Barrel Aged Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

Creation: Barrel Aged Frosted Frog Christmas Ale
Style: Winter Warmer
Masterminds: Hoppin' Frog
Location: Akron, OH
ABV: 8.6 %
IBU: 12
Hops:
Availability: Seasonal Winter
Drinkability:  All night long, not too sweet not too heavy with enough of an ABV to keep you warm throughout the Holidays!
Awards: Won the Annual Blind Christmas beer tasting at Vintage Estate Wine and Beer 2012 in Boardman.  Topped his event in 2010 and 2011.

"Not the Gumdrop Buttons!"

Served Cold out of the bottle

Pours with a dark black to brown with a red glow on the edges.  Reminds me of a color hybrid between a porter and an amber.  Minimal head and carbonation

The Cinnamon nutmeg and ginger spice sing Christmas Carols to you senses!

Starts off with a Dark Spicy Christmas malt with silky sweet chocolate notes.  It's as if I was eating Nestlé chocolate all my life then all of a sudden found out what Godiva chocolate that literally melts in your mouth tastes like.

Leaves the mouth  Coated with a Finish of  a light cinnamon sweetness that sticks around for a minute.

Serve Warm(er): to really let the Christmas spices come to the front and stop hiding behind the malt.

O-Dawg: 4.0 heads

Post-mortum:
The old crew got together in that brief window between Turkey Day and X-Mas to catch up and wish each other a Merry Christmas.  What better Place to meet up than Shallo's!!!  If you find yourself in Greenwood, IN please go here!  Try anything that has the Swamp sauce on it and pair it with one of there HUGE selection of micro-drafts and micro-bottles.

Being in the Christmas spirit I decided to try out the Frosted Frog.  Now I have tried D.O.R.I.S and B.O.R.I.S from Hoppin' Frog with fantastic results so I figured this to be a no brainer beer purchase.

I liked it, The Big Guy liked it, hell our wives liked it (and that doesn't happen...  Ever...). It was a Merry Christmas to my pallet courtesy of Hoppin' Frog.  I would recommend snagging one for the cold winter nights ahead!  Delicious!

Merry Christmas to all out friends once again!  We would t know what to do without you all!

The Big Guy: I did in fact like it. This was an excellent winter warmer. It delivered everything I was looking for plus a nice hop profile you don't always find with this sort of beer. The sweet malt and booziness was like getting rocked to sleep on a Christmas Eve. I give it a 4.5

Hop Your Face

Hello.  My name is Luke and I am a Hop Head.  Yes, I know I have a problem.  Yes, I have eaten hop flavored candy before, and yes, I liked it.  If I could make hop pellets into oatmeal I would.  I know it's fucked, but that's who I am.  I am the new American beer lover and I can put hops into EVERYTHING and it's okay damn it!

Beer.  Face.  Hop Your Face.  Get it?
Which is why I don't balk at the chance to quaff an Imperial Double IPA that is brewed within walking distance.

Fountain Square Brewing Co. (FSB) just had their 2nd year anniversary party and lucky me they tapped their last keg of Hop Your Face left for the masses and I was pumped.  I had heard talk of it over the summer, but I was too enamored with FSB's Big Nuggets to try anything else.

I was left disappointed, but I still enjoyed this up and coming brewery's offer.

It came out of a room temp keg whose tubes were chilled in a cooler of Ice.  It was a party, so whatever.  As expected, it was a beautiful amber and I was left looking for a mosquito with that diiino D-N-A.  There was little head, which could have been for a myriad of reasons, but it was cold.  And it was beer.

For a beer named Hop Your Face, I was hoping for that hop punch you get from those amazing IPAs coming out of the west coast, but alas, I could only describe this beer as underwhelming.  Delicious, but uneventful.

It started out with a strong floral taste.  I really had to move my tongue around to get any hint of fruit.  By the time I had found some citrus, the rye kicked in.  The beer wasn't overly bitter, or boozey for that matter.  Like a lot of FSB's brews, they are clean and balanced.  This beer wasn't too bitter, or too hoppy, or too much rye, or... you get the idea.

I just wanted it to pick a flavor.

With that being said, the average craft brew drinker wouldn't hate this, in fact, its lack of overwhelming anything it what makes it so drinkable.  As a hop head, I want that first sip to be Emril yelling, "BAM" and me left disoriented and hallucinating in a fruity, floral paradise   Instead, I could drink this while watching Rachel Ray dole out the ee vee oh oh and thinking, "Why is her head so big?"

