Adnams Southwold Bitter

One beer style commonly found throughout England is Bitter, known as English Bitter here.  The bitter style came from brewers who wanted to differentiate them from other mild brews, enter pale malts and more hops. This is beer is Adnams Southwold Bitter 4.1% ABV. Southwold pours a nice copper color with a two and a half finger of whitish head that fades somewhat quickly into great thick lacing. I found very little light streaming through the glass, with a nice amount of carbonation bubbles coming to the top. The aroma on Southwold Bitter is a bit caramel like with a hit of faint bittering hops. Taste on southwold is first slightly sweet with caramel and a faintness of vanilla, and then you get a slight bitterness, but a smooth bitterness from a light bouquet of light hops. The mouth feel is light to almost a medium feel, with a smooth bittersweet finish. The after taste is nice with a hint of a bittering hops flavor around a caramel malty flavor. Adnams Southwold Bitter is a surprisingly good beer, so I am giving this A. The smoothness of this bitter is a big quality of this beer that makes it good, and it’s not overly bitter, it was nicely balanced. So go out and try this one, you might like it! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo

Today post comes to us from one of my favorite breweries, Samuel Smith in Tadcaster England. This is their Yorkshire Stingo, 9.0% ABV. This brew is English Strong ale. English Strong ale is bigger than pale ale smaller than barley wine. They can be rich and complex, and some are usually bottle conditioned. The style has a big alcohol presence. Samuel Smith age this beer in oak casks (that date back more than a century) for over a year, so on this bottle it says that this beer was brewed in 2012. Yorkshire Stingo pours a copper color with a big light tan foamy head with big bubbles, which leave some wonderful lacing behind. I found very little amounts of light coming though the glass and some carbonation bubbles. The aroma is big with nice caramel aromas, with a hint of a faint raisin. The taste on Yorkshire Stingo is boldly bitter up front, but not hop bitter, more like an alcohol bitterness. Then you get more of the oak qualities towards the back like a nice vanilla, toffee and a slight darkish fruit. You really do taste the 9.0% ABV on this beer. The mouth feel is big full and rich. The finish on Stingo isn’t as strong and bitter as the start; it’s a bit sweeter with a nice dark fruit pudding like taste that leads into a slightly oaky vanilla aftertaste. Overall this is a B+ beer, as you drink the pint the beer grows on you, but this is a sipping beer. I like all the complexities in this and how the oak casks bring out such nice flavors. But I think that this beer style is on that people either like or they don’t, there aren’t any that are in the middle on it. Samuel Smith has surprised me yet again with a darn good beer. This is good English Strong Ale. So go and see how you like it. Cheers! Please Enjoy responsibly!

Atwater Brewery Summertime Ale

Welcome to The Best Beer Blog's two hundred post!! The summertime style of beer is such a broad style. This could range from wheat to an IPA. Some can be very simple and others can be overly complex. This here is Atwater Brewery (Detroit, Michigan) Summertime Ale, 5.0% ABV blond ale brewed with lemons. Summertime pours a deep amber color with a thin bright white head that leaves very thin lacing. I found not so much light streaming through the glass, but some and there is a nice amount of carbonation bubbles. This beer looks nothing like blond ale. The aroma is filled with bitter lemon and a hint of malt. The taste on Atwater Summertime Ale is a big bitter lemon with a faint bittering hop around the lemon. The taste reminds me of IPA not so much blond ale. The mouth feel is light to somewhat medium with a clean lemony like finish, which leads into a bitter aftertaste. This beer isn’t entirely true to what the label says. This one really confuses me with the way it looks and how it taste. This Atwater Summertime Ale is getting C- from me. Not a great beer at all, but not something that I would pour out. No I wouldn’t have this again. It’s okay I guess, but not great. So I do not recommend this at all. Don’t try this folks. I didn’t like this summer ale all too much. There are way better summer beers out there to have than this. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter

Nothing is more of an English beer than a porter. The style originated in England. This particular porter is Samuel Smith Taddy Porter, 5.0% ABV (Taddy meaning Tadcaster). I love the fact that this porter is such a lower ABV. Most American porters are much higher in ABV. Taddy Porter pours a very dark color, black, with huge three finger rocky creamy beige head that stays and stays till the pint is nearly gone.  The head does leave behind nice sticky lacing. When held to the light the edges of this porter are a murky brown. I found very small amounts of light coming through under the head, and could see any carbonation bubbles. Taddy Porters aroma is of big roasted notes with a little chocolate there as well. The aroma reminds me of fresh coffee beans a little. The taste on Taddy Porter is roasted and rich with a nice tangy sweetness that is a little like chocolate and semi coffee like. This beer also has dryness to it. The mouth feel is full yet rich, with a dry and yet roasted like finish that leads into a wonderful semi sweet roasted aftertaste. I can’t say enough about how great Samuel Smith beers are, this one is so great. Taddy Porter is getting A+ from me. Just a well crafted English Porter, and it 5.0% ABV, that really had to the greatness of this porter. Samuel Smith is my favorite brewery right now, and I just think that this Taddy Porter is excellent. I have had almost all their beers except for three, and I everyone I’ve had is excellent. I highly recommend that you seek out Taddy Porter and all Samuel Smith beers. You can’t go wrong! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Fürst Wallerstein Weissbierpils

My favorite beer style is hefeweizen or wheat beer. The best come from Germany and does this one, but this First Wallerstein Weissbierpils 5.10% ABV, it is not your typical Weiss beer, it is a hybrid. This is a combination of wheat and a pilsner. Fürst Wallerstein Weissbierpils is a Total Wine and More brewery direct product. Fürst Wallerstein Weissbierpils pours a hazy yellow/gold color with a big thick white three finger head that makes great lacing. There is not a lot of light streaming through the glass, but there are tons of great carbonation bubbles. The aroma is slightly sweet with a little citrus and a big banana scents. This beer has similar aromas to a regular German Weiss beer but just a little lighter. The taste is of light banana and even lighter citrus flavors. There is not a real heavy wheat flavor like you would get on regular Weiss or Hefe’s, it does have a lighter wheat taste. The mouthfeel is medium. Fürst Wallerstein Weissbierpils finishes nice a semi-sweet with a nice banana-like aftertaste that sticks for a little while after each wonderful sip. I like this so I am giving this A+.  This is a lighter version of a great German Hefeweizen. Fürst Wallerstein Weissbierpils is not overly done and too heavy to drink a lot of, and that is why I think it is good. IU would highly recommend that you try this one. So go and try Fürst Wallerstein Weissbierpils and see what you think of this hybrid style beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!