15 October 2009

Sameul Adams Brewery - Boston Lager (Boston, MA)




This is my second rating for a Sam Adams beer.  The Irish Red did not rate well with me, so let's see how the Lager measures up.  The color is orange-yellow, with a big white foamy head.  I can smell some citrusy oders, some mild malts and a little yeast.  The taste is slightly sweet and flowery with a tight hop zing at the finish.  This is much better than I remember from a tasting of it a few years ago.  I remember it having a really bitter finish that stuck around for a while.  Either that was a bad batch or my taste buds have changed.  Overall this brew is quite good and makes up for the bad experience I had with the Irish Red.

Rating:  B+

Samuel Adams Brewery

14 October 2009

Rules for drinking beer

What rules?  Rules?  We don't need no stinking rules!

Well, actually these are more like guidelines that always should be followed for a great beer drinking experience.

1.  Never drink beer out of the bottle.  That is a big no-no.  (Although Guinness Draught in cans and bottles have a widget that allows you to drink directly from the container while giving it a fresh tap poured taste.)  Always pour your beer into a suitable glass (check this out this post).  What I mean by pour is not the same type of pour that you would use when pouring a soda.  It's more like dumping the brew out instead of pouring.  Start from about a foot above the glass and tip the bottle over, letting the beer fall out violently into the glass.

2.  Never drink your beer out of a chilled glass.  All this accomplishes is to water the beer down as the cup warms up.  (Condensation)

3.  Not all beers are meant to be enjoyed at typical refrigerator temperatures (34-38 degrees Fahrenheit).  Most lagers should be served in the mid-forties, while some ales (especially browns, porters and stouts) should be served at around fifty degrees.  As the beer warms up, more flavors and aromas are released, making for a tastier drink.  So let your beer warm a little before drinking.  Some beers (not naming names, but you can probably guess that they come from the mega U.S. breweries) must be choked down at near freezing temperatures to keep the unpleasantness at a minimum.

Follow these simple rules and you'll have many good drinking experiences in the days ahead.

Of course, the last rule is to NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Porter (Chico, CA)



Sierra Nevada is one of the most popular craft breweries from the U.S., and from tasting this porter I can see why.  This ale has a dark walnut brown color with a dark tan head.  It has a nice chocolate aroma with a full bodied, chocolate malt taste with a hint of hoppy spicyness that finishes smoothly and pleasantly.  I can hardly wait to try other offerings from this brewery.

Rating:  A

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Scottish & Newcastle (part of Heineken International) - Newcastle Brown Ale (Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England)




Me and the family were eating at Andolini's in North Chuck last Sunday when I noticed that Newcastle Brown Ale was on tap.  I remember drinking it a few years ago but didn't remember much about it so I decided to try it again.  Right off, the experience started going down hill.  The aroma has a strong alcohol scent with a weak malt smell.  The taste has a weak malted flavor with a strong alcohol presence, with way too much carbonation.  No wonder I didn't remember it.

This beer doesn't live up the the hype.

Rating:  D+

Newcastle

Sameul Smith - Nut Brown Ale (Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England)




Here is another brew from England, Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale.  The color is dark reddish-brown, with a thick tan head.  The aroma is heavenly, consisting of nuts, caramel, and cocoa scents that gets the mouth watering.  The taste has a slightly sweet nutty and roasted malted flavors, followed up by a perfect and mild, slightly dry hop finish.  There is absolutely no wateriness at all present in this full flavored brew.  A nutty aftertaste lingers for a while that is very pleasant.

This is a beer that every beer lover should try and definitely keep in their private stash.  Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale is truly a World Class brew.

Rating:  A+

Samuel Smith's Old Brewery

Budweiser Budvar Brewery (Budějovický Budvar) - Czechvar (Czech Republic)




Here is the world famous Budweiser!  Not the Budweiser from Anheuser-Busch, but the first Budweiser from Bohemia.  There is a long history of disputes about trademarks and names between the U.S. and Czech companies that you can read about here and here.

Anyway, to the beer.  It has a pale yellow color with a white head.  The aroma has some flowery and earthy notes with the typical pilsener skunky smell.  A slightly sweet, citrusy flavor with a mild hop finish is quite tasty.  Overall, it's a really smooth and crisp beer and a great example of the pilsener stlye.

