Here is something you can do. Set up that nifty little Panasonic camcorder you received for Christmas next to Peaks and Pints’ fireplace. Now, plop yourself down in front of it and have a friend sit just off to the side and then both of you pound our craft beer flight today — Craft Beer Crosscut 3.3.18: A Flight of Angst — then hit the “Record” button as you share your deepest beliefs about 2018, but you two answer them employing only tense, cryptic bursts of pseudo-lingo that make sense only to you and our taxidermy, all while making sure you suddenly burst out laughing as maniacally as possible at random intervals and never ever blink because it is still possible to feel unified and spiritually connected to all that is good and righteous about your generally nonviolent Americanism and still be depressed when our famously nonintellectual president talks to the country like we’re all 5 years old and heavily dosed on Ritalin.
Iron Horse Quilter’s Irish Death
7.8% ABV, 12 IBU
Let’s be clear. Whether you’re Irish or not, you will not die from drinking Iron Horse’s Quilter’s Irish Death. In fact, Death has never been so sweet. Created by the Iron Horse Brewery founder Jim Quilter, this craft beer has been called a sweet stout, strong ale and Scotch Ale. We call it delicious with a massive amount of malt that goes down easy. On the nose, caramel malt was definite and distinct. On the tongue, is over-the-top malty with sweetness and caramel flavor. We survived this beer candy to see another day.
Midnight Sun Berserker Imperial Stout
12.7% ABV, 30 IBU
Are you a few fries short of a Happy Meal? Does your therapist sighs every time you bring up your love of Katy Perry and ham and Nutella sandwiches and Stranger Things collectibles? We have a beer for you. Midnight Sun Berserker Imperial Stout is a cross between Steve Bannon, Kim Kardashian Spandex and pure love. The lacing is luscious and the carbonation rises to the top despite thick sticky adversaries holding it back like a bunch of bubble haters. It hits the tongue with deep coffee, merlot, leather, oak, sweet milk chocolate, some char, hugs and roastiness. The whole affair is welcoming but incredibly complex.
AleSmith My Bloody Valentine
6.66% ABV, 32 IBU
You’ll be fine. AleSmith My Bloody Valentine will actually soothe your angst despite its horrific name. AleSmith Brewing Co. releases this amber for Valentine’s Day, or “Single Awareness Day,” as the label calls the occasion. My Bloody Valentine is a variant of AleSmith’s Halloween-time release Evil Dead Red, rated fifth and third on Ratebeer’s Amber ranking, respectively. My Bloody Valentine pours a gorgeous crimson with caramel sweetness and floral American hops imparting modest bitterness and muted pine-resin flavors that don’t detract from the malt love.
Knee Deep Brewing Breaking Bud Imperial Pale Ale
6.7% ABV, 50 IBU
When you snap, you snap ugly. When you break, you break bad. Your rapacious dark side is ever just millimeters from the surface and it’s only the thinnest membrane of social mores and fortuitous brain chemicals that keeps it all in check. You need to Break Bud. Knee Deep Brewing dubs this “dank,” and we concur. Said dankness is well balanced by a saccharine peach aroma more explosive than Hector’s wheelchair. On the tongue, the earthiness and minerality comes through, with a stronger grapefruit presence than even the Citra. This beer helps.
Founders Backwoods Bastard
11.2% ABV, 50 IBU
You know the drill. Make some beer, quit your job, start a beer business. It’s what Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers did when starting the Founder Brewing Company out of Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1997. The road to greatness wasn’t easy. There was angst. The duo came face-to-face with bankruptcy before they ditched the unremarkable craft beers switching to flavor-packed, complex brews that are Founders’ signature today. That the Backwoods is boozier than its little Bastard brother is only a side note; the big distinguishing factor of this scotch ale is that it is aged in bourbon barrels, with great undertones of vanilla, bourbon, oak and dark fruits. It’s smooth and creamy, with the mouthfeel of a milk stout and the body of a scotch ale. Let this sweet Bastard sit for a few minutes for a richer taste as it gets warmer, reducing the sugar-sweet fresh-out-of-the-fridge impression and replacing it with a complex depth. The alcohol cuts away any aftertaste while dominating the aromatics. Hey, if you’re consumed with angst we suggest loading up on this beer before retreating to the backwoods.