I give this 3.5  heads (or one Rachel Ray head). Yes, I'm picky, but this is a solid brew worth drinking.

 

 

 

 

 

1221 Imperial Stout

I was really upset that I missed out on this beer when it was released for the Fountain Square Brewing Company's End of Days Party. That was one of those weeks where there were too many good beers and too little time. If I couldn't take it home in a growler it probably wasn't happening.

When I found out that they were releasing it again for their Winter Luau, I had to have it.

Me, El Duque and my Saintly Wife got to the brewery when they opened at 2:00 to make sure we had a seat and to check out some of their house beers. The vibe was cool and laid back. We had a sampler then moved on to some of the seasonals. All in it was a great day, but I was in a hurry to get to the 1221 Imperial Stout. Thank God they tapped it early because I was able to get the beer at 5:30 not 6:00.

The 1221 Imperial Stout poured out a dark black without a hint of brown on the edges. The head was a mocha color and sat light and fluffy about half an inch thick. There was great lacing as the beer went down. It had a 11.1 abv, but the IBUs were not listed. Because the abv was so high, you got a tiny 8 or 10 oz glass, which made me sad, so I had two.

There was a great smokey aroma to the beer. It mingled well with scents of sweetness and cocoa. The beer had a thick syrupy mouth feel. It coated everything without sticking around too long.

It had a big chocolatey flavor with hints of brown sugar sweetness. It was incredibly heavy and over the top, which I LOVE. It had a very light hop finish (I was expecting more hops from an Imperial), but it had a very nice boozy quality. Behind all that sweetness there was a great, light but pleasant smoked flavor. This is what I thought the maple smoked beer that I had from Rogue should have tasted like. The smokiness helped to balance everything and kept he sweetness from overwhelming the brew.

This was a wonderful beer. It was well balanced for an imperial stout. It was so good I bought a shirt.

I give it a 5

The Scene: Fountain Square Brewing Co.

When I first moved back to Indiana in December of 2011, it was a time of reunions with old friends, and jobless alcoholism.  One of my first stops was an old haunt in Fountain Square, the Brass Ring.  Full of hipsters, art deco decor, and most importantly, bartender friends who will sling me a free drink or two.  That night, they had just gotten a keg from a new brewery that was right across the street, and a friend had used my waitress as a model for one of the beer labels. How wonderfully quaint.

I had one IPA and it was disgusting.

I smiled and said, "Mmmm yep that's beer!" through tightly pressed lips and a shit eating grin. Whenever someone talked about FSB, I talked shit, and felt justified.  It wasn't until I relocated to Fountain Square that I realized that holy flying fuck was I wrong.

FSB was started by former Eli Lilly employees, and brewing seems a good transition for a microbiologist, chemist, and an automation specialist.  These backgrounds really come out in their beer and aesthetic.  It's clean, and pragmatic.

Their lab is open to viewing from the tasting room

Their tap room is a basically a corner of a warehouse converted into a bare yet comfortable social area.  High tables and large leather couches are an inviting contrast to the bare concrete and corrugated metal.  The bar is the sole bastion of their artistic flair.  Even though they went with a classic Art Deco logo to fit in with Fountain Square's history, you don't see those touches anywhere else, but at the bar.  Beautiful wood is centered around a bright, LED light insert of the FSB logo.

A weird mix of DIY bare-bones and artistic flair

The tap room itself is indicative of the brew scene itself.  Bearded, barrel chested beer cicerones, forty year old women ready to party, smug hipsters, and yuppies all thrown together enjoying the same thing.  Good beer.  The mood is always light, and the food trucks outside always heavy.

This is one of those places you go to a couple times a month and always enjoy yourself.

As described on their website, they think of themselves as "ambassadors and stewards."  It's fitting. They have a robust volunteer crew and let hobbyist home brewers use their facilities to brew their own recipes.  FSB just loves beer and its culture that spawns the people that keep coming back for more.

Oh, and did I mention that they have beer?  Such good beer.  They do the standards right.  Even a hardened Bud Light man would find delight in their crisp house beers.  Their seasonals are well done and truthful to their style, and it's all presented to you in a no-brow fashion.  It's high quality without the cost.  $4.50 pints and discounted Sunday growler fills.

