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Left, Firestone Walker's Coconut Merlin
milk stout. A roasty, nutty stout rounded with lactose,
delightfully accentuated with fresh coconut flavor. 5.5% ABV, 23
IBU. Right, Confluence Brewing's Gray's Lake
Nessie Scottish ale. Aromas and flavors of malt,
toffee, and some yeast. 6% ABV, 17 IBU.
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Left, Cherry
Bomb Blonde from Front
Street Brewery in Davenport. A refreshingly light and
aromatic brew, cherry forward in nose and palate but not
over-the-top. Easy drinking. 5.4% ABV, 15 IBU. Right, Oreo
Speedwagon, a chocolate vanilla milk stout from Lake
Time Brewery of Clear Lake. Smooth drinking and delectably
chocolatey in flavor and aroma, with a hint of vanilla. 5.6%
ABV, 26 IBU.
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Left, Evan Williams 100 proof bottled-in-bond bourbon. With flavors of
black pepper, vanilla, and citrus, a swish with an ice cube
softens the alcohol's bite a little. A good sipping whiskey when
you need something with extra pizzazz. Right, Award winning Cedar Ridge Iowa
straight bourbon whiskey, featuring a mashbill of 74% corn, 14%
malted rye, and 12% 2-row malted barley. Oak, turbinado sugar,
and vanilla come to mind on enjoying this smooth sipper with a
spicy finish; 86 proof.
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Backcountry
Brut, left, a double brut IPA brewed at Exile in
collaboration with Uinta Brewing of Salt Lake City; I'm a big
fan of both! Dry and hoppy, a lovely summer brew. 7.5% ABV, 25
IBU. Center, Styrian Slinger New England-style
IPA is bright on first swallow with a softened bitterness. Goes
from acidic to alkaline in a flash, ergo a beer to pause and
reflect upon between quaffs. 6.4% ABV, 30 IBU. Right, The juice
is loose with Exile’s latest release, Beermosa!
Golden ale brewed with Mandarina Bavaria hops. With added
lactose and orange juice, it tastes like an Orange Julius! 4.5% ABV.
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Rising Hope
hazy IPA, left, an Exile / Gezellig
Brewing of Newton collaboration with 100% of sales donated
to benefit the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Bright with passionfruit and tangerine flavors. 6.4% ABV, 43
IBU. Right, Denali Daze New England-style IPA is
double dry hopped with Mosaic and Denali hops. Notes of
pineapple and tropical stone fruit, seasonally piney on the
finish. 6.3% ABV, 20 IBU. I could drink this all fall long.
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Left, A
Christmas Beer doppelbock. Lush aromas and flavors
of dark fruit and chocolate. It tastes like the Roman
Nougat from a box of Russell Stover chocolates! 7.3% ABV, 20
IBU. Cranberry Bohemian, right, brewed with
cranberries, soured with in-house lactobacillus culture. The
perfect fruit to marry with Exile's signature sour beer. 5.8%
ABV, 5 IBU.
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It's been a
long time since I've enjoyed a Half-Price Pizza Monday
at Centro.
On this visit I ordered a George's Favorite
calzone, above, with mozzarella, Graziano
Brothers' Italian sausage, roasted red pepper, and red
onion, with a side of marinara, below left, for dipping and
slurping. For an aperitif I enjoyed a fine Boulevardier cocktail, below
right, of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Campari.
Happy to note that Peroni pale lager is back on tap, which is
also half-priced on Monday nights; I quaffed two pints! Much
leftovers for a late-night snack plus breakfast.
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Left, A
fine martini at Django
with J. Rieger's Midwestern Dry Gin. A
traditional London Dry style, distilled from wheat and flavored
with juniper, coriander, angelica root, licorice root, and
orange peel; 92.2 proof. Soon I received an unexpected
lagniappe, a cheese and charcuterie plate, center. I shared this
with a fellow bar patron and even dabbled in a bit of the pate.
The end result: a two martini visit ended up being four. Paired
with three beers enjoyed earlier at The Walnut, I
ended up with a solid hangover. On my way home, I grabbed a day
old loaf from Jimmy John's with the intent of eating it
that night. Instead I went on the nod. So the next afternoon I
took the now well crusty bread and made pizza boats.
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