Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Mecktoberfest

Happy Octoberfest everyone! By this time of the year you see lots of Marzen style beer out on the shelves. Marzen is March it German. This style of beer is a lager style but is brewed in March and is stored in the cooler caves during the warmer months of summer. It is brought out during October. This Marzen come to use from Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. This is Mecktoberfest 5.4% abv. This is only a fall release and come in a 650ml bottle, as do all OMB beers. Mecktoberfest pour a nice orange color with a nice white one finger white head. There is tons of light coming through this. Lots of little carbonation bubbles racing to the top of the glass. Very appealing beer to look at. The aroma on this is sweet with lots of nice bread malts;  there is a tiny bit of caramel there as well. The taste of Mecktoberfest is sweet with malts. I did also get a nice bread flavor that had a touch of caramel too. The mouth feel is medium and stick in you mouth a bit and cleans up nicely. The malts stay a bit on your tongue. The finish is clean and sweet with a nice hit of malts. The after taste of this Marzen is of sweet malted bread and a tiny caramel, but not as strong as it starts. But it is close though. I'm giving this an A+. This is how a true Marzen is supposed to taste like. Great all around flavors on this beer. This is good year after year. I highly recommend you get this and try it. You'll love this one! Cheers Please enjoy responsibly!

Bavik Belgian Premium Pilsner

One of the great brewing nations is Belgium and they do such a wonderful job, and brew some of the world's most delicious beers. This here is Bavik a premium Pilsner, 5.0% ABV. This is a good sessionable beer. This beer is brewed in Bavikhove Belgium, and is a German style pilsner. This Bavik poured a golden straw yellow color with a one finger head that had lots of tiny bubbles to it, but it faded rather quickly. Plenty of light coming through this one with lots of carbonation. There is a good amount of lacing on the glass with this, but the lacing doesn't stick around for long. This looks like most premium European pilsners. The aroma of Bavik pils is of a sweet corn scent and a touch of barley. The barely is very faint but is there none the less. I found a very very faint metallic scent but once you do smell that it's gone in an instant. You get mostly a little sweet corn scent aroma on Bavik. Taste of Bavik is what you'd expect form a pilsner, there also is a nice sweetness a corn sweetness. It isn't over powering or anything. Mouth feel is low and refreshing. I did get a very faint  bitter sweet bite. This Bavik's taste is clean, crisp, light and refreshing. This beer finishes clean, crisp and refreshing. I did get a nice sweet corn bread like taste in the finish. Bavik has a good finish. Average European style pilsners better than most average American pilsner. Bavik is one of those. I would give this a B. Bavik is good; something that I would have during the week when I don't really want a full hearty flavorful big beer. I could sit and have a few of these. I would recommend this a good Belgian session beer for someone that likes Euro pilsners and is looking for something new. This is good I would have this again. You should try this one. Pick some up at Mikes Discount Beverages, 4700 Park Road, Charlotte,  

NC 28209. Get down there please and get a Bavik. Also see what other interesting and flavor great beers and wines they have. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Natty Greene's Southern Pale Ale

Here's to another North Carolina beer, Natty Greene's Southern Pale Ale, 5.2% ABV. This comes out of The Natty Greene's Brewery in Greensboro North Carolina. This is a year round offering from them and is widely found through out North Carolina. I have had a few of Natty Greenes other beers before but not this pale ale. This is the first time I've had this. This Southern Pale Ale pours a nice medium orange color with a two to two and a half finger with big bubbly bright white head. It is kind of clear but not so much. There is nice lacing in this, it really laces nicely around the glass. Very nice looking head. The aroma of this pale ale is very grassy, and green oily/sappy leaf like. There is a nice sharp hop note they too but it smell a bit oily, but not overly hop oiled. Overall scent is like fresh growing hops with a hint of grass and green leafs. It's a nice aroma on the beer. Southerns taste has a hoppieness that is a bit bitter, but nice, and nothing overly hope like an IPA, but close. The mouth fell is medium and the taste stay on your tongue for a little bit. it does go down less bitter but still a nice about of bitter hop flavor there. The finish on this is hoppy, and refreshing. Finishes less hoppy then it starts. Overall I would give this a B-. I found it leaning more towards an IPA in the hop department, and a Pale Ale should not be that hoppy. I don't mind IPA's or extra hoppy beers, it was just that the bottle said pale ale and I felt it was more like an extra pale ale or a lower hopped IPA. Would I have this again? Yes I would, but not to much, not because of the high ABV, which it does not have. I think that after two or tow and a half of these the hops in this would get a little to much, so I just give this a B-. Not bad. Good stuff. I enjoyed this. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Mother Earth Dark Cloud