I chose, uh, this one

Now, all I do is praise FSB.  In my mind, there are in that upper echelon of the new crop of of breweries that have sprung up in Indy in the last three years.  If you're looking for a comfortable place to grab some excellent beers that wont set you back, then this is your spot.

Address: 1301 Barth Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46203

Phone:(317) 493-1410

Hours:
Monday          Closed
Tuesday          Closed
Wednesday     4:00–9:00 pm
Thursday         4:00–9:00 pm
Friday             4:00–10:00 pm
Saturday         2:00–10:00 pm
Sunday           12:00–6:00 pm

Beer Gear: Portland Growler Company

What do you get the man with a passion for beer? Something to put it in!

Most of you who spend time at your local brewery probably have growlers and bullets to spare, but this one is different. The guys at Portland Growler Company have made a very nice product. These are hand poured ceramic growlers that have been slip caste  inside and out. With a very strong flip top style cap that keeps any gasses from getting in or getting out (you can replace the top if you wear out the ring) this growler keeps beer fresher, longer.

I got this one for my most recent birthday. It is sleek and sexy. The growler is also nice and heavy which lets it hold the temperature of the beer better than the standard glass growler or the stainless steal growler that I have. It is opaque so you do not have to worry about light spoiling your beer.  This is the best growler I have ever had the pleasure to use.

The only issue with this growler is that it's so nice, that I don't want anyone putting stickers on it. The growler doesn't have the surgeon general warning and other information that you need by law, so chances are someone is going to have to deface your new toy.

Because these are handmade, they can take a little while to get to you. The wait is worth it. Go get you one!

I give this a solid 5

Teddy Bear Kisses

Upland's Teddy Bear Kisses is an Imperial Stout with 10.2% ABV and 80 IBU.  It has a specific gravity of 26.5, and the color is 63.4 SRM.

I served Teddy Bear Kisses from a bottle.  It pours a very dark brown, basically black.  There was a thick, tan head, with fairly long retention and some lacing.  The aroma had strong roasted and chocolate scents.  The taste starts with strong chocolate, and the accompanying chocolaty bitterness.  Then, it mixes with the roasted malts, and finishes with a lingering dark cocoa.  Despite the high ABV, the alcohol taste is fairly well hidden.  It had a creamy mouthfeel, and medium body and carbonation.

Teddy Bear Kisses was a very good Imperial Stout, unfortunately it's a seasonal and won't be readily available for a while.  I'll definitely be looking forward to Teddy Bear Kisses when it comes out again next fall.

The Big Guy: Have you ever been so excited to see a movie in the theaters that you went opening night, and came out thinking it was just ok? That is pretty much how I felt about this release. I had been waiting for so long in eager anticipation, but what I got did not live up to the hype in my head. Beer was good but most of the flavor was coco powder and roasted (almost burnt malts). It was a fine stout, but not something I will spend a lot of time trying to find next year. I give it a 3

Rye Da Tiger

OK, so first off this is the greatest name for a beer ever. I stopped by Three Floyds (FFF) on my way back from my in-laws in Chicago, so I have been on a real FFF kick lately. Rye Da Tiger is their rye imperial IPA. This is the double version of their Rye da Lightning. The beer has 8.6% abv and I have not been able to find the IBUs but I saw somewhere (unreliable web source) that it is over 100.

It pours out a golden color with a big fluffy white head. The head sticks around long enough to give you a mustache every sip you take for most of the pint. It has a very heavy citrus and tropical fruit aroma that is both sweet and bitter. It has a great mouthfeel and nice light carbonation that lasts as the brew sits out.

On first taste, it has a strong flavor of oranges, lemons and other more subtle tropical fruits. The flavor is smooth and blends well together. There is a slight amount of caramely sweetness in the body of the beer. There is also a nice peppery flavor from the rye.  This balances out the strength of the hop flavor with out being overwhelming itself. It has a great finish with strong hops and that rye tingle in the back of your throat. The beer finishes up clean and tasty.

  

I am not normally a fan of hoppier beers, but I really like this one. The fruit flavors are put on display, not shoved down your throat. So often when you drink a truely hoppy beer you get beat over the head with citrus bitterness. Here, it all comes together in a smooth fashion that I could drink all day.

