Cogstone July 2019 Visit

July 19, 2019 Mike

It’s been quite awhile since our last brewery visit, well, at least quite awhile since we posted about it at least. For some reason, May, June, and the first part of July all just fell through the cracks. I still hold out hope that I’ll dig into my notes and photos and do some retroactive posting, we’ll have to see.

So, it’s been awhile, where should we go? Why not Cogstone?

I have to say, we’ve been to Cogstone on many occasions, but every time we go to Cogstone, I find myself delighted by the beers. There’s always a change in the beer menu, and whatever is new is always great.

This time around we had quite the crowd, Jesse and I were joined by Scott, Rob and Bill.

Coconut Brown – 6% ABV – This was my first beer of the night, and boy did it not disappoint. It had all the maltiness of a brown, with a moderate coconut aroma, but the flavor, it was just right. Many of the Coconut beers I’ve had either go way over the top, or don’t go quite far enough. This one, perfect.

After I had my first couple of tastes, I kind of slipped into just enjoying the company and conversation, and every once in awhile that coconut would just come in and surprise me. I really enjoyed this beer.

Pomegranate Hefeweizen – 5.3% ABV – Reinheitsgebot be damned, adding pomegranate to this Hefeweizen was a great idea! Although the flavor seemed closer to grapefruit, it was blistering hot outside, and this cold, fruity, creamy wheat beer really hit the spot.

Cucumber Cream Ale – 6% ABV – I’ve had a number of cucumber beers, and it seems to be hard to get the cucumber flavor without making the beer watery. I don’t know how Cogstone does it, but they get a ton of cucumber flavor, and the beer has exactly the body that you expect. This is even more of an achievement since the base beer is a light bodied beer to start with. This is really good.

Irish Red – 5.5% ABV – Yes, I’m a sucker for an Irish Red. Red Ale that is. Love them, and I’ve had Cogstone’s on many an occasion, and it’s still just amazing. Malty and delicious. I think I may have had every Irish Red in town, and if this isn’t the best one, it’s really darn close.

[Jesse]
Getting back into the blog after a largely self-imposed hiatus (silly obligations…) this was a nice way to step back into things. I decided that, since we had a “large” group of us, I would try some Cogstone beers that I’ve had in the past. There were two reasons for this, really. As you’ll see, two of the beers might be a bit…intimidating…for people not familiar with some of the beer styles on tap. I thought it would be an easy way to introduce a weird beer to some of the guys who typically drink “whatever the restaurant has on tap”. Secondly, and more importantly, it has been a long time since I had them and I wanted to drink them again…

I wanted to mention that the Coconut Brown Ale that Mike wrote about above was a HUGE hit with table. A lot of complements. If you’re a fan of coconut, this is a must have. If we had stayed any longer, I would have gotten one myself.

Side note: Mike was obviously much more on the ball this trip since he as pictures of all of the beers he sampled and I, sadly, have none.

Beet It Cream Ale – 5.6% ABV – This is one of the beers I’ve had in the past and wanted to try it again to remind myself what I thought of it – and to have some of the other folks give it a taste. The Cream Ale base is, of course, a delicious beer, and the addition of the beet gives it an earthy flavor. This might be one of my favorite beers and I might not order it again, but I don’t regret my decision to order it.

Blueberry Wheat Ale – 5.6% ABV – I’m beginning to think I have an issue with my taste buds or something. This is the second blueberry wheat I’ve had in as many months and with both I could not taste the blueberry – at all. Other reviews comment on how the blueberry was delicious and refreshing. Even my companions commented on the blueberry flavor but I simply could not taste it, which bums me out since I love blueberry. Oh well.
However, even though I couldn’t taste the main attraction, this is a really good wheat beer.

Chips & Salsa Ale – 5.2% ABV – Another one I’ve had before and will order again. I understand that they used to only brew this for Cinco de Mayo but, due to the enormous popularity of it, it’s available all year these days. If you like beer and you haven’t had this beer yet, make a point of getting to Cogstone today and have it. You’ll thank me.
This beer is amazing. Not just because it’s a good beer – which it is – but because it tastes exactly like chips and salsa. It’s a wonder.
Honestly, I probably couldn’t drink more than a pint of this because the chili would be a little overwhelming after that for me. A half-pour is exactly right.

Beers we’ve Reviewed at Cogstone: