All about Matthew
Matthew isn't a member of any clubs.
Matthew has logged 921 beers a total of 1162 times.
Matthew's favorite beer so far seems to be New Glarus Serendipity Happy Accident Fruit Ale: 100 (logged 2 times)
Matthew's most often logged beer so far is Two Brothers Atom Smasher Oktoberfest Lager: 73 (logged 10 times)
Matthew's favorite type of beer seems to be Wild Ale.
Matthew's Log
There is so much going on here. It's like a racecar in my mouth. Not everything in a racecar tastes good. The cherry cough syrup is out of control. Man. The non barrel aged is so much more on point.
But at least it's not used coffee grounds in bad beer.
Draft at Miskatonic Craft Kitchen, Naperville
Stolen from Jet. It's like someone took burnt motel coffee, watered it down, and added it to a mediocre Marzen.
Smells like you took some used coffee grounds and put them in a lot of water.
Draft at Miskatonic Craft Kitchen, Naperville
Wonderful sweet cherry dark chocolate smell. Syrupy stouty chocolate cherry taste. My only hesitation is that I suspect this will give me a headache if I drank too much. (Otherwise I'd rank it higher. )
Draft at Miskatonic Craft Kitchen, Naperville
Sweet and caramel, actually a lot like a Marzen.
Draft at Miskatonic Craft Kitchen, Naperville
Sour yet a bit sweet. Puckering but effervescent. It's good.
Draft at Miskatonic Craft Kitchen, Naperville
This is good. It's like sweet version of a Czech Pile.
Draft at Miskatonic Craft Kitchen, Naperville
Dark wheat and some sweet. They say banana and chocolate, and that's not too far off. It doesn't quite get all the way to banana, but it is close. After a few sips, it does start to feel a little watery like a European dark, but still pretty decent. High end of decent, close to solid.
It's a little like a combination of a Marzen and a red ale. Some of the Marzen flavor with a bit of the harsh bitterness of a red. I'm torn between Hmmm and Decent.
It's kind of weak. A little bitter, maybe some fruit. There's really nothing there.
Draft at Legends Grill & Bar, Woodridge
Bitter. Certainly an IPA. Good thickness (which I note because I just had a thin POS), but it really doesn't have a lot of flavor (I like the juicy IPAs). It's fine I guess.
Draft at Legends Grill & Bar, Woodridge
Bitter, citrus, but it's rather thin. I guess it's adequate, but it's certainly not good.
Draft at Legends Grill & Bar, Woodridge
Not bad. Slightly sweet, slightly sour, effervescent. For some reason it doesn't quite taste like an honest sour.
Draft at Legends Grill & Bar, Woodridge
It's kinda weird, to be honest. It's a slightly caramel-y lager.
Draft at Old Town Pour House, Naperville
Dark for a pale. Some hints of caramel. It's almost like a mixture of a pair and an amber.
Draft at Buffalo Wild Wings, Marion
Really seems more like just a pale than an IPA. But it's nice.
Draft at Buffalo Wild Wings, Marion
This is sour, almost puckering, but also good.
Draft at Noon Whistle Brewing, Lombard
It's like old cherry hard candy. Not a fan.
Draft at Noon Whistle Brewing, Lombard
Not bad. Bright with some bitter lemon taste. Perhaps a little too much like a shandy though.
Draft at Noon Whistle Brewing, Lombard
It was fine. Nothing really stands out
Dry, a little hint of rye. It's not bad, but doesn't stand out overly.
It's Saisony. I dunno. Don't know that I'm happy to have a full growler of it.
Slightly bitter, slightly spicy. I dunno.
Growler at Home
My honesty first work was "meh". It tastes flat and floral, even though I can see tons of bubbles rising continuously. It's just not very good. Like fake raspberry combined with fake blueberry.
And it's not getting better as I drink more.
Can at Home
Fresh fruit and effervescent. Bit of a hop backbone. This is decent, not the best of the type (that being hazy IPA)
Draft at Anthem Ale House, Naperville
Not very good. Just a bit bitter or something, that catches at the back of my throat. Otherwise flavorless and weak.
