The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast

Ep 168 - Scotch Ale And Barleywine Tasting With Big Surprises

7.5% turns into 13.8% faster than you think when we line up Scotch ale and barleywine on the same table. We’re back in the studio with Jim and special backup drinker Toby, because this tasting is stacked with higher ABV bottles and cans, plus a few surprises we did not see coming. We start in Scotch ale territory with 3 Floyds Robert the Bruce, then take a sharp left with Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo, a pour that reads tart and oaky enough to spark a full debate about “Christmas pudding” notes and what the label promises versus what your palate actually gets. Central Waters brings us back to earth with a bourbon barrel Scotch ale that’s rich, smooth, and balanced, showing how barrel-aged beer can elevate malt-forward styles beyond stout. Then we jump into barleywine, including the notorious Sierra Nevada Bigfoot at 90 IBUs, where we dig into why bitterness can linger so differently and why IBUs aren’t as consistent as people assume. The night turns around with Northern Rivals, a Fair State Co-op and Central Waters collaboration that hits figs, caramel, and bourbon in a way that finally makes barleywine feel approachable. And yes, we crown a winner: 3 Floyds Pillar of Beasts, a bourbon barrel-aged salted caramel barleywine that drinks dangerously smooth and lands as an instant “beer of the year” contender for us. Subscribe for more craft beer reviews, share this with your drinking buddy who thinks barleywine is impossible to like, and leave a rating or review so more beer nerds can find the show. What’s your favorite Scotch ale or barleywine to hunt down next? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2132215/fan_mail/new] Thank you for listening to The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. If you have a question, comment or would like us to review your beer, please feel free to contact us at northwoodsbeerguy@gmail.com.  You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, X (Twitter), Instagram and Tik Tok. If you are on Untappd, look up NorthwoodsBeerGuy and send a friend request. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can click on our RSS feed as well.

Ep 167 - Seven Drinks In The Pines With Ratings

Seven drinks, two guests, and a quiet Northwoods backdrop that makes every pour feel like it’s happening around a campfire. We’re joined by my brother Brian (our resident “mad scientist” brewer) and Larry as we work through a mixed flight that’s intentionally all over the map, then rate each one on our 0 to 5 scale. We start with Surly Brewing Rocket Surgery Hazy Ale and get into what “hazy” even signals when the hop bite is almost nonexistent and the first note reads floral. From there we crack a wild fruited sour from 7 Hills Brewing Purple Rain and use it as a springboard for a bigger craft beer conversation: why so many modern sour ales taste sweeter than the jaw tightening sours people remember, how souring time changes the final beer, and whether the word “sour” has started to mean something different on today’s labels. The middle of the tasting brings B Nektar Zombie Killer hard cider (honey and cherry), then a big step up to Surly And The Devil Makes Three, a triple IPA that proves high ABV doesn’t automatically mean harsh bitterness. We also go full experiment with 608 Brewing Cold Lunch Kid, a peanut butter and grape jelly sour, and talk through the brewing mechanics behind peanut flavors, powders, and why oils matter. Near the end, Surly Damien Child of Darkness sparks one of our favorite tangents: a black ale made from the second runnings of Darkness, and what that says about creativity, process, and reuse in brewing. We close with Angry Minnow McStuckie’s Scotch Ale from Hayward, Wisconsin, compare favorites, and check in on what Brian has fermenting and what he’s planning next (including a dark cherry sour and a spruce tip IPA). If you like beer tasting notes, craft beer style debates, and practical brewing talk that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share the show with a beer friend, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2132215/fan_mail/new] Thank you for listening to The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. If you have a question, comment or would like us to review your beer, please feel free to contact us at northwoodsbeerguy@gmail.com.  You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, X (Twitter), Instagram and Tik Tok. If you are on Untappd, look up NorthwoodsBeerGuy and send a friend request. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can click on our RSS feed as well.

