as I can recall) there has never been an effort for two or more breweries to take their best-known and limited release beers and combine them to create something entirely new.

Three Floyds' 15th Anniversary Beer, Baller Stout, changes that. Brewers from Surly (Darkness), Mikkeller (Beer Geek Brunch), and Struise (Black Albert) brewed their recipes at Floyds, and then combined their beer with Dark Lord to create a new and unprecedented Russian-style imperial stout.

While idea of combining elements from the best of one thing to create something entirely different is new to beer, it's not new to Rock and Roll. Wikipedia provides a long list of supergroups - some more super than others². Is Baller Stout the Traveling Wilburys, or Chickenfoot? We sat down with the beer to find out.


While touring as a member of Nirvana, Dave Grohl brought along a guitar, writing songs that were never shared with his bandmates. After the death of Kurt Cobain, Grohl took these songs to a studio outside of Seattle, playing every instrument, and completing an album's worth of material in just 5 days. He released the album via tape to friends with the title "Foo Fighters".

Eventually the music industry took notice, and Grohl decided to put together a band. Although the band started with former Sunny Day Real Estate members Nate Mendel (bass) and William Goldsmith (drums), and former Germs/Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear, eventually the band swallowed up the Alanis Morissette touring band's Taylor Hawkins and No Use For A Name's Chris Shiflett. Considering their collective history, it would be fair to call Foo Fighters a supergroup.

But no one thinks of Foo Fighters as a supergroup - I think it's fair to say that most people think of Foo Fighters as Dave Grohl's band after Nirvana. And while most folks are at least OK with what the Foo Fighters do, it's hard to forget how good Nirvana were, and remember Dave Grohl as their monstrous drummer. That's no slight to the other members of the Foo Fighters - it's just that the legacy of Nirvana overshadows anything that comes after it.

At this point, you're probably wondering if you're still reading about beer.

Baller Stout is a fine beer, one that anyone would be happy to drink and praise if it had come from any random brewery. But knowing the beer's history - Dark Lord, Darkness, Black Albert, and Beer Geek Brunch - there's a legacy to compete with. Dark Lord by itself is the Nirvana element here, the be all/end all Russian Imperial Stout, and while the other beers certainly add something to the mix, wasn't Nirvana really fucking great?

4.2 Mugs


Whenever a supergroup is formed, it usually creates both excitement and fear. The optimistic typically bring to mind the hope for the creative energy of the different members to create something new and exciting, or simply fuse their abilities together into a hybrid sound. On the other hand, pessimistic fans fear an uninspired turd of greedy musicians struggling for ways to make more money. When 3 Floyds announced their XV Anniversary Baller Stout, much of the beer world was playing the role of the optimist. I know I was.

Back in 1995, members of Pantera, Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity and Eyehategod collaborated on an album that had much of the same weight associated with it. Each musician and their respective band had a proven track record of releasing many classic albums that helped define their respective genres. The resulting inaugural album by the supergroup simply named Down was perhaps unlike anything many of their fans had ever heard. A fusion of their individual styles of thrash, sludge and doom was invigorated with a dominant blues overtone. The album was very clearly the work of the individuals involved, but the end result was something more than the simple sum of their parts. While the fans of each of the bands might not say they enjoyed the work of Down more than the work of the bands on their own, it was hard not to respect the great sound that was created.

3 Floyds, Surly, Mikkeller and Struise walked in to the XV Anniversary Baller Stout in a similar manner. Each brewer has more than proven themselves in the craft beer world and are consistently breaking new ground and redefining expectations. So what would they create, when their powers combined in Voltron-esque fashion? Not wanting to pull any punches, each brewer laid down their most sought-after recipes and got to work in the 3 Floyds brewery.

The result actually does taste like a blend of the beers involved. Aromas of bourbon arise first, followed by molasses, chocolate, vanilla and malted milk balls. As a beer, it almost drinks like a milkshake. Dominant vanilla, cocoa, bourbon, bittersweet chocolate and molasses are wrapped in a creamy mouthfeel with a finish of black cherry. This beer is quite simply a very enjoyable imperial stout. It maintains a balance of being drinkable without being so decadent or cloyingly sweet that you can continue to drink and enjoy it all the way through the glass and probably want another one at the end.

Baller Stout is, in fact, much like the supergroup Down. While each brewery creates their own Imperial Stout, it is not a style that is brewed regularly. Something altogether unique was created by blending everyone's talents, and while it may not be better than the pieces individually, it is a great beer that deserves respect and easily stands on its own in a vast sea of craft beer. Perhaps more importantly, mirroring Down's first album NOLA, it's something that can be enjoyed from beginning to end and leave you ready for more.

3.9 mugs


The Hindu Love Gods came together in early in 1984 with three members from R.E.M: Bill Berry, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills. The vocals started out with Bryan Cook from Oh-OK. This wasn't so much supergroup at this point, but just a few months later The Hindu Love Gods showed up in studio with Warren Zevon on vocals. This "supergroup" wasn't very creative since they mostly just did covers of old blues songs or of other songs that the bands had played before. Their most popular song was Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" or the cover of Prince's "Raspberry Beret." This was more of a band that was put together for friends having a good time while getting drunk on the road. The members of the band just liked getting together, getting drunk, and playing music they wanted to play together. The whole was never as good as the individual parts that went into the band, but they never cared since they were just having a good time together. Their camaraderie was significantly more important than what the creative force behind the group would have ever been. They were not reinventing the wheel, but rather having a good time with their friends. The four parts of Baller are exactly the same way. The brewers have come together to do as they wish, and have done it for the camaraderie. This is a product of four friends doing as they wish and finding a good excuse to throw one hell of a party. The final product isn't as good as the individual contributors, but that wasn't ever their purpose.

3.0 Mugs

VH1’s Behind the Music: Band Aid

Jim Forbes, Behind the Music’s narrator: November 1984. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof is watching BBC News when he sees a report on the devastating famine in Ethiopia. Hit by the urge to help those affected by the famine, Geldof contacts fellow Irishman Midge Ure, lead singer for Ultravox, with an idea: assemble a supergroup to record a song, the proceeds from which will go to the famine victims. The group would be called “Band Aid.”

