Brew Dog/Mikkeller Devine Rebel 2010:
Good evening friends and neighbors and welcome to the last day of slumming the beer cooler for me.  Its been arduous to say the least and I wanted to end this month with a bang and I think I did by picking a collaborative malt liquor. The first brewer is Mikkeller is one of those off-beat breweries from Denmark that makes really interesting and usually good beers (i.e. I have a chipotle porter from them that is awaiting a date with my church key).  Brew Dog is another odd duck, they only sell in singles and rarely are they cheap but I haven’t encountered anyone who outright hates them though they all say they are “different”.  Today’s brew is a Brew Dog and Mikkeller’s malt beverage and an hell of one at that.  The first thing to note is this bad boy is expensive, way more than I would of thought and WAY more than I’ve ever paid for a bottle (that includes the 120 IPA), it’s total cost equals about 10 days worth of expenses in this past month’s challenges.  Secondly, this bottle has a flavor complexity equal to Duchesse De Bourgogne (see February 25 for that ground breaking review) and we will try to nail down this flavor profile in a minute.  The brew is described as so: “This rebellious beer is partially aged in oak Speyside whisky barrels and partially aged in stainless steel, combines an ale yeast and a champagne yeast and showcases a single hop variety.”  So the malt pours well,  I used a tulip glass instead of the mason jar because…because a bottle that cost this much needs a chilled and classy glass.  Anyway, the malt pours well opening up with a decent foamy head that lasts through the first quarter of the sampling and a ethereal nose of flowers and rotten fruit.  The taste profile starts out very bitter but quickly moves into a subtle fruit and vinegar before finishing a dry coca finish.  The taste lingers and lingers well, though a complement of a water on the side would do wonders for experiencing the complexity of flavors in each sip.  The brew sports a nice 13.8% ABV which makes it fall into the "one's more than enough" category.  All in all, a great way to out and a it provides me an interest in two more breweries.  Tomorrow, back to beers, huzzah!  

Porembski Home Porter:

Evenin’ folks! Every once in-a-while a opportunity comes across my sampling table and I want to share it with you, and today is one of those days. Today we sample a locally made home brew, something born out of that mysterious area known as the Highlands of the Lake by a good family known as the Porembskis. Via a unnamed source (his initials are Jace Alexander) I acquired a bit of this dark brew in front of about 8 of Fort Worth’s Finest this morning (really!) and I have to say, the risk was worth the reward. The Porembski Porter is a nice home brew that follows the note that all porters should: coffee. Much like the previously reviewed Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout, this brew has nice subtle notes of coffee that make this another one of those rare breakfast beers. Can’t really comment of the head of the beer, none formed with a beer that was now on it’s third owner and really, it drank like a chilled coffee, but more on that in a minute. The nose was subtle, with the major smell being that of coffee and booze (shocking!) and I knew this would be enjoyable. The taste was good, a very muted taste profile with nothing jumping to the front of the line but all are noted: coffee, caramel and silky smooth malts. A good beer, I see it as a good base beer, something that could have any number of flavor profiles added to it, but I’m not the brewer, just the consumer and I enjoyed what I had. Thank you for the sharing with me my good friends, Alix and Jace.

Foster's Premium Ale:
Good day everyone! So as we near the end of the month, I grow with anticipation of the end of the month and the welcome back of normal beers. Hell, I even loaded up the beer fridge with the next couple of weeks work just in anticipation of this change in the tide. Till May 1 is on the calendar, I have my obligations to you, dear readers, so lets get this show on the road. Way back in February 11th I tried Foster’s Lager which is apparently Australian for beer (one of these day’s I’m going to need to learn to speak Australian) and while it was disappointment on a minor scale (thanks to low expectations on my end,) I yearned to complete the family portrait and today, that dream comes true with a “oil can” of Foster’s Premium Ale. The beer pours really well with a good head that sticks around for quite a while but the nose destroys any idea of a good beer. The nose reeks of a beer gone bad, smelling of burnt sugar and malts. The taste is pretty bad too; tasting overly skunky on the front end and like bad alcohol on the back end. The taste sticks around way longer than it needs too and really, nothing can cover it up for the short term, well, maybe something on the higher end of the Scoville scale might. Well, I did it, one more beer family done, and gladly. Now I will never ever have a lingering thought when looking at that kangaroo on the can and wondering “I wonder…” Yep, never ever.

Natural Light:

Good…night? Evening?  Hell I don’t know, but welcome one and all.  How could I get through this month without completing the straight tree trunk that is that of the Natural Light family?  Well I couldn’t and here is the proof.  As I continue my week of tall boy’s I come to the last remaining member of the Natural family.  Natural Light aka Natty Light is best known for those college students trying make their beer dollar stretch further, Natty Light has helped me get through some lean times myself with it’s case costing less than a soda, per can (and at Sam’s). The beer pours well with a good foamy head that almost resembles a Samuel Adams in it’s thickness.  The nose is one of strong banana and bread with a bit of metallic under notes.  The taste is very malty with a crisp front end a dry back end that isn’t too harsh but is noticeable.  Not a great beer but a good summer beer which, I picture, sitting in Adirondack chairs, cooler by my side and the world passing in front of me in a rush hour style.  Among others in that cooler is Natty Light, sitting on a nest in of salted ice (best way to chill beer) the fate of that can up to chance when I reach blindly in to grab my next one.  Yeah, that’s my retirement plan, or at least part of it.  Till tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel!

Pabst Blue Ribbon:
Evening friends and welcome to another installment of questionable taste, judgment and all around sense of self worth.  As I had indicated earlier in the week, these remaining days of the month will be filled with tall boys of my choosing and which may or may not bend my rules for the month.  That being said, here is the first rule bender.: Pabst Blue Ribbon.  Come on man, how can you not drink a PBR in a tall boy can?  Isn’t this it’s natural habitat?  The beer pours really well and leaves a good head on the beer that last through most of the jar and stays very carbonated.  Nose is one of malts mainly though I did catch whiffs of wheat/grain on a few occasions.  The taste is smooth on the front end with a lot of fizz from the over carbonation and gives a distinct taste of the malts used in this brew.  Backend flavor is dry but tolerable, does tend to hang around longer that needed and gives you that vile cotton mouth feeling that is so undesirable.  We all should try PBR at some point in our lives, it’s practically an American institution.  The beer won it’s blue ribbon in 1893 so how can you not go wrong with a beer still reliving it’s glory days 119 years later?  In all honesty, the PBR can art a classic and the art inspired by it is pretty cool and can be found on their website (www.pbrart.com) but some people…well some people drink a lot, creativity runs wild and let‘s leave it at that for now.   

