Each couple of weeks I try and expand my horizons by trying a beer I haven't had yet. This helps broaden my tastes and sometimes gives me something shoot for if I find an example of a style I have brewed (or am brewing). Here are some recent beers I've had and thoughts regarding them. For anyone in the Urbana / Champaign area, you can assume these beers are available at Friar Tuck's (where I get most of my beer).
Mighty Brown, Small Batch 471 Series, Breckenridge Brewery - I can't find anything about this beer on their website, but as far as I can tell it was a very limited run American Brown Ale from this brewery in Colorado. Friar Tuck's currently features 22 oz. bottles of this beer for a very reasonable $2.99. So far, this has been one of more memorable American Brown ales I have had. The beer is a deep mahogany with a tan head. The first taste is of toasty malt and nuts. It finishes relatively dry with warmth (it is 7.5% ABV after all). If you can find it, I'd recommend it. I haven't had the chance to try any of the other 471 series beers (yet).
Avery New World Porter, Avery Brewing - I had this beer on Friday at Radio Maria. This was a good example of a porter in my opinion. The beer was a very deep brown, bordering on black with a light brown head. Roasty, toasty, caramel dominates the first taste. It finishes with a little bit of a bitter sweet taste. Apparently this beer is currently out of season, but it was still pretty tasty.
Anchor Steam Summer Beer, Anchor Brewing - I had this beer as part of a mixed six pack from Friar Tuck's. This beer seemed to have great potential but I think my particular bottle was skunked. Skunking happens from a reaction of the alpha acids in hops and sunlight. The aroma was dominated by that unfortunately skunky fragrance. The beer was a warm golden color with a bright white head. At first the taste was of that corrupted hop goodness, that gave way to a malty, wheaty sort of spicy. The beer finished dry but still had a faint trace of that skunk aroma. I think that this beer had a lot of potential but it was ruined by the skunky characteristics, this (combined with the next beer) actually makes me think twice about mixed six packs at Friar Tucks. I'll have to try it again from the cooler.
Monarch White Beer, Two Brothers Brewery - This beer was also part of the same mixed six pack from Friar Tuck's. It was supposed to be a beer in the tradition of a Belgian Wit. This beer also had a strange skunky aroma. I think I'll have to reserve judgement until I have a straight six of this as well.
Lunar Ale, Boulevard Brewing - Boulevard is known in Missouri for their unfiltered wheat. This beer was quite a pleasant surprise. The beer is a rich amber with a thick white head. The aroma is very distinct, it smells of a Belgian beer, sweet, yeasty, and malty. The taste starts with a malty and a touch of tart. It finishes dry and clean. I really, really liked this beer, lots of flavor but low alcoho (4.5% ABV), so you can enjoy a few of them. I totally recommend this if you can get a hold of it.
So I guess the real note to take away from this is buyer beware of the Friar Tuck's mixed six packs. I've had them before with no real disappointments, but this last one was really sub-par.