Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and non-review posts here at The Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…
Stout season is officially here! A couple of beers on this month’s edition of the Tap Takeover Six Pack are seasonally appropriate in that regard and one, a porter, fits the mold too. I made two visits to Kane Brewing this month and a visit to Icarus, so those breweries made up much of what I enjoyed in October 2021 even if only one from each appears. Four beers from New Jersey, on from New York and one from Germany. Let’s get on with it, shall we?
La Di Da Di: Banana, Peanut Butter & Vanilla (Twin Elephant Brewery) | Porter – Imperial / Double | 4.5 Bottle Caps on untappd
Twin Elephant gets a lot of love for their IPAs (and rightfully so), but their dark beers have been my jam since they launched five years ago. This one is a perfectly balanced dessert beer. The peanut butter is great and blends with the vanilla and banana very nicely. Too may beers with peanut butter in them use powder or the peanut butter tastes like a stale Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. Not this beer, oh no. This is delicious.
Das Beste (Icarus Brewing Company) | Kölsch | 4.50 Bottle Caps on untappd
This is the first Kölsch / Kölsch style ale from Icarus and boy howdy is it delicious. I enjoy a good Kölsch and this is one of the better ones I’ve ever had. Very glad to see a style like this come out of a brewery largely known for IPAs and boozy stouts. But I shouldn’t have been surprised in the least about the quality of the beer because for my tastes, Icarus simply doesn’t make bad beers. That may be relatively clear since they make more appearances here, in both the Monthly Six Packs, and the Tap Takeover in general, than any other brewery.
Premium Verum / German Pilsener (Warsteiner) | Pilsner – German | 3.75 Bottle Caps on untappd
Sometimes a good, classic German Pilsner hits the spot. That’s exactly what this beer did for me. It is always nice to get the beer in not just Proper Glassware, but glassware with the brewery’s logo on it made specifically for the specific beer. Maybe that helped with the enjoyment a little bit, but the beer itself is tasty enough. Regardless, this was good, but nothing mind blowing.
Brux Royale Belgian Chocolate Stout (Ross Brewing Company) | Stout – Imperial / Double | 4 Bottle Caps on untappd
Ross Brewing has come out pretty strongly this year, producing interesting looking beers. This decadent stout is just the second beer I’ve had from them and it is an impressively crafted, boozy stout. Roasted malt and bittersweet chocolate are the signature flavors here.
Cinnamon Babka (Grimm Artisanal Ales) | Stout – Imperial / Double Milk | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd
I’ve enjoyed some of Grimm’s lighter offerings so I wanted to sample this big, boozy (12%) Dessert Stout. When added appropriately, cinnamon is a nice adjunct and that’s the case with this beer. Hints of cinnamon and cocoa make for a delicious evening sipper. I was a little worried when I had the first sip of the beer, but once it warmed up a little bit, I was able to thoroughly enjoy this beer.
Grisaille | Blend N°1 (Field & Oak) | Saison – Grisette | 4.5 Bottle Caps on untappd
Under the Field & Oak brand, Kane Brewing has been in the process of making some Belgian inspired beers on the lighter side – Saisons, Grisettes, Lambics. Beers that have funk and some kind of fruit. This Grisette was the first one of those beers I sampled and I could have enjoyed an unending glass of this beer all day. The oak aging lends a hint of vanilla. Slightly funky, effervescent, and delicious.
That’s all I have to say about that.
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