Midnight Whistle by Tin Mill Brewing Company

Wow, it has been too long since i have written a review. I wanted to write about something different for this one but a friend of mine game me this beer and said that when I drink it, I had to write a review on it. So, my next post will be a little different but this one is a review.

Tin Mill Brewing Company is a brewery in Hermann, MO. Hermann is about an hour and a half west of St. Louis. Hermann was settled by the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia in 1837. Hermann has quite a bit of rocky hills. The Germans decided to plant vineyards. Their grapes began to grow. Those of you that are not from the St. Louis area may not know that they grow wine in the area. I am not a big wine drinker so I won't comment on the wine. I will say that Missouri wines have won quite a few awards. How could you have a German town without beer? In the 1860s, there were two breweries in Hermann.

Unfortunately, World War I brought about quite a bit of anti-German sentiment in the United States. Then, the Volstead Act of 1919 was the deathblow to beer and wine in Hermann. You don't need to do a Google search of the Volstead Act of 1919. It was called the National Prohibition Act. Since Hermann's large industries were out of commission, there was no money to modernize the buildings. Now, there are now wineries and microbreweries in Hermann. Since the buildings were not modernized there is a charm about it that is very cool. The people of Hermann say that it has an old world charm.

Tin Mill Brewing was the first commercial brewery in Hermann since prohibition ended. Prohibition ended in December of 1933. Tin Mill was organized in 2005. Tin Mill stays with the German brewing tradition. I have not been to this brewery but I will make sure that I do.

The only beer I have had from Tin Mill is Midnight Whistle. Midnight Whistle is a dopplebock. A dopplebock is a German style which means double bock. A bock is a dark, malty, smooth beer. They are usually between 6.5% and 8% ABV. A dopplebock is one of Germany's biggest beers. It has ABVs above 7%. They are maltier but not very bitter.

Ok, having said all of that about the style, Midnight Whistle is under 6% ABV. It was a nice dark color with a very thin head. It has a nice aroma to it. I enjoyed that part. When I took a sip, I was impressed but then it faded away pretty quickly. The taste just disappeared. It started with a bit of roasted malts and chocolate and then *poof* it was gone. On the back end of it, all I got was carbonation. It was almost a let down. I was hoping that there would have been a bit more body for a dopplebock. I really like the style but unfortunately, this did hold up.

It started nice but then it was gone. I will give this one 3.0 hop flowers though. I look forward to visiting Tin Mill Brewing Company very soon.

No beer review, just some thoughts on an SB commercial

During the Super Bowl last night, there were quite a few good commercials. I thought most of them were less than funny and more emotional. There was one that got my attention.

There was the Nissan commercial playing Harry Chapin's Cat's in the Cradle was tough. After watching that commercial, I guess there was a gust of wind that brought some pollen in through an open door. My allergies started acting up a bit even though I don't think I have pollen allergies. Here is that commercial in case you missed it.

Then there was the Nationwide commercial about a kid falling to his death. Check this one out.

Those aren't the commercials I am talking about. It was a Budweiser commercial. No, not the one where the puppy got lost and almost got taken out by a wolf before it was saved by horses. No, it was another one. Take a look at it to remind you.

I enjoy drinking craft beer. I like to taste different styles of beer. I like IPAs, stouts, sours, etc. When I was younger, I drank Bud. I was never a big fan of it but that's all I knew, so that's what I drank. I finally got in to drinking Guinness. That is some good stuff. I also got in to other AB beers like Amber Bock, which I still like. They make a Michelob dunkelweizen that I really like. I started drinking craft beers and was amazed at all of the different styles out there and I loved it. I started brewing my own beer because it was fun and I could make different stuff. 

During the Super Bowl, I started seeing mentions of an AB ad that was taking a shot at craft beer. My wife mentioned it also. We looked it up and found the commercial above. The first thing that popped into my head was "HYPOCRITES!" AB-Inbev have been buying craft breweries the past few years. They bought Goose Island, which still makes some real good beer. They bought Blue Point Brewing Company out of Long Island, NY. They then bought a small microbrewery in Bend, OR called 10 Barrel Brewing. Then most recently, AB-Inbev bought a microbrewery called Elysian Brewing out of Seattle, WA. So, in my opinion, AB-Inbev is taking a shot at craft brewers but yet buying craft brewers. Weird.

Other people have discussed this ad and I agree with most of them. A fellow blogger, Caroline, just discussed this ad also. What really gets me, is the fact that they said in this ad that they make beer the hard way. So, the craft brewers out there (around 3,000 in the U.S.) must be making beer the easy way. Look, I have gone to the AB brewery here in St. Louis and it was very cool. It was pretty awesome to see their process. I am sure that the people at AB-Inbev take great pride in what they do and the ending process. I have also been to many craft breweries around the country and they have a very similar process as AB but on a smaller scale. These men and women that own and work at the craft breweries put in a lot of hard work. They make many different styles of beer and I know that they are very proud of the finished work. This ad seems to make what they do trivial. 

The other thing that bugged me about the ad was when they said that Bud is "made for drinking, not dissecting." I love grabbing a bottle of 2nd Shift Liquid Spiritual Delight. It is an Imperial Stout made by a microbrewery outside of St. Louis. I love dissecting this beer because as it warms up a bit, different flavors emerge. It is really awesome. Then there is Contact High by 4 Hands Brewing out of St. Louis. It is an American Pale Wheat Ale. I love to smell the citrus in that one. The flavors are amazing and you can start to pick out the different hops that are used. Tasting and enjoying a good wine is the same thing as tasting and enjoying a good beer. When I drink a Bud or a Bud Light, I admit that it is a clear beer and is crisp and yellow. There is one flavor to it. I have no problem with people that drink Bud, Bud Light, Miller, Stag, whatever. To each their own. There are so many great beers out there thanks to craft brewers. 

One other thing about this ad that I found out about a little later is that they said "let them sip their pumpkin peach ale..." Remember when I said that AB-Inbev just bought Elysian Brewing? Well, a few months ago, Elysian brewed a beer called Gourdgian On My Mind. Want to guess what kind of beer that is? Go ahead, guess. Yup, it's a pumpkin peach pecan ale. So, AB-Inbev throws the smack down on brewers that make a beer like that yet they technically make a beer like that since they bought Elysian. 

I will continue drinking beer from microbreweries because I like it. It may cost more than a six-pack of Bud but it tastes so much better. Those of you that drink Bud and others like it, more power to you. We all drink what we like. Just be responsible!

Oh, here is one more commercial that you didn't see during the Super Bowl. Check it out:

I Am A Craft Brewer