Last night, in the stock room of Total Wine at the St. John’s Town Center, a group of beer lovers gathered to taste Laughing Dog brews and Bahama Breeze food. Everyone left with a smile and a full belly.

The November event — A Crew Members Best Friend is Beer — of the Springfield Brew Crew was a huge success raising over $400 for the Jacksonville Humane Society.

The brain child of Crew member and BeerJunto.com owner, Steve Rushe, the event celebrated the entry of Laughing Dog beers into the Jacksonville market. The night went off without a hitch and the food pairings from Bahama Breeze were delicious! A HUGE thank you to Steve and his crew of servers for a wonderful event.

Now, let’s talk beer. The beers samples last night were:

Laughing Dog CSB — A solid English style ale with notes of butterscotch and malts. Very enjoyable and easy drinking (I liked it so mush I bought a bottle).

Alpha Dog Imperial IPA — As you would expect from an IPA, this one has a fresh piney nose with solid citrus notes. The flavor is again piney and citrus and a sweet finish.

Devil Dog IPA — More citrusy and malty. Drank easily with caramel malts which opened up as I drank more.

Dogzilla Black IPA — Another great IPA, this one nearly black in color and well balanced. I found it the easiest of the IPAs to drink.

The Dogfather Imperial Stout — Thick and delicious this beer was perfectly paired with a chocolate brownie, mouse dessert. The chocolate notes and subtle bitterness of the beer played accross my tongue like a wonderful dream. Another bottle I purchased at the event.

Again, thank you to Steve and the gang at Total Wine. You put on one really great party and I look forward to more great events!