Ep 166 - What Happens When You Taste Without Labels

A blueberry beer that tastes like raspberry. A lager brewed with jalapeno, habanero, and Carolina Reaper that somehow stays drinkable. And a homemade trophy that literally has a breathalyzer attached to it. Mike flies solo to recap our Memorial Day beer tasting up in the Northwoods, where seven of us put our palates to the test with a stricter blind beer taste test designed to keep the voting fair and the surprises intact. We break down the full format: three seasonal tastings (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day), three categories per event, and a points system that rewards consistent picks across rounds. This year’s lineup runs through “something from the garden,” “something you would find at a bake sale,” and wildcard, plus the behind-the-bar changes we made so nobody knows what’s coming until the category is complete. If you like craft beer, home tasting ideas, and honest notes on what flavors actually show up in the glass, this is a play-by-play you can steal for your own beer night. Along the way, we hit highlights like Untitled Art’s Fruit Cup Cocktail, 3 Sheeps Pumpkin Veneration, Goose Island Bourbon County Brickyard Stout, KBS variants, Surly Barrel-Aged Darkness, and Prairie Artisan Ales Bomb, plus the weird reality that the same beer can present totally differently from one pour to the next. We also talk pacing with snack breaks, how category rules get stretched, and what we’ll tweak before the next showdown. Subscribe for more craft beer reviews and tasting recaps, share this with your beer crew, and leave a rating or review so more listeners can find the show. What category should we force everyone to shop for next? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2132215/fan_mail/new] Thank you for listening to The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. If you have a question, comment or would like us to review your beer, please feel free to contact us at northwoodsbeerguy@gmail.com.  You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, X (Twitter), Instagram and Tik Tok. If you are on Untappd, look up NorthwoodsBeerGuy and send a friend request. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can click on our RSS feed as well.

Ep 165 - Memorial Day Ready Craft Beers Rated By Two Friends

Cloudy skies, a long weekend, and a fridge full of “not our usual styles” sets the stage for a Memorial Day ready craft beer tasting that goes from crisp to chaotic. We’re chasing lighter, easy-drinking summer beer that still tastes like something, not just cold fizz, and we put each can to the test with honest ratings and plenty of debate about what we’d actually stock for a day on the deck, the boat, or by the campfire. We start strong with Firestone Walker 805 Blonde Ale, the kind of smooth, clean blonde ale we’d hand to almost anyone, then compare it to Lift Bridge Farm Day Golden Ale and its sharper finish. Along the way we get curious about American Craft Beer Week, learn it began in 2006, and talk about why a simple craft beer tasting with friends is one of the best ways to celebrate independent breweries. Then the flavors swing hard: a nitro Meyer lemon blonde ale that tastes like lemon for days, a honey-forward kolsch that surprises us, and a cranberry orange wheat that somehow hides the wheat character while still delivering fruit. Not every experiment lands. One “sunny” light ale comes off strangely blended, and our bonus non-alcoholic kolsch literally explodes when opened, giving us a real-time lesson in why NA beer is its own category. We wrap with our top picks, what we’d buy again, and how we’re planning our own Memorial Day beer tasting competition. Subscribe for more craft beer reviews, share this with a friend who needs a better cooler lineup, and leave a rating or review so more beer lovers can find the show. What’s your perfect hot-weather beer style? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2132215/fan_mail/new] Thank you for listening to The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. If you have a question, comment or would like us to review your beer, please feel free to contact us at northwoodsbeerguy@gmail.com.  You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, X (Twitter), Instagram and Tik Tok. If you are on Untappd, look up NorthwoodsBeerGuy and send a friend request. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can click on our RSS feed as well.

Ep 164 - Carbliss Malt Cocktails Taste Test

One convenience store stop turned into a full-on summer drink showdown. I’m Mike, and Suzy is back at the mic with me as we crack open four brand-new Carbliss malt beverages in the big 19.2 oz cans and find out whether “zero sugar” can still taste bold, bright, and actually refreshing. We dig into what’s changed for Carbliss, a Wisconsin-based favorite known for zero carb, zero sugar, zero calorie vodka cocktails. These new RTDs are malt beverages instead, with a small bump in carbs and calories, and we talk honestly about what that means for flavor, sweetness, carbonation, and that dreaded “too fizzy, too sweet” burnout. You’ll hear our tasting notes and scores for Cherry Limeade, Kiwi Strawberry, Black Cherry, and Arctic Blue Raspberry, including why black cherry hits a nostalgic soda note and why blue raspberry smells like a snow cone. Then we take a Northwoods detour: updates from our camper community and Callahan Lake Resort, plans for our Memorial Day beer tasting competition, and how a blind tasting format might finally keep everyone honest. We also get into morel mushrooms, including how to clean them, what makes them valuable, and why you should be careful about false morels. One important heads-up for gluten-sensitive listeners: since these are malt beverages, gluten may be a factor compared to some vodka-based canned cocktails. If you like canned cocktails, low sugar summer drinks, and real talk about what’s worth buying for the lake, tailgate, or backyard barbecue, hit play. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find us. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2132215/fan_mail/new] Thank you for listening to The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. If you have a question, comment or would like us to review your beer, please feel free to contact us at northwoodsbeerguy@gmail.com.  You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, X (Twitter), Instagram and Tik Tok. If you are on Untappd, look up NorthwoodsBeerGuy and send a friend request. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can click on our RSS feed as well.