Draft at Anthem Ale House, Naperville
Still mostly bitter, though not hugely. There's some flavor after you acclimate, but it's not worth it.
Draft at Anthem Ale House, Naperville
Bitterly effervescent? It's just like colored bitter soda water. Maybe like tonic water?
This is a solid, juicy-style IPA!
Meh. It's like cranberry, vodka, and soda. It's not really like a beer. It is pretty tart.
This is interesting. Juicy like that sort of IPA, except it's not really very bitter.
Draft at Up North Ale House, Naperville
I thought this was pretty clear. Or is a bit sweet but has the underlying flavor of a good Czech pils.
Draft at Up North Ale House, Naperville
Meh. I guess it's fine.
Maybe it's less flavorful after the Strawberry Rhubarb.
It's just a low flavor hint of apple spritzer.
Bottle at Home
Super tart strawberry. Not really a beer in any sense.
It did make me headachy before I even finished. I don't know if it's because of the "beer" or some other reason.
Bottle at Home
It's kind of like an unfiltered hard apple cider.
It's obviously not very much like a beer.
Bottle at Home
Alcoholic and sweet. I don't feel like it's anything related to a normal spotted cow. It's actually really good, but in a St. Bernardus high alcohol way.
Bottle at Home
Tasty, just a hint of cherry. No toasty, nutty though.
Draft at Warren's Ale House, Wheaton
It's still LIKE a Czech pils, except it's sweet this time. Which is wrong.
It's like a marzen.
Draft at Noon Whistle Brewing, Lombard
Uhhhhhh.
Sweet. And artificial banana flavor. The bad artificial banana from when I was young.
Wow that's terrible.
Draft at Noon Whistle Brewing, Lombard
Sweet and tart and effervescent. Hints of almost banana
Draft at Noon Whistle Brewing, Lombard
This is certainly a Czech pils. Cold and clear.
Draft at Miller's Ale House, Aurora
Seems like a good brett. A bit tart and almost spicy, clearly not from any fruit.
I fear I didn't notice much of it
Bottle at Warren's Ale House, Wheaton
Light lagery, slight bitterness, basically what you expect from the type. This is clearly what the old macrobrews came from.
Draft at Warren's Ale House, Wheaton
I feel like I'm the wrong person to be here drinking this.
It's sweet and bourbon-y on a stout.
On second and subsequent sips, I start to get the cherry cough syrup taste.
I expect the usual suspects would like it but not think it's the best of it's kind or anything.
Can at Home
This is a bit much.
Puckeringly sour, like they extracted it from actual cranberries.
It's more like an awesome cranberry drink than a beer.
Can at Home
Dark, tart, reminds me of Quad until the barrel aging kicks in and stabs me at the back of the throat.
Where is the option "I'd drink this beer if it were given to me and I didn't want to offend the giver"?
Can at Home
Hey look, the advent box is back.
This was horribly foamy, overflowed badly.
I'm not sure I'm liking this. I'm getting some perfume flavor, bit I'm also wondering if that's left over from the nasty gingerbread I poured down the sink.
Can at Home
It is gingerbread, but it's somehow floral. And I hate floral. It's like perfume. I really don't know that I'm going to finish this.
Can at Home
Okay, I can actually taste the sweet peppermint in the porter.
I like it!
Can at Home
That's tasty. I presume this is a combination of IPA and kolch or some such.
Can at Home
The peanut butter isn't off-putting in the stout. More like peanuts than peanut butter (which is a good thing). Otherwise it's a thick and heavy stout.
Can
Dry and super bitter. And it does remind me of the old Morton Arboretum juniper beer.
That said, it's not the sort of IPA I like. But it does seem well done?
Can at Home
New Glarus Black Currant (2022)
Wow. That's dark and fruity. It's dark fruit, with an undertone of dryness.
Bottle at Home
Actively sour. Not fruity. I guess I appreciate that, but it's slightly much.
Draft at Old Town Pour House, Naperville
It's good. Dry but flavorful (you know, and bitter)
Can at Home
It's like bitter pumpkin with an aftertaste of pie spices that have give bad. I can drink it. I kind of wish I hadn't pass for it.
