Friday, March 31, 2017

Schell's Frost Hop #4 Kolsch-Style

This beer is from the most recent sampler pack from August Schell Brewery of New Ulm, Minnesota. They are the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States (over 150 years and counting).  They brought in flash frozen hops from Germany and brewed four different styles of beer. This is a kolsch-style ale brewed with Mandarina Bavaria hops.


The beer pours a clear dark golden. There is nearly an inch of white foamy head. The aroma is grains, bread dough, light floral, with a grassy bitterness. The taste follows the aromas, adding in a light, but bright note of mandarin orange. The grain/bread notes are rich, with a dry bitterness refreshing on the finish. The beer drinks very easy, tingling with carbonation, a bit brassy on the end. The fruit amplifies in the aftertaste.


Shell's Frost Hop #3 Pilsner

This beer is from the most recent sampler pack from August Schell Brewery of New Ulm, Minnesota. They are the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States (over 150 years and counting).  They brought in flash frozen hops from Germany and brewed four different styles of beer. This is a pilsner brewed with German Huell Melon hops.


The beer pours a yellow golden, champagne, in color. There is over an inch of white foamy head. The aroma is hay, golden grains, bread, with light honeydew melon. The taste follows the aromas, hay and straw, bread dough, light melon, but with a bracingly bitter finish. The beer drinks crisp, fresh and easy. This is a tasty and refreshing take on the pilsner style.  



Schell's Frost Hop #2 Export Style

This beer is from the most recent sampler pack from August Schell Brewery of New Ulm, Minnesota. They are the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States (over 150 years and counting).  They brought in flash frozen hops from Germany and brewed four different styles of beer. This is a German Export Style beer brewed with Tettnang hops.


The beer pours dark golden in color. There is a half-inch of white head. The aroma is a bit sweet, floral, fresh baked bread and pastries. The beer drinks smooth, bread and pastries, with a floral and grassy bitter finish. This has a nice smooth and creamy body, but also crisp carbonation. This is tasty and pleasing to drink.  


Schell's Frost Hop #1 - Helles

This beer is from the most recent sampler pack from August Schell Brewery of New Ulm, Minnesota. They are the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States (over 150 years and counting).  They brought in flash frozen hops from Germany and brewed four different styles of beer. This is a Helles lager with Hallertauer Mittelfruh hops. 


The beer pours a gleaming golden yellow in color. There is a half-inch of white foamy head, not particularly long-lasting. The aroma is toasted grain, damp straw, light grass. The taste follows the aromas, grain, straw, a bit of bread, with a very bitter finish. The beer drinks very crisp, well carbonated. This is a beer's beer for lager drinkers.


Sunday, March 12, 2017

Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark

Leinenkugel's Brewing Company is from  Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.  They began brewing in 1867. Leinenkugel's has been owned by Miller for some time now. This is their 4.9% ABV year round American dark lager.


The beer pours very dark brown, with dark ruby. There is an inch of tan head that fizzes down. The aroma is a light tones of dark roasted malt and char. The taste is dark roasted malt, toasty, nutty, almost a toasted coconut note. The finish is a touch sweet, but mostly dry, with light bitterness. The beer drinks very easy and light. In fact, it's body is a touch light for its flavors. I think their Bavarian-style dunkel is a much better dark lager than this. 


Leinenkugel's Bavarian Dunkel

Leinenkugel's Brewing Company is from  Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.  They began brewing in 1867. Leinenkugel's has been owned by Miller for some time now. This is their 5.5% ABV dunkel, or German "dark" beer, a seasonal release.


The beer pours a very dark brown, dark ruby, nearing black. There is a short-lived head of light tan. The aroma is dark roasted malts, with light char, nearing light coffee or mocha. The taste follows the aromas, very dark roasted malts, char, with a bit of a tang on the end. The finish is quite dry with light bitterness. The beer drinks easy, but with full flavors.  


Anchor Steam Beer

This is a 4.9% ABV steam beer, a style indigenous to California. It is from the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco, California. As they trademarked the name to this late 19th Century style, other brewers now call the style California common. 


The beer pours a deep amber and copper in color. There is an inch of thick, foamy, head of off-white to very light tan. The aroma is malty, much caramel, with plums and dark berries. The taste follows the aromas, caramel and toffee, dark fruits, with a grassy and quite bitter finish. The beer is medium bodied with some crispness.   


Earthquake

This 10.0% ABV high gravity lager is from the Drink Four Brewing Company of Lacrosse, Wisconsin (contract brewed by City Brewing). I know this is going to be bad, the question is just, "How bad?"