Beer 30:
What time is it?! No, not Hammer time (though that’s an idea for this weekend), but it is Beer 30, the greatest time around the clock.  However, these good times somehow do not make it through the tall boy’s architecture.  Brewed by Melaine Brewery in Lacrosse, Wisconsin this 4% ABV light lager is late on taste to say the least. The brew pours nicely with a good head but that dissipates a whole lot quicker then I thought it’d would and really admits nose (or odor) to speak of, a slight nose of wheat…maybe.  The taste is of a cheap lager that leaves the mouth dry like champagne and really has not after taste expect for that desert feeling.  For a cleverly named beer, this one could have been a major home run.  It’s got a built in marketing already and if it was even halfway decent, it would have been a great summer beer, but alas, it’s not only late to the party, it doesn’t even show up for the party.  I’ll mark this under curiosity and novelty and won’t give it a second look again.  In research on the brewery, I found a review that described the taste as “I licked the inside of the can then sucked on some wheat.” Well said.

Bud Light Lime-a-rita:
Evening one and all, welcome to day 2 of tall-boy reviews. Today we are going to sample a summer release, Bud Light Lime’s Lime-a-rita. While I haven’t touched the lime beers that are out there, this is was too interesting to pass up during my most recent shopping trip. Brewed by Anheuser-Busch in the Bud Light family, this brew sports 8% ABV and is very strong on the sugar side. Pouring the beverage brought out a minimal foam that lasted for about the same time as water on a hot skillet and the nose was of lime with a slight hint of beer. Color wise this brew is that of a margarita mixer and the taste like one as well. The flavor is of a sugary lime more at home in a frozen concoction machine at your local corner store then a bar and there is real no flavor of alcohol but the carbonation is there. I will admit I do enjoy a good margarita, especially in the summer and one that’s made by hand with real fruit (if you’re curious, look under Food Network Alton Brown’s Recipe); while sweeter frozen margaritas are more the norm (supposedly the frozen margarita was created here in Dallas) they are pretty run of the mill, especially on the lime flavored. Now the addition of a Mexican lager or a Texas beer seems to change the flavor profile to a less sweet flavor which is more to my liking. There a lot of recipes online for beer margaritas and all have various ratios and “special” additions that set their caldron concoction apart. My advice, build your own from several different recipes, much like barbeque, these differ from person to person and, usually, all are good. Overall, not a bad beverage which is technically a Malt Liquor but just not something that’s in my wheelhouse due to it's sweetness.

Twisted Tea:
Hello all! So as a man of my word, I start these next 8 days enjoying what the tall boy section of your local convenience store has to offer. I decided to sample to entry level to a brew that I’ve already had this month, Twisted Tea. I remember hearing the pitch for this brew a few years back and seems to show up in these parts around the same time every year. I’ll admit, I was always curious, but never had a strong enough curiosity to substitute it for a good summer beer. So now that I have the excuse to try this, I’m taking it. The pour is good though no carbonation, no head to describe so we’ll skip that detail. The nose is one of tea and grain alcohol which is interesting since this brew only sports 5% ABV. The taste is one that makes e think of growing up and my parents keeping Nestlé Ice Tea (w/ Lemon) in the can in a little fridge in our laundry room. The tea was sort of sweet with a overly strong lemon and canned taste that some how has stuck with me all these years and drinking this reminds me of that though the under current of booze is there and noticeable. Not quiet as good as the half and half from earlier this month, but still good, just not my cup of tea. HA!

Magnum 40:

Hello friends and neighbors. Well here we are, another day, another malt liquor. The lack of originality in the term “Malt Liquor” is very evident now and for that, I am drawing a line in the sand. For the rest of this month (and the rest of my life) and will not touch malt liquor again…EVER. So today’s final foray into the land of bad is Magnum 40, a brew that pours with a decently thick head that dissipates slowly and loudly throughout the tasting process. A nose of bread, malts and metals dominate as soon as the bottle is opened and are there so much that holding your nose through the whole process while drinking it isn’t that uncommon. The taste is exactly what you’d come to expect from malts and I really don’t need to retread that whole experience in bad taste. The bottom line is this: there is a giant vat of malt liquor (right next to one of high gravity beer) that sells out it’s product in oil barrels to the various brewers out there and they bottle it up and sell it as their own unique taste. After today, I’m spending my final 8 days on tallboys, bending some of my rules and, in general, trying to enjoy what’s left of this month with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Cobra:
Hello ladies and germs and let's welcome me (and these reviews) back to the Lone Star State! So as promised during last night’s pirate beer review, we are back into the 40oz of freedom game and tonight with another convenience store staple: Anheuser-Busch’s King Cobra Malt Liquor. The beverage pours okay with a slight head of foam that loudly dissipates in about fifteen seconds flat and is still overly carbonated. The nose is one of mashed. over ripe bananas and undercooked bread dough (ok, first prize to King Cobra for actually SMELLING different than some of the others). Not surprisingly, there isn’t much room for taste or difference here or any malt liquor before it. The entire tasting process is that of a stale beer that’s still carbonated and a back end of hops and malts. Not the most desirable thing in the world but it’s got to appeal to someone, otherwise why would they continue to brew this stuff? As with the Steel Reserve, I’m now convinced that all malt beverages come from the same vat somewhere in America, they just let brewers buy barrels (I’m picturing oil drums) and then bottle it as they see fit. I won’t be surprised if tomorrows malt tastes just the same.

High Seas Loose Canon:
Well hello all and welcome to the last day of my East coast tour. So I searched most of eastern and central Baltimore County today looking for a tallboy or even malt liquor but most places in areas I was willing to venture carry nothing outside my rules for the month and I wasn’t feeling lucky enough to see just how real “The Wire” or “Homicide” was in their depiction of Baltimore so I resorted to exploring my surroundings. I’m staying down by the water right in the middle of the Inner Harbor area and there is no shortage of restaurants here. In fact, right across the street from me there is a pub called James Joyce and I checked it our last night only to lose interest when I saw that their drink menu was a bright colorful beach picture with tropical drinks. Not really the Irish atmosphere I was looking for so the search for a unique Baltimore brew continued. Tonight, out of tiredness, hunger and boredom, I ventured into Dick’s Last Resort and in process of checking out their taps, I saw a Jollyroger on top of a tap handle and decided to walk the plank on this one. The tap poured out High Seas Loose Canon, a triple hops brewed American Ale. I think it’s well known now that I love a good IPA and a triple hoped one sounds right up my alley. The picture was taken right after being served to me and as you can see, there isn’t much of a head but there is a good amount of carbonation throughout the beer and the nose is one of a rich citrus blend. The taste isn’t quite as hoppy as I hoped but still good. Probably on par with the Dogfish 60 minute IPA, the hops stay with you throughout the drinking process and tend to linger on the back of the tongue as a skunky dry feeling. I paired it with a spicy fish dinner and the pairing worked very well. I hope to come across more of this brewery, their entire line up looks impressive and they seem to have tongue firmly planted in cheek which is always a good sign. Tomorrow, back home, back to malt beverages and 40s.

