Stone Imperial Russian Ale Review: Hello Beer Shake

Imperial Russian Stout
Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA
http://www.stonebrew.com/

Stone Imperial Russian Stout at a Glance
Style: Imperial Russian Stout
Appearance: Black-hole dark
Aroma: Chocolate, coffee, alcohol, and licorice
Taste: Chocolate and alcohol
Verdict: My favorite stout ever, it's a huge imperial stout for stout lovers.

Stone claims that this beer pours "like Siberian Crude and tastes even heavier!" I am not sure that over-the-top statement even does this beer justice. Imperial Russian Stout poured so dark that you have to find it by smell at night. The head was also brown, though not nearly as dark of course. A pint glass could not contain the aromas of this mighty stout.  I did not have to put my nose in the head to smell this beer. Chocolate and coffee greeted my nose from about two feet away. A little closer sniffing revealed a more subtle presence of black licorice.

On to the taste! The flavor of this beer was all chocolate at the beginning but morphed into an alcohol burn at the end. Stone packs 90 IBUs worth of bitterness into its Imperial Russian Stout, but the bitterness was nearly overwhelmed by the chocolate early and the warming alcohol at the end. A gradual bitterness eventually developed after the swallow. The mouthfeel was amazingly creamy and one of the thickest I have ever experienced in a beer.

This 2011 version of Stone Imperial Russian Stout was released way back in May, but if you can find one, don't shy away. it still packs a delicious punch.

-Ryan

Style: Imperial Russian Stout
ABV: 10.5%
IBU: 90
Availability: Stone has national distribution, but its Imperial Russian Stout is a limited edition release.

Deschutes Brewery Hop in the Dark Review: Dark and Hoppy

Hop in the Dark
Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/

Deschutes Brewery Hop in the Dark at a Glance
Style: Cascadian Dark Ale
Appearance: Darth Vader Black
Aroma: Pacific Northwest hops and lots of them
Taste: Big roasted malts
Verdict: A worthy example of a challenging new style

Everything about my initial experience confused me. Hop in the Dark looks like a porter. It is black-coffee dark in color with a lovely tan head. Hop in the Dark also smells like a port...wait, no it doesn't. It smells like a big American Double IPA. What the hell is going on?

Tasting the beer cleared nothing up. My tongue was as confused as my nose. The first sip presented big, complex flavors that went from hops to bitter roasted malts to hops again, the bitterness of the hops lasting longer than the bitterness of the roasted malts.The tongue twister that Hop in the Dark put my mouth through gave me the respite I needed to admire the look of the beer again: the head lingered nicely and left ample lacing on the sides of the glass.

Almost no one will like Hop in the Dark. It is definitely not a beginner's beer. You would have to be a fan of both porters and double IPAs to even have a shot with this dark alchemy. Furthermore, you would have to enjoy them mixed together. I opened this beer after drinking a Stone Arrogant Bastard and it still kicked my ass. For the adventurous though, I highly recommend a dance with Hop in the Dark. Your bravery will be rewarded with big, unexpected flavors.

-Ryan

Style: Cascadian Dark Ale/Black IPA
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 70
Availability: Western US and Northern America (BC). I got my sample from Total Wine & Spirits

Snark Double Team, Part II: Karl Strauss Amber Lager Review

Amber Lager
Karl Strauss Brewing Company, San Diego, CA
http://www.karlstrauss.com/

Karl Strauss Amber Lager at a Glance:
Style: Amber Lager
Appearance: Clear, deep copper
Aroma: Caramel malts
Taste: Toasted malts
Verdict: Boring but very drinkable

When we left off after part I of the Snark Double team, Brian was busy hating his Sam Adams Summer Ale and was eager to try something else. I offered him Old English and Mickey's, but he picked Karl Strauss Amber Lager instead. Yuppie.

I cracked open two bottles and poured one for Brian and one for myself. The color of the beer was exactly what you'd hope for from an amber lager. I'll leave it up to your imagination. The head was cream colored and the bubbles were tightly packed, which retreated to form a lasting ring around the glass.

The aroma was caramel malt and only the tiniest hint of hops.