This has to be one of my favorite IPAs. I give this bad boy a 4.5

Naughty Claus Holiday Spiced Ale

Creation: Naughty Claus Holiday Spiced Ale
Style: Winter Warmer
Masterminds: The New Albanian Brewing Company
Location: New Albany, IN
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: 10
Hops:
Availability: Seasonal Winter
Drinkability:  All night long, not too sweet not too heavy with a little holiday zip  that pairs nicely with cookies!
Awards:

"Hooo Hooooo Hoo!"

Served Cold out of the bottle from the 20 degree garage

Pours with a red brown with a caramel gold glow on the edges.  Minimal head but bubbly non-the-less.  Nutmeg and ginger spice nose sing Christmas Carols to you senses!  Nutmeg seems a little overpowering though.

Starts off with a light Spicy Christmas taste.  Orange Peel, Sweet Ginger Root, Cinnamon, Nutmeg All bubbly and sweet.  The orange starts to overpower the other tastes.

Leaves the mouth  with a very light finish of  cinnamon sweetness that doesn't stick around.  The orange turns bitter at the end in a most unusual way.

Serve Warm(er): to really let the Christmas spices come to the front and stop hiding behind the malt!  Watch out for the orange peel...  If you like Grande Marine, you will really like this beer.  Much better than serving cold.  Finish really shines!

O-Dawg: 2.5 heads

Post-mortum:
It's the  Christmas dash to the finish! One year ends, another begins.  Food, friends, family,  did I mention the booze?  It helps with the family part...  I kid, I kid!  But seriously...

I picked up this little surprise on the way home pre-blizzard.  Wasn't really anticipating popping it till the new year, then i Got snowed in...  Woe is me?!  Snow DAY!  Beer by the fire and video games, reading books  with a side of Christmas movies!

It wasn't the best Christmas Warmer ale I have had.  If a pal brought it by I would drink it, but I don't think I would go buy another one after this lackluster taste.

Happy New Year to all our friends!  We would t know what to do without you all!

Beer Gear: Das Horn

If you are looking for the ultimate in bad ass drinking apparel look no further than, Das Horn! Mine is already on order, so further review to come.

https://dashorn.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/das-horn

Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

I love stouts. I LOVE high alcohol stouts. I have never had a stout this high in abv. Bourbon County Brand Stouts were put together by Goose Island brewery in Chicago, IL. This is their coffee release. It has 14.3% abv and 60 IBUs. It pours out a dark black beer with a tan to brownish head that stands about a finger tall and disappears to nothing but wisps and lacing after a few minutes.

The smell is big on the bourbon followed up by coffee. I think I had an uncle whos mug always smelled that way... hmmmm...

The flavor was big. The malts were heavy up front with hints of chocolate, toffee and obviously the coffee. These flavors mixed beautifully with the vanilla oakiness from the bourbon barrel aging. There was a slight toastiness to the malts that added another nice layer to the flavor profile. I was shocked at how well the bourbon flavor covered up the flavor of such a high abv beer. The oak flavors of the barrel also helped to mellow out the sweetness from the big malts.

The flavor got bolder as it heated up in my tulip glass. Malts came through a little bit stronger and the barrel flavor fell away a little bit. The coffee flavor also became richer, moving on to an almost espresso like quality. I served this straight out of the fridge at 40 degrees. Next time, I will probably let it warm up before I start drinking it.

It had a big syrupy mouth feel that coated every edge of your tongue, but not in a bad way. It didn't linger too long or have that oily consistency that we've seen before.

A lot of people were concerned about the quality of the beers at Goose Island after they were purchased by InBev. It was unsure if they were going to be able to produce unique beers that were true to the craft movement. This beer has put my worrying to an end. It is cool to see a large company still do it right on a smaller scale.

This is one of the best beers I've had in a long long time and I still have one more bottle aging. This is a limited release so go get it if you can. The next version of this they are releasing sounds like it will be vanilla.

I give it a 5.

Cannonball Doyle

Union Brewing Company's Cannonball Doyle is an Irish Dry Stout with 3.9% ABV.