The beer pours honey golden in color. There is a short head of white that fizzles down fast. The aroma is sweet and tangy, more like a cheap and off riesling or moscato than a beer. The taste follows the aromas, both sweet and tangy at the same time, with notes of industrial chemicals and circus peanuts candy. The finish is hot and burning. The beer drinks like something hard to keep down. Vile. I am continually baffled by beers of this type. This beer would have only one purpose, and quite frankly there are way better-tasting ways to find a cheap drunk if that is what you want.


Sunday, March 5, 2017

Guinness Extra Stout

The iconic Guinness stout is from the Guinness brewery in Dublin, Ireland. This 5.6% ABV Extra Stout version is a variation on the standard recipe.

The beer pours black in color. There is an inch of dark tan head. The aroma is dark roasted malt, mild char, some dark chocolate and mocha, with a bit of mineral tang. The taste follows the aromas note for note, adding in a bit more char. The finish is dry and fairly bitter. The beer drinks smooth, but without a lot of body. There is good flavor here, it would be nice to meld it with the body of a nitro Guinness.  


O'Hara's Irish Red

This is a 4.3% ABV Irish red ale. It is from the Carlow Brewing Company of Carlow, Ireland.

The beer pours a red tinted dark brown. There is a half-inch of light tan foaming head. The aroma is malty, with a mineral tang, caramel and berries. The taste follows the aromas, malty, caramel, toffee, raspberries, with a bit of a dark roast bite, and pleasant mineral tang. The finish is stone dry, a bit astringent, and fairly bitter. The beer drinks smooth. This is quite nice!


Rogue Dead Guy

This maibock inspired ale is from Rogue Ales of Newport, Oregon. I have not had this beer in quite some times, but it is one of those beers I was surprised to look back and see it was not on my blog.  I didn't think it had been that long since I drank it!


The beer pours a dark orange, copper, amber. There is a relatively short head of very light tan foam. The aroma is malty, caramel, plums, dark fruit. The taste follows the aromas, very malty, caramel and toffee, dark fruits; there is sweetness, but the finish is dry and quite bitter. The beer drinks with a good body and moderate carbonation. I should have been drinking this more frequently, it is very tasty. (Sorry for the crappy picture).


Josephsbrau Radler

This 4.0% radler is from the Josephsbrau Brewing Company of San Jose, California (it is my understanding they are contract brewed by Gordon Biersch). It is a store brand of Trader Joe's

The beer pours a light amber in color. There is nearly an inch of white head that quickly fizzles down. The aroma is well toasted grain with lemon over the top. The taste is the reverse, a blast of sour lemon over the toasted grain. The finish is dry with a very mild bitterness. The beer drinks easy, but this beer is out of balance. Better radlers mix their grain and lemon in more balanced proportion.  


Murphy's Stout

Murphy's Irish Stout was originally brewed in Cork, Ireland. It is 4.0% ABV.

The beer pours black in appearance. There is an inch of thick, very creamy head that is light khaki in color. The aroma is dark roasted matl, light coffee and dark chocolate. The taste follows the aromas, this is a very smooth drinking coffee, mocha, chocolate milk shake of a beer. The finish is mostly dry, with a moderate bitterness. The beer drinks very creamy. This is one very nice Irish stout.  


Mankato Fruit Inferno IPA

The Mankato Brewery is in North Mankato, Minnesota. It is the first production brewery in that city since 1967. This is a 6.5% ABV India Pale Ale made with mango, passion fruit, and pineapple.


The beer pours a hazy apricot and honey in color. There is a tall, thick, foaming head of white. The aroma is mango and passionfruit, lighter on the pineapple, over a bed of toasted malt. The taste follows the aromas, adding in a tart kick, as there is a bit more pineapple in the flavor than in the aroma. The beer finishes quite dry, with a moderately strong bitterness. The beer drinks with an easy smoothness, and tingling carbonation.  


Shiner Birthday Beer 108: Cold-Brew Coffee Ale

A beer for their 108th year, this 5.0% ABV cold-brew coffee ale is from the Spoetzel Brewery in Shiner, Texas, maker of Shiner beers. It uses Chameleon cold-brew coffee. 


The beer pours a very dark brown, with just a tint of ruby. There is a short and short-lived head of very light tan. The aroma is mostly a very pleasant cold brewed coffee. The taste is delicious cold brewed coffee over a slightly sweet malt base. There is very mild bitterness. The beer drinks refreshing, with a “just right” carbonation. This is a very straightforward, but very tasty coffee ale.  