After hearing Geldof’s pitch, Ure was game. Therefore, the two quickly penned the song. A few weeks later, Geldof sat down with some of the artists who were to be key members of the group: Simon LeBon of Duran Duran; Boy George of Culture Club; Phil Collins of Genesis; George Michael of Wham!; Bono of U2; Sting; and Rob Halford of Judas Priest. The purpose of the meeting: to discuss the song, which was tentatively titled, "Do They Know It's Christmas."

Cameras were rolling the day of the meeting, which took place at Sarm West Studio in London. This is what was captured on film...

Geldof: So gents, thanks for coming. Midge and I are really excited about this endeavor. We think we're going to do a lot of good for the victims of the famine. So if you don't mind having a seat, I'll go through the lyrics of the song and maybe some of the arrangement--

Rob Halford: Hold on a moment. What's this about a song?

Geldof: Didn't Midge tell you, Rob? We wrote a song.

Halford: He told me nothing of the sort. He just said he wanted to talk about contributing to the famine relief effort in Ethiopia. So what do you propose to do? Fly down to Africa to sing a song to bloody cheer them up? I thought we were going to make plans to travel to Addis Ababa to actually do some work—load up the trucks with grain and milk and water and all that, drive to the villages, actually hand out the food. You know, have actual contact with the people we’re helping.

Geldof: Well, no. [Laughs uncomfortably]. Don’t be daft, Rob. We thought it would be much better to just record a song and make lots of money with it so we could just send the money down there. If we went down there, we’d only scare those poor people, what with our huge shoulder pads and weird hairdos. Who needs to load trucks anyway? I have some eyebrows to shave off.

Phil Collins: I bloody well don’t want to load any trucks.

Boy George: It would be bad for my nails. Not to mention my makeup.

Sting: I can’t possibly go down to Africa. I’ll be sequestered in my flat with Trudy for the rest of the month trying to break the world’s tantric sex endurance record.

Bono: I won’t be available for a trip either. I’m going to be working on U2’s next song about Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s called “Pride (In the Name of Love) II: James Earl Ray Was A Fucker.”

Simon LeBon: That’s bloody catchy!

Bono: Yeah, I know, right? Johnny Rotten helped me come up with that.

Geldof: So anyway, the song’s called “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Midge and I are thinking that Paul Young is going to sing the opening of the song, which goes—

Halford: Wait. Who is “they”?

Geldof: They?

Halford: Yeah. You said the title of the song is “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Who’s “they”?

Geldof: Oh. “They” are the people of Africa.

Halford: Well that’s bloody stupid.

Geldof: Why’s it stupid? I don’t understand—

Halford: Muslims, you wanker! Most Africans don’t know it’s Christmastime because they’re bloody Muslims. They don’t give a bloody whit about Christmas.

George Michael [in a Cockney accent, conveyed in a deep baritone]: Oi, wha’ are you on abou’ anyway, Halford?

Halford: What—where the bloody hell did that come from?

George Michael: You’ve no’ ‘eard me real voice, ‘ave ya?

Halford: Uh, no. You just about made me brown me bloody trousers, mate! If I’d known you had those pipes, I’d have signed you on to Priest long ago, man! Do me a favor, George, eh?—try singing this for me: breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law.

George Michael [continuing in his real, Cockney-accented baritone voice]: BREAKIN’ THE LAW, BREAKIN’ THE LAW!

Halford [grinning]: Wicked! That’s bloody perfect, man!

Geldof: Look, gentlemen, let’s just focus on discussing the song, alright? Time is of the essence here because we have to get the song released by Christmas. Okay? So the opening of the song goes like this: “It’s Christmastime/there’s no need to be afraid/At Christmastime/we let in light and we banish shade.” What do you think?

LeBon: That’s great.

Sting: Brilliant. Ethereal.

Boy George: Very nice. I love it. People will really like—

Collins: I want to sing the opening.

Geldof: Phil, we thought we’d have you just play the drums for the song. Paul Young has already offered to sing the opening.

Collins: Well I don’t want to play drums. I want to sing the opening.

Geldof: Look Phil, I appreciate your offer, but we—

Collins: DON’T BLOODY TALK DOWN TO ME THE WAY THAT WANKER PETER GABRIEL USED TO. ALL HE WANTED ME TO DO WAS TO SIT BEHIND THOSE BOLLOCKING DRUMS AND LET HIM BE THE ONE TO WEAR THOSE DRESSES AND MAKEUP AND FOX MASKS AND MERMAID COSTUMES AND—

Halford: Bloody hell, I’m liking this aggression! Phil, you’re the dog’s bollocks, mate! Dave Holland’s been talking about leaving the band. Want to come play drums for us?

Collins [brandishing a drumstick at Halford]: I’ll bloody brain you—

Geldof: Gentlemen!!! Can we just get back to the business at hand? Look Phil—drums are very important in this song. We’re starting the song off with this nice African rhythm, and you’re just the guy we need to hold down the beat.

Collins: Right. Sorry.

Geldof: Okay. So Boy, you come in next with this lyric: “And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy!/Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime!”

Boy George: Oh! It’s so gorgeous!

Geldof: Glad you like it. And then Phil, you build up on drums here and then George, you come in with this: “But say a prayer, pray for the other ones, at Christmastime.” And make sure you use your fake singing voice, okay? We don’t want you frightening anyone.

George Michael [continuing in his real, booming voice]: Bu’ tha’s only like a bloody line-and-a-half.

Geldof: But you and Simon are going to overlap here because he’s going to come in with “it’s hard, but when you’re having fun/There’s a world outside your window.”

George Michael: Okay, tha’s fine. Bu’ is there like a public loo nearby where I can go and hang out after I sing tha’ line? I have a feeling I’m going to have to, um, release some energy after I finish singing the line.

Geldof: Uh…alright. Yeah, I think the loo’s just outside the studio.

George Michael [grinning]: Right, mate.

Geldof [giving George Michael a puzzled look]: Right…so then Sting, you’re going to come in to do a little harmony with Simon here with this: “And it’s a world of dreaded fear/Where the only water flowing is a bitter sting of tears.” And then Bono, you join in here too with, “And the Christmas bells that ring there/are the clanging chimes of doom.”

Halford: [Laughing]. Oh, that is fucking wicked!

Geldof: What on earth do you mean by that?

Halford: Well that’s just so dark and evil!

