Town & Country Liquors on 1218 W Villard Street in Dickinson (701-483-9463) along with Jerome Distributing & Braun Distributing sponsor a beer tasting and evaluation by providing a six-pack of a different beer each month for the club to sample and evaluate.

February 2011 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers February Beer Evaluation – Cowboy Coffee Porter (printable version)

Beer of the Month from Town & Country Liquors was Cowboy Coffee Porter from Big Sky Brewing, Missoula, MT. This beer was smooth, slightly sweet & roasty with a subtle tart coffee finish. A little light on body, but a nice marriage of coffee with the Porter style of beer.

January 2011 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers February Beer Evaluation – Leffe Blonde (printable version)

Beer of the Month from Town & Country Liquors was Leffe Blonde; a golden, spicy classic Belgian ale. The ale had clove, banana and black pepper notes in an earthy, slightly sweet malt base with a dry, slightly hoppy finish.

December 2010 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers December Beer Evaluation – 3 Lick Spiker Ale (printable version)

Beer of the Month from Town & Country Liquors was 3-Lick Spiker Ale brewed by Cold Spring Brewing Co. of Cold Spring, MN. The beer was dark-colored, with caramel, molasses, oak, vanilla, bourbon, roast and alcohol flavors, full-bodied, with a good hop background and finish. A nice, complex, winter-warmer ale.

November 2010 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers November Beer Evaluation – Shiners Holiday Cheer (printable version)

Beer of the Month from Town and Country Liquors was Shiner Holiday Cheer from Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. The beer is fruity (peaches are used in this beer) and slightly sweet up front with a good malt base and a dry roasted pecan/hop finish. A very complex and flavorful beer but a little thin in mouthfeel for a holiday ale.

October 2010 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers October 2010 Beer Evaluation – Samual Adams Octoberfest (printable version)

Beer of the Month was Samuel Adams Oktoberfest.  This beer was an Americanized version of the style and lacked the malty, bready, bisquity body of a true European Oktoberfest.  The beer was a bit light in malt and rather hoppy for the style, but otherwise a very clean and drinkable beer.

June 2010 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers June 2010 Beer Evaluation – Schell’s Maifest (printable version)

Beer of the Month was a Schell Maifest from Town & Country Liquors. This beer was a very nice golden color with excellent clarity. Malty and subtle hops on the nose with a good balance of hops and bready malt on the palate. Very slight fruity flavor and maybe not quite as malty as one would expect from a Maibock style beer.

January 2010 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers Januay 2010 Beer Evaluation – Finnegans Irish Amber Ale (printable version)

Beer of the Month was Finnegans Irish Amber Ale brewed by Summit Brewing Co of St. Paul, MN.  This ale tastes very similar to an amber lager with good malt up front, hops in the middle with a smooth nutty malt finish.

November 2010 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers November 2009 Beer Evaluation – Summit Kölsch (printable version)

Beer of the month from Town & Country Liquors was Summit Kolsch.  This beer was light golden in color, slightly hoppy and dry with a lingering biscuit and hop finish.

October 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers October 2009 Beer Evaluation – Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout (printable version)

The stout had good roasty, biscuity aroma and flavor. It was very smooth with chocolate, coffee and fruit flavors in a good malt background. The beer was not as full or “chewy” as expected and was perhaps a little thin for the style.

September 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers September 2009 Beer Evaluation – Summit Horizon Red Ale (printable version)

This red ale is not like a typical Irish red ale in that it is much hoppier; similar to an IPA than an Irish Red. The Summit Red Ale had a deep copper color and crisp malt flavor with assertive hop bitterness and hop finish.

August 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers August 2009 Beer Evaluation – Boulevard Single Wide IPA (printable version)

Boulevard Single Wide IPA is an excellent example of the IPA style with a very complex hop profile balanced with good malt finish. The beer had a nice deep copper color and very good foamy head.

June 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers June 2009 Beer Evaluation – Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale (printable version)

Honey Moon Seasonal from Blue Moon Brewing Co is a light wheat ale with a subtle orange-zest and honey flavors. The beer was slightly sweet and very similar to Blue Moon less the coriander flavors.

