On my way up north this weekend I stopped at Spirits of Nisswa — possibly the last good liquor store if you're heading up north&mdash and picked up a mix-pack of New Belgium and a growler(!) of Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

The New Belgium mix-pack had 1554, Fat Tire, Mothership Wit, and Mighty Arrow. I discovered that I don't really care for Fat Tire, which I've had many times before but never been so disappointed by, and Mighty Arrow was a standard pale. There's not much those can do from what I can tell.

I enjoyed the subtlety of the 1554, which didn't destroy my taste buds with its coffee taste, and I ended up really liking the Mothership Wit, albeit not quite as much as I like Springboard.

Do not attempt to finish a growler alone on an empty stomach. I probably won't be able to have Dead Guy for a while now.

Labels: 1554, American Amber Ale, APA, Belgian Dark Ale, Dead Guy Ale, Fat Tire, Growler, Maibock, Mighty Arrow, Mothership Wit, New Belgium Brewing, Rogue Ales Brewery, Spirits of Nisswa, Witbier

I usually try to have a special beer on Lost night: this week Ben brought over some New Glarus, and I had the Hop Hearty IPA.

Verdict: meh, ho-hum IPA. I'm not sure my assessment can be trusted though, because for some reason I drank this beer straight from the bottle instead of using a glass.

You could also read that last sentence as: for some reason I think that pouring beer into a glass makes it way better, rather than just slightly better. It makes it classier though. New beers do taste better if there's some solemnity to the initial sip.

I also had Rogue Dead Guy Ale, which is probably my favorite Rogue beer and possibly one of my favorite beers.

Labels: American IPA, Dead Guy Ale, Hop Hearty, Lost beers, Maibock, New Glarus Brewing, Rogue Ales Brewery