It’s brilliant, man! “Clanging chimes of doom”! [Laughing]. Can you work in a reference to the Grim Reaper or something?

Geldof: That really wasn’t our intent with the lyric—

Bono: Uh Bob, just thinking out loud here. I have an idea.

Geldof: Okay. What is it?

Bono: Right after I sing that thing about the clanging chimes of doom, I’m going to half-yell and half-sing, “WELL TONIGHT THANK GOD IT’S THEM INSTEAD OF YOU!”

LeBon: Don’t you think that’s a bit mean-spirited?

Sting: Yeah, that’s right bloody mean.

Geldof: I’m not sure that I follow you, Bono.

Bono: I think it’ll be brilliant. I’m really good at yell-singing.

Collins [raising his hand]: Bob? Bob? Can I sing Bono’s yell-singing thing? Please? Please please?

Geldof: Just shut it a moment, Phil, will you?

Halford: [Laughing]. You really are a daft lot, aren’t you? Bono’s line isn’t meant to be mean. It’s a sarcastic line! It’s irony! Well, either that or he’s gone completely mental.

Geldof: I hope it’s the former. Anyway, Bono, I’ll think about your…interesting proposal. Okay? So let’s look at the next lyric. Here, we’re going to have everyone singing—well, everyone except you, Phil—this lyric: “And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmastime”—

Halford: Hold on a bloody fucking minute. Are you bloody joking?

Geldof: Oh, good God. What is it now Rob?

Halford: Of course there’s not going to be any bloody snow in Africa this Christmas! It’s AFRICA—you know, the continent that has large swaths of land located on the Equator for fuck’s sake. Of course you’re not going to have any bleeding snow! Not unless you’re talking about Mount Kilimanjaro. Then you might bloody well have snow—

Geldof: THAT’S IT! Rob, you’re either going to shut up or you’re going to leave!

Halford: Leave? That sounds like a brilliant idea! I need a fucking beer anyway. By the way, George, I’m serious about the offer. Your massive pipes added to Priest would take the band to a whole new level. So when you’re done messing about in the loo, ring me up, eh?

3.85 Mugs.



Three Floyds/Mikkeller/de Struise/Surly 15th Anniversary Baller Stout
Mike: 4.2 Mugs | Matt: 3.0 Mugs | Gina: 3.0 Mugs | Jim: 3.85 Mugs | Rod: 3.9 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.59 Mugs

* * * * *

¹Let it be known that Hoosier Beer Geek used this term first

²Duck Sauce featuring Armand Van Helden and A-Track?

I'm not from here: Beer from Outside Indiana

You might question the relevance of writing about beer from outside Indiana on "A Beer Blog for Indiana, from Indianapolis". Nevertheless, we pick up a lot of beer from other states on our travels here and there, and we know that many of our readers do the same. Here are a few things to keep an eye out for if you find yourself in a liquor store outside of Indiana's state lines. The following beers were acquired in St. Louis, Missouri.


If I were to name the brewer who had the firmest grip on my wallet, it would be Danish tryllekunstner Mikkel Bjergsø, whose beers often hit the sweet spot between interesting flavor, attention grabbing (though not particularly impressive) bottle art, and affordability (in that they're expensive but never seem outrageously so).

While is sometimes seems to me that Gina buys unusual beer indiscriminately*; I have to be prodded or convinced. Even though his record is not perfect, Mikkeller has me convinced.

We've drank Mikkeller Black Hole before. It seems like we've drank it quite a bit of it here and there*. As a result, two new varieties of the beer practically jumped off the liquor store shelves and into my cart.

Mikkeller Black Hole: Bourbon Barrel Aged - A "that's gonna be rich" nose jumps out of the glass, with a strong vanilla extract scent taking center stage. The weird thing about this beer is that it moved right past my palate to on first sip, slipsliding through my tastebuds and breaking like a wave on the back of the tongue. The beer is unbelievably smooth - I had to almost swirl it around my mouth to pull the bigger flavors out.

When paired with milano cookies, the dark chocolate elements of the cookie draw the alcohol flavor out. Big and smooth don't often go together, but this beer is exactly that. Tasty in a weird way. Definitely different than the regular version of Black Hole.


Mikkeller Black Hole: Cognac Barrel Aged- This one was definitely different. A bigger nose with sandlewood/cedar elements, and hints of dark fruit. The beer had the same smoothness as its Bourbon aged brother, but bit a little earlier, with notes of cocoa powder and baking chocolate also coming though. A richer, bigger, but not markedly different beer, which might Be surprising considering the difference in liquors.

In any case, another winner from Mikkeller.


*Gina would say that both of these statements are untrue.

KOTBR #118 - The 12 Days of Chrismukkah, Part 2

Merry Christmas, readers! The Knights of the Beer Roundtable's celebration of holiday cheer started in Part 1 of "The 12 Days of Chrismukkah." We continue our celebration here in Part 2. Unfortunately, our host, Burl Ives, has been called away by Rankin/Bass to film a sequel to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (we hear that the working title of this motion picture is "Reindeer Centipede"; sounds like a winner).

But never fear. Burl's more-than-worthy successor, the jovial Jewish singer (and Burl Ives doppelgänger) Theodore Bikel, has joined us. He has just stepped out of Taïm in the West Village, having just polished of a massive plate of falafel for lunch. I see him brushing the falafel crumbs from his beard, and a song is springing to his lips....


On the 7th day of Chrismukkah, the beer geeks gave to me:

He’brew Jewbelation 12 - As the numbers grow higher, the bigger, bolder dark fruit and boozy flavors are coming out more prominently than before. This beer is super-rich, full of roasty, alcohol flavors and has a chewy, raisiny texture. If this beer were a swan (as in 7 swans a swimming), it would be black and it would drown in a pool of syrupy bourbon. So while it is a nice sipping beer now, I think a bit of aging would mellow the heat and unmask the dark fruits more.

Be careful opening that beer. You might shoot your eye out.

