Goose Island Sofie – Sofie is a Saison/Farmhouse Ale from Goose Island. After I had this beer I just remember saying that it was a beautiful beer. Very nice on the palatte, terrific taste and aroma, and a joy to drink. Easily one of the finest Saisons I had so far.

Sofie pours a hazy golden color with a huge fluffy white head. Nice carbonation throughout. Just a good looking pour. The smell is fantastic. Yeasty, funky, spicy, and fruity. Taste is fantastic and refreshing. A good amount of funk from the wild yeasts. White pepper and other spices. Round that out with citrus and lemon. The mouthfeel is slightly sour and tart and has a nice dry feeling to it. Between light and medium bodied Overall just a joy to drink and would easily order more of this stuff.

Found: Archer Liquors, Chicago, IL (Mail Order)
Price: 8 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.gooseisland.com
What the company says: Fermented with wild yeasts and aged in wine barrels with orange peel, Sofie is a tart, dry, sparkling ale. A subtle, spicy white pepper note, a hint of citrus from the orange peel and a creamy vanilla finish make Sofie an intriguing choice for Champagne drinkers and beer drinkers who are fond of Belgian Saisons.
ABV%: 6.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Other beers to try within the same style: The Lost Abbey Carnevale Ale, Victory V-Saison
Rating: A

Rock Art Vermonster – So this is the beer that turned the beer world upside down for the past couple of months. If you didn’t hear, Rock Art Brewery came out on top over Monster Energy Drink. Congrats Rock Art! It’s really good to see the little company win over the big company. I honestly thought the whole thing was silly. It just so happened that the whole time this was happening I had a Vermonster sitting in my fridge!

Vermonster is labeled as a barleywine but I see a lot of reviews that state this is more of a Imperial IPA. I can definitely see this if you had this beer at it’s freshest point. There are a good amount of hops in this beer but when I had it, it had a more malty aroma and flavor. More on that in a little bit. It pours a dark ruby red color. A great sized fluffy head pours. Great retention. It would of stuck around for ages if I let it. Good lacing throughout. The smell is full of rich caramel malt. In the background sits the citrus hops. I could defintely see the hops being more up front when this beer was younger. Still a decent aroma. The taste is more of the same. Malt is stronger then the hops. Mixed in there is a bitter hops taste. I think one of the great things about this beer is actually it’s mouthfeel. It’s really thick and creamy. Just coats the mouth. This beer sits at 10% abv. But it’s really drinkable. You sometimes get a little bit of an alcohol taste but not enough to ruin the good taste.

Definitely a decent Barleywine. I’m glad Rock Art fought and won the war.

Found: My buddy Jeff
Price: No Idea
Website: http://www.rockartbrewery.com/
What the company says: We brewed THE VERMONSTER with 110 pounds of malt per barrel and jacked up the pour into a wide mouth thin glass goblet. For an amazing pairing get some Smoked Gouda from Taylor Farm Cheese and a friend!
ABV%: 10.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Rock Art Double Smoked Porter
Other beers to try within the same style: Lagunita Olde Gnarlywine, Stone Old Guardian
Rating: B+