Pumpkin Ale (Buffalo Bill's Brewery)

We don't know much about Buffalo Bill's Brewery, other than that it's located in Hayward, California.  This beer was chosen by grabbing interesting-looking beers for a mixed six-pack at Binny's - a practice we highly recommend.

This pumpkin ale is decent and pleasant to drink, but it ends up being a bit bland compared to other pumpkin ales one can enjoy during the fall season.  You're not likely to dislike it if you enjoy pumpkin ales, but it's likely you'll end up wishing you had one that you're more familiar with.  I might blame this on my allergies giving me a little bit of a stuffy nose, but compared to other pumpkin ales, the "pumpkin" flavor in this ale is something that I can't taste.  I feel more like I'm drinking a wheat ale rather than a pumpkin ale. 

Rating:  2.5
5.2% ABV

Nosferatu (Great Lakes Brewing Co.)

Whoa, talk about a commitment beer.  I would say this is more of a beer that you drink with people who you are not trying to impress/flirt with.  That being said, we still highly enjoy this beer.

Nosferatu is the autumn seasonal beer from Great Lakes Brewing Company with a vampire on the front of the bottle.  It is the vampire from a famous 1920's silent German film, appropriately enough entitled Nosferatu.

This beer, an imperial red ale, is extremely hoppy with a bolder finish than the nose.  Unlike Goose Island's Harvest Ale, the taste develops while you are drinking it--it has more than just one note in it.  This beer, as I said before, is definitely a commitment beer.  It is much stronger, in our opinion, than other autumn seasonal beers.

ABV: 8.0%
Rating: Gene: 4.0  Lily: 3.5

Harvest Ale (Goose Island)

Let us start by saying Goose Island beers are usually ones that we love.  While not the only high-quality microbrewery in the Chicagoland area, they're certainly the most well-known (thanks, perhaps in part, to an unholy pact with Annheiser-Busch), being found throughout the Midwest and parts of the east coast.

Goose Island's Harvest Ale, however, falls a little short of our usually-met expectations.  It's billed as a "special American bitter," and we suppose that much is true - there is a bitter, hoppy taste that is almost entirely without nuance and the same from the nose to the tail.  It's not unpleasant, but there's not much here that would keep us coming back for more after having one or two.  Especially when there are so many great autumn seasonals.

Rating:  1.5
5.7% ABV

Ellie's Brown Ale (Avery Brewing Company)

Avery Brewing Company is brewed in Boulder, CO--home of CU Boulder, America's most beautiful campus.  They're widely distributed throughout the nation, and brew high-quality beers of numerous distinct styles.

This brown ale has a light consistency but bold flavor; one that's milder at the nose and nuttier at the tail.  The flavors in this beer are very smooth.  It would go well with red meats or spicy food, but might overpower some milder fare.  This is one of our go-to beers.

May I also add that on the bottle it says that it is "Lab tested."  And I assume that Ellie is the chocolate lab on the bottle--very punny Avery Brewing!

Rating: 4.0
ABV 5.5%

Oktoberfest (Erdinger)

Erdinger is traditionally a German wiessbier, one of my favorite from Germany.  It is brewed in Erding, Germany, which is in Bavaria, so the south of Germany.  I was very pleasantly surprised when we found their Oktoberfest beer at Binny's in Chicago.

Erdinger's Oktoberfest ale is a weiss beer with a citrus flavor that's a little lighter and more easily-drinkable than some other Oktoberfests.  It slightly harkens to the hefe weissens you might find in Germany, although is somewhat of a toned-down version of these.  It is lighter and not as floral as Erdinger's Weissbier, although the flavor is very similar.  I think of Erdinger's Oktoberfest as a floral version of what a classic Oktoberfest beer should taste like.  Thumbs up!  Everyone should try it, especially because the Bavarians on the bottle are so happy drinking it!

5.7% ABV
Rating: 3.5

La Rossa (Birra Moretti)

La Rossa is a beer that we first discovered when we went to RPM Italian in Chicago.  I know this isn't a food blog, but if you can spare the money and reserve enough in advance, RPM is definitely worth the money!  They also have a great selection of wines and craft Italian beers, as well as liquors. 

I would say that La Rossa is a dark amber ale.  It's light and very drinkable, however the flavor is bold.  There is also somewhat of a smokiness in the back of the beer, as well as an overall malty flavor.  It's very nice to drink this--I usually look to Italy for their Chiantis and Pinot Grigios, but this beer is definitely very satisfying.

This beer comes in 9 ounce bottles, but the higher alcohol percentage makes up for it, if that's a deal-breaker for you.

7.2% ABV
Rating:  3.5

Holy Moses White Ale (Great Lakes Brewing Company)

Having drinken plenty of Hefe-weizen in my time we are definitely huge fans of the Holy Moses White Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Company (not to be confused with the Great Lakes Brewery--they're actually a whole different company).  It is a seasonal brew usually only available from April to May, so we were lucky to find a couple bottles in August!

This beer is just bold enough, has a lot of floral notes, and is very refreshing overall.  It has a citrus aftertaste that is very pleasant (nothing like the aftertaste of those Halls citrus Vitamin C drops), and for a craft beer, it does not have a dry aftertaste at all.  As summer winds down, it was very refreshing to have a nice crisp, easy-to-drink summer beer--although we would drink this at any time of the year!

Rating: 4
ABV: 5.4%