(As I drink more, it's a bit like driving bad perfume)
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
It is very sour. The flavor owes more to raspberries than peach I feel.
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
Sweet and dry caramel. It almost worries me, but it's decent.
Can at The Squire Pub, Tusayan
It's a fine, mild, red ale. Nothing to write home about.
Can at The Squire Pub, Tusayan
It's an AMERICAN pilsner, maltlog just doesn't have that option.
It's a sweet pilsner like what would come out of Milwaukee.
It's decent for all that. Cold, sweet, metallic.
Can at The Squire Pub, Tusayan
It's kind of sweet and hop juicy. I guess it's a combination of IPA and kolch, so perhaps that is too be expected.
Draft at Hidden Craft, San Diego
Yeah. It's like it's Miller time.
I mean, I don't hate miller. I wouldn't spend money on it, but it's not awful to drink.
Draft at Whiskey Row Taphouse, Mount Shasta
I'm between a Solid and a Yum. It's just a really good example of a porter.
Draft at Whiskey Row Taphouse, Mount Shasta
Tastes like a pale on the edge of an IPA.
Can at Jet's house
I guess it might be a dopplebock. I think the barrel aging caramel-and-nasty-cherry-medicine flavor (and scent) overwhelms it.
It's also possibly a little skunky.
Crowler at Jet's house
Sweet and syrupy stout. The barrel age is not forward.
Bottle at Jet's house
Bright, just on the edge of dry, IPA. Strong but not overwhelming bitterness.
I think an IPA aficionado would like it even more.
It is sweet, but it is a good porter.
It's decent beer. It's not any better, honestly, nothing to write home about.
It's pretty much a mimosa.
I mean, it's not offensive . . .
It's like an orange creamsicle. Or maybe cream soda.
Mike Lee is correct as he insists it's more tangerine than orange.
Draft at The 522, Woodinville
It's good. A little bit of bitterness, but some juicy hop flavor notes.
On further consideration, I've increased the rating.
Draft at The 522, Woodinville
Like a balsamic reduction after cooking a steak.
And surprisingly, as a hater of bourbon barrel aged, this was really not bad.
Bottle at Roy's place
Very dark, a little thin. Kind of a dry roasted flavor in a very wet drink.
Does taste European. But lighter and more effervescent than I expected.
It's also slightly sour-beery.
Honestly, it just tastes like an anonymous pale ale. It's fine, I suppose . . . but not the cat's meow.
;^)
Can at Some hotel room in Buffalo
So, they literally take six minutes to pour this. It's frankly just a decent drink. You don't drink it to savor notes of this or that. You just drink it.
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
Citrus and Banana, with a backbone of bitter.
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
Strong caramel backbone, More than a bit like the European Darks that are soda-like. However it does have notes of nutty.
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
It's pretty mediocre. But then, what does "limeade" make one think when it comes to beer.
Can at Home
Pretty much what it says. The cherries give it a bit of a barrel aged flavor, bit it's pretty reasonable.
Last beer from the advent box!
Bottle at Home
Pretty tasty. But I had a problem in that it partially froze. So I'm not sure the character here is justified.
It's sort of sweet and surypy and has no carbonation left.
There's a hint of barrel taste.
I wish I had an unadulterated bottle . . .
Bottle at Home
Spicy, fruity, not quite sweet.
The flavor is really striking, it sparks on the tongue.
21st from the advent box
Bottle at Home
It's mostly just a porter.
It seems like a pretty decent one, but there's only a subliminal hint of any peppermint bark.
Actually, I guess I can smell it after hiccupping. So that's weird.
19th from the advent box.
Can at Home
This is actually really tasty. Hop-juice and a bit of sweet.
I think this was the 17th from the advent box.
Which means I'm officially over a month behind.
Where's your alcoholism now!?!
Can at Home
I don't know. There's a little sour, it's not really sweet, but there's also just not much there.
It's like a pineapple Bubly that I guess is alcoholic.
(December 18th from the advent box)
Can at Home
Interesting, sort of spicy with a definite IPA base
Bottle at Home
Wow. It really is peanut butter and banana.
