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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Kona Longboard Lager

Aloha, can you feel the warm tropical breeze, can you see the hula girl dancing under a lush palm tree can you smell the topical salt in the air, can you hear the waves crashing on the beautiful topical beaches as McGarret utters three famous words BOOK 'EM DANO! Yes I just made a reference to the popular tv show Hawaii 5-0. Well it is the beer of the show, but that is not why I like this. This lager is a dortmunder style beer. Longboard is 4.6% ABV, and pours a nice golden color with a medium white head. This beer as a nice crisp clean scent of floral hops and a small bit of apples. This has a good plain hop taste with the tiniest bit of apple. Now on the after taste the hop becomes slightly stronger but nothing overwhelming or to powerful. Longboard is plain but a good kind of plain, it doesn't have and special flavors or ingredients in it. It's not overly mad with hops, extra thick, aged on some fancy woods, nor is it trying to be more like a fine liquor. That is what I love about this, it's simple yet creative and just good. Something refreshing you can drink regularly. Try it, mahalo! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

LoneRider Shotgun Betty

Lets all be good gentlemen to this lady here, well she does not look like she is very lady like, with her big gun. She comes from Raleigh North Carolina. Betty is a Hefeweizen, a 5.8% abv brew, mild. She pours a nice cloudy simi deep orange color with a nice white lacy head.There is a strong wheat scent with nice malty and banana-cloves, looks and smells good, but when you taste this its not as good as it looks, a bit of a let down. I have had better Hefeweizen, of course German, but there are better American Hefeweizens too. Yes you get that nice wheat taste but it just plain and predictable. Its not excitingly flavorful. This is a bit on the dry side which I don't care for in my Hefeweizen. The after taste is also dry, wheaty yet very predictable on the boring side. It's not that this is a bad tasting beer, it just plain and predictable. Not very much flavor going on it this. I was looking forward to trying one of Loneriders beer and this was a let down. Lots of flash on the bottle and not enough substance in the bottle. I just hope that they're other beers are better so I don't end up dislike this NC brewery. I don't want that! Cheers! Please drink responsible!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen

Well here we are looking into yet another German beer, a beer from Ayinger. I really love this brewer, they brew wonderful and such tasty beers. Well this is authentic Bavarian festival lager. October fest is to celebrate the farm harvest. This Ayinger brew is 5.8% abv and I've only seen this in 1 pt .9 oz bottle. No six or four packs. This beer pours a nice copper color with a very thick white head. This one has a nice crisp floral hop scent that is not over powering but it is there with a nice roasted malt scent. Now the taste is crisp like a lager with a nice very faint sweet malt that is great. But on the after taste there is a slightly stronger hoppieness, but not SO strong like an IPA. It's a little amount of bitter hop taste, and then it has a nice clean refreshing after taste mouth feel. This is great but not my most favorite Ayinger brew. This up there though. I love a good German beer. Germans are great at beer brewing. But they brew beers like they make cars. Not the best looking but they preform very very well and make ya smile. That's how this is,plain looking but very tasty over all and when your done, ya smiling. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Samuel Smith Organic Raspberry Fruit Ale


When you think of England and its beer you think of a pint of bitter, but yes this is English Ale but it is brewed with Raspberry juice, and other natural flavors. They do brew ale with other fruit. This brewery, Malbourn Bros' is in Stamford Lincolnshire and its blended and bottled at Samuel Smith's brewery in Tadcaster North Yorkshire. This beer is organic. This Ale is 5,10% ABV. This ale pours a dark reddish-purple color with a thick violet white head that is most appealing. Yes, this has a strong raspberry scent leaning on the flowery side, but all over it's a great scent. When you take the first sip it has a huge raspberry taste that is very good, and very pleasing. This is not as bubbly as a lambic. This aftertaste has that slight tart yet sweet raspberry to it. This whole ale has that big raspberry taste. But yes this beer has that good English ale taste behind that massive wall of fresh tasty raspberry. I could see this being a springtime drink in a local English pub, outside looking out at the rolling English countryside. But be careful with this, it is so good and sweet you will not want to put it down and just chug it. This is a refreshing beer, but not a girly beer. It's a bloody brilliant pint, they say in England. So try this fruity ale and you will be pleasantly surprised. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Dunkel


Well more beer here, Charlotte beer that is. This is OMB's Dunkel Munich-style dark lager. As I said once before OMB doesn't produce anything smaller then 1 pint 6 fl oz (650ml). This dark beer is 4.8% abv, not so strong. Over in Bavaria Dunkel is dark winter lager that goes smooth. This OMB brew is a nice dark amber color a most beautiful beige head that is so large it takes of most of the glass. OMB Dunkel has the tiniest smokey scent with rich roasted nut scent there as well. This Dunkel has that common lager taste, crisp clean malts, and low hop level. But it also has a rich roasted malt taste thanks to the Carafa malt. It has a crisp clean roasted malt finish that is most pleasing. This is a good winter beer to keep away the winter blues. This beer like all OMB beers follows the "Reinheitsgebor" German beer purity law of 1516. That means it's all natural, with no added chemicals or preservatives. So if you are look for a good lighter dark beer then seek this wonderful thing. It is really good and not heavy. I think this would be a great start in the world of dark beer for any beer lover. So go get one now! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier


When you think of Germany and it's the beer you think of Munich and Bavaria. But this a Rauchbier, which is a smoked beer style in the Bamberg area of Germany. Schlenkerla is the original smoke beer. This is the Weizen (wheat) variety of their smoke beer. This beer is 5.2% abv and is dark amber with a thick foamy beige head. The color of this beer is a bbq like color, dark crispy slightly burnt edges of the meat. Schlenkerla has a smokey scent to it that really smells like fresh bbq being cooked. This is a very pleasant smell. Yes, there is a very faint wheat smell but it is overpowered by the smokey scent. This smokey brew here has a bbq taste that makes you think of ribs pulled pork and other good bbq staples. Yes, there is a wheat taste there but you really have search hard for it. This beer has a good smokey aftertaste that is very wonderful and tasty nothing like a heavy thick smoked porter. I really do think this would go great with a bbq brisket or a slab of ribs. This smokey guy is not heavy tasting nor does it stick to your stomach/ribs, no its semi-light drinkable and real good. Yes, they do brew three other types of smoke beer. You should try this one, it is surprisingly good. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Peroni Nastro Azzurro


Ciao amante della birra! Here is Peroni a very common and is the number one Italian beer. It has been around since 1846, and now is owned by SABMiller (South African Brewers) so it is now kind of an Italiana South African American hybrid beer beverage, hmm a worldly one. Peroni does not cost much Euro in Italy, about the same as Miller or Budweiser here. I think it sliglty better than a Bud beer and about the same as Miller. Peroni has been here in the US very a long while now, about as long as Lowenbrau has. This Italian is 4.7 ABV, pours a really golden color with a bight vibrant white head. It has a plain barley smell to it, that is boring. This is beer has a intensely crisp,clean, and refreshing taste. This is very drinkable and light. After taste is clean refreshing and good. Peroni is common around the US, pretty easy to find on tap, in stores or wherever you might find beer. But when you think of Italy you don't really think of beer, like you do when you think I England, Germany or Belgium. You more commonly think of the wines. When I think of Italy I think of, yes the beer, but more so the Beauty, the cars, coffee and all the wonderful people. I will always have a love for Italy. Like Italy, Peroni is a commonly wonderful worldly beer. Arrivederci! Cheers! Please drink responsibly.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Southpark beer Overload!


I love Taco Mac, it as good food and an amazing selection of beer, three pages of great stuff. Taco Mac was founded in 1979 in Atlanta by two guys. When they were trying to come up with a name, the found out it was to much money to make a new sign so the kept the one on the place that they bought, Taco Mac was born. There is two in Charlotte and several in Atlanta. One behind SouthPark mall on Piedmont Row, and in the University area. I have been a few times and its good. So many TVs all over the place. Great place to watch the game, hey the superbowl is comming. Hint hint! I recommend the Yingling battered fish n chips, really good and well done. I've had several Olde Meck brews there, all are good, but I recently found there Farmers Bock, Bauern Bock to be good. It's an amber colored beer with a off white head. it is simi-sweet, has a light spice note and is bit strong and it is a good seasonal (Thanksgiving) beer. I recommend this beer and you should go to Taco Mac, and give it a try, and while your there branch out and try another beer with some of Taco Macs good food. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Natty Greene's Old Town Brown Ale


Okay everyone get out your American history book for this! This is from Greensboro, NC and the Natty Greene brewery. Yeah does that name sound family to you. Well it should, cause you learned about him in American history. Nathanael Grenne AKA Natty Greene, was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. Then later her was appointed commander of the South. This is a brown ale, 4.7% abv. It pours a nice rich brown color with a thick and creamy biege head. Old Town has a sweet aroma of sweet bread and nice licorice candy. This brown ale has a good licorice candy taste that is creamy and rich with a chocolate malt flavor. After taste is filled with a sweet maltiness that is so good. This is a real roboust beer. Old Town has a nice full creamy flavor. It is not overly heavy, and it is not overly light. It is in the middle and that's good. This is very good in fact. Yes I do love a good brown ale, and this is near the top of my favorite brown ales. Great, now I just hope that it becomes one of your favorites too. Please share this one. I recommend this Old Town Brown Ale. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Ridgeway Lump Of Coal

Here is another englih beer from the Ridgeway brewery. This here is a dark holdiay Stout, 1pt .9oz and 8%ABV. Yes I know the name does not sound good or that it's contents would be either. Lump of Coal is a dark rich and almost black with a carmel brown cream head that is nice and lacy on the inside of the glass. It has a rich creamy licorice like scent. This dark brew has a light sourness to the taste but nothing overly sour, and it has a very fine licorice taste on the end. The finish is better than the start, cause at the end it becomes  one step sweeter. LOC's aftertaste is slightly hoppy and heavy, here you really taste the 8% ABV. This is not the best dark stout, but it okay. I am not fond of this to much. It was good once. I don't think it will get better if I have another. I have at better stouts, but either you like or don't like stouts, and there is on so-so when it comes to liking stouts. Well I can't say I do or do not recommend this. I can't really say why its just not great.They say a lot of cleaver things on the fancy lable to make is seem good. It is like dressing an ugly dog in a really pretty, cool and over the top outfit, at the end of the day that is still an ugly mut! D from me! Cheers!  Please drink Responsibly!