Shmaltz Brewing He'Brew Jewbelation 12
Jess: 3.60 Mugs | Rod: 3.60 Mugs | Jason: 4.20 Mugs | Mike: 3.30 Mugs | Gina: 3.80 Mugs | Jim: 4.00 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.75 Mugs

On the 8th day of Chrismukkah, the beer geeks gave to me:

He’brew Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah 13 - The good news about this beer is that despite my last comment about how the flavors and booziness were jumping out of the beer as the numbers grew, this one turned out to be a little more subdued. Don’t get me wrong; 13% is still quite powerful, but Jewbelation 13 seems to be a bit more balanced than the 12. The alcohol gives way to brown sugar, molasses, and raisin flavors. If I had a choice of receiving either 8 maids a-milking or this, I would pick this. Because 8 maids a-milking as a gift, really? Who the hell would give this as a gift? And from someone who is claimed to be your true love? Do they really know you at all?

In case you were wondering--yes, that is a kosher pickle.

Shmaltz Brewing He'Brew Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah 13
Jess: 4.30 Mugs | Rod: 4.00 Mugs | Jason: 4.60 Mugs | Mike: 3.70 Mugs | Gina: 4.00 Mugs | Jim: 4.50 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.18 Mugs


On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing....

Okay, we've spent this whole roundtable focusing on this ubiquitous Christmas song. But have you ever thought about who writes the songs? "White Christmas," for example? Writer: Irving Berlin (born Israel Baline). "The Christmas Song"? Mel Tormé (born Melvin Torma). "Let It Snow"? Sammy Cahn (born Samuel Cohen). "Winter Wonderland"? Felix Bernard (born Felix Bernhardt). "Sleigh Ride"? Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky). "Silver Bells"? Jay Livingston (born Jacob Levinson). "I'll Be Home For Christmas"? Buck Ram (born Samuel Ram).

Are you seeing a connection here? Yeah, I thought so.

And do you know what's so wonderful about all of these Christmas songs written by people who don't celebrate Christmas? They're all classics that give you the warm fuzzies. I like 'em all (and don't tell my wife that; she thinks I hate Christmas music, so I've been fooling her all this time).

Like all this Jewish-written Christmas music, Jewbelation 14 is an instant classic of a beer. With 14 hops, 14 malts, and 14% ABV, Jewbelation 14 is bound to give you the warm fuzzies. While you might think that this beer should be cellared, it's a winner in its youth and worth drinking right now. Indeed, 14 is amazingly drinkable for such a big beer. For me, it tastes like a hybrid of Monumental Jewbelation 10 with its burnt sugar sweetness and the Jewbelation 12 with its Maraschino cherry character. Couple those attributes with a moderately chewy mouthfeel and you have a beer that you may be reluctant to share with your friends. But the holiday season is all about sharing, so spread the good karma and invite your friends to join you in enjoying this beer.


Shmaltz Brewing He'Brew Jewbelation 14
Jess: 4.29 Mugs | Rod: 3.80 Mugs | Jason: 4.25 Mugs | Mike: 4.40 Mugs | Gina: 4.20 Mugs | Jim: 4.25 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.20 Mugs


On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love game to me ten lords a-leaping...

If you're the sort of person who consults Wikipedia regularly, you might already know that the Twelve Days of Christmas song has no satisfactory explanation. Some folks believe that the whole thing is a Catholic plan to teach young Catholics their faith, with each day standing for something - Jesus is a partridge in a pear tree, six geese a-laying are the six days of creation, and ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments. This makes for a nice story, but seems like an ineffective way to teach anything - now instead of just remembering who Jesus is, we have to remember which bird he is, who the other nine guys he's leaping with are, and if he hangs out in trees or lays eggs. Sounds a lot like Easter to me.

If you're the sort of person who doesn't consult Wikipedia, you might know the Twelve Days of Christmas better as an excuse for John Denver to get together with the Muppets.

Some people seem to forget that Jesus was Jewish. This is sort of a reminder.

Regardless of your background, I can tell you that most folks' sources say that there's no real explanation for the Twelve Days of Christmas song. Again, regardless of your background, I think we can all agree that a person who can tell you that your version of the story is wrong without giving you the right version is the worst kind of person. Right now I'm that person.

There's good news here, though - this is a beer review, so we can pretend none of that just happened.

The eighth and final (depending on which way you're drinking) beer in the He'Brew Vertical Jewbelation gift set is near and dear to our hearts because it uses an idea that we often do - it takes seven versions of the beer and combines them: the beer suicide. We do it because we're a bunch of goofballs that generally open too many bottles at a roundtable. He'Brew does it because it's delicious. To take things a step further, Vertical Jewbelation is aged in rye whiskey barrels, bringing out a hint of whiskey to go along with the rich dark fruit flavors that seem to carry throughout the series.

As a result, this is a beer that actually might benefit from some aging. But as far as I can tell, the only way to get one is to buy the entire box set, and if you're like us that means you'll want to drink them all at once. Drinking them separately.. well that makes no sense. Kinda like that 12 Days of Christmas song.

Shmaltz Brewing He'Brew Vertical Jewbelation
Jess: 4.567 Mugs | Rod: 3.90 Mugs | Jason: 4.20 Mugs | Mike: 4.70 Mugs | Gina: 4.40 Mugs | Jim: 4.50 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.38 Mugs


On the eleventh day of Christmas, Jess gave to me, eleven pipers piping. Now this one actually did happen. Eleven pipers arrived at the Larrison household with a bottle of Mikkeller Black Tie. They all told us what an incredible beer this was and how, despite its high price, this honey-infused imperial stout would make for a great Christmas. We cracked open the bottle with much excitement and were greeted with warm notes of tire rubber and charcoal. At this point, we were all suspicious of the pipers. How could this make our Christmas great? We warily sipped the Black Tie and tasted a bit of the honey. Then came the chocolate and cocoa nib flavors. Then came the horrid, charred, bitter, mouth-drying finish. I've scorched the brew kettle while homebrewing in the past, and that's exactly what this beer tasted like. We all agreed that we could not get past this burnt, rubbery sensation. It was only then that we realized that all eleven pipers were smoking crack. Damn you, crack smoking pipers. Damn you.

Sorry Mikkel. We love your beers, just not this one.

Mikkeller Black Tie
Rod: 1.00 Mugs | Jess: 1.20 Mugs | Jason: 0.125 Mugs | Mike: 0.00 Mugs | Gina: 1.50 Mugs | Jim: 2.00 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 0.97 Mugs


On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Okay, you're sick of this by now, aren't you? Well, we're almost done.

