Beer of the Week: Highland Brewing Daycation IPA

Beer score: 5.8

Company: Highland Brewing
ABU: 4.9
IBU: 40

To be honest, I know IPAs have been popular for a few years now, but it's one of my least favorite types of beer, so I'll be glad when that trend burns away.

That being said, this one has a huge foamy head, if that' your thing. In a clear glass it has a slightly cloudy copper color and gives off smells of citrus zest and maybe a little bitter woodiness.

On the tongue, this one is fairly watery for an IPA. There's initially a burst of citrus bitterness not uncommon to this style, but it burns away quickly to be replaced by a vague flat bitterness that lingers on the back of the tongue for a while.

One of the lighter IPAs I've ever tried.

Books read in 2025: No. 36 -- Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Started: Sept. 22

Finished: Oct. 14

Notes: I've been trying to read more horror of late, but I honestly can't say if this book qualifies or not. I don't even remember why I bought it other than I had listed it on my Books I want to Read list. I don't even remember why I placed it on that list, but something must have drawn me to it. Anyway, I know there's been a movie of this novel, though I've not seen it, and I seem to have spotted some blurbs online about the movie at least having horror elements, so maybe it'll fit in with my current reading attempts.

Mini review: A wife goes missing and all the clues seem to point at the husband, as might be expected. But this is a complicated story where nothing is at it seems. Without giving anything away, I will say the true villain here is one of the most devious, though not necessarily bloodthirsty, I've read in fiction in a long while. Ultimately, this is a story about bad people who deserve one another. I can now see why this one made my list of books to read.

Beer of the Week: Highland Brewing AVL IPA

Beer score: 6.0

Company: Highland Brewing
ABU: 6.5
IBU: 70

Pours a faint golden color with some very slight cloudiness. Smells like orange zest. Has a decent foamy head.

As with nearly all IPAs, there's some bitterness that hits the tongue upon tasting, but here it's not all that strong. The bitterness does tend to linger, but it's way in the background for the most part, hanging around on the tongue.

I've had better from Highland Brewing, but I've also had slightly worse (in fairness, most of their beers are pretty good). If you're a fan of IPAs, this one is worth tasting. If you're not a fan of IPAs ... uh ... then go drink something else.

Beer of the Week: Highland Brewing Wishing Star

Beer score: 6.0

Company: Highland Brewing
ABU: 6.8
IBU: 70

Going into a clear glass, this one looks extremely pale, almost clear, though there is a hint of yellow, and there's a sizable foamy head. The smell is fairly weak, in my opinion, but there are hints of bitterness and citrus.

The taste is a stronger version of the smell, with bitterness and citrus, but neither are overly strong. To add, that bitterness is definitely present, but it's also quite smooth and not as strong as I've experienced in other IPAs, which is the style of beer here. There's also none of the skunkiness I've sometimes experienced in IPAs.

Is this a great beer? No. But it is a pretty good beer. I wouldn't turn my nose up if handed one.

Beer of the Week: Highland Brewing Trailbound Hazy Ale

Beer score: 5.9

Company: Highland Brewing
ABU: 5.8
IBU: 45

Pours a cloudy lemon color while having a nice foamy head and giving off light scents of citrus and maybe a little grass.

The taste is sturdier than this beer looks, fairly bitter when it hits the tongue, though smooth with a citrus fruitiness not unlike orange zest. That smooth bitterness lingers, but it's not overly strong.

Not a bad pale ale, but I've had better beers from Highland Brewing. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to drink one of these again, but I also wouldn't turn one down if it was handed to me.

Beer of the Week: Rogue Mocha Porter

Beer score: 5.9

Company: Rogue
ABU: 5.3
IBU: 54

This one has become difficult for me to find, especially as I had not tried it again until recently in more than a decade, but I had some luck a while back and landed some.

Pours very dark, almost black, into a clear glass, with touches of brown around the edge. Has quite the foamy head.

The smells given off are of dark and roasted chocolate.

Pretty sweet for a porter. There's some maple flavor behind all that sweetness, but there's plenty of that dark chocolate.

Heavy on the stomach. Rather unique. Not for wimps.

Books read in 2025: No. 35 -- Strange Weather

by Joe Hill

Started: August 30

Finished: Sept. 22

Notes: The couple of novels from Hill that I've read in the past were pretty good, so I'm looking forward to this collection of four novellas.

Mini review: This one took me quit a bit longer to read than I felt it should have. The four tales here are all quite excellent, written very well, but one of them, "Loaded," affected me and I had step away from it for a while. I have read plenty of horror over the decades, even darker works not necessarily related to the genre, but this story about mass shootings just hit a mark with me; it's a good story, but it's not one with a happy ending. I don't know. Maybe it's because of the number of shootings in the news of late, but usually material like this doesn't affect me in such a manner. This time it did. Ah, well. Anyway, these tales are worth reading.