progress and beer

So yesterday I had zero luck at work and went to LBC to take advantage of the $2.50 pints. I started with the 85 to get the tastebuds a'rockin'. 'Twas still delicious. Then I got to looking at the medals hanging off of the signs with the names of all of their beers. Their standard beer has a crapload of awards (Gold medal at the Indiana state fair in 2007 and 2008, bronze medal in 2009). The name of the beer is Tippecanoe common ale. I decided to order a pint of it.

The color is a bit darker than I expected, it's definitely a brown ale, bordering on nut brown. The head is minimal (like all of the LBC brews), but lacing is outstanding. The mouthfeel is good, not great, but doable. Flavor is surprising. I can see how this beer won awards in a brown ale category. There's a good malt flavor, and a great hoppy finish. There is a hint of caramel malt, the amarillo hops do not disappoint, then there is a nice dry finish to the party. Good beer. Great? Well, for a balanced brown ale, yes. For me, I'd like to see another 30 min dry hopping period and call it an IPA, since the seasonal IPA is weak as balls.

After the common ale, I had the other seasonal beer, the Ouiatenon Wit beer (sic). The description is pretty lame for a real beer:
"This Belgian style wit bier is brewed with 100% USDA certified organic ingredients. A blend of wheat and pilsner malts along with German Saphir hops, coriander and curacao orange peel create a refreshing ale with hints of citrus, banana and clove."
Organic? whatever.
wheat and pilsner? yay
Saphir hops? exotic
coriander and orange peel? whatever.

I went in not expecting much, but I was very surprised. This beer is good. Hell, it is a borderline excellent belgian white ale. Sweet, but not too sweet, and it definitely goes down like a beer, not an alcopop. It's hard to describe, but it was good all the way through. I downed that beer way fast and ended up waiting out a tornado warning at the bar as I waited to burn it off.

-James