"It tastes like toasty," Brian announced after enjoying his first sip. "It reminds me of Fat Tire."
The flavor was toasted malt up front with a lingering, mild  bitterness after the swallow. It reminded me of Fat Tire Ale too, a bit, but a worse Fat Tire. The mouth feel was thin and watery, but not inappropriate for a lager.

Karl Strauss Amber Lager

The final word? Karl Strauss Amber lager is a boring but completely drinkable beer. It is a good candidate for those seeking to expand their horizons beyond piss yellow macro lagers, but a beer aficionado will find little here to excite him or her. Brian announced, "I don't need a super exciting beer." When you are Brian a boring beer will do you just fine. My life isn't that exciting; I need my beer to be.

-Ryan

Style: Amber Lager
ABV: 4.2%
Availability: Southern California

Other beers that may interest you:
Trader Joe's Bohemian Lager
Harp Premium Lager

Snark Double Team, Part I: Sam Adams Summer Ale Review

Summer Ale
Samuel Adams (The Boston Beer Company), Boston, MA
http://www.samueladams.com/

Samuel Adams Summer Ale at a Glance:
Style: American Wheat Ale
Appearance: Cloudy, golden
Aroma: Wheat, citrus, pepper
Taste: Wheat, citrus, pepper
Verdict: Refreshing but the strong pepper flavor can be divisive

One of my goals this summer has been to try as many seasonal brews as possible. Writing about all of them as proven to be a challenge that I can't overcome. Most of them are mediocre--not bad, just not great. Mediocrity destroys creativity. Consequently, most of these summer seasonals haven't made it to the blog. Sorry.

To help me overcome the mediocrity induced laziness, I enlisted the help of a snarky outsider named Brian. Brian possesses an intrinsic snarkiness that is difficult not to notice. He and I also disagree about most beers, making him the perfect foil.

We began our two-beer snark-a-thon with Summer Ale from Sam Adams. Sam Adams is the heavyweight of the craft beer division. Even a lazy beer drinker can find the company's wares almost anywhere, and most of the beers are quite good. (You may remember that I enjoyed Sam Adams Rustic Saison just a few weeks ago.)

Sam Adams Summer Ale

The Summer Ale poured with a golden color that you'd imagine a summer ale to be and provided a nice, tight head of small bubbles that almost immediately dissipated. Brian declared that "it smells like an airport urinal." I never get my nose that close to public toilets, so I can't comment on the accuracy of his statement. I told him that he was likely smelling wheat, citrus, and a hint of peppery spice."No, it is definitely pee that I am smelling," he responded.

The peppery smell was a bit of a mystery until I read the label, which declared that the Summer Ale was brewed with Grains of Paradise. I have no idea what Grains of Paradise are, so I guess it is still a mystery. I assume that they are some sort of pepper that is endemic to Boston or Africa or someplace. I do know that I am not crazy about smelling them in my beer, but I'll get over it as long as they don't ruin the taste.

Summer Ale in the glass.

Once in my mouth, Sam Adams Summer Ale provided a proper mouth feel for the style and the right amount of carbonation. There is nothing to complain about in this area. Sorry for letting you down. To both Brian and me, the beer tasted exactly like it smelled. For me that meant wheat, citrus, and pepper. For Brian that meant pee. Strangely though, Brian responded after his first sip that the beer was quite refreshing. I tend to agree, even though I am not crazy about pepper in my beer.

The Summer Ale grew on both of us as we drank it, in opposite directions. Brian declared, "I like it less the more I drink it. It reminds me of Tequiza." I would never drink a Tequiza, so again Brian is on his own. I found it refreshing and adequate on all fronts, though nothing spectacular. Brian concluded by saying, "One of my least favorite beers of all time. Did they make this with Epsom salt?" as he poured it down the drain.

