Fullsteam Brewery Working Man's Lunch

One reason for buying beer for me is the label, it can depend on how neat and/or interesting it is. Another reason for buying a beer could be the style of beer, or the brewery. Well I bought a Fullsteam beer recently because of the fact that it is a Fullsteam beer, the label looked very interesting and I like the style. I bought Fullsteam Working Man’s Lunch, Everyday Chocolate Ale. 5.7% ABV. Fullsteam is a local North Carolina brewery in Durham, North Carolina. The name of this beer is a tribute to the original working man’s lunch a Moon Pie (big chocolate covered crusted cookie/pie with marshmallow inside) and a cola. Working Man’s Lunch is chocolate brown ale, brewed with chocolate from Raleigh’s Escazu Artisan Chocolate and Weizen Yeast. Sounds interesting. Working Man’s Lunch pours a brown color with dark ruby brown edges and a two finger white head that fades nicely into some bubbly lacing. I found no amounts of light coming thought with a little carbonation bubble, not to say this isn’t carbonated. The aroma is sweet with hints of chocolate and fine yeasty notes. I didn’t get much Weizen aroma from this. Working Man’s Lunch has a nice sweet taste up front of nice light coco/chocolate flavors. I found a little cola flavor in the middle that was the slightest bit odd but not to bad tasting. I was looking for so weizen like flavors and found none, no banana notes here. But I did get a yeasty flavor on the end that was okay But as this beer warms it becomes more and more of a brown ale.. The mouth feel is high medium and sweet, and Working Man’s Lunch finish nice silky with a sweet aftertaste that lingers enough for you to really savor Working Man’s Lunch. Overall and interesting brown ale, so I give this a B-.  I did’n really find any traces of the Weizen flavors here at all, and that brought it down a little, but other than that it was good as a brown ale. Not really overly heavy or thick. I would recommend Fullsteam’s Working Man’s Lunch. So go out and try it! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Luther Reformations Bier Pilsner

Germany is probably one of the great countries for good beer, and could possibly be the oldest too. Germans are the originators of some beers styles, so it is good to go back and try some of these original German styles.  One style that has origins not in German but in the town of Pilsen Czech Republic where the style is named after, but then came to Germany where it grew in popularity and the Germans crafted and brewed their own versions of Pilsner. Now we have Czech and German Pilsner. Most American Pilsners are decedents of the German Pilsner. For my birthday I received a rather interesting pint of German Pilsner, Luther Reformations Bier, 4.9% ABV, brewed by Neunspringe Worbis in Wobis Germany. Reformations Bier pours a bright golden color with a two-finger bright thick white head the slowly fades into bright thick whiffs of nice lacing. I found a great amount of light coming through the glass and a big heard of carbonation bubbles. The aroma has a nice light cracker and big buttery biscuit scent about it, and you can feel a light bubble on your nose. Reformations have a nice crisp buttery taste upfront followed by a slight biscuit and faint cracker. But as this beer warms a bit of a spice note comes through. It is sort of a spicy character like an herb. But the entire bottle is in German so I don’t know what it is. I am guessing it. The spicy herd is less present at cooler temperatures but still slightly there. The mouthfeel is light to medium and has a nice crisp but lightly spiced finish, with a nice aftertaste if spiced herbs and a faint buttery biscuit note. I liked Luther Reformations Bier and would recommend this to anyone, and if and when you find it please let me know where. I’d say Luther Reformations Bier Pilsner is a B+. The spiced herbs really add an interesting touch to a German Pilsner and make for a good Pilsner. So go out and try Luther Reformations Bier Pilsner and see what you think. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!     

Birra Ronzani

While in Napoli Italy I was eating at the same restaurant as the one where I found Vedett, I had another beer, Birra Ronzani, 5.5% ABV. This is a pale lager, brewed in Bologna Italy. Ronzani pours a lighter orange color with one and a half finger off white head that fades fast into very thin lacing. I found little amounts of light coming through with just a little heard of carbonation bubbles. The lacing is almost non-present. The aroma is much like a lager should be with a hint of crispness and a tiny bit of a breaded scent. Not really a lot going on with the aroma on this, but still smells good. The taste on Ronzani is a bit better than the aroma with a nice rich breaded/malt flavor with a hint of a crispness that helps make it drinkable. There is not much going on with the taste but still not a bad beer. The mouth feel is nice and medium with a smooth finish that gives way to a light aftertaste of malt and a very faint orange flavor that made me wonder why it was here on a pale lager, but I found the orange aftertaste that lingered for a second or tow to be nice and a bit interesting. But out of all the new beers I had on my vacation to Italy I found this to be not the best, but still good. Ronzani gets a B here. I think it should’ve had more of a big breaded flavor and less malts, and it would be so perfect, but I still enjoyed it. I would recommend this if you ever travel to Napoli. So try it! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! 

