Beer reviews can be misleading or helpful. As long as you recognize that everyone has unique tastes, and yours might not be the same as mine, maybe my notes below of beers I’ve tried might be helpful to you.
You should keep in mind that beers I tried before July 2014 weren’t necessarily checked for freshness. While doing research for my story in MI Beer Guide on beer freshness (link here) I got a better appreciation of fresh beer and an understanding of how to check for date codes and the importance of storage temperature. So new beers purchased from the local beer store may have gotten a poor rating simply because they were old or not stored cold.
Since everyone’s interpretation of a rating can mean something different, here’s how my number ratings translate into words. Most of these beers I like, but I wanted to be able to differentiate them somehow.
5-Star (Absolutely Amazing)
4.5-Star (Excellent)
4-Star (Very Good)
3.5-Star (Pretty Good)
3-Star (OK)
2.5-Star (Not Very Good)
2-Star (Not Good)
1-Star (Gross)
5 Star Ratings
- Griffin Claw Dark Czech Lager
- Upper Hand IPA
- Short’s Sticky Icky Icky
- Deschutes Obsidian Stout
- Palisade Brewing Dirty Hippie
- Ska Brewing Modus Hoperandi IPA
- Bell’s Black Hearted
- Short’s The Liberator
- Perrin Twilight Train
- Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue Galaxy Dry Hop
- Short’s Heaven Scent
- Ellison 97.1 The Ticket DDH Hazy Pale Ale
- Surly Rocket Surgery Hazy Ale
- Nu Cali Northern Sky
- Bell’s Light Hearted Ale
- Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Ale
- Short’s Slurm Lord
- Big Rig Alpha Bomb Unfiltered IPA
- Cigar City Guayabera
- Short’s Space Rock Aug-2018
- Short’s Sticky Icky Icky
- Short’s Hopstache
- Collective Arts Life in the Clouds
- Short’s Psychedelic Cat Grasss
- Old Nation Cart Horse
- Grand Armory Crop Duster
- Old Nation Boss Tweed
- Arbor Brewing Buzzsaw IPA
- Cigar City Jai Alai
- Russian River Pliny the Elder
- Kuhnenn’s DRIPA
- Rochester Mills Juice Bigalow
- Tapistry Northern Trippin’
- Rockford Dogma Style NEIPA
- Old Nation Boxer
- Downey Brewing Thunder Down Under Pale Ale
- Kickstand Sorachi Blonde
- Old Nation M43 Juicy IPA
- Stone Enjoy by 12.25.16
- Short’s Superfluid
- Short’s Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster
- Dark Horse Joe’s Neighborhood
- Founders PC Pils
- Bell’s Octoberfest
- River’s Edge Moon Over Moore Lake
- River’s Edge The Klosh
- River’s Edge Captain Walleye
- Odd Side Ales Fussy IPA
- Rogue 4 Hop IPA
- Bell’s Oatsmobile Ale
- Chelsea Alehouse Brook Trout Cream Stout
- Perrin 98 Problems IPA
- Great Lakes Blackout Stout
- Filling Station The Wobbly Double IPA
- New Holland Dragon’s Milk Reserve With Toasted Chilies
- Fat Head’s Head Hunter
- Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA
- Founders Mosaic Promise
- Ourayle House IPA
- Perrin Single Track
- Crankers Bulldog Red
- Cheboygan Lighthouse Amber Ale
- Coronado Idiot IPA
- Stone Enjoy By 02.14.14
- Bell’s Two Hearted- Cask
- Bell’s Smitten Golden Rye Ale
- Greenbush Star Chicken Shotgun
- New Holland Dragon’s Milk
- Sam Adams Boston Lager
- Founders Backwoods Bastard
- Green Flash Brewing West Coast IPA
- Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree
- Kuhnhenn’s American IPA
- Arbor Brewing Buzzsaw
- New Belgium Ranger
- Arcadia Barrel Aged Shipwreck Porter
- Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown Ale
- New Holland Mad Hatter
- Bell’s Two Hearted
- Short’s Hopstache
- Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA
- Epic Hopulent Release #4
- Southern Tier Un*earthly
- Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
- Bell’s Hopslam
- Avery India Pale Ale