It has been a bit of a crazy, but fun week around my house, this past week with my brother's family came into town for his birthday. But I am here now with yet another beer review. This is another North Carolina brew, from Kinston, North Carolina, and Mother Earth Brewing. This is their Munich-style Dunkel Lager, Dark Cloud 5.10% ABV. This is the second time having this. First was during a beer tasting I gave this past week. This is a dark German lager. Dark Cloud pours a dark brown color with a rocky whitish two finger head, and very very little light was come through, hazy in the glass. The aroma on this is very malty and sweet with nice bread notes, faint coffee scents too but more of a lighter roast coffee. There was a very very faint raisin smell there too but it's almost not existent. This Dark Cloud has a nice aroma overall The taste on the Dark Cloud is malt forward, yeah lots of malts, but not overly malty and yes it's a bit sweet to semi-sweet. this has a lot of mouthfeel on this, you really get that nice malt flavor all over the mouth. I did find a somewhat of a coffee taste here, but none too strong like a stout or porter. There is a very faint somewhat of bitterness to the very end but was okay. But that doesn't take anything away from the overall flavors of this Dunkel. The aftertaste is still malty but a little less, still good and sweet yet bready. There is no bitterness, but the sweetness does get a bit stronger in the aftertaste. Nothing overly sweet, but good none the less. I find the aftertaste a half tick better than the first taste still great. This beer is not heavy or thick, but it is a drinkable, sessionable and a good beer to have more than once. Overall I give this a B, just for the fact that I found a very tiny bitterness within the great malted flavor. I like this one, it is well done, well brewed and I will be looking forward to having his again, maybe if I have them again and again I will maybe become a B+. I think it could become better with me over time may be a short time. The bitterness was just a half-point off for me, but nothing that made me gives this fine Dunkel any lower of a  grade or pour it out. I like it very much and glad it's an N.C. beer. Try this! Cheer! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Blue Moon Vintage Blonde Ale 2012

I like Blue Moon, they brew good beers and I knew that they discontinued their Grand Cru not long ago. I was in my local grocery store and I saw this big 25.5 fl oz or 1 pint 1.9 oz bottle of Blue Moon and wondered what it was. I took one of course. Only comes in this size. This Vintage Blonde 8.5% ABV, won the gold metal at the 2010 Great American  Beer Festival. This beer is crafted with Chardonnay grape juice and all-wheat grain. This is also kind of celler-aged, but I'm not sure for how long. Blue Moon says with this you can enjoy this now or you can set it aside for the right moment. I've had this sitting for about three weeks or so. I saved it when my brothers family came in. The appearance on this Blue Moon looks almost like some of the Blue Moons beers, deep orange almost dark gold, with a finger of white head that rather quickly and had tiny bubbles with in the head. Not a whole lot of light getting through the glass, but that is normal on most wheat beers. Not much lacing to it, but there was some to little. There was a huge sweet grape scent with a wine like grape juice aroma. Very powerful scent on this ale. Wow big huge scents and aromas! I also found that wine Chardonnay scent there as well under that all those grape aromas. This had a sweet grape wine scent over all. Taste on this was not what I was expecting, but not bad. First there is a big sweet grape like taste, almost like you're eating fresh sweet grape. Then you get that nice sweet grape juice, but it has more of a wine like taste. You do get a tiny bit of a nice wheat flavor that's surronds all grape taste but nothing like a German wheat beer. The finish on this wasn't dry like some Chardonnays can be, but it was crisp sweet and refreshing. Overall I would give this a C+, just not what I was expecting from this. I was thinking it would be more like a Belgian golden strong ale with a  little sweetness, but not a bad beer, tasty stuff from this Blue Moon. It reminded me of a saison a little bit. I also thought that this had a little more hype to this then it had taste. The taste didn't match the hype with this. This seems like a more of a special brew and it was good but not wow knock my socks off kind of good. It did say limited edition on the bottle neck, but that was just because they don't brew a whole lot of this, but didn't taste as special as some limited editions brews I've had. It was good as I'd hoped, still a C+ from me. Yes I recommend this and to cellar this. So pick up two, one to have now and one to age for a little while. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!    