Saturday, March 4, 2017

Mankato Ice Queen

The Mankato Brewery is in North Mankato, Minnesota. It is the first production brewery in that city since 1967. This is a 4.5% ABV American blonde ale.


The beer pours a lightly hazed yellow golden. There is nearly an inch of white foamy head. The aroma is grains, grass, along with light fruit and floral. The taste follows the aromas, pleasant toasted golden grains, with some grassy and floral bitterness. The finish is fairly bitter. The beer drinks smooth and refreshing. This is a nice pilsner like blonde ale.  


Toppling Goliath King Sue

The Toppling Goliath Brewing Company is in Decorah, Iowa.  This is, I believe, pretty much a doubled up version of their Citra hopped pseudoSue.

The beer pours a completely cloudy light orange in color, like fresh squeezed pink grapefruity juice with a bit of pulpy orange juice poured in. There is a tall, thick, foaming head of white. The aroma is a blast of dankness, fruit and citrus. There is mango skin, passion fruit, and citrus. There is also musky, earthy dankness. The taste follows the aromas, big, chewy, round, ripe, lush, fulsome. The finish is dry, with a moderate bitterness, some grapefruit astringency, citrus rinds and peels. The beer is smooth and round, with a tingle of carbonation. Massive!



Tsingtao

Tsingtao lager is from the Tsingtao Brewery of China. 

The beer pours a clear light yellow and golden. There is a very short lived head of white. The aroma is full of lager funk, with straw and sweetened grain. The taste follows the aromas, golden grain, a touch sweet, bread dough, some straw, and the lager funk. The finish is lightly bitter. The beer drinks easy with crisp carbonation.


Deschutes Pacific Wonderland Lager

The Deschutes Brewery is in Bend, Oregon. This is their new 5.5% ABV lager.


The beer pours a clear, pure golden in color. There is an inch of white, foamy head. The aroma is clean, grain, toasted, touch of sweet, touch of grass. The taste follows the aromas, hitting the same notes, clean, grain, grass, with a fairly bitter and dry finish. The beer drinks with a refreshing, stinging carbonation. This is a nice quaffable lager. 

Lagunitas Aunt Sally

This 5.7% ABV dry-hopped sour ale is from the Lagunitas Brewing Company of Petaluma, California (and now with a brewery in Chicago, Illinois). 


The beer pours a dark golden in color. There is a relatively short head of white foam. The aroma is musky, tart, yet sweet, floral. The taste is incredibly tart, unexceptedly so based on the relative mild tartness in the aroma. There is lemon, along with much flowers, and a woody earthiness. The beer drinks smooth, crisp in its tartness, with a relatively bitter finish.  


New Belgium Citradelic

This 5.2% ABV "exotic lime ale" is from New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado.

The beer pours a clear, light yellow golden in color. There is a half-inch of white foam. The aroma is lime, kaffir lime, and coriander. The taste follows the aromas, bright lime, tasting like something out of Thai cuisine. The finish is a bit spicy and moderately bitter. The beer drinks easy and smooth, with thirst quenching carbonation that complements the lime's refreshment. This would be great on hot days, with spicy foods, Asian foods, and to use in beer cocktails.


New Belgium Tartastic

This 4.5% ABV lemon ginger sour is from New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado.


The beer pours a lightly hazed yellow golden. There is a short lived head of white foam. The aroma is tart, lemons, lemon juice, and spicy ginger. The taste follows the aromas, tart lemon and ginger over toasted wheat. The finish is dry. The beer drinks easy, light, smooth, with a tingle of carbonation. This is simple, tasty, and refreshing.  


Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Rolling Rock Extra Pale

Rolling Rock originated in 1939 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania with the Latrobe Brewing Company (the original brewery is now owned by City Brewing and they allow Sam Adams to brew there; and Diageo apparently brews Red Stripe and Guinness Blonde there). The Rolling Rock brand is now owned by AB-Inbev. This is an iconic lager, 4.4% ABV, with painted labels rather than paper on its bottles. Is this still a hipster beer? I remember in the early 1990's in Boston, this was the hipster beer at rock clubs. 

The beer pours a clear light yellow and golden. There is over an inch of white fizzing head, which is not particularly long lasting. The aroma is light, cracked corn, grass, and a touch of wet cardboard. The taste is also light, following the aromas, with just a tingle of bitterness on the finish. The beer drinks crisp and light, tingling carbonation, goes down very easy. Not much here, but what is there is not offensive, easily drinkable, and way better than Bud Light.