Friday, April 13, 2012

Bar Review: Buffalo Sweat

Heavy and Dark

5% ABV / 20 IBU
I don't read or talk much about beer. So maybe I won't have much of value to say about this subject. But I obviously like to share my likes and dislikes, and I can do that well enough. So, welcome to the first installment of Bar Review, a sporadic feature here where I will discuss the subject of spirits. I just might not use a lot of fancy, in-the-know language.

Tallgrass Brewing Company is located in Manhattan, Kansas, home of Kansas State University. My wife hates the KSU athletic teams more than any other, but that doesn't reflect on the brewery. They offer a handful of different beers, but only one of them has been available at my local grocery store. Now, this is the kind of grocery store that has about 10 different choices for processed American cheese food slices, but does not have sliced cheese. It's a very old-school, small-town store, with the ordinary kind of awful taste that usually entails. But every now and again, the person who orders their alcohol will make an adventurous purchase. Buffalo Sweat is one of those adventures.

Buffalo sweat is a stout. Since Guinness is my first love as beer goes, you can bet I'm partial to a stout. Brewed without a lot of hops, plenty of barley, and cream sugar, it's smooth, rich, and sweet, with a distinct note of chocolate.

It costs about $8 for a pack of four pint cans.

The Verdict: From now on, if it comes out of a buffalo, I'm drinking it. I give Buffalo Sweat 5 out of 5 stars. Might I suggest pairing it with a nice, smooth, and heavy Jesu, like perhaps Silver.

5 comments:

  1. That sounds very appealing. There's a beer and wine place about a block from my apartment that usually has a good selection, I'll have to look for it next time I'm in there.

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  2. They have a map on their web site showing distributors, and I don't see on in Ohio. The closest to you would probably be in Philadelphia . . . so that's quite a drive for even a great beer. I expect I'll be covering lots of different kinds of beer, from stuff available only in Nebraska to international products, so eventually I'll cover something you can try.

    I wonder what the laws are on shipping beer, though.

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  3. I just tried this for the first time the other day, myself, and felt similarly! The brown can makes it seem almost like you are drinking an iced mocha, no joke.

    This is one of the most 'filling' beers I've had: I didn't immediately even -want- my second beer after finishing this one, which is highly unusual for me.

    You can get it at Midtown Liquor in Tulsa, OK, in case anyone in my area is looking.

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  4. I love stouts, most especially during the cold winter months. I would walk my dog when it's snowing outside with a bottle of Old Rasputin in my hand. I think I've seen Buffalo Sweat at Binny's before, so I will have to pick it up on my next paycheck.

    If there is a stout that can make a manly man out of any man, it would be Three Floyd's Dark Lord. It's only available once a year on Dark Lord Day, when beer geeks from all over come to Hammond, Indiana for that and a killer metal show. This year's bands for Dark Lord Day include Eyehategod and Powermad, the Minnesota thrash band whose music appeared in the David Lynch film Wild At Heart. Todd, the singer of Powermad, also owns the Surly Brewing Company. It's hard to score Dark Lord though because of the overwhelming demand and the very limited quantity. I got to sample my friend's Dark Lord last year, easily the flavors will awaken then knock your tastebuds into submission. It's amazing. If I wasn't going to Gilead Media Fest this year, I'd go to that since it's only an hour away.

    http://www.darklordday.com/

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  5. Correction, Three Floyds is in Munster, not Hammond. Northern Indiana looks all the same to me.

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