Beer reviews and blog posts by Michael Larson
Michael co-founded The Beerly in 2009 with Taylor Birkey. He stumbled on to the idea of the blog after his move to Chicagoland. As he settled in to his new life, he realized he greatly missed the camaraderie of his brew-sipping buddies from the north. He wished to know what his friends all across the nation were sampling and thus, this site was born. He is currently in financial planning. Some of his current favorites are Hoppin' Frog's Pumpkin Ale, Southern Tier's Creme Brulee, and Bosteels amazing Tripel Karmeliet.
by Michael Larson | American Amber / Red Lager, Lion Brewery Inc., Mug, Pennsylvania, Pilsner Glass, Pint Glass, United States |
I had a crazy week. I drove over 22 hours in a period of four days. I went to a baby shower and a funeral. I was in 5 states. I went from the 3rd largest city in the U.S. to a quaint little town of 1200. All that to say, it was eventful. Pocono Lager…was not. It...
by Michael Larson | Dry Stout, Fruit Beers, Mug, New Glarus Brewing Company, Pint Glass, United States, Wisconsin |
Pouring into my Guinness glass, I was obviously expecting a stouty stout. Visually, this unique brew disappointed, the head evaporated like a weak lager and held none of the weight that I so enjoy in my glass of black goodness. As far as color goes? Also a bit...
by Michael Larson | Carolina Beer Company, Irish Red Ale, Mug, Pennsylvania, Pint Glass, United States |
Will I have a Guinness this week? Of course. But there are (shockingly) other Irish brews worth a sip or two as well. One, brewed this side of the pond, is the Cottonwood Irish Style Red Ale. Talk about an identity crisis, this one was brewed by Carolina Beer Company...
by Michael Larson | Allagash Brewing Company, Goblet, Maine, Snifter, Tripel, United States |
I’m on a journey. One to find the world’s best Tripels and while I thought this was a legitimate stop along the way, it turns out I actually grabbed the wrong one. Oops, guess I’ll just have to drink it anyway. I anticipate this type of beer eagerly. While I’m most...
by Michael Larson | American Pale Ale (APA), Lion Brewery Inc., Mug, Pennsylvania, Pint Glass, United States |
This brew was a beaut. It poured a musty orange, and was more intriguing than others of a similar look. A huge, booming sticky head hung from the top of the glass and gave a perfectly coordinated off-white hat to the orange body of the beer. My main areas of...
by Michael Larson | American Strong Ale, Bell's Brewery, Michigan, Mug, Pint Glass, Snifter |
As I’ve noted before, the world of beer intrigues me. Not just the breweries, the beers, the styles and the brew pubs, but the people, the beer-friends that you make on your journey through brewdom. Well, yet again, I was pleasantly surprised. My beer store of choice...
by Michael Larson | California, Dry Stout, Mendocino Brewing Company, Mug, Pint Glass, United States |
I met a few guys at the local pub this evening, enjoyed a Two Brothers beer and then salivated over one of my comrades’ Guinness. While the notorious stout didn’t currently grace the shelves of my personal fridge, a brother stout, Medocino’s Black Hawk, did. I also...
by Michael Larson | English Brown Ale, Massachusetts, Mercury Brewing Company, Mug, Pint Glass, United States |
My second experience with Ipswich Ales conjured up images of pilgrims and hearty meals on the discovered eastern shores of America. The ship, in full sail, adorns the bottle and my own hearty meal accompanied this brown ale. Two small meat and cheese sandwiches and a...
by Michael Larson | American Amber / Red Lager, California, Mendocino Brewing Company, Mug, Pilsner Glass, Pint Glass, United States |
Its not often you go somewhere with no direction. You just turn the key on your car, put it into drive and see where the blacktop takes you. Today, in the quiet of Door County’s tree-line drives, we did just that. It was freeing, to find your way by bumping along the...
by Michael Larson | English Bitter (ESB) / Pale Ale, Massachusetts, Mercury Brewing Company, Mug, Pint Glass, United States |
I’m in the middle of an unfortunate situation. I have just 45 minutes before I must go to a meeting and I have two options. Drink or review. Disappointingly, I decided that gulping down a fine craft beer in a few minutes and then hanging out with a bunch of people...
by Michael Larson | Belgium, Goblet, Snifter, St. Bernardus Brewery, Tripel |
Its a bachelor weekend for me. Week, actually, as my flip-flop clad wife galavants around California and I sit inside on this sunny, but Chicago-in-January-is-cold-no-matter-how-sunny kind of day. After poking about in the freezer for a minute or two and finding my...
by Michael Larson | Breckenridge Brewery, Colorado, Mug, Pint Glass, Porter, United States |
Drinking a beer is all about perspective. A few of my friends got together and enjoyed a few pints last night and, of course, talked beer. One of the brews in my fridge came up in conversation, the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. I had tried it, twice actually, and was...
