Sunday, July 8, 2012
Mt. Carmel Brewing Company Summer Wheat Ale
Holy hops, Batman! A wheat beer with some bite to it! Who knew? Wheat ales are always good summer beers, but rarely are they anything to write home about. If I were for some reason in holed up in Cincinnati, I would most definitely write home about Mt. Carmel's Summer Wheat Ale. This is without doubt one of the finest wheat ales out there. At a modest 34 IBUs, you would not expect much in the way of hops. But surprisingly, the flavor is hoppy in an American pale ale sort of way. I taste a good bit of citrus, and the main fruit notes are lemony. The lemon cuts the wheat but doesn't wipe it out completely. I mean, why drink a wheat beer if the wheat's going to be completely downplayed? Mt. Carmel has done a great job of doing what all craft brewers try to do at this time of the year - create a lighter "thirst quencher" beer with a genuinely fuller flavor. This is a really nice beer, made with quality ingredients and very fresh-tasting. Maybe you think of this as a wheat beer, or maybe you think of it as a wheat beer/pale ale hybrid. Either way, I've found a mainstay of my summer drinking lineup for years to come!
http://mtcarmelbrewingcompany.com/
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Great Lakes Brewing Co. Lake Erie Monster
What kind of brewery makes its summer seasonal a double IPA? An awesome one! I’m weird since I dislike American pale ales because they’re “too hoppy”, yet I like the far hoppier
www.greatlakesbrewing.com
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy
There are lawnmower beers, and then there are lawnmower beers. Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy is the lawnmower beer to end all lawnmower beers. Its rating on Beer Advocate is a paltry 71 – definite proof that a lot of craft beer connoisseurs have prejudices against “average Joe” brews. Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly well-crafted. Hell, a beer like this that could easily be terrible if it were not perfectly in balance. So hats off to the Leinenkugels for getting it right! Summer Shandy is their take on a traditional German Radler – half pale lager, half lemonade. It is, of course, brewed specifically for the summer months when something cold and refreshing is in order. And boy, does this stuff ever hit the spot! It doesn’t taste “off” or too sweet or disgusting. For what it is, it’s pretty darn perfect. It may be a lemonade beer, but it’s still a beer. The lager component is rock solid. And if you hate the idea of lemonade in beer, that’s a matter of taste and not a knock on the quality of this product. Honestly, I haven’t mowed a lawn in almost 20 years. But coming home from the gym in a non air-conditioned car is kind of similar to coming in from mowing a lawn. And I do that a lot. Both cases are fine occasions to pour a Summer Shandy! The cynic will say that the booming sales of this beer are a sign that it’s lowest common denominator swill. But conceptually, there’s nothing wrong with a beer that almost everyone can love. It’s simply a matter of whether it’s quality or garbage. If Bud or Miller tried to make a shandy (and trust me, they will sooner or later), they’d fuck it up royally. Do not underestimate the Summer Shandy!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout
Honestly, it's not as gross as it sounds! Flying Dog's Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout stout is brewed with Rappahannock River oysters. Proceeds benefit the Oyster Recovery Partnership, which works to restore the endangered Chesapeake Bay oyster population. What a cause! And what a beer! I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of stouts, and this is seriously one of the best stouts I've had in a long time. To use some highly technical beer terminology, I'll say it, uh, tastes real good. It's creamy, and a little on the light side for a stout. There are notes of roast, subtle chocolate, and coffee. The inclusion of oysters adds a slight mineral element, which may sound weird. But it's not weird. This is a damn good beer - one of the best Flying Dog offerings I've tried to date. If you prefer smooth, flavorful stouts to "intense" ones, you will dig. This beer has done so well that it's been graduated to year-round status. So clearly I'm not the only one who approves. When's a novelty beer not a novelty beer? When it's delicious!