May 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers May 2009 Beer Evaluation – Grolsch Amber Ale (printable version)

Nice deep copper color. Very malty nose. Flavor is slightly sweet, very smooth and malty. Hop bitterness is slightly less than malt sweetness with a mild noble hop flavor immediately following the malt. A very slight hop aroma in with the malt aroma. Overall a very nice amber ale that we would recommend.

April 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers April 2009 Beer Evaluation – Breckenridge Small Batch 471 IPA (printable version)

Breckenridge 471 Double IPA has an abundance of hops on the nose and palate. Malt was very faint and maybe a little more subtle for a traditional IPA. Finish is somewhat bitter from the amount of hops at 70 IBU’s. Nice hazy amber and orange color with a thick head and good retention, lacing nicely down the sides of the glass.

March 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers March 2009 Beer Evaluation – Michelob Irish Red (printable version)

The Irish Red had an excellent color for the style and was malty, crisp, with a good hop flavor profile and dry caramel malt finish.  A nice beer that fit the style well.

February 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers February 2009 Beer Evaluation – Leinenkugel’s 1888 Bock (printable version)

Beer of the Month from Town & Country Liquors was Leinenkugels 1888 Bock.  The Bock had a deep brown color, malty aroma, somewhat malty flavor profile with a caramel finish and enough hop bitterness to leave some sweetness in the finish.  Not as malty as traditional German Bock beer.  1888 Bock would be a good introductory beer for those who have not yet tried a dark beer.

January 2009 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers January 2009 Beer Evaluation – Dundee Oktoberfest (printable version)

Dundee Oktoberfest has a light amber color and very pronounced caramel flavor. It is both sweeter and lacking in the biscuity / bready flavors of a traditional Oktoberfest, but is clean and smooth with a malty finish.

December 2008 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers December Beer Evaluation – Fireside Nut Brown (printable version)

Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown lager.  Fireside is a deep amber colored lager with prominent maple sweetness, hazelnut and chocolate flavors and a clean crisp finish.  Fireside is likely the most flavorful beer available of the many varieties brewed by Leinenkugel’s.

November 2008 – Beer Evaluation

Heart River Homebrewers November Beer Evaluation – Summit Maibock (printable version)

The boys at Summit have done it again and brewed a winner that is true to style. The Maibock had a deep golden color, malty aroma, very malty flavor profile with just enough hop bitterness to balance the sweetness and a soft noble hop finish.

September/October 2008 – Beer Evaluation

October 2008 Beer Evaluation (printable evaluation)

Firebrick Vienna-style lager brewed by the August Schell Brewery of New Ulm, MN.  Very good malt aroma and flavor typical of Vienna malt with a deep copper color.  The malt is balanced by the subtle flavors of noble hops, most likely Hallertauer and Tettnanger, with a light noble hop finish.  Firebrick is a very nice example of a Vienna-style lager made in the USA.

August 2008 – Beer Evaluation

July2008

Samuel Adams Longshot Grape Pale Ale and Longshot Weizenbock. The Grape Pale Ale was interesting, with a slightly sweet green grape finish, but not as hoppy as a typical Pale Ale. The Weizenbock was very good and smooth and very true to style with dark color and a slightly spicy, licorice finish.

July 2008 – Beer Evaluation

McEwansale

McEwan’s Scotch Ale brewed by Scottish Courage Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland.Evaluation of this beer found it to be sweet with a very strong malt aroma described as “a baked biscuit covered in malt syrup”. The flavor was described as “drinking chocolate cake” with a distinct chocolate component presumably from Munich or Vienna malt. At 8%, alcohol was also a part of the flavor profile, primarily at the finish. The beer had excellent head retention which formed Brussels lace on the side of the glass and was deep brown in color. This beer would be an excellent after dinner or dessert drink.

June 2008 – Beer Evaluation

Rogue Mocha Porter

Rogue Mocha PorterFlavor was complex with sweetness up front, good hop flavor in the middle, with a slightly dry cocoa/coffee finish. A very late hop flavor, but not as hoppy or dry as a Stout. Nice head formation and retention.

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