-Ryan

Style: Wheat Ale/Saison
ABV: 5.3%
Availability: Nationwide. Look for it in the Summer Styles Variety Pack or individually

Other beers that may interest you:
Sam Adams' Rustic Saison
De Proef Brewerij's Saison Imperiale
Odanata Beer Company's Saison Ale

Mammoth Brewing Company IPA 395 Review: A Beer Worth Nearly Dying Four Times For

IPA 395
Mammoth Brewing Company, Mammoth Lakes, CA
http://www.mammothbrewingco.com/

Mammoth Brewing Co IPA 395 at a Glance:
Style: American IPA
Appearance: Amber with tan head
Aroma: Spicy hops and sweet malt
Taste: Balanced hoppy bitterness and sweet, caramel malt
Verdict: One of the best IPAs we've had

Jesse recently survived an epic adventure through the high Sierras, exploring a snow-shrouded Yosemite in late June, stumbling upon a black bear and her cub while hiking, almost getting ambushed by a meth head intent on a felony or two, nearly succumbing to a rock slide in the dead of night, and spending the night in the eastern Sierras in his car, which is tiny and "not good for sleeping or sex. I've tried both."

All that sounds like fun, but the real highlight was the beer. Jesse returned from his odyssey, or Jessyssey in this case, with 2 gallons of beer enjoyment like I've seldom experienced. I was the lucky recipient of one 1/2-gallon growler. I chose the IPA 395.

Not the bear that nearly ate Jesse--a friendlier and more delicious one.

Mammoth describes the IPA 395 as a double IPA, but it lacks the bitterness of most doubles. Instead, this beer greets you with an incredible bouquet of spices, hops, and sweet malt. It poured with an amber color and a perfect tan head. The IPA 395 was not really all that bitter on the tongue, which allowed a lot of caramel malt to come through the hops. It was really well balanced and entirely enjoyable. I kept pouring until all 64 ounces were in my belly. I didn't share a drop with anyone.

Would I drive 332 miles and brave bears, meth addicts, rock slides, and bitter cold? No, but I'd gladly send Jesse again.

Trader Joe's Bohemian Lager Review: Surprisingly Drinkable

Trader Joe’s Bohemian Lager
Trader Joe’s Brewing Company, San Jose, CA
http://www.traderjoes.com

Trader Joe's Bohemian Lager at a Glance
Style: Lager
Appearance: Clear, pale gold
Aroma: Creamed corn
Taste: Hint of sweetness, hint of bitterness
Verdict: An average, drinkable lager at a reasonable price



Full disclosure: I love Trader Joe's. It is a great place to buy packed foods that don't taste like salt. I can also usually trust TJ's products to be of high quality and decent taste.

Enter TJ's Bohemian Lager. My expectations going in were that it would be drinkable but likely not great.

TJ's Bohemian Lager - drinkable, just barely

The Bohemian Lager provided a clear, golden pour as it flowed from the bottle. The decent initial head quickly faded to Bolivia, leaving sad looking clumps of foam in its wake. The lager smelled like creamed corn, which is not what I would have hoped. It didn't taste much better either; there was nothing much there except for a hint of bitterness and a hint of sweetness. However, it finished cleanly with no lingering nastiness.

Like much of San Jose, where this beer is brewed, Trader Joe's Bohemian Lager is mostly forgettable
Fans of Trader Joe’s will point out that the quirky grocery stocks thousands of delicious products in its stores. Fans of beer will point out that this is not one of those products. Still, it's drinkable, and you could do a hell of a lot worse.

Style: Czech Pils
ABV: 5.0%
Available: Trader Joe’s nationwide

Odanata Beer Company Saison Review: Odanata Brews a Damn Fine Saison

Saison
Odanata Beer Company, Sacramento, CA
http://www.odonatabeer.com/

Sour beer sounds disgusting, as if it were a home brew experiment gone awry. With its Saison, Odanata Brewery attempts to convince Americans that “sour” and “beer” go together. Sure, the Belgians have made sour beer for centuries, but they also put mayonnaise on their goddamn french fries. On the nose, this bottle-conditioned saison hints at the sour, citrusy experience inside. It pours with a creamy, enduring head and a golden color. The beer hits your tongue with wheat and refreshing citrus tones, providing a much more interesting experience than Blue Moon, Shock Top, or the like. The longer you let this saison linger, the sourer it gets, like marrying the wrong woman. But, count me among the converted. I could drink this beer all summer and all winter long.