Rating:  A-

Czechvar

Morland Brewing - "Old Speckled Hen" (Suffolk, England)




Here is my first rating of a brew from across the pond.  Nothing really stands out in the aroma, maybe some mild malts.  Its taste is a mild maltiness with a even bitterness from start to finish, but nothing really special.  I guess that this is what the English call a "bitter".  It's not bad, but not my style.

Rating:  C

"Old Speckled Hen"

Thomas Creek Brewery - River Falls Red Ale (Greenville, SC)




Here is another offering from my state, an Irish-style red ale.  Its aroma has a roasted caramel smell, with not much of an hop presence.  The palate is mild roasted malts, with a clean finish.  A very good, all around ale that lives up the the Irish-style billing.  The only drawback that I found was that it is just tiny bit watery, but not enough to ruin the overall taste and feel.  Overall, it's a big thumbs up for the brewing skills of my state.

Rating:  B+


Thomas Creek Brewery

13 October 2009

Looking for some beer glassware?

I found this site the other day that didn't come up on my earlier searches for glassware for beer.  It's a family-owned business that has an extensive collection of many different styles of beer glassware, some styles are available for personalization.  They also have handblown glassware.  I'm saving up for a few personalized Imperial pint glasses myself. (I just know that beer will taste better drinking out of them : ) )  Check 'em out:  pubglasses.com

Sameul Adams Brewery - Irish Red (Boston, MA)




This has a malty aroma with a slightly caramel flavor with a tight, although mild hop finish.  However, there is what I can only describe as a chemical aftertaste that coats the mouth and tongue that lingers for a long while and is not very pleasant.  I'm quite disappointed with the Boston Beer Co. about this brew.

Rating:  C-

Samuel Adams Brewery

Atlanta Brewing Company - Red Brick Brown Ale (Atlanta, GA)




This brew is a good example of an American brown ale. It has a coffee and cocoa aroma with not much hop presence.  A chocolaty and slight coffee taste with sweet, slightly burnt hop finish goes down the gullet well. I highly recommend this ale to everyone.

Rating:  A

Atlanta Brewing Company

Brooklyn Brewery - Brown Ale (Brooklyn, NY)




This brew has a roasted chocolate and coffee aroma with some flowery notes.  The taste is full of roasted chocolates, coffees, and earthy flavors that finishes with a burnt, slightly bitter end.  This ale tastes to me a lot like a Guinness Extra Stout, but smoother and not as sharp and dry.  This is one to keep in your personal stash.

Rating:  A

Brooklyn Brewery

Have questions about beer styles?

Do you know the difference between an ale and a lager?  What's a bock?  How about the differences between an English brown ale and an American brown ale?  If you don't know, click here and here and learn about the exciting world of beer!

RJ Rockers Brewing Co. - Bald Eagle Brown Ale (Spartanburg, SC)




Hey, a brew from my state!  This beer is an English-style brown ale that is very malty with a slight bitter finish.  I found that it was over carbonated and not very full flavored.  A little mar upon this state's brewing skills.

Rating:  C+

RJ Rockers Brewing Company

Atlanta Brewing Company - Red Brick Summer Brew (Atlanta, Ga)




This is a traditional German-style hefe-weizen (unfiltered wheat) that has a wonderful fruity and slightly spicy flavor.  This is a very crisp, clean, and refreshing beer, and is the best hefe-weizen that I have tasted.

Rating:  A-

Atlanta Brewing Company

Spoetzl Brewery - Shiner Bock (Shiner, TX)




This brew has a good balance of malts and hops that produces a very smooth, malty flavor with almost no aftertaste.  A great crisp and clean beer for a hot day.  However this beer lacks a full body taste and is a little watery.

Rating:  B+

Spoetzl Brewery

Victory Brewing - Prima Plis (Downingtown, PA)




Slightly fruity flavor, good presence and body.  Has an intense and sharp bitterness that comes on strongly before swallowing and sticks around for a while, tasting very much like an orange or lemon peel.  To be fair, I had a terrible sore throat while drinking this brew, so I'll try one later and summit my rating at that time.

Victory Brewing