Bar Review: Two More from Tallgrass

Special Edition

Tallgrass Brewing Company out of Manhattan, Kansas, has captured my attention. They've crafted some excellent brews, and sell them in pint cans. Cans are metal, and a pint is the perfect amount to drink when it's not the weekend.

The grocery store where I used to buy beer regularly only carried two out of the Tallgrass roster, but I recently made it out to a very fine liquor store and found a much wider selection. I've discovered the brewery is a bit more hit-and-miss than I expected. Just a warning: I don't read much about beer, or even try all that many different kinds (compared to some), and I don't follow the seemingly accepted AASTMO style of reviewing. I don't even pour it in a glass first. That seems like kind of a snobbish thing to do. It's not wine.

Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat

Buffalo Sweat is one of my favorite beers. It's a delicious oatmeal cream stout that I reviewed a while ago, and I keep coming back to it. So, when I ran across Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat, I had to try it. I've enjoyed at least one vanilla stout in the past. Our local brewery Empyrean makes Dark Side Porter, and it's by far their best. So, adding vanilla to an even better stout seems like a no-brainer.

Samothrace: Reverence to Stone (2012)

Don't Look Them Up on Metal Archives

Samothrace is a band that you should never, ever, under any circumstances, look up on Metal Archives. You will not be able to listen to them if you do.

I managed to listen to the band's sophomore album about five times before looking them up, and I formed my opinions about the record before seeing that page. What they play is often described as stoner doom with crust punk influences, which makes me think Electric Wizard and Amebix. But I find that couldn't be much further from the truth. It sounds like Isis interpreted by Swallow the Sun, or in other words, melodic death/doom with post-metal influences. OK, so they're both doom descriptions, but completely different otherwise.

Bar Review: Tallgrass IPA

6.3% ABV, 60 IBU

In my first bar review, I mentioned that stout is my first love. I may go more into detail on that in some other post, but for now it suffices to say that I don't normally go for hoppy beers. In the past I've gotten the impression they upset my stomach, although I could be imagining that link. I'm willing to try something new. When I picked up that Buffalo Sweat last week, I saw Tallgrass also had an IPA for sale where I was shopping. I decided to take a risk on it, given that I knew the superb quality of Buffalo Sweat.

For those who don't know, IPA stands for India Pale Ale. It's a style of brew that was developed by the British during their rule of India. They found that more traditional beers don't make the journey very well, but if they added extreme levels of hops, it lasted longer. And had a much higher alcohol content. Extreme hops means it's more extreme, and I can get into that.

This is pretty damn good. It's got a bright, complex, fruity, somewhat citrus flavor to it. It also gives you just the right buzz, which is always a plus. Like other Tallgrass brews, it comes in a 4-pack of pint cans for about $8.

The Verdict: I give the Tallgrass IPA 4 out of 5 stars. I'll let you know later if it upset my stomach or if I just gave hops an unnecessarily bad rap.

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.

Entity v. Carnival Is Forever

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For this match-up, I toyed with the idea of bringing in Obscura for a three-way free-for-all. I also toyed with the idea of giving it a World War II theme, but perhaps it would have been in bad taste. Instead, I'll be comparing Origin's Entity to Decapitated's Carnival Is Forever.

Origin is from Topeka, Kansas, and Decapitated is from Poland. Other than that tidbit, the two bands have quite a bit in common. Both are technical death metal bands signed to Nuclear Blast, and both of them released their fifth albums in 2011.