Moody Tongue Bourbon Barrel Aged 12 Layer Cake Imperial Stout

The last year and a half has kept me mostly away from the places i love to go, but on occasion, i'll get masked up, grab a seat outside somewhere, and enjoy a kind of imitation of the old times.  Last week, i made it out to a local bottle shop and popped a tasty brew to close out the evening to.  From Chicago's Moody Tongue, a restaurant and brewer of provocative beverages, i downed their Bourbon Barrel Aged 12 Layer Cake Imperial Stout, probably the best decision i made that day.  The 13.9% brew pours a dark black with a minimal tan head and smells of chocolate, bourbon, and oak.  The flavor is heavy on said chocolate, bourbon, and oak, along with some notes of graham cracker and caramel, a veritable desert in a bottle.  A fantastic brew, and a new brewer, for me at least, to try and get to know better.

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Goose Island Festivity Ale

It's Christmas time, so let's all drink some Christmas ales.  Festivity Ale from Chicago's Goose Island Brewery is a nice place to start.  A 7.7% brown ale doused with not-your-regular holiday spices, the beer pours a dark brown with frosty, off-white head and smells of malts, molasses, and hints of dark fruit.  The flavor is sweet, but not overly so, the caramel and dark fruit flavors meshing well with just a hint of bitterness on the back end.  Tasty.

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Argus Ironhorse

In my beer exploits and adventures over the last couple of years, i will occasionally come across a brew that looks and tastes the way i imagined beer was supposed to when i was a kid.  I just looks right.  It just tastes right.  And thus, we have the Argus Ironhorse from Argus Brewery in Chicago.  The beer is a California Common style brew, coppery in color with a light head and aromas of rye and spice, and maybe some sweet hints here and there.  The bready rye taste is probably most evident when drinking this beer, though there are enough subtle spices and some light hoppy bitterness to balance the whole thing out.  The Ironhorse feels like it's of the earth, like it's something we were meant to be drinking all along in the halls and ballrooms of our communities.  Have one with a friend.

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Honker's Ale

The folks over at Chicago's Goose Island Brewing Co. have just recently moved their craft beverages into the Austin area, and after trying their Honker's Ale, i approve.  The beer is an English bitter that pours a golden caramel and gives off aromas and flavors of said caramel, some nuttiness, hints of citrus, and a light hop that finishes pretty dry.  It's a refreshing beer and easy to drink, and while it's not going to shock and awe you, it will definitely serve you in a pinch.

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