Stir Crazy Porter, indeed!
The name caught my eye and I had to have a sixer of this time-appropiate-named
beer from Indeed Brewing Co. of Minneapolis.
I keep hearing from stir-crazy people, but I’m not stir crazy myself. I still get out and about and interact with people, and have a letter from my boss to prove that my presence outside of my home is essential (thanks, Dad!).

But it is nice once I get home knowing that I won’t have any visitors. I enjoy my solitude. We’ll see how long it lasts!

Still, I love the name of this beer. Can the brew itself stand up to the name?

Yes it can!

Porters are a strange animal. What they are depends on who you ask. I know one guy who has researched their history in English brewing and swears they were sour beers, and he’s brewed delicious sour porter to prove his point.

Many people think porter is some sort of weak sister of stout, but, obviously, that does not include the brewers at Indeed because they have created a deliciously potent (6.5 percent) ale packed with the intriguing flavors of dark fruits, chocolate and coffee. This is just what the doctor ordered.

Highly recommended!

***

Who could pass up a mixed pack of stouts called Javatized Mixed Pack? Not me.

This four-pack of 16-ounce cans is from Lupulin Brewing Co. of Big Lake, Minn., had my name written all over it.

The flavors are Javatized, a regular offering from the brewery,a coffee stout made with Paradise coffee. Then there’s Mochatized (which includes coffee and chocolate), Nillatized (vanilla and coffee) and Cinnatized (cinnamon and coffee).

It’s the last one that really intrigued me, and, so, I saved it for last.

Javatized is a thoroughly enjoyable coffee stout with, as expected, coffeeforward
flavor. The sweet maltiness set off by the slightly bitter bite of coffee presents a nice balancing act.

The chocolate and coffee in Mochatized also paired well.

I’ve never been a fan of vanilla in beer. I’ve made some beer with vanilla beans, just because. But maybe vanilla should be in ice cream and Vanilla Wafers, not in my beer. That’s all I have to say about that. But I should add that as far as vanilla beers go, Nillatized is pretty drinkable, unlike some other vanilla beers I’ve had (or made).

Cinnamatized really hit the spot. Cinnamon has a deliciously warming effect in this dark stout. It’s as if the spice was made just for this beer, the dark malts playing off the warming spice. Yum!

Oh, in case you don’t know – lupulin (the name of the brewery) is the yellow powder found on the female hop bud. So I imagine this brewery has some hopped up beers as well.

***

Well, not wanting to change horses mid-stream, I might as well stay on the coffee theme with Earthrider’s Duluth Coffee Pale Ale. It’s good stuff.

The flavors of pale and coffee are paired perfectly in this beer, as if they were always meant to be. An overly hoppy American pale ale would have produced conflict with the coffee flavors, but the brewers used good judgment in not pitting those flavors
against each other.

I enjoy a good, strong cup of Joe in the morning before throwing myself into the abyss, and I could see some circumstances where this coffee pale ale could be a good stand in, but maybe I better keep that sort of stuff to myself lest you get the wrong idea about me.