As Mike noted above, we occasionally throw together a beer suicide with the leftovers of the beers we've reviewed at a roundtable. And wouldn't you know it, we ended up with a little bit of each Jewbelation left in each bottle. So we poured the leftovers into a single glass to build our own version of Vertical Jewbelation. Our apologies to Shmaltz, but we couldn't resist.



Hoosier Beer Geek's Jewbelation Mash-Up
Jess: 3.70 Mugs | Rod: 3.50 Mugs | Jason: 3.67 Mugs | Mike: 3.50 Mugs | Gina: 3.00 Mugs | Jim: 3.25 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.45 Mugs

In closing, the Knights of the Beer Roundtable would like to wish our readers Happy Holidays! May your time be joyous, and may your glasses be filled with craft beer!

Jason, Jim, Mike, Gina, Rod, Jess, Matt, & Chris

The Hoosier Beer Geek 6 Pack: Mikkel Bjergsø of Mikkeller

The Hoosier Beer Geek 6 Pack is a feature where we run six questions by the folks behind the scenes at breweries to get a little more insight into what they do and like and how they got their start.

If you've been reading HBG for a while, then the following brewer needs no introduction. From our 2008 Beer of the Year, to our Craft Beer Breakfast and our Mikkeller Marathon roundtable review, we've never hidden the fact that we're huge fans of the work of Mikkel Bjergsø. It's with great pleasure we present this 6 pack interview.


1) The first thing we normally ask in these interviews is your name, age, location, and the name of the brewery you work for.

Mikkel Bjergsø, 33, Copenhagen - Denmark, Mikkeller

2) Your story is interesting in that you and your friend Kristian Klarup Keller started as bottling homebrewers, gained a reputation for doing great beer, and then the distributors started calling. Was it that simple? And how did you convince a professional brewery to let them let you use their equipment?

Yep, it's actually that simple. Having homebrewed for three years we started selling small batches of beer from my brother's shop in Copenhagen, Denmark. Suddenly these beers showed up in different parts of the world and got some great reviews on beer sites like Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate. Our small batches started selling out in a matter of hours and we thought it would be fun to get a wider distribution. Instead of following the trend in Denmark and opening our own brewery we contacted a few breweries in Denmark asking them for the possibility of renting their equipment and brewing our beer. We wanted to keep our jobs and did not want to take huge loans, as it often affects the quality of the beer you produce. If you have a 2 million dollar debt it's hard not to compromise to sell more beer. The breweries we contacted thought we were crazy, but we convinced some of them to let us use their equipment.

3) You went from homebrewer to Danish Brewery of the Year pretty much instantly, and were ranked as the 6th best brewery in the world by Ratebeer.com in the course of a year. Where does that come from? To read that--and I'm not looking to embarrass or flatter you--but you'd have to think, "Well this guy must be some sort of genius." At what point did you realize, "Maybe I really have a gift for this?"

To me it's not that hard! I started brewing beer at home as I thought something was missing in Denmark. Ten years ago we started getting a lot of new breweries here, but due to the mentioned big loans, they pretty much all brewed the same boring pale ale, pilsner, weissbier, etc., in order to sell a lot of beer. The Danish public weren't ready for out-of-this-world beer styles. I looked over to the U.S. and found breweries like Three Floyds, Stone, Alesmith, Dogfish Head, Founders, etc., and thought - beers like this are what I want to drink, and if you can't buy it, brew it yourself. I don't think I'm a genius or have a special gift for brewing--maybe I just have good taste in beer :-)


4) Did you start with the the complete joy of homebrewing like everyone else does? What's your brewing background? And when you're coming up with something now, do you still start the recipes as a homebrew?

When I stared homebrewing, I had a couple homebrew books, but I didn't use them for too long. I quickly got more interested in doing things my own way. I am a chemistry teacher at a school in Copenhagen (I still am half-time, since I love teaching and cannot let go if it) so that might have helped with the theoretical part a bit. Besides this I have no background. For the first year or so with Mikkeller, I did homebrew batches to test new recipes, but since I am getting more and more busy, I don't have time for that anymore. When creating new recipes I think about beers within a style that I like and try to take the best part from different beers. I sample a lot of different beers from all over the world to get inspired. I think this is a very important thing if you want to brew good beer. You have to know the best that is out there and try to make it even better :-)

5) In the United States, craft breweries often like to make an "us versus them" argument when talking about large breweries (like Anheuser-Busch and Miller/Coors) and themselves, basically saying that the large breweries are making bad beer, and that the smaller breweries are the "little guy" fighting a major battle. Do you see your brewery in the same sort of position? Are you fighting a "battle for better beer" against the likes of Carlsberg in Denmark?

Not fighting Carlsberg, fighting boring and uninteresting beer. Carslberg is and will always be the number one choice for 95+% people of the Danish population. I think it is sad that so many people don't know what possibilities beer has. I want to show them what hops, malts, and yeast taste like. Not to take customers away form Carlsberg, but to enlighten people in the wonderful work of craft brewing. If people enjoy one IPA for every 100 Carlsbergs, I am happy.

6) A life of traveling the world and brewing beer with the world's greatest brewers seems like a romantic dream for many of us. Is it all good times, or are there headaches (not just from the beer) that come along with that sort of lifestyle?

Traveling and meeting great people and brewers is what makes it all fun. I am in a very fortunate position that I am able to do this. Meeting my brewing idols all over the world, sharing thoughts and ideas with them, is really great. But it is also great being back home teaching and having colleagues and students that you know well and share your everyday life with. Traveling can be very lonely even though you meet a lot of people. I just got a wonderful little daughter which of course has changed things, but I will always be traveling and hopefully brew with the best brewers in the world.

Congrats to our Second Shirt Winner, Thom M.

26 comments were left in our "Leave a Comment, Win a Shirt Contest 2" and after throwing the numbers into our random number generator, we came up with the number 14.

The 14th comment in the contest was left by Thom M., whose top all-time beer was Founders Breakfast Stout. Thom, you now have a few days to contact us at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com in order to expedite the t-shirt mailing process.

Thanks to everyone for playing, and to Cavalier Distributing for the prize donation. Stay tuned, we'll have another contest very shortly.

Random Beer Roundup - I Can't Fight This Feeling Any More Edition

Folks, even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight. You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winters night. And here's your beer news.

Just a reminder - If there's not enough news for you here, you can always check out bear news instead.

