Been Awhile.....

since I last posted. 2 weeks, 1200miles, two moves and a plethora of new beers to be exact.  Wow where do I start?

The transition to a new life up here in MN has been alittle nerve racking (cough, cough, finding a house sucks, cough).  Factor into the equation that I now get to experience actual "Traffic"  (we all now how much road rage I had in IA), and Man I need a Beer!

For the last few weeks, that's exactly what I've been doing, sampling the local brews, boy have I found some good ones.  Granted I do miss my homebrews and not paying retail price for beers ($$$ OUCH!), there are some damn good beers up here.  Here are a few really good ones I've had and recommend (in no particular order):

1.  Lagunitas a brewery based out of Petaluma, CA, is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries.  It started awhile back on a trip to San Fran where I had their IPA (which I also found on tap in Las Vegas, Good Job Magnet!!).  Up here though I found the jackpot of Lagunita's and to be honest I haven't had one I dislike.  Below is a quick list/description/rating of those I've had:

• Hop Stoopid Ale - one of my favs from Lagunitas, very hoppy and smooth and well priced ($5 for a 22oz. bottle)  High IBU's and good aroma.  Rating: 8/10.
• Cappuccino Stout - Seasonal brew (December) and a Great stout with subtle coffee tones to it. exceptionally smooth and as usual fairly priced.  Rating: 7/10
• Wilco Tango Foxtrot (WTF!) - Another seasonal (decent Imperial brown (not a huge brown ale guy), very rich and malty with surprising chocolate notes to it, no Imperial alcohol taste (though only 7.8%).  Rating: 6/10.
• Little Sumpin Extra - Yet another seasonal (September), good hop character to it and mildly wheaty to the tongue.  (Man does Lagunitas love to use hops or what?).  Again, nice price for a 22oz. bottle.  To me would be a nice summer beer, but what do I know?  Rating: 7/10.

2. Bell's Hopslam!  WOW, what can you say about this beer?  Found a sixer of it at MGM liquor and man was it well worth the  the $9.99 price tag.  Crazy alcohol content (10%, but you won't notice it till the next day)  for a a beer that is a few shades darker than Miller light and Crazy, I mean CRAZY Hoppiness both in taste and aroma.  This beer over took Bells Two Hearted as my favorite Bells Beer, in fact it blew it out of the water.  Rating: 9.5/10.

3.  Surly Brewing Company, so far soooo Good.  Got to love a local brewery that puts their Craft beer in 16oz. cans ( these beers would make Cousin Eddie classy).

• Furious - Crazy hoppy, almost spicy hoppy at times.  Rating: 7/10 
• Bender - Decent brown ale, nice dark color to with a nice roasty taste to it.  Rating: 6/10 
• Coffee Bender - Makes regular Bender look like a bitch.  Infused with cold extracted coffee this beer makes a great road coke (wink, wink).  Rating: 7/10 
• Cynical ale- not bad for a light Belgian style ale in a can (definitely a first).  But nothing I would really buy on a regular basis (have yet to really fall in love with the Belgians, I'm a Hop Guy!). Rating: 5/10

Beers compliments of MGM liquor, Eden Prairie liquors and The Four Firkins.

More to come, Stick around.