Palmetto Charleston Lager

Over this past Labor day weekend my family and I took a trip down to Charleston South Carolina and stayed in Folly Beach. While there I saw this and thought it would be fun and interesting to try. So I picked up a six pack from the local Piggly Wiggly to give this a try. This is brewed and bottled in Charleston, SC by the Palmetto brewing company. They clam to be souths oldest brewery, circa 1880, and use steam in the brewing process. This here is their Charleston Lager 5.4% ABV. This Lager pours a dark gold to an orange color and is light, I could see through the glass. There was a quarter finger white head that dissipated quickly. This had lots of little carbonation bubbles racing towards the top with some little lacing but not much. Not very exciting in the looks department on this one, but most lagers don't have extremely good looks, some do but not this. The smells on this are of wet paper and some dry corn, not very pleasing at all. There was a hint of a tin scent, like a tin or aluminum can/foil. The taste on the Charleston Lager was not at all great, I found there to be a metallic taste that was a little dry and the tiniest bit bitter. There was a little malt taste around the metallic taste but it's not a good taste. The finish on this is dry and metallic, a tiny bit bitter and just bad. This is not good, not even they slightest bit crisp and refreshing. This is the first time having any of Palmeto's beers and if this is anything on how the rest of their beer are, I am not impressed or does this make me what to try any of there other beers. But I might be wrong about their other brews, but I am skeptical. Over all I would give this a D, just because it is boring tasteless and to me not well brewed. But it is not bad enough for me to pour this out, but close though. I would rather I have a Shiner Blond. I don't recommend this at all. But you might try it and like it, I just did not like it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Well I seem to have found yet another summer brew in my fridge, and this one I bought, I bought just one twelve oz for a beer tasting on wheat beer I did last spring for my family this past spring. This one was one of the left overs. Samuel Adams is a much larger well known craft brewery in Boston MA. Most of their beers a middle of the road and average. This is their summer ale 5.3% ABV, is a wheat ale brewed with lemon peal and grains of paradise. This ale pour almost a deep orange hazy like color with a half to one finger white head that disappears quickly and leaves some to little lacing. There is a nice amount of carbonation with this ale. There is a big lemon scent all over this with slight hints of grains almost like a plane cereal smell. The smell on this was a bit sour like and not so pleasing. The taste of the summer ale is a huge bitter lemon with very week to almost no wheat flavor, at first. But then there is less sourness to the lemon as hits the back of your tongue, with a little more wheat flavors, but none to good. The finish on this is plane overly lemony but not a great lemon. It's kind of off on the whole lemon flavor. This Sam Adams is a bit crisp until you get to the lemon. I think this is just way to average and somewhat not as good as it sounds, much like most Sam Adams beers. But I have to give credit where credit is do, they are pretty creative, experimental and crafty on there beers, and they can be quite interesting. But over all not so good. I am not a big fan or Sam Adams and their beers. I would give this a D+. This summer ale isn't the worst thing I've ever had, I mean I did finish this. There are much better summer beers out there, like Shiner Ruby Redbird, which I have reviewed all ready and is a very delicious tasting beer and very well brewed. I don't think I will be have this Sam Adams Summer Ale again, maybe way way into the future I mighty. I do not recommend this at all But yes there are much better summer beers are out there go forth and find, and try them. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Bell's Oberon Ale

Here we have Bell's Brewery beer. The Bell's brewery is quit popular, they are in Comstock Michigan. I am reviewing this because I received an email from Manny Brito from Florida asking my thoughts on this, but I told that I had it a while back, and I that I would have to properly review this, and I am now. So Manny hope you enjoy this review. This Oberon Ale is a 5.8% ABV american wheat ale summer seasonal. I rather like wheat ales. They can be really refreshing and a great style. Oberon pours a rich orange color, a bit hazy, with half to almost on finger with head that faded rather quick. This does have nice lacing to it, but not a whole lot. The lacing does come and go as you get toward the bottom of the bottom of the glass, it isn't there all the way though the drinking. I fond a big orange scent, but not really the normal orange scent, it was more of spicy, peppery orange, orange rind or clementine scent. First taste is the sweet orange and the slight pepper spice flavor. But followed right behind that there is a very slight spicy hop note they that was a bit unexpected and a somewhat not so good, but that didn't really bother me so much. The hop not here is in no way Pale Ale or and IPA like. Not bad, just not expected and not as good as I hoped. This has a medium mouth feel overall, not to bad. The finish is a little less hoppy, spicy and more sweet citrus orange to it but you do get more of the alcohol on the end but nothing overly alcoholic, Oberon ale has a low abv%. The finish is nice, refreshing, and good. I would give this a B-, just because it had more spicy flavor to it, and the wheat here is on the lower flavor side. But whenever I review any sort of wheat beer I have thought of the best German wheats in the back of my mind. I guess I compair them to a true highly rated German wheat beers. Kind of not so fair, but this Bell's is not bad. I would have this again, somewhat soon but not too soon. I didn't love this but I liked just finen, B- overall from me and The Best Beer Blog. If you want an A+ wheat beer try any Ayinger wheat beer, Weizen-Bock is the best! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!