Driftless Drinks

We're back! After 12 cold months, warm months, then cold months again, we're back once again with a couple fun Christmas beers and a ton of fun. Although… we also talk about the heinous skullduggery most foul in the Chippewa Falls region this past year. Join us for a beery gripe-fest with beers and Christmas cheer! Einstock's Icelandic Winter Ale: https://einstokbeer.com/icelandic-winter-ale/ Revolution Brewing's Fistmas: https://revbrew.com/beer/seasonals/fistmas-ale Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! #BreweryTag​, #DriftlessArea​, #CraftBrew, #Einstock, #RevolutionBrewing, #JusticeForChippewa

Christmas beers are a special treat. This year, Mark and John unwrap not one, but two special treats. Deschutes Jubelale and Great Lakes' Cookie Exchange Milk Stout. Be warned. Not everyone can get what they want this year. Deschutes Jubelale: https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/beer/jubelale/ Great Lakes Cookie Exchange Milk Stout: https://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/cookie-exchange-milk-stout  Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! #CraftBeer, #Driftless, #DriftlessDrinks, #GetAfterIt, #GreatLakesBrewingCo, #DeschutesBrewery

This time on DD, we go where we rarely venture – into the seas of the sours. Despite Mark's better judgment, we crack open a Rodenbach Alexander, a special brand of sour. Will Mark still remain peevish/waspish/cantankerous about this style of beer? Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! Rodenback Brewery: https://swinkelsfamilybrewers.com/en/breweries-and-malt-houses/rodenbach.html  #sourbeer, #rodenbach

IPAs are more than just the purview of man-buns and Birkenstock sandals crowd. In fact, they have a long, sorted history of shipwrecks, colonialism, and flippin' the bird to Coors. This week, Mark and John explore India Pale Ales with Bell's Two Hearted. It will be a ride! Bell's Two Hearted IPA: https://bellsbeer.com/project/two-hearted-ale/  Smithsonian Article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-india-pale-ale-got-its-name-180954891/  Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Pilsners and pale ales share a common flavor thread, but their histories are woven from different cloth. This time, Mark and John open Dale's Pale Ale from Oskar Blues Brewery while discussing the sorted history of pilsners. Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! #OskarBluesCANS, #DriftlessArea​, #CraftBrew

Wheat is one of the oldest grains ever brewed, so you'd think people would get it right. Of course, it helps if you know what you're doing when you drink it. (That's foreshadowing there.) In this episode we spin and crack open an Allagash White and dive into amber waves of grain! Allagash White Belgian-Style Wheat Beer Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! #AllagashBrewing, #DriftlessArea​, #CraftBrew

Christmas is upon us, and so are the holiday ales! This episode, we opened two Christmas ales – Great Lakes' Christmas Ale and Anchor Brewing's Christmas ale. It's a short and maybe not so sweet episode. Happy Holidays everyone! Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! Great Lakes Christmas Beer Anchor Steam Christmas Ale #GreatLakesBrewingco​, #AnchorBrewing

Hybrid beers come in all manner of styles: cream ales, altbier, delicious Kolsch. In this episode, Mark and John hoist anchor on a quintessential California Common - Anchor Steam Beer. Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! Anchor Brewing - Anchor Steam Beer #Hybrid Beer, #Steam Beer, #California Common

Dark beer can be friendly beer. This week, Mark and John explore the dark side of lagers, a style with a very old pedigree. Will Indeed Brewing Company's Loretta's Dark Lager live up to that history – or did the boys get in their own way on this one? Indeed Brewing Company Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

It's that toasty, malty time of year, when the beers are rich, deep red, sweet, and frothy. We're talking bocks this time on DD, one of our favorite styles. We dive into Celebrator from Ayinger brewery. Crack one open with us! Ayinger Celebrator: https://www.ayinger.de/cms/index.php/celebrator-266.html Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Taking a walk on the dark side this time on Driftless Drinks. Stouts are a core style of beer throughout British and American history. We pop the top off of Bell's Kalamazoo stout, a rich roasty version of this style. We also dive into the origins of the various stout styles. Grab a frothy one and join us! Bell's Kalamazoo Stout: https://www.bellsbeer.com/beer/year-round/bells-kalamazoo-stout Craft Beer and Brewing w/Lindsey Cornish Stout Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uTBoeoFsO4  Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! #CraftBrew, #DriftlessDrinks, #GetAfterIt, #BellsBrewery

