For the last four years my family has gotten together and had our own little beer festival. Each person brings  six pack of beer, any beer they wish, and we rate the beers. The winner is determined by rating the beer on appearance, aroma, taste, and drinkability. The winner is awarded a nice little medal and bragging rights about winning the greatest beer competition ever. Anyway, here are this years results, going from worst to first with my comments about each beer added.

10. Indiana Pale Ale- usually you can’t go wrong with a Pale Ale. Citrus and hops dominate the flavor. However, for this beer something went really wrong. Aroma of bleu cheese, no hop character at all. Surprised it was even bottled. Terrible beer.

9. Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout- I think I might be the only one in my family who really liked this beer. Great chocolate flavor at the end, I think the high alcohol threw everyone off of this one. I would be more than happy to enjoy it again.
8. Steven’s Point Brewery Whole Hog Barley Wine Style Ale- Not a bad beer at all. The hard alcohol flavor was a nice warming feeling and the beer was smooth. I gave this beer a decent rating, just didn’t stack up with some of the other entries.
7. Potosi Brewing Company: Good Ole Potosi- I would put the Chocolate Stout and the Whole Hog way ahead of this one. I think it was decent, but the other two were much better to me. With Potosi expanding its distribution I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of their other beers at the family beerfest next year.

6. Millstream Brewing: Heferweizen- a good Hefeweizen beer with the banana, bubble gum, and clove flavor sticking out. Very smooth with a nice frothy head. This was Millstream’s third showing in iabeerbaron family beerfest; their John’s Generation finished second, and Iowa Pale Ale finished 4th.

5. Ale Asylum Hopalicious- my entry into the beerfest this year finishing with a respectable 5th place, (although I will go to my grave believing this should have been the damn winner). Nice hoppy flavor, citrusy and smooth. The beerbaron has yet to win but I stand by my choice. Might not be the last showing for Ale Asylum as the iabeerbaron sure loves their Bedlam! beer.
4. Goose Island Sophie- very tasty beer finishing in the top 4. Smooth and malty flavor. The beerbaron’s family is a big fan of Goose Island products so you can expect more to show up in a future festival.

3. Well’s Banana Bread- a very strong showing and a beer that really had a chance to win it. I think it scored high in every category except for drinkability. A love having one glass of banana bread beer but more than that would be pushing it.
2. Samuel Adams Winter Lager- The second Sam Adams entry as their Chocolate Bock finished second two years ago. A very nice winter ale with the perfect amount of spices and hops added to it. Finished in my top 4 and second overall. Nice showing!

1. Grays Oatmeal Stout- the iabeerbaron’s Family beerfest winner for 2010 is Grays Oatmeal Stout. The first stout to take home the prize. This beer was brought by the iabeerbaron’s lovely wife who has outshown the baron the last two years, although, the baron has taught her everything she knows about picking out a good beer:) A very nice oatmeal stout and very smooth. Was the hands down winner!

A great evening with some great beers and one really shitty one (thanks Tyler). Can’t wait for next year, what beer shall I bring?

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It is the time of year for stout beers and another one of my favorites comes from Goose Island.  (www.gooseisland.com) Goose Island Oatmeal stout is a very smooth, creamy, and drinkable stout. Flavor of oats, chocolate, and coffee stick out in this beer. Another thing that makes it great is that it is very affordable.  This brewery keeps sending out great beers. Their Honker’s Ale, IPA, Matilda, Mild Winter, and Nut Brown are all very good and easy drinking beers. If you haven’t tried any Goose Island yet, make that your New Years Resolution.

 REVIEW
POUR: Dark black pour with a huge tan head.
AROMA: Smell of oats, chocolate, and coffee.
TASTE: Very smooth, flavor like the smell; oats, chocolate and coffee.
OVERALL: B

EASTERN IOWA RESIDENTS: I’ve seen this beer in many places. My local grocery store carries it occassionally and I know Johns and Hy-Vee have it.