by Michael Larson | Belgium, Dubbel, Goblet, St. Bernardus Brewery |
I stare at the round little man. He’s laughing. Again. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice… St. Bernardus, with its pesky little carbonation problem, has struck again. This time in the form of Prior 8. I knew the chance of explosion was again present, as...
by Michael Larson | American Wheat Ale, Colorado, Mug, New Belgium Brewing Inc., Pint Glass, United States, Weizen Glass |
As soon as I had drained the last drop of Fat Tire from my glass, I felt I would continue the thus far positive New Belgium experience and helped myself to a cold bottle of Sunshine Wheat. The label speaks to days of old, when stacks of wheat were threshed and bound...
by Michael Larson | American Amber / Red Ale, Colorado, Mug, New Belgium Brewing Inc., Pilsner Glass, Pint Glass, United States |
At one point, its name was synonymous with craft beer. It wasn’t unavailable in the Midwest for a while and therefore was that much more craved, pined over. Now, however, Fat Tire Amber Ale has made its way these thousand miles to grace every liquor store shelf...
by Michael Larson | Colorado, Left Hand Brewing Company, Milk / Sweet / Cream Stout, Mug, Pint Glass, United States |
It was Thursday night and my wife and I had decided to brave the slushy elements and check out a new pub in town, Geneva Ale House. We were torn between the beer joint or a piping cup of coffee to warm us on this snowy evening, but settled at last on the brew joint. I...
by Michael Larson | American IPA, Magic Hat Brewing Company, Mug, Pint Glass, United States, Vermont |
The best gifts you can give are those that are free. Unless it’s beer, then the best gifts cost you something, roughly the price of the beer. A friend and fellow Perfectly Happy Man gifted me with several brews this holiday season, by leaving a mishmash of...
by Michael Larson | England, Mug, Oatmeal Stout, Pint Glass, Samuel Smith's Brewery |
Surrounded by the chattering voices of some of my closest friends, the New Year’s Eve night was off to a great start. After a few snacks and drinks at our home, we decided to brave the chill of the Chicago night and head over for a nice hot meal. Our reservation for...
by Michael Larson | Hoppin' Frog Brewery, Ohio, Pint Glass, United States, Winter Ale / Warmer |
As the holiday season began to wind down, I still had a single remaining Christmas ale in the fridge. Eager to end the year on a high note, I broke it out with a couple of fellow Perfectly Happy Men on New Year’s Eve. I had previously sampled Hoppin’...
by Michael Larson | Adjunct Lager, Pilsner Glass, Pint Glass, United States, Wisconsin |
Ok, ok, I guess I can appreciate the “snobby” beers that you all drink. Your Belgians and crafts tasting of ‘hints of citrus’ and ‘hop heavy’ and ‘like licking a chocolate-covered caramel dipped in mocha and infused with hints...
by Michael Larson | Oregon, Pint Glass, Rogue Ales, United States, Winter Ale / Warmer |
Michael: Through the panes of snow-peppered glass and by the fading light of day, I can still just see the eighteen predicted inches of snow accumulating outside my parent’s Minnesota home. The landscape has twisted itself from a sloppy, grey mess to a bleached...
by Michael Larson | Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Canada, Goblet, Snifter, Tulip, Unibroue, Wine Glass |
As Unibroue has produced some beer that has very much agreed with my palate, I was excited to give this Strong Red Ale a try. “The Damned” poured an amber, outlined by a fading bronze around the edges. The puff of a head diminished to a few pillowy pockets floating on...
by Michael Larson | Minnesota, Pint Glass, Russian Imperial Stout, Snifter, Surly Brewing Company, United States |
There is a Darkness in the world of beer. It clings to the dusty bottles, hidden in the back rooms and basements of the nation. It lingers around liquor stores, stirring up urges to sample edgy varieties, to venture into wild, uncharted lands. And it binds, it brings...
by Michael Larson | American Brown Ale, Goose Island Beer Company, Illinois, Mug, Pint Glass, United States |
Its 1991, I’m eight years old and my family and I are gathered around the Christmas tree in the basement of our split level home. The fire is crackling in the fireplace, the remnants of gifts so carefully wrapped, lay strewn about and the smell of Swedish tea...
by Michael Larson | American Wheat Ale, Indiana, Mug, Pint Glass, Three Floyds Brewing Company, United States, Weizen Glass |
As my beer life goes, I was reared on wheats. I loved them from the start because they seemed ‘different.’ And compared to Rolling Rock, the complexity in a Blue Moon was like comparing Einstein to Rocky! Since I’ve budded a bit in my tasting, my desire for wheats has...