They're dark, delicious, and deeply steeped in brewing history. They're porters! We crack open a classic version with Founders Porter. Then we look at the somewhat questionable history. Have a cold one with us! Founders Porter: https://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/porter/ Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! #CraftBeer, #Driftless, #DriftlessDrinks, #GetAfterIt, #FoundersBrewing

The Belgians love their beer - and we do too! In this episode we take on the pink elephants with Huyghe Brewing's Delirium Tremens. But wait. It's in a can! Could it possibly make a difference? Will Mark relive past Belgian memories, or will his hope be squashed like an inattentive zookeeper? Delirium Tremens: https://www.delirium.be/en/beers/delirium-tremens  Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Specialty beers run from rye to chocolate, from session to smoked. In this episode, we open a couple special season brews - Christmas beer! We sample Einstok's Winter Ale, then turn our attention to Southern Tier's Frosted Sugar Cookie Imperial Ale. What's not to love? Well… we'll tell you. Einstok Icelandic Winter Ale: https://einstokbeer.com/our-brews/icelandic-winter-ale/ Southern Tier Frosted Sugar Cookie Imperial Ale: https://stbcbeer.com/beers/frosted-sugar-cookie/ Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Strong ales can pack a punch, but what are they? Why do strong ales change depending where you got your feet? This week, we look at strong ales while sampling North Coast Brewing's Old Stock Ale. Grab a hefty brew and join us!   North Coast Brewing Old Stock Ale: https://northcoastbrewing.com/beers/year-round-beers/old-stock-ale/   Retronasal Old Fashioned ¼ tsp simple syrup 3 dashes orange bitters 2 dashes black walnut bitters 2oz Bourbon Lemon peel(garnish)   Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add syrup, bitters, and bourbon. Stir well to combine. Add to rocks glass filled with ice. Express lemon peel over drink and drop ‘er in. Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

It's all about style this season. In this, the first episode of Season 3, we dive into brown ales in all their malty-sweet goodness. Samuel Smith's Nut Brown ale is on tap while we discuss the history of brown ales and their effect on the long tradition of brewing the bruins. Grab a Samuel Smiths, or your favorite brown, and join us! Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube! National-ish Brown Ales Ellie's Brown - Avery Brewing Co.; Boulder, CO Moose Drool Brown Ale - Big Sky Brewing Co., Missoula, Montana Maduro Brown Ale - Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale                                              - Rogue Brewing, Newport, OR Brekle's Brown - Anchor Brewing Driftless Brown Ales Downtown Brown - Pearl Street Brewery, La Crosse, WI Dirt - Driftless Brewing Co., Soldier's Grove, WI Fat Squirrel - New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, WI Ominous Double Brown - Bad Weather Brewing, St. Paul, MN Surly Bender (oatmeal brown ale) - Surly Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN

We close Season 2 in a not-quite-throwback with Philosophy & Velocity - West Coast Edition. In the first edition (Episode 204), Ommegang put forth an interesting brew. Now the ball's in Alesmith's court. Will the West Coast do it better, or just brew a bunch of beery parts? Alesmith Brewing: https://alesmith.com/ Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Rice shows up in beers quite a bit, but centering a beer around rice? How's that work? Well, it turns out to be deeply interesting. Mark and John are taken on one wild ride - from rhumba to rock show - this is one intriguing beer! Untitled Art Brewing: https://www.drinkuntitled.com/products/beer/ Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Pastry stouts are dark, rich, sweet, and remind one of… monitor lizards? In this episode, John and Mark crack open Indigo - Giant Monitor from Good City Brewing. Will it stack up? Who will get the waffles? Grab your favorite sweet stout and join us! Good City Brewing's Giant Monitor: https://www.goodcitybrewing.com/beer/indigo-giant-monitor/ Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Black as the devil's soul but hoppy as the Easter Bunny, black IPA's take one for a wild ride. Join us as we crack the top of Stone Brewing's Sublimely Self-Righteous. Hurry before they take this bad boy away again, for the second time. Maybe the third. Stone Brewing's Sublimely Self-Righteous Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Karben4 teamed up with Kwik Trip once again, this time to produce a Peanut Butter Cup Flavored Milk Stout. The collaboration has been hit & miss in the past. Even with the boy's fondness for peanut butter stouts, will this brew be the way? Karben4 Urge Tracker  Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Every year, we look forward to the season's best. One of our favorites is Bell’s Hopslam. But it's never quite the same from year to year. Will this year's offering please stand up? Is the price right, or will the boys press their luck?   Bell’s Hopslam: https://www.bellsbeer.com/beer/specialty/hopslam-ale  Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Take an outstanding tripel. Let it age in bourbon barrels. Then, just before bottling, add in some fresh stuff and see what happens. In this episode of Driftless Drinks, Mark and John pour into such a beer - Allagash Brewing's Curieux. Will it hold up or will la curiosité tue ces chats?   Allagash Brewing Company: https://www.allagash.com/beer/curieux/   Be sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

