Beer reviewers call on presidential family for opinions, relationship advice at Bad Habit

This week is a big one. It’s why we punch our clocks each week and deliver subpar reviews. Bad Habit Brewery is a staple of St. Joe, pumping out wonderful sours, IPAs and lagers that appeal to even the low-life seltzer drinkers. Since both of us have extensive experience at this brewery and by no means did we want this review to be like any other random review (surprisingly enough, we do plan a little bit for these articles), we wanted this review to be astounding and unprecedented.

We couldn’t think of anyone better to help us review this St. Joe classic than the first joint president of CSB+SJU, President Brian Bruess, his amazing (and always stylish) wife Carol Bruess and their four-legged friend, George Bruess. We dug into two flight boards worth of Bad Habit’s finest. It is important to note that we, in our snobbery, finished our flights much slower than the Bruess’s. Perhaps the stress of dealing with the student body every day will do that to people. We’ve selected four brews based either on taste or the ones that generated the most banter.

Enjoy, but remember that these beverages should only be consumed by those 21 and older. Remember to Stop @ Buzzed.

**Johnnie Lager + Bennie Ale**

We decided to strongly integrate these two beers into this review. Carol noted that the Johnnie Lager was “lacking in taste, smells a little funky and has a less mature finish.” We’re talking strictly beer, of course, and as two Johnnies, we couldn’t agree more. Brian added that it reminded him of “a rusty fender on an old car.” Maybe also late fall tackle football with the color of a leaf in the arboretum on our end.

The Bennie Ale, of course, smelled and tasted better, with a generally more mature character throughout. Again, we’re speaking strictly about the beer. It had a lighter complexion, a lower ABV and was ultimately the favorite of the two. Can’t have one without the other, though. We love Bennies, and we hope you do too.

**Guavalanche Milkshake IPA**

Turns out, the Bruess’s are big IPA drinkers, and we couldn’t help but suggest that they try at least one of the Milkshake IPAs that we love so much here at Bad Habit. We all agreed that this jack-of-all-trades brew was our favorite. Brian said his ideal location for this brew was “in the comfort of a cabana while the hot sun is shining.”

Carol was more surgical in her analysis and described the multitude of flavors that could be paired with a chicken kebab or substituted for a mimosa on a Sunday brunch. After a few minutes of deductive reasoning, Carol and Chuck determined that its best pairing was with a walleye fish taco.

**George’s Dog Brew**

As an interlude, we have to include his majesty, George Bruess (the family’s Bernedoodle), in the review. Chuck worked his charm on the bar staff and George was able to sit at the head of the table where he belongs. He was very well-behaved and generally unimpressed with our conversation, understandably. Chuck still picked him up some turkey broth flavored Dog Brews from Busch. They smelled as bad as you would think, and our buddy Mason, a known vegetarian, still came by our table and took a swig. He barely kept it down. As for George, Brian noted that he seemed generally unimpressed with the drink. At least we tried, and at least he was a good sport for us.

**Red Beeron (Red IPA)**

We got creative on this one. It was a breath of fresh air into our review, as it tasted unlike anything we tasted to that point. Jack pointed out that it tasted like an old fashioned with maraschino cherries, which was met with agreement. Carol pointed out that it tasted like a Hall’s cough drop, but definitely not in a bad way. It’s a handsome, confusing and unexpected libation that should be paired with a nice slab of red meat, preferably a venison tenderloin or jerky for all of our deer hunters at CSB+SJU.

**Jolly Melon (Watermelon Kettle Sour)**

We’re going to give the floor entirely to Brian and Carol on this one. By far the most contentious brew reviewed. It is important to note Carol’s distaste for extremely sweet beer. She surprised both Jack and Charlie with her choice words (something about joy and jolly) on this brew which rivals our distrust in the Kona Hanalei Island IPA from Week 2. We’re just glad Carol stuck around to finish out the review with us.

Meanwhile, Brian went the completely opposite direction, saying that it “does not belong as a beer. It reminds me of my 1972 red stingray bike with a slicked back tire with the red seat, with high back bars and an ace of spades in the spokes.” He went on to brag that he was able to jump the most kids in the neighborhood off of the bike ramp.

Yeah, the Prez is an athlete and was definitely reckless a 12-year-old (but weren’t we all?). All we can say is if you like sweet beer and jolly ranchers, you’ll like this one. If you prefer the hoppy, bitter flavors found in IPAs, run for the hills from the Jolly Melon.

We want to sincerely thank the Bruess family for giving us their time to share some great beers and even better conversation. This was the most fun we’ve had writing the column to date. If you want to be let down, keep reading for next week’s review. We have no idea what we’re gonna do.

We have to mention that Chuck was lucky enough to get some great relationship advice from both Carol and Brian to hopefully help in his quest for love. He plans to keep them posted on his recent endeavors. Jack’s chillin.

Long season.