Wrapping up winter beers: Minnesota stouts and barleywines

After last week’s fun with Dark Addiction Days from Bad Habit Brewing, we decided that we wanted to keep the spirit of the Minnesota craft brewery scene alive in this week’s beer review. This week’s edition features some tasty brews from Lift Bridge Brewing Company. Lift Bridge Brewing Company started in Stillwater, Minn. and would go on to open a second location in New Richmond, Wis.

Since 2008, Lift Bridge Brewing has been a brewery that’s brewed quality craft beers for all of those who enjoy our Midwestern lifestyle.

If you’re 21+ and in Stillwater enjoying the river scene, or even one of our Wisconsinite friends, make sure you make stop at Life Bridge. For those not 21 yet, no worries, they have some of the best root beer we’ve ever had too!

Warden – Milk Stout (4.1%)

To start off, we have the Warden! The Warden had a generic, dark stout smell on the nose that also offered some subtle chocolate notes, and that’s exactly what we tasted.

The little dark chocolate on the front meshed well with the overall stout flavor but still had some sweetness on the aftertaste.

For a 4.1% stout, it was a heavy beer. We all agreed that it was a heavier beer than Dark Addiction from Bad Habit Brewing. Overall, it’s a solid stout that’s an easy drinker.

Irish Coffee Stout – Irish Coffee Stout (7.6%)

Next up, we have the Irish Coffee Stout. There was heavy Irish cream on the nose, but this didn’t transfer over into the taste.

The taste of the beer brought more sweetness than what we could find on the nose of the beer along with slight whiskey notes on the back end. We felt that the sweet, whiskey and cream flavors of the beer collided in a way where we would have liked to have seen more of a defined coffee flavor as the base of the beer. We thought it was an odd combination for what’s typically found in coffee stouts in general, and Irish coffee stouts in particular.

Silhouette 2020 Edition – Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (11%)

The Silhouette was exactly what we thought it would be, nothing short of a fantastic beer that aged well. This barrel aged imperial definitely smelled like a strong 11% beer that had strong cacao notes with maybe some caramel.

The taste of bitter cacao stayed with us from start to finish and it paired brilliantly with the overarching bourbon flavor we were looking for. On the back end of the beer, there was a slight sweet component that was reminiscent of molasses.

Even if you’re not a stout drinker, the Silhouette is a must-try.

Commander 2024 Vintage Edition – Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine (12.5%)

Lastly, we have the Commander, and we were not let down by the first barleywine we’ve introduced to our review.

The Commander had a sweeter nose that reminded us of the grape aroma found in wines, but it still had grainy notes that we’ve seen in beers we’ve reviewed in the past. In first trying it, the sweet grape flavor came through strong while also having some brandy notes.

We were happy to see that the bitterness on the back of the barleywine didn’t overpower the sweetness we loved on the front. However, the Commander has a unique bitterness to it that almost reminded us of a grainy coffee.

At 12.5%, it’s definitely a dangerous beer, but we all agreed that just about anyone would enjoy this one. We also agreed that the Commander was our beer of the day.

One piece of advice we’ll leave with our audience, if you ever get the chance to try the Commander, drink it as if you’re drinking a fine wine or whiskey