Peanut butter on the nose. Not too awfully sweet, but not dry peanuts.
Banana and peanut butter on the flavor with a little efforvecence.
I think this was December 14th from the advent box.
Clearly I have failed at my alcoholism.
Bottle at Home
Hard bitterness with nothing else.
So much for the 13th. Very belated.
Bottle at Home
This was good. Nothing exciting, just reasonable beer.
Bottle at Home
Standard problem of something good with something bad.
Oh well.
Plus it's six days after the 11th
Can at Home
Wow, this punches one in the face.
Super bitter, a burnt woody flavor, if you can sense past the bitter.
I believe this was day 10 of the advent box. Clearly I've fallen off the wagon.
Bottle at Home
Like I've said before. Caramel, barrel, bit of aged bitterness.
Can at Mom's
On the eighth day of Christmas, I skipped one beer, and had it all the next day.
This might qualify as a pale at this point, but it's still not an IPA.
Can at Home
Meh. Thin fruit mush.
Draft at Empire Burgers & Brew, Naperville
Tasty, but nothing in particular to write home about.
Draft at Empire Burgers & Brew, Naperville
Yeah, pretty much. .
It's rather fruity and sweet, though I can taste the IPA bitterness underneath.
I dunno. Faking it with actual fruit is kind of cheating when it comes to beer. It's not bad or anything, it's just not super exciting.
Bottle at Home
Tastes more barrel aged than I remember.
Okay for day six
Bottle at Home
Bitter, smooth, and a head that won't go away.
Seems like a pretty decent IPA. Nothing particular to state about the flavor profile. Middle of the road on the dry/juicy spectrum. Maybe slightly on the dry side.
Day 4 of the advent box (belated)
Can at Home
Bitter with this odd dry spice flavor that I can't place.
Day three is not the best
Bottle at Home
This was darkly flavorful like a bourbon barrel aged beer, but without the parts that stab at your tongue like the proverbial scorpion.
I was really surprised to like this.
Hooray for the Two Brothers Advent box.
Can at Home
This is interesting.
I can smell the barrel on it, but it's fairly mild on the taste.
It's a hard, slightly bitter sour with no fruit. I.e. a correct sour.
Honestly it had a good, complex flavor profile
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
Sweet, fruity, but not really along the direction of a sour, or even really a beer.
It was nice to drink, but not like a beer.
Draft at Jimmy's Grill, Naperville
Bitter, but pretty tasty.
It dragged after a while, so I reduced it from a solid to decent.
Can at Traverso's, Naperville
Pretty much what it says on the tin. It's like a macrobrew, but it tastes good.
Can at Home
Strong juice and hops. Mild bitterness. It's very tasty though I can only take small sips at a time.
Can at Home
Light, lemony. Barely bitter at all. But at least it's not a shanty.
Draft at Burnt Barrel Social, Yorkville
Bitter, little bit of orange.
Not bad. Clearly an IPA
Draft at Burnt Barrel Social, Yorkville
This was billed as a pilsner on the menu.
My comment at the time: "Tasty. Light. Lemony. Not bitter. I'll admit it doesn't seem like a pils. Light, sweet, tasty. "
Yeah, it's not a pils, it's a Fruit and Field beer.
Not bad as a drink.
Draft at Jackson Avenue Pub, Naperville
Bitter, somewhere between brackish German and clear Czech. Reasonably heavy and bitter.
Reminds me of some Claim Jumper ale, maybe the red (though this was not at all red).
Draft at Lazy Dog Cafe, Naperville
This is actually the best of the Bunch. Clean, effervescent, reasonably tasty.
I'd have this again.
Bottle at Lazy Dog Cafe, Naperville
A bland, timid entry suitable perhaps for patients recovering from surgery.
Draft at Lazy Dog Cafe, Naperville
It is a quad, which I like. But it is also barrel aged, which I don't.
Those who like their barrels would enjoy this. I wish one of those folks were around to give my last can to.
Can at Home
Tasty.
Dry, bitter like dark chocolate. Maybe hints of caramel, but there's no sweetness here.