Odanta Beer Company's Saison is one of my absolute favorites.

Style: Saison
ABV: 6.4%
Availability: Sacramento, CA and surrounds only

-Ryan

Other beers that may interest you:
Sam Adams' Rustic Saison
De Proef Brewerij's Saison Imperiale
Odanata Beer Company's Saison Ale

De Proef Brewerij Saison Imperiale Review: Someone go to Europe and tell the Belgians that they have lost their minds.

Saison Imperiale

De Proef Brewerij, Lochristi, Belgium

http://www.proefbrouwerij.com/

De Proef Brewerij's Saisson Imperiale

If you woke me from sleep and demanded to know what "farmhouse ale" meant (because you didn't bother to Google first) I'd say something like "an unfiltered, sour, bottle-conditioned wheat beer.  You know like a scrumpy cider or a country wine.  Now let me go back to sleep damn it!"  According to Saison Imperiale's label, I'm way off.  It actually means, according to De Proefu Brewerij, that the beer makers blend Sacchromyces and Brettanomyces yeasts to produce "mild earthiness" and "farmhouse."  From a marketing standpoint, "earthy" implies "pastoral" which means "smells like shit." Thankfully, this beer didn't.  The high alcohol and sour and sweet malt combine to form an altogether pleasant tasting saison.  I'd have it with meal next time just to keep from getting burned out on malty after taste, but I'd definitely have it again.  

 

                                                                            -Jesse 

When I first poured De Proef's Saison Imperiale I was ready to attack. A saison? Look at the color! 8.5% ABV? Any farmer who drank one of these for lunch who lose a leg to his scythe! Then, I tasted it. This does not taste like a saison! If you drink hoping for a traditional saison experience, you are going to have to swallow disappointment. Everything about this beer, except the aroma perhaps, screamed "I am not a saison!" The Imperiale looked like no saison I have ever seen. Instead, it featured a thick tan head with nice lacing and amber coloring. The aroma fit the saison mold -- slightly fruity with a hint of dirt. The beer managed to be both sweet and sour on the tongue like a bipolar candy with lots of caramel maltiness. There was no bitterness until the aftertaste. Despite all my vitriole, this was an interesting concoction. Overall I enjoyed this beer, and you will too.

-Ryan

Style: Saison/Imperial
ABV: 8.5%
Availability: Specialty stores nationwide

Other beers that may interest you:

Odanata Beer Company's Saison

Sam Adams' Rustic Saison

Sam Adams' Summer Ale

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale Review: Chrsitmas in June

Yesterday Santa visited in the form of a single Celebration Ale left over from Christmas. I'll skip the long review since you won't be able to purchase the beer until the late fall, but I love this beer. I could drink it all year long. The closest beer Sierra Nevada offers year round is the Torpedo. Torpedo is just as freshly hopped but not quite as spicy. I love both!

Harp Premium Lager Review: The Irish Attempt a Half-Decent Lager. Get it Half Right.

"From the Makers of Guinness." The marketing message is clear: "Guinness is pretty good, and we made Guinness so Harp Premium Lager must also be good." I remain skeptical. I know saying that Guinness is not my favorite stout is a bit like saying Jesus isn't my favorite first-century Jewish spiritual leader, but I just don't love the dark ale from Dublin.

Harp's new green, more Irishy-looking bottle

Appearance wise, Harp Premium Lager is exactly what it should be. It poured with a classic lager gold, very clear. It left a fleeting head. There wasn't much to the aroma, however, no malt or hops. I could have been sniffing an empty glass mistakenly.

On to the taste. "Genuine Irish Recipe." What does that mean? It means that a bunch of people not known for making a lager got together and made up their own recipe. You know, because the German and Czech's muck it up so badly. This beer tasted crisp and clean; it was surprisingly good actually. I'd like a bit more flavor, but what was there wasn't bad. There was a hint of corn maybe, but not much else. Very crisp, very clean. The mouth feel was a bit thin but acceptable. The aftertaste was clean, a hint bitter, and refreshing.