It's Christmas in Beer Town! Just for you, Mark and John pull a double-header first unwrapping a Christmas Scotch Ale from Bell's Brewery. Then the two reach into their stockings for a Great Lake's Christmas Beer. Ho, ho, hold my beer and keep hold o' your reindeer!Bell's Brewing Company Christmas AleGreat Lakes Brewing Company's Christmas Ale

Breweries collaborate quite often these days. To see a coast-to-coast collab - especially between such craft innovators as Alesmith and Ommegang is too much for us to pass up.We're tasting Philosophy and Velocity - East Coast Edition on this episode, a combination of Alesmith's Speedway Stout and Ommegang's Belgian-style Quad. Join us!Ommegang Brewing's Philosophy and VelocityBe sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

John and Mark crack the top off a White Stouts Can't Jump beer from Abomination Brewing. This homage to the 1992 Ron Shelton movie might taste like a stout, but it doesn't look it. Will it snipe one from the arc or leave the boy's mouths feeling woody?Abomination BrewingBe sure to check out Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

It's a tricky one this week; part circus, part Narnia.The boys put their head in the mouth of a potential abomination from Clown Shoes - an Imperial Stout, mixed with a wee-heavy, then aged in bourbon, rum, and brandy barrels. Can it taste good? Is it too much? Will they tame the beast or lose their respective heads?Clown Shoes - Hammer of the LionVisit the Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

Season 2 kicks off with shorter episodes and deep dives into single beers. This time, the boys open a Belgian-style specialty - a tripel from Allagash Brewery. Can an American brewery truly pull off a traditional Belgian beer? Just how old is this style? Find out. Grab a cold one and join us!Allagash Brewing Company - Belgian-Style TripelVisit the Driftless Drinks on YouTube!

The bubbles are smaller, the beer is smoother, and more often than not, you've got a toy rattle to play with afterward. This time on Driftless Drinks, we crack open a couple of nitro brews. One is an old English favorite, Boddingtons, and the other a smooth Belhaven Black. Only minimum damage was done to the studio.Episode LinksBelhaven BlackHistory of BoddingtonsDon’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @DriftlessDrinks!

The beginning of the year is the time for Bocks, and we’ve got two nice ones. First, the guys sample a quintessential northern Bock from Schell's Brewery. Then they crack open Surly’s Doppel Heller Bock - but just how ambitious is this blond?Episode LinksSchell’s BockSurly's Blond AmbitionDon’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @DriftlessDrinks!#CraftBeer, #Driftless, #DriftlessDrinks, #GetAfterIt, #SurlyBrewing, #SchellsBeer, #Firepitsareawesome, #Bierstachel, #HoneycombWhat

After a long holiday of heavy beers, we take a lighter turn with Bell's Lager of the Lakes. Then we investigate a merger turned upside down in the news Finally, we take an orca-sized dive into Alaskan Brewing's Kolsch-style Ale, then try to come up for air!Episode LinksBell's Lager of the LakesAlaskan BreweryDon't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!#CraftBeer, #Driftless, #DriftlessDrinks, #LetsGetAfterIt, #BellsBeer, #AlaskanBrewing, #DontTeaseTheOrca