Steel Reserve High Gravity:
Oh punishment, how my taste buds have missed you. Since I’ve had a couple of days of good beer this week, I had to remind myself where I was in the month and what better way that a high gravity beer. Since I have already touched one of the Steel Reserve brews this month, I knew this day would come and here it is, Steel Reserve High Gravity. First off, I had no clue that this was actually a high gravity until I opened it up and saw the upper part of the can (shows you my mental sharpness isn’t all it can be right now either). Deciding to press on, I sampled the beer that’s been “slow brewed for exceptional flavor” and I was surprised, but more on that in a moment. First, the beer pours well, with tons of carbonation and what has to be the loudest head so far, I could hear the CO2 bubbles popping distinctively from my standing position by the sink. The nose was of an overly sweet bad alcohol that has a metallic under current. Now the surprising part: the taste. It tastes exactly the same as every other high gravity beer. Seriously, it does. I’m beginning to believe that there is just one giant vat of this stuff somewhere in America and they just distribute it around. Nothing distinctive about this one other than it’s another really bad beer. Yep, welcome back indeed.

Leinenkugel Home Run Ale and Summer Shandy:
Well hello one and all, and greetings from the great state of Virginia, just a stones throw away from our nations capital. So I’ve learned a few things here in my visit to Virginia, the first is that the state of Virginia actually sells the liquor in this state. If you want to get that bottle of Patron or Grey Goose, you need to visit your local Virginia ABC store and deal with them. Never thought Texas would seem so inexpressive all the sudden. Secondly, malt beverages are very difficult to find. I searched three different places on the way to my hotel and not a single one had anything unique outside large bottles of the usual suspects. So, I’m calling today a mulligan and giving you TWO beer reviews from the Nationals ballpark. The first beer is what the ballpark affectionately calls Home Run Ale. A nice looking ale with a good head that lingered for several minutes after pouring and a nose of hops with slight fruit and copper undertones, this beer was one that I decided to take a gamble on and it paid off. The beer drinks smoothly with a strong hops front end that quickly mellows and sits well on the back of the tongue with enough presence to keep around but not interfere with food flavors or more sips of beer. My only complaint of this beer is the fact that it leaves a disagreeable taste sitting in your mouth about 30 minutes after drinking it. The taste is almost akin to bitter beer and it sticks around, no matter how much water you drink. The brew is made by Leinenkugel and is a great stadium beer to be enjoyed by all those hop heads who can’t seem to find a stadium eating establishments (outside a bar in the stadium), should just keep going.

Also brewed by Leinenkugel, their Summer Shandy is one of the more unique blends I’ve every had. Now if you combine the number of blended beer’s I’ve had in the past I can, with reasonable certainty, to tell you what is in the concoction. In Leigenkugel’s case, the Summer Shandy is a great mix of a wheat beer and lemonade. Yes, lemonade and if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Most wheat based beers are enhanced by a lemon or other citrus flavoring and with Summer Shandy, they decided to take the Arnold Palmer concept, but with beer instead of iced tea. This beer, poured from a tap, showed up with a watery thin head but a strong nose of citrus and a slight one of banana (that’s the wheat beer coming through in case you’re wondering). So how does it taste? The result are a slightly sweet beer with an companion note of lemonade. A great combo that went well with the baseball game and if it wasn’t in the 50’s during the game, I would have really enjoyed it, but I’m still glad I took a chance on it.

Molson XXX:
Evening all, and welcome to slumming it, Day 17. Today we cross our unsecured northern border and bring back one of their uglier beers, Molson. Now, I’ll admit, I have nice set of Molson Ice mirrored pint glasses at home and I’m pretty proud of them though finger prints show on them like an episode of CSI would after their hocus pocus is done with them. This “XXX” beer is pretty plain, a decent pour with a thick foamy head that actually sticks around for longer than 15 seconds and a nose of hops and malts made me get my hopes up for a decent beer. Yet, I was in for a disappointment, the taste was that of the same of all other lager tallboys that have been tasted this month. Not really going to go back into that pit of ethanol tasting beer but if you’ve regularly read this blog, you know what to expect. After tasting this, I’m not looking forward to the rest of trying the Molson family, but someone has to do it. Super premium beer my ass…

Yuengling Lager:
Hello one and all, greetings from the East coast. Sometimes timing can be a bitch and this week's brews are the example that show that my timing sucks. Here I am, spending two nights in a coastal town with probably one of the premier brewery/distilleries in America and I’m stuck drinking tallboys. Wow, great decision making on my end. Well no use dragging the feelings through the mud, I have a job to do and, hopefully. do it well. So, today we dive into Yuengling and Son’s Lager. Brewed in Pottsville, PA, this amber lager is a nice change of pace from the other tallboy beers that I’ve had so far this month. Beer the educational read on the can, this brewery is the oldest brewery in America and their craftsmanship shows. Lack of having glassware in Hampton Inns don’t allow me to show the color or head on the beer so accept my description. The beer pours well with a minimal head but a strong fragrance of malts and bananas in the aroma. The color is almost like a Shiner but just a little lighter in color and a red tint. The flavor is similar to the nose with strong malts and a banana under current. The taste turns into a back end of bread and that lingers but isn’t too offensive. The rest of Yuengling’s beers sound good thought the black and tan caught my eye. Wish I could find the rest of this line in Texas but it’s an exclusively East coast and Appalachian beer. Will try to hunt down the others this week but not holding my breath.