Liquor Stores/Better Beer Retailers

From John at Big Red Liquors, Bloomington:

New this week

BELLS Oktoberfest

BLUE MOON Harvest Moon (Pumpkin)

BROOKLYN Octoberfest

BUFFALO BILL Pumpkin Ale

CLIPPER CITY Oktoberfest

DOGFISH HEAD Punkin Brown

FOUNDERS Breakfast Stout (Limited quantity available)

UPLAND Sampler 12pk

UPLAND Oktoberfest

From Courtney at the Hop Shop (3855 E. 96th Street, Indianapolis) comes a nice list of seasonals:

Here is a list of the Oktoberfest Beers that we have in now. More to come soon.

Bells Oktoberfest

Leinenkugels Oktoberfest

Upland Oktoberfest

Breckenridge Autumn

Coney Island Freaktoberfest

Spaten Oktoberfest

Clipper City MärzHon

Paulaner Oktoberfest

Brooklyn Oktoberfest

Weihenstephaner Festbier

This just in from Gabe at Goose the Market (2503 N. Delaware St, Indianapolis):

The Goose has a gaggle of new beers in stock including some great Octoberfest selections.

Left Hand Octoberfest

Scmaltz Coney Island Freaktoberfest

Weihenstephaner Festbier

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale

Atwater Brewing Blocktoberfest

Ayinger Oktoberfest

Brooklyn Octoberfest

Dogfish Head Punkin'

Some other great new additions include:

Founder's Breakfast Stout!

Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale

St. Peter's Cream Stout

Three Floyds Rabbid Rabbit

Wabash Valley Cannonball Porter

Scmaltz Coney Island Sword Swallower

Left Hand Twin Sister Double IPA

DeBlock Satan Belgian Golden Ale

Two Brothers Bitter End Pale

Jever Pilsner

Kirk at Mr. G's Liquor (2209 E. Connor, Noblesville) stops by:

New to our shelves:

Great Divide Titan IPA

Founders Breakfast Stout

Breckenridge Autumn

Shipyard Pumpkin Ale

Restaraunt/Brewery/Brewpub

In not exactly beer news (though they have plenty of great beer), Mike DeWeese at J. Gumbo's drops a line:

Live Crawfish Boil, Saturday Sept. 13th
$15 single serving, $20 all you care to eat
8 PM until they're gone
Price includes Abita Tasting, Cajun Sausage, Corn and Taters
Reservations recommended but not required
Crawfish races at 7:30pm
317-522-2666

Bell's Brewery is on the cutting edge in terms of customer contact and sent out a message on Twitter this morning saying:

Look for our first ever Christmas Ale after Halloween!

Word on the street is that their Christmas Ale will be a Scotch Ale.

Super Random

The latest Mikkeller newsletter (no. 8), Mikkel makes mention of three beers I believe we haven't seen here yet - It's Alight!, Not Just Another Wit, and Simcoe Single Hop IPA. Beernews.org reports that the 2008 releases of Santa’s Little Helper - (our #4 ranked current beer -reviewed KOTBR #46), Not Just Another Wit, and From To (not to be confused with Mikkeller To From - reviewed KOTBR #53) are on there way to the states. If we hear anything about them hitting Indiana shelves, we'll let you know.

Out of St. Louis and the Post-Dispatch comes news that our friends at Schlafly know when to seize an opportunity:

The buyout has rocked St. Louis. Managers of bars around town say they have been peppered with questions from drinkers about which "American" beers are still available.

"We have this unique situation with A-B in St. Louis," Kopman told dozens of bar managers, grocers and restaurateurs at a beer panel at Bottleworks last month. "It probably doesn't go beyond 50 miles. But people are saying, 'I want to drink something else.'"

The folks at Schlafly smell an opportunity: The company's accelerated expansion plans are aimed at capitalizing on the turmoil and angst caused by InBev's ascension.

Fresh Hopping Done Here - The Denver Post with an article about the Great Divide Brewing Co's use of fresh hopping. "It's one of the things we can do in the brewing world that is timely," said Brian Dunn, owner and founder of Great Divide. "It's a unique thing, and our brewers get to stretch their creative muscle."

And when you see this on shelves, let us know - Chicagoist Beer of the Week is Three Floyds Moloko Milk Stout - a beer we should be seeing very limited quantities of in the Indianapolis area. "Moloko isn't your typical Three Floyds hop bomb. Actually, it's the complete opposite. Moloko is far and away the sweetest beer Three Floyds brews." Sounds tasty.

If you're wondering, Moloko is in World Class' Beer Finder,but is showing none available as of Wednesday afternoon. According to World Class' Bob Mack:"The central and lower parts of the state of Indiana do not have it yet, but we are expecting a shipment from Three Floyds late this week. After that, we can start shipping to retailers so you'll probably start seeing it next week (Sept. 12th and beyond)." Hey, that's today!

Lastly, you may remember Chris from our "GABF on the cheap" post a while back. Or maybe you met him at our anniversary party. In any case, he's still got two spots open for the GABF trip - so if you're interested, check out the old post and drop him a line. Further details:

Hey, it's Chris from beer meetup. I learned that you have posting days on Friday, and was wondering if you would post an update for my GABF trip. I have to spots left for the trip. Interested beer geeks could either do the whole package for $395 per person, or just the airfare for $159 RT. The flights are nonstop each way. We leave on Thursday morning Oct 9, and return Sunday night Oct 12.

* * * * *

Interested in having your events, taps, or new beer inventory listed on Hoosier Beer Geek? It won't cost you anything. Want to complain about the abuse of REO Speedwagon lyrics? Fair enough. Drop us a line at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.

KOTBR #46 | '80s Mikkeller Marathon

For Roundtable #46, all six Knights of the Beer Roundtable, along with our beloved founder and Knight Emeritus Chris, convened at Jim and the Lovely Redhead's place to commemorate the decade of Reagan, Gordon Gekko, Boy George, and parachute pants: the 1980s.

Now you know the reason for the totally awesome, gnarly, and bitchin' Michael-Jackson's-head-on-Michael-Jackson's-body banner (thanks to Mike and his unparalleled webpage design skills).

