Bird Street Brewing 'Grizzly Paw' Brown Ale. 5.5% abv. Dark ruby-brown color. Hazy, unfiltered. Two fingers of ivory foamy head. Outstanding retention and excellent lace. Nose is roasty, nutty, bready, some chocolate. Aromas of wheaty grain and caramel emerge as the temp rises.

Front taste is roasted medium-dark malt, cookie, walnut, warm brown sugar, earthy throughout. Aftertaste is wheat bread, treacle, faint fruit notes on the back end. Medium body. Mouthfeel is warm, creamy, carby.

This is an excellent beer, a brown that exemplifies its category. The flavors of biscuit, nuts, and roasty malt are supported by distant fruit, chocolate, and slightly sweet notes. Despite its thin body, it comes across as rich and deep. Brown ales are among my favorite basic beers, and this one is a well-crafted, quite enjoyable addition. Hard to find, but worth seeking out, especially if you love brown ales. Well recommended.

I recently had the pleasure of joining the folks from Bird Street, sharing beer and conversation at Spokeasy Pub (photo below). Brewmaster Phil shared his thoughts in this beer and his vision for the near future of Bird Street. They're a nano brewery at the moment, but based on the quality of his beer and the scope of his plans, they won't be nano much longer.

From the brewery:

"Brewed with a heavy amount of Biscuit malt, our Brown ale is a smooth-drinking ale with a slight nutty flavor."

[source: brewstreetbrewing.com]

I hung out with the folks from Bird Street Brewing at Spokeasy Pub. Great folks, great beer!

Monkey Paw Brewing 'Lab Monkey' Dark Edition. American IPA. 6.5% abv. 65 IBU. Black in color. One finger of thick head off the tap. Outstanding retention and superb lace. The head almost never falls, giving you nearly a finger all the way down. Nose is a floral hoppy bouquet. Front taste is malt and bright ample fresh hops. Aftertaste is a balance of strong hop bitter. This is the "dark edition" of their American IPA. A great brew that is sure to please hop heads. Recommended.

From the brewery:

"Our experimental IPA series is constantly evolving. The first several batches will have a very light malt base with a touch of rye. The hop profile will change significantly with each iteration. Our latest version, released in mid July, is 100% Cascade. We love this classic hop and wanted to express its beauty without any interference. Juicy, citrus driven yet clean and refreshing. This beer is awesome with tacos or a blair steak!"

This was the first time I've had a beer with 100% retention.
A finger of head all the way to the bottom of the glass.

Like the head, the lacing went all the way down to the bottom.
I've never had a beer do this before.