Beer reviews and blog posts by Taylor Birkey
Taylor co-founded The Beerly in 2009. He and his wife and three children live in the west suburbs of Chicago, where Taylor currently works as a creative director, marketing strategist, storyteller/writer in the non-profit sector. He loves community and serves as a pastor at a local church, coaches soccer, works on cars, plays the drums, and dreams of the great outdoors.
Russian River Supplication Ale
On a recent snow day a group of us got together to share some brews. We enjoyed some great food, sampled a fantastic home brew (Ruination clone), and got after some tastings. Everyone brought something to share: my contribution was a bottle of Russian River’s...
Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout
The enjoyment of beer should always start in the drinking of beer. Is that too much of a no brainer? Secondly, one should never form an opinion (or worse, express that opinion) if one has not actually drunk said beer. I’ll confess that every now and again I get...
Chi-Town Pier Pale Ale
I’m from Chicago, and I love my city. It’s a hard working, comedy-loving place with some of the best food and beer in the country. On any given day I get to enjoy awesome beer and food from some great craft establishments: Half Acre, Metropolitan,...
Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial Special Brown Ale
Last night I pulled a bottle out of the cellar … one that I have been looking forward to for some time: Jolly Pumpkin’s Maracaibo Especial (Blend 5, November 2010). This bottle was gifted to me a while back and I was really anticipating it. Maracaibo...
Port Brewing Shark Attack Double Red Ale
Port Brewing Company is located in San Marcos, California, and is also known by its other name, The Lost Abbey. You may have had beers from both names and thought they were different … but they’re the same. Ever since I tasted Grand Teton Brewing...
New Glarus Dancing Man Wheat
For the longest time I have avoided Hefeweizen. Years ago I ordered Hacker-Pschorr every now and then, but when I got into craft beer for real, the heavy and unfiltered banana & clove was just too much for me. It was too thick, sweet and musty of a style for me. I...
Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet Black IPA
Clown Shoes is currently a brand (not a brewery) that is brewed by Mercury Brewing Company in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It is known for its bold and controversial beer labels. Since it’s now distributed in the Chicagoland area, I got my hands on their Black IPA,...
Woodchuck Private Reserve Barrel Select Cider
Sometimes I take a break from reviewing craft beer and take a quick gander into the land of the cider. Without diminishing the excellence of craft beer, I believe that I can vouch for cider as a valid companion to beer. I first became interested in cider on a trip to...
Steinlager Classic
This is a can of Steinlager. It’s brewed in New Zealand by Lion Nathan. When it was born in 1958, it was called Steinecker, but in 1962 the name was changed to Steinlager to distinguish it from the Heineken brand. Which is good, because Heineken isn’t as...
Mission St. IPA
Okay, let’s get this straight. Mission St. IPA is brewed by Steinhaus Brewing Company. And Steinhaus Brewing Company is actually Firestone Walker Brewing Company under a different name. Steinhaus is the name they use for the beer they brew on contract for Trader...
Dogfish Head Sah’tea
Dogfish Head’s Sah’tea, a seasonal spiced ale brewed after the Finnish “sahti”, which features loads of grain and malt, and juniper berries (sometimes instead of hops). Sah’tea is another in the Ancient Ales family: beers brewed in...
Dogfish Head Theobroma
If you know anything about Dogfish Head, you know that founder Sam Calagione isn’t just the most followed and photogenic of American craft brewers. Since founding his hugely popular brewing company in 1995, Sam has also established himself and his brand as...
Bitburger Premium Pils
Now that summer weather has officially hit Chicago (80s/90s and sticky), I’ve found myself quaffing some lighter, crisper beers. Nothing in any way wrong with Double IPAs and Imperial Stouts, but when I get home with nothing to show for myself but a sweaty...
Ale Asylum Madtown Nutbrown
On a recent pilgrimage to Door County, a handful of us stopped to pick up some coveted Ale Asylum beers once we crossed over into Wisconsin. For me, this trip to Discount Liquor in Milwaukee was about two things: Ale Asylum’s Madtown Nutbrown and New Glarus Moon...
Double/Imperial IPA Tasting
Some of the PHM staff got together yesterday evening for a Double/Imperial IPA tasting. We’ve never done a tasting before, and figured it was time to get it done … it was one of the things on our Elusive To Dos list, mostly because all of us have day jobs,...
Walgreen’s Big Flats 1901 Lager
Move over AB InBev and MillerCoors … Walgreen’s is in town with their “50¢” beer, Big Flats 1901. It’s an American Adjunct Lager just like Miller Lite, Bud Lite, and Coors Lite. Except it’s 50 cents per can. And sold exclusively at...
Two Brothers Monarch White Beer
Monarch White is an anniversary seasonal brewed by Two Brothers in one small batch every Spring. It figures among a seasonal lineup of Dog Days Lager (Summer), Heavy Handed IPA (Fall), and Northwind Imperial Stout (Winter). I was given my bottle of Monarch White as a...
Lakefront Bock
I recently grabbed a couple of singles at my local liquor store and two of them happened to be seasonals by Lakefront Brewery. The other night I cracked one of them, their Bock. When it comes to this style, it’s hard not to spend most of your time talking about...
Woodchuck Limited Release Summer Cider
I know! Finally another random cider review! Tell me about it. This time it’s Woodchuck’s Limited Release Summer Cider. This will be my 3rd of 4 reviews of their limited seasonal ciders. So far I would say my favorite is the Limited Release Fall Cider. For...
Lakefront Snake Chaser Irish Style Stout
Lakefront Brewery’s Snake Chaser is an Irish Dry Stout that does a pretty good job aligning itself with the style. It’s brewed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin … less than two hours away from us here in Chicago. I’d say up to this point in my craft beer...
BrewDog 5 A.M. Saint Amber Ale
BrewDog … batty Scottish brewers that boil beer to buck trends in Britain. They have remained true to their approach with this ridiculous Amber Ale, if you could even call it that. It’s more like an Amber Ale that has been nuked by hops. It certainly lives...
Buffalo Bill’s Alimony Ale IPA
I found a single bottle of Buffalo Bill’s Alimony Ale at my local Binny’s and grabbed it, as I had never heard a thing about the brewery or its beers, and it had a catchy label. I was also buying a handful of malty beers at the time so I wanted to have...
Deschutes Hop Trip Pale Ale
Tom and I recently cracked a bottle of Deschutes Brewery’s Bond Street Series Hop Trip, a fresh-hopped American Pale Ale. It comes as per usual in the familiar 650mL bomber, and has a nice label with an illustration of a truck carrying an overflowing load of...