The beer that transformed me into a hophead was Ale Asylum’s Hopalicious (www.aleasylum.com). I am a huge fan of Ale Asylum beers and if you are ever in the Madison area you must check out the brewpub. Very good food, a tour (I missed out on that part of it) and lots of great beer. I love their Bedlam! beer and Hopalicious ranks right up there with Bedlam. This considered a pale ale, but I would say a little more hoppy than most regular pales. This is a must try for pale ale fans and hop heads alike, unfortunately Ale Asylum only distributes (right now anyway) in Wisconsin. The great thing about being in Eastern Iowa is having Wisconsin right next to us so we can go up and drink all their great beer. 
 REVIEW
POUR: Amber color pour with a nice thick white head.
AROMA: Hops stick out with that great citrus smell.
TASTE: Great citrus/hop flavor that has bitterness but is very smooth at the end.
OVERALL: A-

EASTERN IOWA RESIDENTS: I’ve only seen this in Wisconsin. Hopefully they will make their way a little closer to us. Anyone wanna take a trip up north for some brew let me know!

Moving on from the stouts and onto some India Pale Ales. I have become somewhat of a hophead this last year and after visiting Family Beer and Liquor (www.familybeer.com) and talking with their beer expert he recommend Ithat I give Green Flash’s West Coast IPA (www.greenflashbrew.com) a try. I had never heard of this beer and was looking forward to trying it. Right when you crack the bottle the nose comes out and just slaps you in the face. Great hop aroma with the citrus characteristic really sticking out. The flavor was better with a sweet and smooth finish. This is the type of IPA you just want to stick your face in and go to town. It has 95 IBU so it has the resemblance of an Imperial IPA, also 7.7% ABV, it can knock you on your ass pretty quick.
 REVIEW
POUR: Copper color pour with a nice white head.
AROMA: The hops are the star here, dominating hop aroma.
TASTE: Overwhelming hop flavor, but fantastically refreshing and sweet and smooth finish.
OVERALL: A

EASTERN IOWA RESIDENTS: I’ve only seen this at Family Beer and Liquor. If you’ve seen it elsewhere, please let me know!

Good beer can come in a can. Oskar Blues (www.oskarblues.com) Dales’ Pale Ale is one of the best pale ales I’ve had in a long time. This beer is brewed with 4 different kinds of hops and does have 6.5% ABV which seems like quite a bit for a pale ale. The alcohol does not dominate the flavor of this beer though as the hops shine through. No longer do we have to worry about drinking shitty canned beer while grilling, tailgating, at the beach, Oskar Blues (and now many more craft beers) have come canned to save the day. The one bad thing……….not available in Iowa yet:( However, they are working their way over, and they are available in Wisconsin. Not to far away. If you see this great brew available in Iowa, let me know.
Enjoyed this on tap at the Sports Column in Denver, CO. Fantastic on tap as well.

REVIEW
POUR: Copper colored pour with nice sizeable head.
AROMA: Smell of hops, citrus, and a faint hint of malts.
TASTE: Awesome hoppy flavor with a hint of caramel at the end.
OVERALL: A-

EASTERN IOWA RESIDENTS: Not available yet, but it won’t be long before you see this on shelves at your liquor store or Hy-Vee.

A brewery that seems to continue to do things right is Rogue Brewery out of Oregon (www.rogue.com).  I’m a fan of their hazelnut brown beer so I thought a chocolate stout would be superb. Usually, you can’t go wrong with stouts in general and when you add chocolate and oats to the mix it always has a chance of being great. I’ve had it out of the bottle, but recently found out they had this on tap at Reds’ Alehouse in North Liberty, IA and got to try it on tap. This beer is a winner all-around. A must try out of the bottle and it tastes even better out of a tap.
REVIEW
POUR: Dark chocolate pour with a brown head.
AROMA: Chocolate, oats, coffee, and caramel.
TASTE: Nice chocolate flavor with oats, and a little hop bitterness at the end. OVERALL: A-

EASTERN IOWA RESIDENTS: Select Hy-Vees carry it, and so does John’s Grocery at times. Recently found it on tap at Reds’ Alehouse in North Liberty, which is must try if you are in that location. If you’ve tried it, let me know what you think!