Happy Independence Day! I'm celebrating the occasion as is appropriate for flammable me: sparklers, firecrackers, bottle rockets, and a holiday-appropriate sour ale.

That ale's Lone Pine's Blueberry Sparkler--a beer that's not (as far as I can tell) in active production. My can comes to us from August 11th, 2020. That's fine, though. Sours that are aged only grow more sour over time, right? 

I hope you'll take a quick moment from your holiday to crack open a beer of your own as the fireworky aroma of gunpowder lingers in the air and read along. 

Henrietta invaded my photoshoot.

Since this is still coronavirus times, let me preface this post by saying you should wash your hands. And, since it's still coronavirus times, I'll say that this was a random draw from my cellar. I plucked it from my hand-me-down yellow shelves this morning and stuck it in my fridge for this post. Now that I see what it is, I'm happy. I had this on tap two years ago; it was good then, but I'm excited to see how it's aged.

It's March now. I don't know how, but we slipped into the third month of 2020 without my notice. Which is fine. Because March is, to most people, maple syrup season. I say "most people" because, to the blog, November is maple syrup season. Still, I'm more than willing to give a maple beer a go in March.


Today's beer isn't just a maple beer, however. No, it's a blueberry maple beer. You might call me a connoisseur of blueberry maple beers. While I've had at least a dozen of them, only three have made it to the blog in the five years (!) I've been doing this (those are, by the way, Saugatuck's Blueberry Maple Stout, its 2018 barrel-aged variant, and South Haven Brewpub's Violet Beauregarde, all of which are great). I guess you could easily say that I have high expectations whenever I encounter a new blueberry maple beer. Meaning, of course, that I have high expectations for Ellicottville's Blueberry Maple Pancake.

Today, we have another one of those beers that I've been hanging onto for a few months. Really, picking this beer up was the catalyst for the blog's Maple Beer Season. See, I had had South Haven Brewpub's Brewberry Pancake before (find it by scrolling to just near the bottom of the linked page). So, when my folks told me there was a bourbon barrel aged variant of it my thoughts ran wild.


The last time Michelle and I (Lottie was there, too!) were at Lake Michigan, we swung into the brewpub and I was able to sample the ale on tap. I was pretty impressed. I bought two bottles--one to enjoy now, during November 2019, and one to squirrel away for later. If you're ready, let's dive into my first bottle of the brew.

I survived the transition from 2018 to 2019 and, if you're reading this, so did you. Congratulations! Both of us deserve some major props for that. I have no idea what the new year has in store for me, but I do know where I'd like to take John Likes Beer in 2019--I'll do a full "state of the union" type post about it soon.


Today, though, I have something else going on: Tucking into Saugatuck Brewing Company's barrel-aged variant of one of my favorite beers. Read on as I crack open a bottle Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Blueberry Maple Stout.

I've talked about Saugatuck Brewing Company before, way back in the early days of the blog--nearly year and a half ago. That was for a flavorful, somewhat oddball milk stout inspired by, and containing, the three unique flavors of neapolitan ice cream. I liked that beer.


Now I have on hand another of the brewery's somewhat oddball milk stouts. This one's inspired by, and is made to taste like, blueberry pancakes. Does it? Well, yes. I tried a bottle of it before and fell in love immediately. However, I'm ready to sit down and give the brew the full-fledged John Likes Beer treatment. Let's get it.

Believe it or not summer seems to be winding down here in Cincinnati. After a good three months of incredibly, unbearably hot days the mornings finally have a chill to them.

I take all of this as a very good sign. Summer can pack its bags and leave. Autumn is the best season, and has the best beers (some of which have already hit the market and have taken refuge in my fridge, where I've picked them off one by one).


In all my rush to enjoy fall and its brews to the fullest, I let something fall behind. Luckily I realized it a few weeks ago and plan to correct my mistake today. With this post, I'm discussing my absolute favorite summer seasonal: Woodchuck's Summer Time.

If you'll harken back to a few months ago you'll remember that my very first beer review post on John Likes Beer was for a brew offered by Rivertown Brewing Company, specifically their Pumpkin Ale. You may also remember that I thoroughly enjoyed it (I rated it at 8.5/10 and Purrl gave it a whopping 9 hiffs). Today I'm discussing my second beer from them: their Blueberry Lager.