Like all of Union Brewing Company's cask ales, Cannonball Doyle was dispensed by their beer engine, as opposed to a more common pressure-dispense tap.  The thick off-white head had good retention, and bubbles cascaded down the inside of the glass for a short while after being served, much like beer from a nitro tap.  The beer's color is very dark, almost black.  Cannonball Doyle has some dark chocolate notes and some coffee-like bitterness.  It has a creamy mouthfeel, with a medium to light body and fairly low carbonation.

I found Cannonball Doyle to be a good example of an Irish Dry Stout, and any fans of the style would be well-served to give it a try.  Since the Union Brewing Company makes all their beer in small batches, it might not be around too much longer; however, it will hopefully be a regular at the Union Brewing Company.

The Big Guy: I think that UBC has a bright future in Indianapolis's craft beer scene. Cannonball Doyle was a tasty, bitter, and very dry stout. It was nicely balanced with a lot of character for a session brew (anything labeled session is a beer under 4.2% abv). Often in the US we push for big, bigger, and freaking big, whether its abv, or IBUs. The guys here did a great job of producing an easy drinking beer while keeping the flavor as big as any imperial, double or barelywine out there. I give it a solid 4.

O-Dawg:
I finally got to try this on tap the weekend of July 4th, 2013.  I wasn't trying to procrastinate, I just couldn't seem to get down to the Brew Pub fast enough to get a tasty pint of this stellar brew when it was on.  The points that made this Dry Irish Stout really stand out for me was the combination of flavor, low ABV's and deceptively light body.  Great combo that pushes it up to a 4.5.  If you want to know what Cameron is brewing up at Union Brewing Company or what cask ale really is all about try this brew!!!

Bastard VS Bastard VS Double Bastard

Ohh Arrogant Bastard, how I love you. This is my kind of hoppy beer. So often I find a hoppy beer to be nothing but a bitter hop flavor. The Arrogant Bastard, however, brings hoppy joy to life with a nice flavorful ale. The color is almost a dark orange or burnt sienna (yes, I said burnt sienna, my wife is in design it's not my fault). It has a citrusy smell that you get from a lot of West Coast IPA's.

Although the hops dominate the taste of this beer, the sweet maltiness helps round them out and make them less abrasive. This isn't one of those beers where they just tried to see how much hop they could force down our throats, it's well balanced and refreshingly delicious. With caramel and slight citrus fruit flavors there is some great balance with the citrus and pininess of the hops.

When it comes to an all around good beer, there are few things that could out do the Arrogant Bastard... or so I thought.

I just got some Oaked Arrogant Bastard on tap at Shallo's. It was impressive, so to be fair I went out and got a bottle so I could compare bottles to bottles. In a competition between bastards the Oaked Bastard had all of the strong points of the original with added complexity of an oak aging process, which I believe helped to mellow out the bitterness of the hops even further. Right away there was a woody vanilla aroma added to everything that had already happened with the AB. All this is good stuff, but I will say the oak flavor was pretty intense. It overwhelmed a lot of the great flavor that you got from the original Arrogant Bastard. If you like the oak aged flavors, this beer totally delivers.

To take this one step further I decided it was important to get the double bastard in here. Double Bastard is the "barley wine" version of Arrogant Bastard. It's 11.2% abv instead of Oaked and Standard AB which comes in at 7.2%. The Double poured out a little less transparent than the other two but about the same coloring.

This was my favorite of the three beers. It smelled a little bit more like berries and the same citrus hoppy aroma from the other Bastards. Upfront there was caramel and fruit flavors with rich sweetness and slight toastiness. This was balanced out  by a clean bitterness that lasts for about ten seconds of bliss and then it rolls over to the alcohol flavor.

This is definitely more boozy than the others, but it is still well balanced. The heavier malts and hops help to cover up the alcohol taste and make the whole thing pretty smooth. It has a heavier mouth feel than the other two beers, but it was not unpleasant.

In wrap up:

• The Oaked Bastard was less hoppy but had a heavy vanilla flavor. If you are scared of heavy hops or just love an oak finish this is the beer for you.
• The standard AB had the cleanest finish, the Double Bastard had lingering booze flavor and the Oaked had lingering woodyiness. It is hard to beat a classic.
• If you like something with a bit more kick, Double Bastard is your brew. Solid flavor, tons of kick.

Arrogant Bastard- 4.0

Oaked Arrogant Bastard- 4.0

Double Bastard- 4.5

Kilt Lifter

I was at Shallos a few nights ago and decided to start running down their draft list. This is a feat most mortal men cannot handle on their own, so we got some friends together and got started. One of the standout beers for me was Moylan Brewery's Kilt Lifter. This being my sixth Scotch ale review, no one should be shocked that I picked this brew.