 

Twisted Tea Half & Half:

Evening all, after a good day of exploring beers, I head back to my obligations of hitting of the tallboys and malts liquors. As with last weekend’s trip into I try to find something at least better tasting than what I’ve been trying all week and today’s beverage of choice is Twisted Tea’s Half & Half (half lemonade and half tea). When I worked the Colonial Golf Tournament a few years ago this was a popular drink for those coming off the course, most of them drunk already and they came slurring and sidling up to me asking for “Drunken Palmers” or a “John Daly”, whatever you want to call it, it’s a drink that’s easy to make and a little too easy to consume a boat load of them. When I saw this can in the cooler at my local corner store, I pondered how I could justify buying this and then drinking it to review; then I remembered everything that I’ve done this month in this blog and went ahead with it, damn the torpedoes and all that jazz. So this brew pours just like iced tea, no foam, no carbonation, that’s a good thing, carbonated ice tea doesn’t sound that appealing. Now, most of us reading this blog are southern and ice tea, especially sweet tea, is a way of life. I know of at least three different ways to make sweet tea, probably 10 to 20 ways to flavor it and of course, there is the add-ons. One of those add-ons is lemonade and it’s a great addition to regular tea (you can add it to sweet tea but talk about sugar overload) giving it a sweet, tart taste along with the obligatory lemon taste. Another great addition is liquor, and its personal choice on what you want to add; vodka for the aforementioned adult beverages, Cajun spice rum if your giving tours in the Old New Orleans Rum distillery, and of courses whiskey. The canned version of this one tastes like a heavy hand of vodka poured it and while it isn’t bad, it does limit the consumption of it. Though I found myself nearly finishing the can, using the lack of carbonation to my advantage and nursing the can throughout most of the day, it was an trial of will at times. Not a bad Sunday drink, I have noticed that there were several other Twisted Tea varieties out there, and maybe I’ll dive back to try another one or two. So there you go, there is a first for this month, I’m actually willing to revisit a line willingly, not out of obligation. Tomorrow, I come from the land of Mary so it’ll be interesting what I find up there. Till then friends.

 Texas Beer Fest 2012:
Greetings everyone, today we are going to press pause on slumming it in the beverage department and give you an overview of the first ever Big Texas Beer Festival which I attended Saturday. The basic premise is a beer tasting with 100 craft brewers pouring over 300 beers. While there were some normal beers that are commonly seen, there was plenty there that I’d either: A) seen but was never curious enough to pay to try, or B) had no clue they existed. So here’s a run down of what stuck with me after sampling 40 or so beers.

Saint Arnolds Summer Pils, while having a label colored for a Graetful Dead concert, is very good and will be a welcome summer beer.
Shiner’s has seemed to have abandoned it’s Smokehouse beer for summer. Per the Shiner girls, Ruby Redbird will be the summer beer again this year. While an awesome beer in it’s own right, the Redbird doesn’t go that well with barbeque.
Oskar Blues G’Knight is an interesting Double IPA from the markers of Dale’s Pale Ale. Really looking forward to trying this one again…maybe on a river float??
Also from Oskar Blues, Yella Pills did not impress when I tried it but given that Oskar is a great brewery, I’m willing to give it another shot.
Rahr and Son’s continues to under whelm, even with a special cask of Vanilla Ugly Pug that was meh.
Saint Arnolds Bitter Belgium was a great ale that is only available on tap. If you run across it, give it a whirl, I think you’ll be surprised.
Cider wise the big discovery was Pomegranate cider from Leprechaun (Houston, TX) was a great find, Woodchuck’s Farm House was a very dry and mellow cider that surprised. Fox Barrel Blackberry Pear Cider was a little sweet for my taste and Ace Pear cider was mellow with a taste not normally seen.
Maui Brewing’s CoCoNut Porter is okay, the idea of a coconut porter sounded great but there was coconut flavor to speak of and the smoothness of the porter was absent. Also from Maui, the big swell was a good clean IPA that I look forward to trying again.
Shock Top may take the surprise of the day with a wheat IPA that tempted me in using two of my stamps just to try again.
Another Houston area brewery, Southern Star is a quickly rising star to watch. Their Bombshell Blonde is a nice clean blonde beer that is refreshing. Their Buried Hatchet Porter is another addition that I basically sealed the deal in making run on their beers this summer.
Full Sail’s Session beers are great, affordable and very drinkable.
Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye lives up to it’s name, will have to ponder it I want to try it again.
Lastly, Real Ale’s Phoenixx Double Extra Special Bitter was a good final beer to have, it had enough flavor to stick with a guy who’d been drinking for 3 hours solid so, hey, worth another shot.

So there you have it, what I remember from my first beer fest. This was a great event that, for being a inaugural event, did have it’s hiccups but hopefully those will be worked out for next year. Back to slumming it now.

HG Hurricane High Gravity:
Hello all, while I’m thrilled as always to see you lets get down to the brass tacks on this challenge. First off, this ain’t fun. Nope nada nein! Now most of these concoctions aren’t terrible, they aren’t great either, but I’m afraid I’ve found the exception to that observation. HIGH GRAVITY LAGER. OH…MY…GOD…these things give bad beers a good name. Wow, so today’s venture in taste masochism is Hurricane High Gravity a woeful lager that’s brewed by those fine folks in St. Louis and Anheuser-Busch. The lager pours well with a nice head that dissipates at a good pace though the carbonation isn’t lasting. The flavor is terrible, making the first h.g. lager from earlier this month seem downright good. A nasty ethanol flavor punches through a sour malt flavor that greats the middle of your tongue way to early in the drinking process. Do I really need to go on further? Well if you want me to go on, too bad, the buck stops here. So, a new rule is being added as forth: No High Gravity lager will be drunk unless no other options are available. That might help me get through this month a little better. Yeah, I’m officially slumming it…

Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor:
Hello all! So we jump to a for sure malt this day, after yesterday’s questionably defined brew, today we know where we stand. Mickey’s Malt Beverage is one of those cans that I bought solely on the aspect of the aesthetic appeal only. Honestly I never knew it existed till I saw it in the cooler case along with another gem that we’ll explore next week or so, but for now, we have Mickey and his fighting wasp…hornet(?). Like all other malt beverages this pours decently with a good head that dissipates at a “normal” rate, which basically means it was around long enough for the picture. The nose is that of one bread and a hint of banana that gives hope to a different malt experience. Though, alas, not so lucky. I’m beginning to believe that all malt brews are brewed in the same place by the same group of people. Maybe by the end of the month I’ll find a different flavored one but they all so far taste of ethanol and thick malts. Well, while I sigh in lack of originality, I will continue to search for that elusive malt beverage that taste better than race car fuel.

Natural Ice:
Good evening dear readers! So today rings a sad end to this blog. Yes, grab your hankies, your neckerchiefs and, in the case of this tallboy, your sleeve; we end the run of the tallboy Natural beers. Now I know that Natural Light is yet to be reviewed but remember the rules, only those that are available in tallboy or 40 form, so this is the end for Natty tallboys. Now, if I can manage through the tears, lets talk about Natural Ice, yet ANOTHER ice tall boy beer. Ugh, really? Okay, so the beer pours well, like all Natty products seem too but very limited carbonation is visible from the pour but it does form a nice head on the beer that does stick around for the first few sips. The nose of the beer is a nice banana smell that is subtle but noticeable for one to look at it. The flavor is of malts and bread with the undertone of banana and a subtle sweetness not found since Budweiser. Like most tallboys, the flavor races away like it’s hair is on fire, leaving a light dryness on the back of the tongue. So, of the ice beers I have tried this year, I would say with great confidence this is the best light beer around. Now, those rumors of ice beers causing blndness o dob’tmknoe whate teo RE TALINGK abeuut. Why do I need guide dog all the sudden.?