As part of our '80s soiree, we reviewed seven beers from Danish brewer Mikkeller. Our choice of beers to review was arbitrary, as there is absolutely no connection between the 1980s and Denmark's resident craft brewer. Rather, Jim saw a stunning variety of Mikkeller beers for sale on Kahn's well-stocked shelves and, given Mikkeller's high scores on RateBeer, proposed a Mikkeller review. Everyone said yes, so there you go: an instant Danish beer extravaganza.



Here was the lineup, in the order we drank them:

• Draft Bear - an Imperial Pilsner (8% ABV)
• All Others Pale - an American Pale Ale (6%)
• Stateside IPA - an Imperial Pale Ale (7%)
• Jackie Brown - a Brown Ale (6%)
• Santa's Little Helper 2007 - a Belgian Quadrupel (11%)
• Big Worse - a Barleywine (12%)
• Black - an Imperial Stout (17.5%)

Here are our reviews. You might view them as a montage, that wonderful stock device used in many '80s movies (cf. The Karate Kid, Top Gun, Vision Quest, Footloose, Flashdance, etc.).

Jim:

The beers, as seen through the eyes of an '80s college DJ--

Draft Bear. Golden color. Hoppy nose with a weird funk, sort of like sweaty socks. Pine-like IPA flavor. Little malt presence. Hefty and dry all at once. Musical analog: Red Hot Chili Peppers, who liked to don sweat socks in unique ways. 3.25 mugs.

All Others Pale. Coppery orange color. Metallic nose, with a little of the same sweat sock funk that the Draft Bear has. Very dry citrus flavor, with a metallic finish. Too dry and metallic for me. Musical analog: Iron Maiden. I always appreciated their effort, but was never much of a metal fan. 2.95 mugs.

Stateside IPA. Beautiful orange color. Sweet caramel nose without the strong citrus hop presence that I expected. Flavor is extremely dry, citrusy, and metallic, but with a small amount of malty sweetness in the finish. Musical analog: Bad Brains. Like the godfathers of hardcore punk, this beer has a brutal edge, yet manages to be graceful at the same time. 3.60 mugs.

Jackie Brown. Root beer coloring. Big coffee nose. A roasted malt, coffee-like taste with a huge hop bite. I'm not used to brown ales this bitter. Musical analog: The Beastie Boys, circa Paul's Boutique. You put on the headphones expecting more of the same party-boy shtick from before (Licensed to Ill), but you get something different and innovative. 3.30 mugs.

Santa's Little Helper 2007. Dark brown color. Nose reminiscent of bourbon and coffee. Superb dark fruit flavor, with notes of apple, cherry, and bourbon. An exquisite beer, which was well-liked by the group. One of the best beers we've reviewed, in my opinion. Musical analog: The Clash. The Only Band That Mattered was love at first listen for me. This beer was love at first sip. 4.95 mugs.

Big Worse. Amber color. Bourbon-like nose with a hint of caramel. Sweet, whiskey-like taste, but not as boozy as other barleywines I've had before. I'm not fond of the barelywine style, but I certainly like this one. Musical analog: Culture Club and Hall & Oates (tie). This is music that I should dislike, but I don't. 4.10 mugs.

Black. Dirty motor oil coloring. Nose is quite boozy, like coffee-infused rubbing alcohol (thanks to party guest Sarah for the nose description). Also get a little bit of cherry in the nose. Flavor follows with intense sweetness, cherries, and coffee. On first sip, it's quite obnoxious. Way too much alcohol in the taste. But I let it sit for a bit, then sip again. Mmmmm. That's better. Third sip--mmmmmm. Even better. Fourth sip--wow, this is fantastic! Musical analog: Sonic Youth. Cacophonous music that grows on you. Eventually, you can't get enough of it. 4.70 mugs.

Mike:









My apologies to the estate of Keith Haring.

Gina:

Draft Bear - Cloudy and orange with a giant rocky head. This one smelled like dishwater and tasted weird. But also kinda good. Weird Science - "It's weird Chet. It's really weird Chet." 3.15 Mugs

All Others Pale - Metallic, funky nose with a little spice in the taste. Friday the 13th - "More beer? More beer." 3.00 Mugs

Stateside IPA - Translucent orange with no head. A little malt and a little citrus make up this one. Rad - "How about some applause for our rad dude!" 3.25 Mugs

Jackie Brown - Clear, reddish brown with a small tan head. The nose is a very wonderful coffee smell and the taste is surprisingly hoppy. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." 3.45 Mugs

Santa's Little Helper 2007 - Dark brown with a tan light head. Tastes sweet, but not alcoholic, which could lead to some trouble at 11% ABV. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - "EXCELLENT!" 4.50 Mugs

Big Worse Barleywine - A very strong alcohol nose in this brown-orange and slightly cloudy brew. The alcohol is toned down in the taste, but it still has a good, chewy mouthfeel. Top Gun - "Jesus, this guy's good!" 3.55 Mugs

Black - Has the look of the Triple Bock. Uh-oh. It certainly lives up to its name in color. It's very, very hard to drink in the beginning. But after a few sips and it warms a little, the taste goes from extremely alcoholic (can't really hide the 17.5% alcohol) to wonderfully sweet and delicious. I couldn't drink a lot, but I could definitely handle a little nip every once in a while. Breakfast Club - "Wouldn't I be OUTSTANDING in that capacity?" 4.25 Mugs

Jason:

Draft Bear: A cloudy, dark gold beer with a pleasantly light sweet smell, the Draft Bear looks like a draft beer. And with a nice flavor profile that makes me think of an English beer, like a good ESB or maybe an English IPA. At 8%, it has a surprising amount of bite. But of all the beers from Mikkeller, this might be the most approachable of their beers for craft beer newbies, like Norm and Cliff. I would have loved to see Coach or Woody pour one of these at “Cheers” between 1982 and 1993.

By the way, it’s a little known fact that bears actually don’t like bear piss beers, but prefer the hoppier scents and flavors of IPA’s. It makes them think of a pine forest. 3.25 Mugs



All Others Pale: This orangish colored beer has a fresh, piney hop smell and flavor. I originally thought about the show “Taxi”, which ran from 1978 to 1983. You know, little pine tree air fresheners hanging from the rear view mirror. But the more I think about, the more the orangish color makes me think of that Melmacian native “Alf”, which ran from 1986 to 1990. And, I’m sure that Gordan Shumway would spray his furry self down with pine air freshener to cover up the smell of him snacking on…cat. 2.78 Mugs

Stateside IPA: Another nice malt/hop balanced IPA. It doesn’t have the IPA hop kick in the nose like you expect from this style, yet it is not overly malted. It has a nice butterscotchy, caramel something to it. So what would be the television equivalent of two opposites coming together in a nice balance? “Bosum Buddies” (1980-1984)? “Perfect Strangers” (1986-1993)? How about “Diff’rent Strokes” (1978-1986), in which case, I propose renaming this beer “State Pen IPA”.

