Beer!

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

I can't believe we've gone this long without starting a beer thread. I enjoyed the one on the old board and actually tried some of the beverages that were liked by others.

I've discovered that I really like Sam Adams Oktoberfest. I've never enjoyed the Boston Lager but this Oktoberfest is good stuff. I also finally tried Yeungling Black & Tan. Also very good.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

From the on sale stash I bought last week, I'm trying Samuel Smith Winter Welcome. Beer advocate calls it a winter warmer. It's pretty tasty. At first it has a sweet syrupy smell that I tend to not like in beers. It's fairly smooth and drinkable though. Actually this is the first of the Sam Smith's I've had, surprisingly.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

I did a pick six six-pack last week to give some beers I've never had before a test run. First up is Shock Top, which a friend of mine says is his favorite wheat beer. It is a really smooth beer, and I kind of dig it. It is surprisingly made by A-B.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

Shock Top is pretty solid. similiar to Blue Moon, imo.

 

I tried a few beers this weekend. Tried the last of the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp, Double IPA. Solid IPA. Overall I'd say the beer camp from Sierra Nevada was a success.

 

I tried a Buffalo Bill's Orange Blossom. This is similiar to a blue moon or shock top in that it has a orange flavor. It's not a wheat beer though. It's classified as a cream ale. I liked it but not sure it'd be something I would drink a lot of. It was really smooth with a mild flavor.

 

I went from mild flavor to a big flavor. I had a Mojo IPA. A good IPA. Pretty smooth for an IPA and drinkable. Still it had the tasty IPA flavor. I tried a Dog Fish Head Festina Peche. It's a sour beer. I didn't care for it. Tasted too much like candy.  Finally tried a Sierra Nevada Summerfest. Can't give a good review of it. After an IPA and a sour beer the Summerfest didn't taste like much.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

I disagree on Shock Top. I found it thin and boring, not nearly as good as Blue Moon or the Samuel Adams wheat beer I tried recently. Not bad, but I wouldn't buy it again.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

I like Shock Top, but I would say that it's far from being my favorite wheat beer. I far prefer Widmer Brothers (a recent find), Bell's Oberon, or good old fashioned Blue Moon or even Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

My favorite wheat beer, of recent memory anyways, is Pyramid's Hefeweizen, an unfiltered wheat beer.

 

Blue Moon I had like a 2 year love affair with, and I still like it, but I don't desire it any more.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Have we discussed the Tap Room Brewing Co.? They have a pale, an amber and a lager. True to form, I sampled the Moe's Backroom Amber Ale. It was a little sweet for my taste, but I just so happened to be eating some Canadian cheddar cheese at the time, to which it was the perfect complement.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Right now it is Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, which is described as a "weiss beer with lemonade". Kind of bland tasting IMO,and I taste the lemon flavor more when I burp it up than when it goes down. Not awful, just not much there.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

A friend gave me a six-pack of Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy after he toured their facilities in Wisconsin. I liked the first two quite a bit.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

A couple of responses from discussions. First, wheat beer is not my first choice but this time of year I do like it. The other posters listed some pretty good wheat beer selections but my favorite would be Bell's Oberon.

 

Jeff, I don't remember a discussion on Tap Room Brewing Co. Though that Amber Ale sounds good. I have a soft spot for amber's because that was the first style my brother and I brewed.

 

I tried Summer Shandy once. It was ok, a bit too lemon-y. I enjoy the Lienenkugel brews. My favorite is probably their amber ale. Boring, I know. It's how I roll though. I liked the Sunset Wheat when I first tried it but now I think it's too sweet. Tastes like Fruity Pebbles to me.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

Jeff, are you sure about American Ale being discontinued? I wasn't able to get confirmation of that online. It would be ironic if it is, because I just got around to trying it. My Publix had it in their single bottle selections, so I could taste it without committing to a six pack. I liked it pretty well. If I had tasted it blind I never would have guessed that A-B brewed it.

Jeff of Earth-J said:

Boulevard Pale Ale: Now that I’ve learned A-B no longer makes their American Ale, I’m looking for a new “fall back” beer. Among the contenders is Boulevard Pale Ale (brewed in Kansas City), an old favorite from my St. Louis days. It’s perfectly acceptable when I’m in a bit of a “hoppy” mood. Bonus: each six-pack comes in a box that’s the perfect size for storing comic books! I’ll often keep new purchases in Boulevard boxes until I have time to sort them properly. Remember when you were a kid and couldn’t wait to get the prize out of the box of cereal? With Boulevard, the prize is the box! (That may sound as if I don’t think mucj of their beers, but really I do.)

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Jeff, are you sure about American Ale being discontinued?

I am not. I just haven't been able to find it anywhere lately.

I sampled two summer seasonals this weekend: Pyramid’s Curve Ball Blonde Ale and Twilight Summer Ale from the Deschutes Brewery of Bend, OR. Of the two, I preferred the Curve Ball, described on the label as a “crisp, golden ale.” It was neither too this nor too that, just what I was in the mood for. Twilight was a bit more hoppy than I was in the mood for, but I’d recommend it and drink it again.