Mark and John crack open a Cerebral/Untitled Art collaboration that smacks of macaroon holiday goodness. Then the pair talk about the tasting process and how beginners (like themselves) can start to get in on the action. Lastly, they go above the border, unbuttoning a Plaid Habit from Boulevard Brewing Company.It's a beautiful world from Wisconsin all the way to Canada, so grab your grab your paintbrush and your finest flannel and join us for a brew or two!Episode LinksUntitled ArtBoulevard Plaid HabitDon’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!#DrinkUntitled, #UntitledArtBeer, #PlaidHabit, #ChocolateStout, #MacaroonBeer, #Boulevard, #WisconsinMakesGreatOldFashionedsPleaseDontKillMe, #Hu

In this episode, we celebrate the coming season with a pair of our favorite holiday offerings. We crack open Stone Brewing's Xocoveza and Mark pulls out one-time ABV champ, Samichlaus. Plus, we look at a list of the strongest beers out there. Boston cherries, dead squirrels, and snake venom are all involved!Episode LinksStone Brewing's XocovezaSchloss-Eggenberg SamichlausDon't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

In this episode, Mark and John get "gourd" on a pair of ghoulish pumpkin offerings. First, the pair decapitate a bottle of Lakefront Brewing's Pumpkin lager. They discuss the sorted history of Halloween before draining the guts of not one, but TWO versions of Southern Tier's Pumking. This ain't no fun-sized episode!This week’s brew URLs:Lakefront Pumpkin LagerSouthern Tier Pumking Imperial AleSouthern Tier Pumking NitroSouthern Tier has pulled the recipes from their site! Boo! There was even a gravy recipe we wanted to try but didn't have the chance. However, a promise made is a debt unpaid, so we present Parade magazine's Pumpkin Ale Cheesecake Bars for your enjoyment. (Pro Tip: Use the Cold Press Coffee Pumking if you can find it!

Mergers!This week, the guys ramp up to Warped Speed to try Lake Louie’s Scotch Ale. The talk then turns to brewery mergers - the good, the bad, and the overly hopped. Finally, the guys grab their tie-dyes to tune up DFH’s American Beauty. Let's get after it!

Episode 05 is a Double Tap!We hunker down for a couple of deep draws out of Bodega Brew Pub's impressive collection (@bodegabrewpub_inc). The office party next to us be damned - we've got a show to record!We try out a Hazy State DIPA from Hamilton, ON's @collectivebrew. Then discover a three-year-old bourbon barrel barleywine from Amherst, WI's @centralwaters.Hunt them down if you can, or just grab your favorite brew and drink with us.It's an on-location, double-tap, over-hyphenated show this week

Mark and John have birthdays just a few days apart and their good friends and family supplied them with some outstanding brews. In this episode, the guys try a couple to see if love can come in a can.The guys also look at the practice of shower beers. What the heck are they, how do you do it safely, and what should you know before turning on the tap?Grab a beer and drink with us! Brews featured today include Bent Paddle's Doppelbock and Cigar City's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Brown Ale.Get the low-down on the beers a week early. Check us out on Instagram @DriftlessDrinks where we post the beers a week before the episode drops.We're on Facebook too! Follow us at www.facebook.com/DriftlessDrinks. When you do, say "hello" and tell us your favorite beer.

Mark pours out his Liquid Soul for John. The guys then try a pair of juicy, hazy offerings from both Bells Brewery, and Insight Brewing, and close by jumping into the One Man Mosh Pit from Surly Brewing Co.Drink with us! How? Follow us on Instagram at @DriftlessDrinks where we post the next episode's brews one week before the podcast drops.Comment below and let us know what you’d like us to cover next. Want to send us beer? Contact us to find out how, and we'll try it on mic!Final Note: The OMMP dregs were actually delicious!

Mark and John explore a new style of beer that takes some tricks from stouts to make something crisp, refreshing, and champagne-like. Also, some taprooms are outlawing flights. The guys discuss the merits of such an approach.Drink with us! Check out Driftless Drinks on Instagram where we post pictures of upcoming beers at least week in advance. Match our brews and drink while you listen.Be sure to comment on our site and let us know what Driftless drinks we should try next.

In this pilot episode of Driftless Drinks, Mark introduces John to Founder's CBS, the guys discuss seasonal beers, and they dive into Surly's Grindcore.