Tallgrass Brewing - Buffalo Sweat Stout

Tonight I'm going to drink this tall can of Buffalo Sweat stout from Tallgrass Brewing.  A couple months ago, I tried their IPA and it was decent, nothing special.  Steve's brother Kenny mentioned at that point that the Buffalo Sweat was a good one to try, so I'm pumped to finally taste it.  The beer is brewed with cream sugar, which according to Tallgrass, helps balance out the mega-super-copious amount of roasted barley used in the brewing process.  This just happens to be the brewers' favorite choice at Tallgrass.  It registers a mild 5%ABV and 20 IBUs.

This comes in a tall pint can with a huffing buffalo on the front.  The can states "Dangerously Dark.  Authentically Awesome.  Pour a Pint..."  The beer is a pitch-dark red brown with a strong inch+ of creamy tan head.  The aroma is unique - sweet roast sprinkled with brown sugar and strong notes of creamed coffee.  The flavor is also unique for the style.  It starts off with chocolate roasted grains, sweet and creamy at first.  Then comes a wave, Tsunami, of coffee.  So much coffee.  With that comes a mild bitterness that carries through to the finish.  The mouthfeel is disappointingly thin, and the carbonation is high.

Overall Rating:  This is a simple, straight-forward cream stout.  It accentuates a creamed coffee flavor that is unique, considering coffee wasn't a key ingredient in the brew.  Unfortunately it was a bit too thin, not enough backbone to carry this one home.  Regardless, an inexpensive session brew worth trying.  B-

Tallgrass - IPA

I would like to start things off tonight with a little NCAA basketball rant.  Is anyone else sick of hearing about Jimmer Fredette in the NCAA tournament?  Seriously, this guy's got the sports media in a manic, obssessive-compulsive hype-fest that that is never-ending...it's starting to get old.  What kind of name is Jimmer, anyway.  Enough is enough, I hope BYU loses to Florida tonight!

Tonight will be my first foray into the Tallgrass Brewing Company based out in Manhattan, KS. This is another craft brewery that had an epiphany and decided to use cans to package their brews.  I wonder if cans are a cheaper packaging option than bottles?  Anybody have any insight on this?

This beer is an American IPA registering 6.3%ABV and 60 IBUs.  It comes in a 16oz can with a big elephant on the front.  Very random design....not sure what, if anything, it's supposed to signify.  The beer pours an orange golden color, a bit cloudy, with a plume of frothy white head.  Sweet, buttery, bready biscuit notes in the aroma.  Also some grassy hop notes in there. 

The taste starts off bitter with some lemon zest, but there's an acidic, astringent flavor that isn't pleasant.  There's an herbal note that hits the back of my throat, and lingers there for a good portion of the drink.  Caramel, biscuit malt backbone with a buttery taste towards the end.  Almost reminds me of an english style IPA....but not quite.  The body is medium and the carbonation is fairly heavy, there is an oily texture throughout.

Overall Rating:  (2.8 out of 6.0)  This was an average American IPA, nothing memorable.  While the malts were almost pleasant, there are some off-flavors in there that cause a bad mouth-pucker....Acidic.  Probably not something I will drink again.