Vedett Extra Ordinary IPA

When in Italy one usually doesn’t think about IPA and/or Belgian beers, nor would a person think of a Belgian IPA. But while I was in Napoli I came out of my hotel (hotel piazza bellini) and a found small restaurant next door that had a good selection of beers. There I found a Vedett Extra Ordinary IPA, 6.0% ABV brewed by Duvel Moortgat in Belgium. Vedett pours a deep orange color with a two finger white head that stays for a short while and then fades in thin lacing. I found there to very small amounts of sunlight coming through the glass with a medium amount of carbonation Vedett is more like a traditional American IPA in that it has more of a hop flavor present than you average Belgian IPA. I found a light bitter hop flavor with touches of oranges with a piney taste. The bitterness of Vedett is now overly powerful, it is just enough to let your taste buds now that it is there, and it’s an IPA. But as the beer warmed up a bit the bitterness came through and became a bit more present. That is mush like all IPAs. The mouth feel is medium but has a slight risen stickiness to it. Vedett finishes nicely with a lower hop flavor and a little more of the piney orange. Aftertaste is more piney orange and a soft but light bitterness that lingers just a bit on your tongue. I have never seen Vedett Extra Ordinary IPA in my area of the USA but I have seen it in other parts of the US. I am glad I had Vedett Extra Ordinary IPA. I give it an A. Vedett is a good solid Belgian IPA. So if you find Vedett Extra Ordinary IPA I really recommend trying it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

San Gabriel Birra Ambra Rossa Di Treviso

I love to vacation in other countries, it gives me a chance to drink local beers that I wouldn’t otherwise get to enjoy here in the USA. While in Venice on the island of Mazzorbo in the Venice lagoon I had San Gabriel Birra Ambra Rossa Di Treviso 5.5% ABV. This is a fruit beer brewed with Radicciho wish is a red lettuce or a leaf of the Chicory flower. San Gabriel Birra Ambra Rossa pours a red orange color with almost one and a half finger of off white head. I couldn’t see much light coming through the glass, but I did see a nice amount of carbonation bubbles. The aroma is a bit sweet with a nice full citrus orange and malt flavor. Taste of San Gabriel Birra Ambra Rossa is nice and full with sweet orange flavors surround a nice malt character. I guess the malt and the Raddicciho together make an orange flavor. There is a nice faint and soft biscuit taste as well. The mouth feel is full/medium with a nice citrusy finish that begins a nice aftertaste of malted oranges with hints of a breaded aftertaste. This beer was excellent and I highly recommend this one. San Gabriel Birra Ambra Rossa is an A+ beer. Goes well with local Venetian foods. I loved it but I don’t think this is in the USA, so make your way to Venice Italy and try San Gabriel Birra Ambra Rossa. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!   

CAPRI Birra Artigianale Ligea (Belgian IPA)

I am not a huge fan of IPA but I actually love Belgian IPAs. The Belgian yeast strain tends to cut through some of the bitter hops making the flavor less intense and softer. This IPA style is quite popular but not as popular as US west coast IPA that you tend to find in southern California especially San Diego. While I was on vacation in the great Country of Italy I went to Napoli to the Isle of Capri and by the end of the day while waiting on the boat back to Napoli I had CAPRI di Birra Artigianale Ligea (Belgian IPA), 5.0% abv. Three brothers who have a love for craft beers make this beer on the Isle of Capri. CAPRI di Birra Artigianale Ligea pours a yellowish gold color with a tow finger white head. I found there to be little rays of sun coming through the whine glass with a decent amount of carbonation bubbles. The aroma is soft with hints of apples, pears and light lemon zest. Ligea has a nice soft fruity taste that has a nice bit of bubble behind a crisp apple, and hints of lemon zest. I got a little amount of hop flavor there but nothing to bitter. The mouth feel is medium with a nice softness and has a good slightly bitter finish. The aftertaste is like a nice lemon and apple flavor with a hint of a grassy note. But as this beer warms up the fruity flavor fade and the hoppy grass note come alive. I found Ligea to be very refreshing after a nice warm day on Capri. CAPRI di Birra Artigianale Ligea is an A. I very easy drinking beer and very delicious. If you every get to the Isle of Capri or to Napoli I highly recommend drinking CAPRI di Birra Artigianale Ligea. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Foothills Brewing IPA of the Month July (Yankee Doodle Dani)

The most popular style of beer has to be the IPA (India Pale Ale). Some many breweries brew at least one or two different IPAs, and even some breweries experiment with different hops and ingredients in an IPA. Some IPA’s come out really strong and bitter some come out more drinkable and fruity. But I am a little bit choosey about IPA’s, but I do love Foothills Brewing IPA of the Month. Now I have July here (Yankee Doodle Dani), 5.8% ABV and 63 IBU (International Bittering Unit). For July Foothills is using four different malts, spicing it up with fresh ground coriander, freshly grated ginger and Citra hops. July pours a really clear golden color with a two finger bright white head that fade kind of slowly in to some thin bubble lacing. I found tons of light streaming though with a great amount of carbonation bubble racing to the head. The aroma is like summer with nice hints of ginger and bits of lemon and touches of grapefruit. The taste is not what I was expecting from an IPA; there is a nice crispness with hints of fresh ginger and the tiniest flavor of coriander. I found a nice refreshing lemon and grapefruit flavor as well that goes very well with the ginger, and a nice bit of a cracker flavor. July isn’t a bit bitter, the closest flavor to bitter would be the lemon and grapefruit, but their bitter flavors are held back by the ginger flavor. But the bitterness, piney, & grassy flavor do come alive a bit as this beer warms up, but it’s none to bitter, just bitter enough to be enjoyable. I was surprised July and how tasty it really was, so Foothills Brewing IPA of the Month gets an A+. So I really recommend July and all of Foothills IPA of the Month. So go out and try all seven months and keep try the rest! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!