www.flyingdogales.com
www.flyingdogales.com
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Anderson Valley Brewing Company Summer Solstice
Honest to God, Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice is the best summer beer I've ever had. I don't think anything else comes close. Too often in the craft beer industry, "summer ale" is a euphemism for "overpriced swill". If that's all you're looking for, you might as well drink Miller High Life. But Anderson Valley, brewers of one of the world's best winter ales, make a summer beer that's just as good. The typical summer ale is light - both color-wise and taste-wise. Summer Solstice, on the other hand, is copper colored and majorly malty. And you know how I am about those malty beers! A little added spice brings something "extra" to the flavor, and all in all this is a sweet & creamy dream. It's the best of both worlds, really: combining the crisp thirst-quenching qualities of "lawnmower beer" with the depth of flavor and quality craftsmanship of the finest micro ales. Plus it's sweeter than your run-of-the-mill summer beer. And in the summer, I like sweet. I've seen this knocked as a "woman's" beer. What does that even mean? Women don't know good beer? Come on! Some of the highest authorities on beer I know are women! Who drinks Summer Solstice? Everyone who likes their beer to be awesome!
www.avbc.com
www.avbc.com
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Uinta HooDoo Kolsch Style Ale
Since I’m on a springtime “light” craft beer kick, how about a Kolsch? I love a good Kolsch. I love saying the word “Kolsch”. And the venerable Salt Lake City microbrewery Uinta makes one of the best Kolsches I’ve had in recent years. Seriously, this is what a “light beer” should taste like! Refreshing, lightly hopped (25 IBUs), and full of grainy/bready/biscuity notes, HooDoo is nothing fancy. But that’s the point! Hardcore beer snobs will probably say stuff like, “It’s fine for what it is.” Fair enough, but it’s more than just “fine”. It’s outstanding. What I love about a Uinta beer is that it’s always top-notch and always fresh. Maybe I’m crazy, but I swear there’s something in the water out there. You couldn’t brew a beer that tastes like a Uinta in, say, Hoboken. HooDoo, amongst the Uinta roster, is one of my favorites. Forget the backhanded compliments. This is a great beer, period. One of my big “things” as a beer guy is that I like to see what breweries can do with the simpler styles. Sure, it’s nice to concoct a “big” beer. I know the double IPAs and Belgian tripels get all the glory. But in my book it takes just as much skill and sensibility to brew up a basic style and make it really good. No wonder Uinta has been in business for almost 20 years. They can do it all. Their HooDoo is an A-caliber Kolsch. It’s got a touch of sweetness, a touch of bitterness, and a crisp, dry finish. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes beer, even if you don’t ordinarily don’t go for craft beer. It’s a great lawn mowing beer, a great pizza and burgers beer, and a great bullshit with your friends all night beer. It makes my short-list of go-to light-colored beers. And trust me, that short-list is a very short list.
http://www.uintabrewing.com/
http://www.uintabrewing.com/
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Tröegs DreamWeaver Wheat Ale
My first review in weeks, and I'm writing about a measly Hefeweizen? God, I'm a lousy beer geek! Call me nuts, but if we're talking Tröegs, I actually find the DreamWeaver more to my liking than the much-ballyhooed Nugget Nectar. I don't know. Perhaps I'm just in the mood for a warm weather brew. "Light" not just in color but in all the other ways that matter (15 IBUS, ABV 4.8 percent), this is a wheat ale to be quaffed. And quaff it I do! Combining four wheat types with Munich and Pils malts and noble Saaz hops, DreamWeaver is no run-of-the-mill Hefeweizen. After all, we are talking a Tröegs ale. So you know you're getting top-notch quality. The yeast strain they use adds notes of banana and clove, and this added dimension of flavor complements the usual crispness that is par for the course with a wheat ale. In short, this beer is just really, really good. The taste is clean and spicy in all the best ways. I've not managed to drink one of these without draining my glass well before I finished my meal. This is not a "sipper". It goes down easy and begs to bought and consumed in large quantities. Backyard barbeques and pool parties are just around the corner. Don't be cruel and stick your friends and family with Blue Moon. Have some class! Why settle for a wheat beer that's refreshing but average when you could drink one that's refreshing and delicious? Yes! Yes! You know I'm right! Tröegs rules as always.
www.troegs.com
www.troegs.com
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