Kilt Lifter is a wee heavy, which means that it has a higher amount of alcohol. This one is 8% abv. The beer pours a nice red brown color with a cream colored head. The head goes away pretty quickly. It smells bready and malty with just a hint of the booziness inside.

The beer itself has a nutty red/amber sort of flavor. Heavy with breads and a bit of cinnamon. All this is pretty sweet, verging on overwhelmingly so, but it does come around with a bitter smoked oak flavor mixed with the hops that helps settle it all down. The bitterness lingers a bit followed up by the boozy taste that you may expect from anything with this high of an abv.

It is a smooth almost creamy beer, which surprised me because so many scotch ales are lighter than they look.

This was not my favorite Scottish Ale, but it was well worth the drink. I give it a 3.5

Sun King Tap Takeover

Sun King came up from downtown and took over the taps at Chatham Tap in Fishers. They brought eight beers with them and dominated the bar. 

I am not sure what I was expecting, but it was mostly the normal bar at Chatham with some taps changed out (when I went to a Bells take over they had stickers, raffles etc.). The cool thing was, Sun King brought some of their rare and hard to find beers. If you like something different this was a great event.

I had three of their beers, the Bourbon Barrel Aged Maibock, Stupid Sexy Flanders (sour), and Timmie Imperial Stout.

These are all beers that I was excited to try. I missed the Sourfest, but I heard good things about Stupid Sexy Flanders.

The Bourbon Barrel Aged Maibock was my favorite. It was 8.4% abv and 24 IBU Bavarian Spring Lager that was nine months barrel aged. It reminded me of an Oktoberfest, but lighter. The nose was basically honey and bourbon. The beer showed up with a great looking light brown or dark yellow color and a light white head. It tasted like caramel, toffee and natural honey. The bourbon mingled well with all the different sweet flavors without the usual vanilla flavor that you get from a bourbon barrel aged beer. It helped balance the whole thing out. It had a heavy alcohol finish.

I give it a 4.5

I had the Stupid Sexy Flanders next. This sour or wild ale had 5.4% abv and 23 IBUs. I have not done a lot of sours, so the review is going to be brief. I liked it a lot. The beer was a dark red to mahogany in color with no head.  It had a nice sweet and sour flavor to it that took some getting used to. It reminded me of bitter berries and red wine vinegar, but it was not very fruity. The flavor was complex and very very unique. I recommend you get your hands on it when you can.

I give it a 3.5

Lastly I tried Timmie Imperial Stout. Timmie has 10% abv and 70 IBUs. It came out in a tulip glass. It was a dark brown to black oil colored beer. It smells like heavily roasted malts and boozy alcohol. The beer started off with a very nice dark roasted flavor, not super smokey but it was nicely balanced. The malts tasted like baking chocolate and coffee. There was a nice sharp bitterness with the sweetness. I am not sure that the hops came out heavily but the beer's flavors were so well balanced it was not needed.

I give it a 4

BREWniversity: Growler Care

Growlers are one of the best ways to get fresh local beer from the brewery to your house, but they have to be taken care of correctly. If you don't treat your growler right, it won't treat you right.

After you finish drinking the delicious beer from your growler, you should wash it out with warm water and NO SOAP. Soap will cause issues with your beer when you refill the growler and it can possibly give you a serious case of intestinal distress. You should use the same warm water and wipe the cap out with a paper towel or clean cloth, then rinse with hot water again. Turn the growler upside down and allow it to dry thoroughly  Do not put the cap back on it until it is totally dry (or just don't put it back on). If you put it back on and the growler has not fully dried you can start to get mildew or mold.

If you happen to take your time before washing your growler, you may get something growing in there. This is bad, there will be a unique aroma coming out of the growler, and it won't be good. If it happens to you, clean the growler out with a little bit of bleach mixed with warm water(or sanitizing acid used in brewing if you homebrew). Cap the growler and shake it up to try and loosen anything that may be clinging. Then rinse it out again. If you still can't get it out, a bottle brush should reach into the bottom of your growler allowing you to get a better scrub.

As long as you rinse it out well and let it dry you should not run into these problems.