It has happened to the best of us. You crack open a bottle of beer and drink it, only to find you’ve hit your threshold. What to you do with your remainder?

I recommend keeping a swing-top bottle handy for such an occasion. The earlier you realize you’ve hit the wall the better. More volume in the bottle means the longer the beer will survive in the bottle.

The beer you transfer won’t last forever, but it will survive for a few days or oven a few weeks. The bottle you transfer to needs to be clean.

Scratch that. It needs to be super clean and disinfected.

I had a beer in a bottle I thought was clean. In about a day it was gone to the ravages of bacteria and shoggoth and whatnot. YMMV.

Another quick hit of a post.

There’s no head on this, even on the pour. The color is a dirty yellow. There’s just a hint of a Belgian/German taste to it.

Not bad, overall. 3 our of 5 stars.

Quick notes. We’ll see if I refine this into a nice format or not.

It is a Pilsner. A bit of head on the pour that dissipates quickly. Bright yellow in color. Taste is rich but light. 4.7% ABV.

A six pack comes in one of those new can holders, which is neat. Also neet is that more and more breweries are issuing their suds in cans. This is an outstanding move I wholly endorse.

I was in Western Michigan for work last week so I stopped in to New Holland Brewing several times. I’m a mug club member there now, so that helps draw me in.

Tuesday’s are growler specials – $6 per mainstay beer if you bring in your own growler. It’s a great deal, and one I take advantage of. I will note that if they are busy or if your waitress is prone to making mistakes, you should review your growlers before you leave. I asked for The Poet and Sundog. I got Poet and Full Circle.

Now Full Circle isn’t a bad beer. You can check out reviews here. But I have to be in a mood for it.

I’m not in the mood for it.

Anyway, the other nice deal there is beer stein night. Bring in a stein and they’ll fill it up for $4 each time.

Abita Brewdog

I picked this up on a whim. I knew I would soon find myself in the warm embrace of Michigan brews, so I looked beyond my state’s boarders.

Abita Turbogod’s … er, Turbodog’s pour is dark and rich, almost like a porter or stout. It certainly has a dark coloration. I spilled a bit when I sneezed as you can see in front of the bottle. I am happy I had a second bottle in the refrigerator.

The aroma is wheat with some caramel.

Tongue feel is smooth and light.

Taste is overall … good. For the pour’s darkness and aroma’s wheatiness, it is undoubtedly an ale. It is not a wheat beer.

I would like to say that I “discovered” this on my recent trip to northern California. If you would like to believe that, I will not dissuade you of it.

It is North Coast Brewing Co.’s Red Seal Ale. I picked it at my local source because I was trying not to grab Michigan brews.

The color is a filtered amber.

The head dicipated quickly with lacing and some light head on the top.

The aroma is mild: not very hoppy, not very grainy.

The tongue feel is light.

3.5% ABV beer has good flavor. Light and smooth in taste, it is dark brown in color.

Some head, some lacing on the sides.

Not bad for the first beer after 5 hours in the sun.

father’s day finds me roaming the rails here in Chicago. Today I am here at Revolution Brewing with the sounds of the CTA in the background watching World Cup.

I ordered the pork belly. Wholy Bovine! That was a damn fine sandwich. You can probably hear my arteries slamming shut from whereever you are.

The Mad Cow stout is milky, very smooth. Almost no hints of chocolate or smokiness. Swishing it around in my mouth I can almost taste the alcohol.

The stout is almost black. There is some light lacing but little head. It has an ABV of 7.5%.

All in all a good brew.

The Coup de Grace is their saison. It is a wheat, no doubt. And it is sweet, surprisingly so. 8.5% ABV. Is smells citruicy. The color is a golden yellow with little head or lacing, but it is a taster. It’s the one on the right, btw.

The Best Coast IPA is a 7.2% ABV. Light yellow with a good head and lacing on the glass, you can smell the hops and a bit of fruit or flowers. It’s clear, not cloudy. A good amount of hops and fruit great your tongue right off. It’s more mild than a lot of IPAs. JK probably would give it a pass, but it works well for me.

From the menu:

This Mexican lager is introduced each year at Cinco de Mayo and is slightly dark but not overly bitter with burnt and roasted malt characteristics that stouts or porters tend to depend on. Instead, hops are used for a good portion of the bitterness. Very refreshing and soul lifting but one with depth and color and taste. Goes well with Pinatas and Nachos.

It is a bitter beer. There is a small head with lacing on the glass. The color is very dark, porter like in it’s inky brown darkness. You cam smell the roasted notes. 5.5 ABV. Served with lime wedges on the rim.

Comes in a clear glass bottle. Color is light. Taste is somewhat bland. Aroma is fairly standard for a mass produced beer. Mouth feel is thin and a bit watery.

There is a clean, white head on the poor. The head is light and doesn’t last. A few bubbles cling to the glass but disappear quickly.

All in all, it’s not bad beer. It’s just not that interesting.