 Steel Reserve Triple Export:
 Hello one and all, so we begin another day, another tallboy can. Today’s brew is part of Steel Reserve, their Triple Export which is Steel Brewery’s attempt at a high end beer. Located in Milwaukee (I’m starting to see a pattern here) this brew isn’t UNION BREWED, so if you’re a card carrying union supporter, check your next tallboy can to see if you’re helping out your fellow blue collar worker. Now the fact that this comes in a tallboy would make it seem unlikely to be a “high-end” beer but I have a four pack of over-sized New Belgium cans in my beer pantry (yes I have a beer pantry, move on) and I’m sure I’d get no argument for most of you, if not all, that New Belgium isn’t a high-end beer maker. So let move on the next (dis)qualifier for a high-end beer: ingredients. Well, Steel Reserve boasts about having used the “finest malted barley and selected hops…in the world” to make this brew, that maybe the case but that undercurrent of bad alcohol permeates this beer with it’s vile flavor and actually ruins what would be a decent beer. The beer pours very well with abundance of carbonation and the head that sticks around for a while through the drinking process. As with all tallboys, a nose of bread is the most powerful thing you smell, though it within itself is barely there. Taste has a good front-end of malts, but that gives way to the aforementioned bad alcohol that gives a bad aftertaste and lingers on the back of the tongue. Would could have been the first decent beer this month is ruined by bad alcohol, but at least there was no bitter beer face involved. Wonder where the triple export title comes from? No clue on my end. Any ideas?

Icehouse:
So it’s come to this, the 100th day of the “challenge” and I’m drinking a tall boy of an ice beer. Oh happy day. So lets get this train a rollin’, shall we? Icehouse beer, Union brewed at Plank Road Brewery in Milwaukee is another middle of the road lager that really doesn’t impress or leave anything for a memory to grasp onto. Sporting 5.5% ABV, this runs about the same as most other beers, this is really more of a tall boy and not a malt. Actually pours very well, with a good foam head and a high carbonation and a bread nose. The beer tastes EXACTLY like all other ice beers I’ve had this year, a chemically alcoholic taste that lingers throughout the tasting. A slight hop flavor initially is very very very very very quickly dissipated into an airy fume flavor on the backend. This one was difficult, mainly because I thought it might be different but nope, hopes dashed, parade rained on, Santa Claus ain’t real. You know what’s really bad? I got one more “ice” beer to go that I know of, maybe even more next time I roll to the QT to restock. This month is really living up to it’s name. Till tomorrow friends and neighbors.

Mike's Harder Fruit Punch:
Good Evening (again, read in Vincent Price’s voice). Today we bring you the second half of the Mike’s Harder Punch duo, Fruit Punch. Now, don’t let appearances fool you dear readers, I did not cop-out and pour cranberry juice, this is how it looks and tastes like a supped up Hawaiian Punch. Like yesterday, the beverage doesn’t form a head outside a few micro-seconds yet is highly carbonated. Overly sweet in taste I think it’s actually sweeter then the mango and this one dose produce a pineapple nose. Again, not my cup of tea, really I find these to be a bad choice for consumption due to the sweet taste and high alcohol content lead to over drinking and those nasty sugary hangovers. Believe it or not, I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow’s beer just to get away from these overly sweet canned headaches. Till tomorrow dear readers, same bat time, same bat channel. (And yes, the picture is bad, but for some reason this was the best of the batch from my phone which I usually use for this task. Maybe my phone was trying to tell me something.)

Mike's Harder Mango Punch:
Hello one and all! Greetings and salutations to all those faithful readers who have stuck around with my lack of good judgment this month. As previously stated, this month is turning into a punishment of taste so I decided weekends are going to be fun, I have to have something to look forward too. So lets start with a different variation on something already on the market. Mike’s Hard Lemonade has been around since the early 90’s and is marketed to…well, hell if I know, they seem to change target market every few years. Anyway, Mike’s decided that the spiked lemonade market wasn’t enough and decided to up the bounty with Mike’s Harder Punch. Sporting a higher ABV than normal Mike’s (7 vs. 8) this beverage carries that lethal combo of sweet and high alcohol that can’t be noticed. Today’s flavor is mango, a neon orange concoction that tastes like something you’d make for a party in college. It pours ok with little foam to speak of though it is highly carbonated, almost to the champagne level. The flavors of mango and pineapple push their way through the sweetness. Not my cup of tea as far as beverages go but for those who have a sweet tooth and love cheesy titles on their can, this one is for you.

Colt 45:
Happy Billy Dee Day! A little side note, the idea for this whole month was born out of this day and this day alone. One cannot pass up celebrating Lando’s Birthday with drinking a Colt 45. Yes, Colt 45, that magical and wonderful malt liquor that has transcended race and geographical differences. Now, currently, Snopp Dogg is endorsing this malt beverage but Billy Dee Williams is the one that made this bad bottle the notoriety that it’s gained. The catch phrase of the brew, “It works every time” is usually seen with Billy Dee holding the can and a fly gal looking over his left shoulder, smiling slyly. I haven’t tried Colt 45 with the fairer sex yet but if Billy Dee says it works every time, then I believe him. The malt liquor pours with a heavy, soapy head that takes a while to dissipate in the masonry jar. The nose is really light and airy to me, not really giving off much though I think I noticed a bread smell every once and a while during the consumption. Flavor is also very mild, nothing like the high gravity malts that I’ve sampled so far, while the flavor is mild, it’s not good. Very ethanol tasting throughout, never overpowering but it’s there and noticeable. So first 40 this month and we’ll check it off the list as one of the two downed for this month. Took me about two hours and a long two hours at that but it’s done, all in the name of Lando.

Milwaukee's Best Ice:
Well here we go again dear readers. After doing this for almost a week, I think I have a pattern down for the time being. Until I run out of tall boy beers, I’ll be alternating malt liquor with a tall boy beer. While they aren’t the best beers in the world, they beat the taste of the malt liquors that I’ve been trying. So, we did a malt yesterday, today, a beer, and what a beer! Look at that can, it’s a full 8oz bigger than the normal tall boy and I’m sure it’s just that much bigger to contain the beast. That’s right, I have sampled the beast and lived. Milwaukee’s Best Ice, another one in those ice beers that seem to draw so much attention for no real reason. The beer is a typical lager with the golden color and a nice thick foamy head, there is little nose in the pour but after the head dissipates there is a lingering smell of grain and bread. The taste is very plain with a ethanol flavor on the front-end and back end of light bread and alcohol. A respectable 5.9%ABV keeps this out of the range of most malt liquors but in the range of normal beers. After learning about the downside of ice brews (the blindness for one), this isn’t exactly going to be high on my list of must have. Not my first dance with the beast, first time was in Bemidji, Minnesota while I talked settlement on a burned down barn with a guy. Interesting time, it’s hard to keep a straight serious face while tossing back this line of beers, but I did manage it, finish the beer and make a settlement. I’m sure I’ll hit up the beast again before the year is out and gladly, I have gotten this one out of the way.

