Over the last year or so I’ve noticed that the My Favorite Beers list, a compilation of all the highest scoring beers reviewed on Hoppy Boston, has skewed very heavily towards IPAs. This isn’t surprising, I love hoppy beers so I drink (and review) a ton of them, and so much of the industry is hop focused right now that I have lots of options. Every trip to a bottle shop results in a plethora of new IPAs to try. That being said, one of my goals for 2019 is more balance in my drinking and reviewing, and I would really like to expand the My Favorite Beers list for many of the less appreciated styles. I’ve gotten off to a solid start this winter, up to today I’ve had 5 new beers that will be added to the list and only one is an IPA. Some of this is beyond my control, many of the beers I buy with the intention of reviewing are new to me, some I dislike or never get around to writing up for one reason or another. One way to help stock up the results is to review beers I’ve enjoyed in the past. A good example is Check Raise from Idle Hands Brewing, which won the Mass Brew Bros blind stout showdown I participated in a couple years ago. This beer was by far my favorite in the blind tasting, and I’ve enjoyed it a few times since but hadn’t formally reviewed it yet. Idle Hand Check Raise is available in the winter on draft and in 16 oz cans.
Idle Hands Check Raise pours nearly black with a solid tan head. The aroma features rich roasted malt and a touch of floral hops. The flavor is malt forward, notes of dark chocolate, coffee, caramel and molasses. This is balanced by some noticeable hoppiness, notes of pine and cut grass along with a little bite. Check Raise is medium bodied, easy drinking and not too boozy at 6.4% ABV. The finish features some lingering roasted malt and hop bite. This is a really good American stout, complex but super drinkable. Definitely worth checking out. Hoppy Boston score 4.75/5.
Previous Idle Hands Reviews:
Idle Hands 34 and Six Seam, Idle Hands Brocktoberfest, Idle Hands Proeme, Idle Hands Thing 1, Idle Hands Heide, Idle Hands Riding Shotgun, Idle Hands Adelais, Idle Hands D’aison, Idle Hands Triplication
Hoppy Boston 
