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.
Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout
Two Brothers Brewing Company. A local gem here in Chicago’s west suburbs bringing us favorites like Domain DuPage, Resistance IPA, Bitter End Pale Ale, and a host of others. I enjoyed their Red Eye Coffee Porter, and was excited to drink their North Wind...
Guest Homebrew: Windmill Black IPA
Our friends Justin and Matt recently brewed a batch of Black IPA, which we tasted and have some thoughts about. These guys are known as Windmill Brewing. Yes, they are Dutch. Their Black IPA is called Sie gehen einmal schwarz, dann gehen sie nicht zurück. In other...
Tröegs Troegenator Double Bock
Doppelbock. Is there anything this malt monster can’t do? In my exploration of beer, the style has emerged a serious favorite. Historically, doppelbock, or “double” bock, is merely a stronger form of the bock, which is a dark and malty ale first...
One Year of Beer
It was just over one year ago that Michael and I decided to begin The Perfectly Happy Man. We chatted on the phone, swapped some emails, and because I had been learning how to design and develop in WordPress, it seemed like a good idea to just throw up a website and...
Woodchuck 802 Cider
I can’t say that I know much about draft ciders, but my life has been filled with apples from an early age (applesauce, apple juice, apple cider, apple pie, etc.)…so that’s gotta count for something. And there’s just something about cider that fits with Fall. The...
North Coast Brother Thelonious Belgian-Style Abbey Ale
If I’m completely honest, I would say that Belgian-style ales don’t really get me that excited. Whether they be genuine Trappist ales from Chimay or Rochefort, or simply “Belgian-style” homages like the North Coast one I’m reviewing...
Woodchuck Limited Release Fall Cider
Taylor: Not too long ago some of the PHM guys and I went to a fall beer tasting at Binny’s Beverage Depot in St. Charles, Illinois … it was a great time, and we tasted some really good Marzens and Pumpkin Ales (the best of which was Wild Onion Pumpkin...
Beer Technology Spotlight: KeyKeg
If you’ve been around beer, you’ve seen a beer keg. They are the heavy, clunky metal dispensers that many of us have come to love. But here at The Perfectly Happy Man, we’re also interested in new technologies, products, and practices that are...
Lost Coast Downtown Brown
When you hear the term “brown ale” today, it could mean a few different things. Brown ales are most widely brewed in England, Belgium, and North America, and range from mild, low-ABV to more hoppy, higher-ABV. Lost Coast Brewery’s Downtown Brown is...
Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold
Great Lakes Brewing Company is solely responsible for my love of malty beer. I don’t know about the rest of you, but in my opinion Great Lakes gets its malts right: fresh, true-to-style, and absolutely consistent. Their Eliot Ness Vienna Lager is one of my...
Goose Island Green Line Pale Ale
Craft beer enthusiasts that come through Chicago visit Goose Island Beer Company: it’s a fact of nature. Goose Island is the most widely known Chicago-based craft brewer hands down. They make really good beer. Recently, my bride and I stopped by the original...
Otter Creek Copper Ale
One of the remaining bottles left in my fridge from a recent batch of beers from Vermont is Otter Creek’s flagship Copper Ale. This is an altbier, or old (style) beer. I think it is the first altbier I have tasted. Decent looking bottle with a so-so label....
Rock Art Vermonster Barley Wine
This is the beer that introduced me to Rock Art Brewery and in many ways put the small Vermont operation on the larger craft beer map. You see, Rock Art received a cease and desist letter from the legal cronies of Monster Energy Drink, who were at the time planning a...
Nøgne Ø Saison
I finally made it to reviewing a beer from Nøgne Ø, Norway’s most recognizable brewery this side of the Atlantic. To start out, I’d like to make sure we all know how to pronounce the name. “Nøgne Ø” is pronounced “nirg nir,” with...
Rock Art Whitetail Golden Ale
Only the second beer from Rock Art Brewery that I have tried, Whitetail is a nice crisp ale that has great balance. After enjoying the Ridge Runner Barley Wine I was looking forward to something a little different from Rock Art and Whitetail fit the bill (it was also...
Long Trail Blackbeary Wheat
People in Vermont love them some Long Trail. The Bridgewater Corners, VT brewery makes a host of different beers, and the Blackbeary Wheat is one of their four year-round offerings. The labels are a little childish for my taste, but it’s what’s inside the...
Rock Art Ridge Runner Barley Wine
Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville, Vermont is one of the classic American craft breweries that you don’t hear too much about. Founder and Brewmaster Matt Nadeau looks and sounds like just the kind of guy you want behind your beer: humble and down to earth with a...
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the number one selling craft beer in the United States (total sales at almost $50.5 million, just ahead of Sam Adams Seasonal). It is the most widely distributed and culturally recognized Pale Ale, therefore acting as a quasi poster child for...
Odell 90 Shilling Ale
On the docket is Odell Brewing Company’s flagship, the 90 Shilling Ale named for a Scottish method of taxation under which only the highest quality beers were taxed 90 shillings. The 90 Shilling Ale is a nuanced Scottish Ale, toned down in weight without the...
Leinenkugel’s Red Lager
I’ll admit that thus far, the Vienna Lager is in my Top 2 as far as styles go. Well, let me rephrase that. The Eliot Ness Vienna Lager brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company is in my top two, and in my humble opinion is the best representation of the style...
Dieu du Ciel Aphrodite Cocoa & Vanilla Stout
The mighty Aphrodite: a mythical queen of beauty. Tantalizing, fabled, seductive, ill-tempered, vain. It is for her that Canadian brewers Dieu du Ciel named their incredible cocoa and vanilla bean stout, Aphrodite (named Aphrodisiaque in Canada). Here is a stout...
Sand Creek Ulrich’s Authentic Doppelbock
Sand Creek Brewing Company is a locally praised operation out of Black River Falls, Wisconsin. They distribute only in the Midwest, to Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa. I was lucky enough to have a friend who went through there grab me some of their...