Schlitz High Gravity:

Hello all, and welcome to what is quickly becoming a punishment in taste. This evening we are review another malt liquor, another high gravity lager, another tall boy. So we dive into Schlitz High Gravity V.S.L.(very smooth lager), a tall boy “high-end” malt liquor. Wow, seeing all those fancy words describing this malt makes me laugh, though I have only been doing this for less than week and the idea of a malt that uses initials in it’s name doesn’t fool me. Like the initial dog out of the gate, this high gravity tastes almost as offensive as the last one. The beer pours well with a nice head and an abundance of carbonation. The smell comes across earthy and cheap and the taste is overly sweet with a grainy taste. Nothing special (again) and nothing I really want to taste again if I can avoid it, yet I have at least one more high gravity lager to go and after two similar outings, the third isn’t welcome but is necessary for the validity of my promises to you. Till tomorrow.

Keystone Ice:
As we enter the magic number day of this month of poor decision making, I decide to get on track with the help of Keith Stone. The brew, Keystone Ice, is a tall boy offered by the fine people of Coors (brewer and distributor) bring what is the highlight in this first week. I never really paid much attention to the Keystone line, really only seeing in empty can form in homeless camps during prior employments, so I associated it with really cheap beers and a cheap drunk. Now, as this blog/contest has shown, being a cheap brew doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad, just…cheap. This tall boy pours well with a initially quick forming head that dissipates so fast that it wasn’t even around for the picture. The nose is not that great, reminding me of a room of cardboard. The flavor is one of initial sweetness with a middle tongue finish of a light lager. Not a bad surprise considering the first two this month but again, the bar has been set very low anyway with Natty Daddy (that still makes me laugh when I say it), though if I am in need a cheap large beer for a night, this one will probably fit the bill, but then again we have 28 more of these to try. Dear Lord, 28 more…ugh.

Natty Daddy:
Alright, day 2 of bad decision making and lets answer some questions all us beer drinkers have had: If it’s Natural LIGHT, where is Natural beer? Well fret not dear beer consumers, I have answered that question, Natural Light is a spawn of Natty Daddy. Yes, Natty Daddy, a beer that spawned another beer that sells cheaper per the case than Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Okay, not really, but there was an actually a Natural beer once upon the time, but it’s much more fun to think of it this way. Available only in the typical tall boy (24oz) the beer sports a higher ABV by almost double with 8% ABV (Natty Light is 4.2%ABV). The beer pours well with a good foamy head and a light sweet smell. The taste…well the taste is Natural Light, only sweeter and a bit dryer on tongue. The after taste is a bit like an inexpensive grain alcohol with a fume like flavor to the drink that seems to sit just above the back of your tongue. So, #2 of this month is an improvement over yesterday’s Cerberus brew but still, it ain’t good. Yet I will continue this for you, dear readers because inquiring minds want to know “I wonder what that tastes like” when y’all pass the malt liquor selection at your local convenience store.

Dog Bite High Gravity:
Okay, here we go. Today, April Fools, brings us a high gravity lager. This term is used specifically to denote a beer (mainly European beers) or malt liquor beer. The high gravity comes from the term the products used to make an alcohol content higher, mainly high quality grains in Euro beers and fillers in malt liquor which substitutes the higher quality grains with, I don’t know, wet dog or something. Euro high gravity beer is designed to fit in with high quality foods and malt liquor to be paired with junk food. America, baby, America.

So here we are, day 1 into malt drinking and I choose the malt with Cerberus on the front. Maybe this should have been a malt for later in the month (remember, my decisions are supposed to be increasingly bad, this sets a high bar). Dog Bite High Gravity Lager is the malt liquor of the brewer Magic Hat. The brew pours much like you’d think, a blonde lager that doesn’t present much of a nose or head. The beer tastes sweet on the front end and finishes like a cheap wine in the back end. Leaving a fruity film on the tongue and a back of the throat dryness. Carbonation remains throughout the drinking process, leaving individual columns of bubbles around the perimeter of the cup which is surprising since there have some beers this year that have little to no carbonation to speak of once they are poured. So, first malt liquor down, and how’d it go? Eh, not bad but not good either, the flavor isn’t something I’m used to so it’s hard to comment of it it’s good or bad. It’s bad by what I’m used to but as far as malt-liquors go, who knows?

Tin Roof Perfect Tine Amber Ale:
Greetings all, today is the last day of March and you know what that means: Free Beer Friday! Well Saturday really, but who’s counting. Today’s free beer is a local NOLA brew, Tin Roof Beer. The beer was a free one being handed out in plastic cups in my hotel bar and my nose for beer and instinct for cheap drew me in like a fly to…well, you know. Speaking of you-know-what, that’s came to mind with this brew. After sampling it and thinking “this is an okay dark pale ale, but nothing to write home about” I asked what the name of this pale ale was, “It’s not a pale ale sir, it’s an amber ale”. Well pardon me Miss Beer Girl, an AMBER ale. Who would’ve thought. I didn’t see them pour this so I can’t comment of too much from that end but the beer had a slight nose of hops and spice with a thin head. The beer is strong on the sour hops with a nose of pale ale but not very refreshing in my opinion. Well, anyway, this beer was raved about a bunch of people around me but I really didn’t find this one that appealing and makes me glad it was free.

 
Woodchuck Private Reserve:
Greetings and salutations all you lovers of the brew craft. Today I once again bring you a “busy” work “beer”, filling that precious time till April 1 and we can all be foolish. Once again we visit the cider side of the room and touch on Woodchuck Cider’s Private Reserve. We have all known someone who swears by the glorified beaver’s cider and honestly, I find that it is a little on the sweet side from my liking, in all of their ciders though I do like their blueberry cider blend when it’s out, this one, once again, falls under the heading of to sweet for my tastes. The cider pours well, with minimal foaming or head build-up as well as a nose of fruit (shocking!) and sweetness that make you anticipate a drink closer to kool-aid than an alcoholic beverage. The taste is much like the smell though there is a strong oak flavor to the cider that cuts through he sweetness in the middle of the sip and dissipates to the normal dryness that is typical of the ciders of today. All and all, a decent drink but nothing I’m going to come running back for anytime soon. As I have professed for certain cider’s in this challenge before, I won’t pull my soap box out and repeat myself but know that this cider makes me crave Crispin’s Whiskey Barrel aged cider that much more. But, if you’ve never had that particular cider, then this is the closest you’ll ever get to it.