What’choo talkin’ ‘bout, Jason? 3.33 Mugs

Jackie Brown: This is not your typical brown. It is full of surprises, like a fair amount of bitters. And a strong amount of fresh-roasted coffee in nose and flavor. It’s like being drunk at Starbucks. Or perhaps like Dr. Johnny Fever, whom I imagined was constantly suffering from a hangover while on the air at “WKRP in Cincinnati”, which aired from 1978-1982. That’s why he was always drinking coffee in the studio. Booger. 3.55 Mugs

Santa’s Little Helper: While sampling this, I imagined that I was drinking a Cherry Coke (which made its national debut in 1985) and scotch. It was spicy with whiskey flavors but sweet with cherry and caramel flavors. It is sure to brighten any dysfunctional family holiday gathering. I’m sure that Nicole Bradford wished she had a stash of this syrupy beer hidden in her room from 1987 through 1990. It certainly would have made tolerating her “Two Dads” more bearable year round. What was Judge Margaret Wilbur thinking?!? 4.67 Mugs

Big Worse Barleywine: This is a big frickin’ barley wine. Brown sugary bourbon. It is sweet and alcoholly. It is a knock you on your ass beer. It will show you “Who’s the Boss” (1984-1992).

Yes, I know, it’s lame. Both my joke and the show. 4.12 Mugs

Black: This thick beer has no carbonation, and at 17.5% ABV, it is very alcoholly to the point that it smells sanitary. Perhaps they could use this beer to sanitize their instruments at “St. Elsewhere”. But the appeal of this beer makes me think of the “The Cosby Show”, which ran from 1984 to 1992. Why? Because both are very good, both are popular with the Hoosier Beer Geeks, and…there was some reason why I correlated Black beer with the Cosby Show, but it escaped me.

Oh yeah, if you drink enough, you too will start doing that silly ass Bill Cosby dance. 3.87 Mugs

Matt:

Draft Bear – Though this is billed as a lager, it has a rather persistent bitter hoppy flavor, cloudy appearance, and alcohol taste that I hadn’t expected. It attempted to be a Transformer of my understanding of what a lager is. Instead, it was more of an aberration, an attempt to tread where others have found success. Not an IPA, not really believable as a Lager. I call it the Go-Bot beer. 3.00 mugs

All Others Pale Ale – It smelled to me like the ThunderCats’ lair, by which I mean cat pee, of course. As a minion of Mumm-Ra, this smell is anathema to me. I overcame my initial fear to give it a taste and found hoppy bitterness and a clean finish. All the same, the smell reminded me of Lion-O’s fury in battle, of which I have been the recipient many times. I just couldn’t get past that. 2.80 mugs

Stateside IPA – This was one of my favorites of the evening, or as I like to think of it, Mama’s Family in a glass. The hops this time were both floral and bitter, like the dresses and acerbic humor (respectively) of Thelma Harper. The malt provided a more effective balance on this beer, not unlike the good-natured dopiness of her son Vinton. I even had the good fortune to have a second pour, in which I detected some caramel in the nose. Maybe that could be Vint’s wife, the flirtatious, sweater-off-the-shoulder-wearing Naomi, but this analogy is getting pretty thin, so I think I’ll move on. 3.60 mugs

Jackie Brown – This was another nicely balanced and complex beer. I found no shortage of flavors and aromas to challenge me both mentally and physically. It reminded me of all the times I wished I could be a contestant on Double Dare. It’s the perfect test of one’s academic and athletic mettle, not to mention one’s tolerance for super sloppiness. When I tasted the brown sugary, hoppy, malty, and coffee flavors I felt like I had indeed won a Huffy bicycle and a telescope for pulling an orange flag out of a giant nose and successfully navigating the giant ant farm. 3.50 mugs



Santa’s Little Helper – This had an interesting combination of flavors and, surprisingly given the slate so far, none of them was hops. Cherries, apple cider, and whiskey abound, but there was nary a mote of hops to be found. Generally, I like hops in my beers. This time their absence made me appreciate everything else all the more. You don’t have to see or hear Vern to realize that he’s the perfect foil for Ernest P. Worrell. The fact that he’s invisible and mute allows us to appreciate the physical and character driven comedy of Jim Varney. I should know, I’ve seen every Ernest movie ever made. Betcha didn’t know that Ernest went to Africa or joined the Army…Didja?! 4.30 mugs

Big Worse – I’m not crazy about barleywines, but this one wasn’t programmed to injure me like the most barleywines and the military drones at NOVA Robotics are. This was the Johnny 5 of barleywines. Like all of Johnny’s terrifying hardware such as a laser and ridiculous robot strength, this barleywine has the requisite sweetness and alcohol taste. Where Johnny and Big Worse diverge from the norm is in their true strengths: a hoppy nose, self-awareness, caramel, a sense of humor, bourbon, and fear of disassembly. 3.40 mugs

Black – Maybe I was just burnt out, a beer too far if you will. I didn’t write down a whole lot about this one. I recall finishing it somewhat reluctantly, unfortunate given my usual liking for imperial stouts. I think of it the same way I think of Big Top Pee-wee. I loved all of his previous adventures, but this one just didn’t work for me. Pee-wee is a farmer? A medicine-tasting stout? Pee-wee is a scientist too? A stout dominated by sweetness? Pee-wee is engaged? WTF? Maybe I’ll give the beer another shot by itself, but Big Top Pee-wee will stay on the shelf. I’m holding out for Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The Movie. 3.35 mugs

KOTBR final averages:

Draft Bear - 3.20 mugs
All Others Pale - 2.85 mugs
Stateside IPA - 3.70 mugs
Jackie Brown - 3.48 mugs
Santa's Little Helper 2007 - 4.66 mugs
Big Worse - 3.84 mugs
Black - 4.16 mugs