Draft at Old Town Pour House, Naperville
Harsh, sort of body odor flavored.
I don't really like it
Draft at Old Town Pour House, Naperville
Sweet and kind of fruity. I'm not sure why this is considered an IPA, but I like it.
Can at Home
This tastes skunky, so I don't know if it's a fair review.
It's a fairly clear taste underneath the nastiness at least?
Can at Home
Dry bitter IPA that nevertheless has some of the flavor notes of a juicy IPA.
Can at Home
It's a nice, mild red. Not too bitter or brackish, but not super clear.
Feels like it would appeal to the mass market.
Draft at Lazy Dog Cafe, Naperville
This is nice. Though maybe I was influenced by reading about the pilsner malt. It was clean, both lightly bitter and lightly sweet. I didn't really think it tasted anything like gummy bears, which would have been a bad thing.
Can at Work
It's very bourbon barrel aged.
Hard for me to drink.
But I appreciate my friend for trying. :^)
Bottle at Home
I think this is a good middle of the road stout.
Draft at Miller's Ale House, Aurora
Not bad, but more like one of those European dark soda-like beer than a real beer beer.
I don't expect a stout lover would love it.
Draft at Miller's Ale House, Aurora
More bitter and less flavor than the love of hops. But has a clear refreshing character that reminds me a bit of a good pils, except that there's some sweetness.
Draft at Paisans Pizzaria and Bar
Really tasty. Nice flavor balanced by hops.
Draft at Paisans Pizzaria and Bar
Actually, I'm really liking that. And that's despite it tasting a little skunked (this is not a great restaurant)
It's a nice marzen flavor cut through with a sharp bitterness.
Draft at Miller's Ale House, Aurora
I think this would be way better work food.
OTOH, beer feels necessary anyway.
Goose Island Matilda Belgian Style Ale (unknown release)
Initially, I really liked it. The bottle tagline is "Rustic, Complex, Alluring". I'll give it at least the first two. Complex. Mineraly, pretty interesting.
Bottle at Home
It is indeed Amber.
Actually had a nice hard bitterness as an Amber should.
Bottle at Home
It was pretty good. Not too sweet, somewhat bitter. I don't know, go drink it yourself.
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
This was very good. Balanced with notes of apricot and citrus.
Draft at Draft Picks, Naperville
It's okay. This time was sort of watery orange-flavored with very little of the hefeweizen spices.
Draft at Draft Picks, Naperville
Good. A mild juicy-type ipa. It's pretty good
Can at Front Street Cantina, Naperville
I immediately said "ooh, ow". So that's not a good sign. It's hard and bitter with little in the way of redeeming qualities. I'm guessing the hard core IPA folks would like this.
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
I don't know. It's pretty tart, but I'm not sure if I like it. Weird efforvescence, some wateriness, I don't know man.
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
Light, but kind of tastes fake, like the Raspberry flavor is from a packet. I'm guessing that's not true, but it's how it tastes.
Draft at Two Brothers Tap House, Warrenville
It's like a brunch of Cherry skins have been steeping in some beer. I'm impressed how dark Cherry it tastes.
Honestly this isn't doing it for me. Maybe I don't really like Oktoberfest beers.
Luckily for them, the marginal cost of the next 5 is in fact free . . .
Bottle at Home
Actually tastes a little barrel aged, which makes it interesting. But not too offensive to my taste.
Draft at Warren's Ale House, Wheaton
I think I stand by my last rating.
Draft at Warren's Ale House, Wheaton
Sweet and spiced, honestly I think the beer base might be really good, but I don't really like the perfumed spice on top of it.
Draft at Warren's Ale House, Wheaton
So, this tasted like a very normal marzen that had been skunked. However the server (who notably was terrible at his job) made a sotto voce comment about it being tapped yesterday. So, it's possible it's just a very bad beer.
Draft at Arrowhead Golf Club
This was very tasty, the sour flavor was forward but had a nice base in the IPA bitterness.
Draft at Arrowhead Golf Club
As usual, if you want something stupidly sour, Destihl delivers.
Pickeringly sour, though I've had worse from them.
Can at Home
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