Miller High Life:
Hello sports fans! As we sit here less than 48 hours from starting the final four, let’s venture into some randomness to fill the time till April. Much like the busy work we all did in school so the teachers could catch up on whatever it was they were hiding in that locker by their desks. Today’s “busy work” is the oldest beer in the Miller Family: Miller High Life. As a 2002 Gold Medal winner, I have always been fascinated with this beer which takes a classic approach in it’s appearance, logos and the taste as well as their consistently funny advertising campaign from the past few years. Known for being the “Champagne of Beers” I always thought it was mixed with champagne until a few years ago (really 8 to 10, but who’s counting) but the name actually comes from the extra carbonation in the beer. So there you go, you can rest easier tonight knowing that fact. The taste isn’t that dissimilar to Miller Genuine Draft (which, by the way, was originally marketed as “Miller High Life Genuine Draft” save for the carbonation which does give the beer a lighter feel on the tongue. The beer is a traditional pilsner in all other aspects and carries a mild taste of hops and barely with no real after taste to speak about. A good lounging beer, I might give this another try to confirm my likes on it, but this could find a place as a back up beer in my eventual beer fridge. I know my grandfather (who I so kindly got this beer from) would wonder why it’s taken me this long to figure that one out. Sorry Papa, sometimes the water has to come to the horse before he knows to drink it.

Samuel Adams Cream Stout:
Hello dear hearts, greetings from the canyon of the crescent moon. So today brings us to the end of the Samuel Adams week and we close out with another stout, the Cream Stout. Part of the brew masters collection, this beer has been sitting in the pantry over a year and honestly, I feared it’s taste. As the trepidation built, I noted that the pour was nice with a nose of coffee, minimal foaming in the head though but the carbonation in the beer was still there and noticeable. The taste finds all those flavors promised in yesterday’s Imperial Stout with thick coffee flavors and undertones of dark chocolate and a spice. As with any coffee heavy stout, the back-end of the beer is a nice coffee aftertaste. It’d be nice to have this flavorful stout combined with the creaminess of yesterday’s beer to make some uber-stout, but, alas, I can only dream. So this ends week 4 of brewery themes and while eye opening in some aspects (Rahr being a so-so brewery, so far being the biggest) I wouldn’t hesitate to do this again sometime later in the year. However, next month is another theme and we still have three days to fill this month with random beers. So, until tomorrow, stay frosty.

Samuel Adams Imperial Stout:
Good evening (read that in a Vincent Price voice, k?). Well greetings from your intrepid beer guy from the deep south this week. Today I bring you reviews from Natchez, MS, a very beautiful town that over looks the Mississippi river high on bluffs that make you imagine strategic advantage from the Antebellum era (wait, that was Vicksburg). Anyway, we continue our Samuel Adam’s week with another entry in their imperial line, Imperial Stout. I have no clue how this bad boy pours (no bar at the hotel to borrow a glass from) so we are going old school and drinking it straight from the bottle. The beer drinks smoothly with a very creamy texture and heaviness that is present in most stouts. Sporting an ABV higher than most bottles of wine (9.2 ABV) this beer falls firmly under the sipping category. As if the texture and ABV weren’t enough to make you sip this, the taste will. The bottle label hails of tastes of “dark chocolate, coffee and anise.” Coffee, I can see, most stouts have an under taste (at the minimum) of coffee and chocolate to an extent though I’m not tasting that here. Anise, a licorice flavored seed does over power this beer to an extent on the back end, the front end is almost a watered down liquid smoke flavor that turns into anise. Not a bad beer really, though I’m not sure what to classify this one as. Most beers, to me, fall into three categories, before dinner, during dinner or after dinner. I don’t see where this one would fall; being to strongly flavored for before or during dinner, to heavy for during or after and the taste and texture really fit after dinner but this one might make you ill if you drink it after dinner. Maybe splitting a glass with a special someone over a piece of chocolate something or other might be the best use for this beer, the sweetness of the chocolate combined with the licorice and coffee taste might just make an excellent combination.

Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA:
Good Evening to all those who are intrepid explorers of the brew craft and to all those others who are not, Whaz up. So after yesterday’s disappointment with the Irish Red, I turn to an old stand by: IPA; as this “challenge” goes on, I find that the IPA (pale ale) is an excellent barometer of how well I may like the beer selections of a certain brewery. This whole month has had shown this to be true: Budweiser Pale Ale being a disappointment akin of Eddie Murphy’s career in the past 20 years, Shiner Pale Ale being a delicious and surprising entry into the family, Rahr’s Storm Cloud IPA being just okay and now we come to Sam Adams. The beer looks a lot like the majority of Sam Adams’ brews, a dark amber that pours well (so far the bottle cap test hasn’t failed) and emits a slight aroma of hops, though nothing compared to other IPAs in the past. The taste is actually nothing too distinct, a even taste of hops throughout the tasting with no real strong back end or distinguishing flavors. *Sigh* Sam Adams’ is never been a beer that I rushed to but I’ve always had respect for it, however, after this week, the shine has definitely worn off this coin for me, I think unless something comes out of left field in theses upcoming two days, I will probably stay away from Sam Adams unless no other choice besides the usual suspects are given.

Samuel Adams Irish Red:
Evening one and all, now that the internet is back up, lets talk beer. Today’s brew is another “special” beer from Sam Adams, their Irish Red. As the photo shows, this pours very well (happy with the beer head, Jeff?) and it lingers forever in the glass, lasting almost halfway through my consumption. The beer has no real nose of note other than roasted malts, nothing surprising or complex, just…well that. The taste is about the same as Shiner though without the spices. This beer is probably the first “Meh” beer of the week, while each week of this month’s exploration has featured a so-so beer, I was rather surprised that this one came in this bottle from Sam Adams. I really wanted this one to succeed with it being an Irish beer but alas it really fails to live up to the potential in my mind. Maybe I’ve had to many amber’s lately.

Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat:
Afternoon all! Today is a beautiful day here in the Fort so lets sample a equally beautiful beer. Perhaps my favorite Sam Adams beer, their Costal Wheat, is the first Sam beer that I actively sought out when it came into my conscience and while I don’t pursue it with the prior vigor (my beer taste has grown since), I do hold a special place for it in my heart. The beer pours very cleanly with a quick to form head that dissipates to the watery thin foam (seems to be a Sam Adams trait) and leaves beautiful lacing on all sides of the glass. The nose of the beer has a nose of wheat, lemon, and a hint of earth. The taste is a good balance of lemon and wheat at the front end and almost no real aftertaste to speak of on the back end. A great summer beer, goes well with the heat and doesn’t need the typical fruiting that most wheat beers need. Add this one to the list of “highly recommended.”

Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat:
Greetings my fellow beeriphiles. Today brings us a second step into the seven step Sam Adams program and with it we welcome the Cherry Wheat into the tasting family. As with most Sam Adams brews, this one uses at least one ingredient from within our fair shores and, in this case, is the Michigan Cherries used to give this wheat beer it’s edge in a crowded wheat beer field. Pouring nicely like all other Sams seem to do, this beer has nice fragrance of cherries right off the bat though I was a little disappointed to see that there wasn’t even a hint of red in this beer, just straight slightly hazy gold. As mentioned, the beer’s nose is a strong cherry with under tones of grass and the head is thin and watery that, while unimpressive to look at, does leave a nice lace all the way through the consumption. Taste is heavy on the cherries with the initial sip but the wheat beer taste takes over in the after and while it lingers, it isn’t too offensive but does cause one to crave a glass of water. A good beer, I enjoy this a lot more this time than my first dance with it a few years ago. A good summer or early fall beer, especially for those who are on the fence about the whole “beer tastes nasty/gross/vile/evil/wicked, etc.” crowd that still is willing to try one (probably a small group, but they do exist).

Samuel Adams Imperial White:
Evenin’ all those who love beer (and my writing), we enter the last week of this theme month and towards one of the original micro brews we go. Sam Adams’ history is well known thanks to aggressive marketing so no need to retread that ground. However, instead of trying their normal beer (saving that one for a theme beer day) this week we are going to scratch the surface of their seasonal line and Imperial line of beers. Today’s beir is the Imperial White, a Dutch wheat beer that carries the strong traditional flavors of orange and coriander. The beer pous well with a head that dissipates quickly and a dark hazy orange color. As mentioned before, the flavors of orange and coriander as well as an undertone of cream. The aftertaste is one of heavy malts and hops that sits heavy on the tounge and really doesn’t appeal to me. The beer is good but not my cup of tea.

Rahr and Son's Ass Kisser Double IPA:
Hello all, today we try a different beer, a Rahr but not a Rahr (bear with me, it’ll all make sense by the end). Ok, all this is my interpretation so don’t take it as fact. Rahr and Sons, Fort Worth’s own, partnered with Hermitage Brewery in San Jose and they created Ass Kisser, a big bottle brew that I, your intrepid beer explorer, discovered at the shopping destination: Central Market. Quick note ladies, find a way to your man’s heart via IPAs, if he doesn’t like IPAs, double check his pulse. Anyhow, the beer, Ass Kisser Double (!) IPA is a beautiful beer, pouring nice with a think, fragrant head that smells of orange and a distant floral notes. Appearance is orange with a red center which sits in the glass from initial pour to final drink. Taste is orange and spice with a nice mild lingering after taste of hops. A very good beer, and, as you can see from the pictures, fills to pint glass rather nicely. Alright, as if you couldn’t tell from this love letter, I like this beer, it’s a good finish to the Rahr week and gives rise to maybe another Rahr week with the big bottle series. So if you can find this, grab a bottle, you won’t be disappointed.

Rahr and Son's Texas Red:
Well hello fellow beer connoisseurs! We are nearing the end of the Rahr week and tonight we sample the Texas Red, their amber lager. It pours very nice with a good foamy head and a nice cascade of amber color in the glass with very little visible carbonation though retains the normal beer “tingle“. Flavors are nothing surprising outside your normal amber lager; caramel, spices and a roasted taste abound on the front end of the tongue and a lingering hop on the finish. Not much lacing in the glass to speak of but the head does linger as a papery thin film throughout most of the consumption process. Probably Rahr’s most accessible beer for those who have never tried a Rahr before but seems old hat to those of us who are Shiner heads. As I finish the “normal” Rahr beers, I must say that none of them really impressed me. The Iron Thistle and the Buffalo Butt stand out from the rest of their normal line up but not as go to recommendations to someone. However, Rahr has made it’s name on it’s big bottle beers which we will explore this year as well as their new line of brews. This new line of beers carries it’s own label, website and attitude and looks promising and is on tap for tomorrow. Till then beer-hearts!

Rahr and Son's Storm Cloud India Pale Ale (IPA):

Happy storm front everyone! As it seems that we have a line of impending doom approaching right now, what a better time to review the Rahr Storm Cloud IPA. A nice pour, clean appearance with slight carbonation and nice nose. Smelling like a nice IPA that has a nose of flowers and fruit the beer’s taste I where the differentiation starts over all other IPAs. While most IPAs have an small hop taste up front and a back-end of strong skunk and hops, this one is flipped, though the front end is more mild than strong and the back end lingers though it dissipates quickly with food. I had this beer pegged as the my would be favorite of the week but, unless a surprise comes out of left field tomorrow or Wednesday, it looks like the Iron Thistle is going to come out as the favorite.

Rahr and Son's Buffalo Butt:

Hello all! So we are half way through the Rahr week and I figured what better time than to explore their most famous beer, Buffalo Butt. Allegedly brought about by old cowboys talking about how nothing but a good beer could make them forget all the buffalo butts they’ve seen. The beer is very nice dark amber color that pours clean with minimal foam and a good clean appearance. The nose is of caramel and malt and the tongue is of similar notes with a bit of spicy sweetness in the back-end. I find this beer to be very similar to Shiner Bock with only the aforementioned spicy sweetness to separate it from it’s southern statesman. A good beer, probably my favorite so far in the Rahr family, but with their IPA to come up soon, it’s reign might be short lived.

Rahr and Son's Ugly Pug:

Afternoon all! Hey, it’s a Saturday and it’s past noon and it’s Saint Patricks day, why aren’t we drunk? Oh yeah, beer review, obligations and too much to do (being an adult sucks sometimes). Any who, we continue the exploration of Fort Worth’s Rahr and Sons line up with their black lager, Ugly Pug. This black lager is pushed as a light beer for dark beer lovers. Like most dark beers, this one puts out a nice pour though not as much carbonation as a Guinness and has a darker colored head than Guinness as well. The beer puts off a nose of coffee and malts with a taste of the same plus chocolate undertones. A good brew, though I keep going back to comparing it to Guinness Black Lager (reviewed earlier this year), which is unfair. Guinness has nailed black beer, regardless of what you think or personal taste, they are the standard bearer of the black beers (at least here in America). That being said, I really wasn’t impressed with Ugly Pug, it‘s good but nothing to remember; maybe its knowing that this is my second black lager and being compared to a legend isn’t fair but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.