The best, most accurate praise I can give Harp Premium Lager is that it tastes like an American lager should, if only American beer drinkers weren't so lazy and unadventurous. The Irish can make a decent lager. What other stereotypes about the Irish aren't true either?

-Ryan

Style: Lager
ABV: 5.0%
Availability: Nationwide

Franziskaner Weissbier Review: An Old Standard in Wheat Beering

It is officially unofficially summer, which means two things: I hate the Miami Heat and the calendar says it is time to drink wheat beer.

Franziskaner Weissbier - Classic German Wheat

Franziskaner Weissbier is an old wheat beer standby. Dating back to 1397, it might be even older than wheat itself, though someone should double check that on Wikipedia. Franziskaner, now owned by Anheuser-Busch/InBev, makes two versions of their wheat beer: this one, called Hefe-Weisse Hell, and a darker version called Hefe-Weisse Dunkel. Those are their words not mine, although something may be lost in translation. The bottle of the label says "Naturtrüb," which is German for "clumpy nastiness in bottom." For God's sake, swirl before you pour!

Once I poured the Franziskaner into a glass, the profusion of bubbles immediately struck me. A clean, white head erupted at the top of the golden-orange beer and lingered nicely. The aroma of the Franziskaner was fairly standard wheat beer with a hint of citrus and yeast. The yeast came through strongly on the tongue too, along with citrus, and fair amount of sour. The Weissbier had a good mouth feel for a wheat beer.

Franziskaner is an old standard among wheat beers. Though there is nothing particularly noteworthy about it, at least after it makes the long journey from Bavaria to the local Trader Joe's. If nothing else, I recommend it as an alternative to Blue Moon or Pyramid.

-Ryan

Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.0%
Availability: Nationwide

Other beers that may interest you:

Odanata Beer Company's Saison

De Proef Brewerij's Saison Imperiale

Sam Adams' Summer Ale

Sam Adams' Rustic Saison

Apologies

Dear Reader,

I apologize. I am a miserable human being. For an entire month, I have made no new posts. Before you draw and quarter me, please know that I was drinking beer. I just didn't have time to write about it. I promise to make it up to you with a barrage of new posts in the coming days.

Check back in the next few days to read about my experience with Lazy Dog Cafe's  house brews, Karl Strauss' Full Suit, New Belgium's 2 Degrees Below Zero, Sam Adams' Revolutionary Ale, and many more.

Sam Adams Rustic Saison Review: Enjoying a Good Saison at an Urban Hipster Oasis

Confronted with a mammoth beer list last night at Haven Gastropub in Orange, CA, my eyes fell upon a familiar name: Sam Adams. The words that followed though were a surprise. Rustic Saison? Saison's are Belgian wheat beers that typically have fruity and sour characteristics. They enjoyed a long, proud history refreshing farm workers in the fields of southern Belgium and have begun a Renaissance here in the US thanks to their more complex character than the standard wheat beers typically available. I have recently grown very fond of saisons as I attempt to drag myself away from the IPA well.

Haven, the aforementioned pub, is a bit of an aberration in Orange County, full of urban hipsters, gypsies, and even the occasional Furry mixing with the Chapman University clientele. The food at Haven was quite good. The flat bread Margherita Pizza was fantastic, and no one complained about the lamb burgers. My wife had mac n' cheese, because that's how she rolls. Since it had cheese, I guarantee that she loved it. The most impressive thing though about Haven was the beer list, which bursts at the seems with hugely expensive, limited edition brews. I am poor; so after admiring the list, I set it aside and asked for the Rustic Saison Sammy.

The waitress served the beer to me in one of the fancy Belgian strong ale glasses, which seems to be license to charge as much for one small pour as 7 Eleven normally charges for an entire six pack, but I digress. The color looked golden and hazy, as one should expect from a saison. The beer tickled my nose with citrus and delighted my tongue with pepper, spices, and just a hint of sourness. Though not the absolute best saison I've ever drunk, I'd have no trouble recommending this saison to any Blue Moon drinker looking to expand his horizons.

-Ryan

Style: Wheat Ale/Saison
ABV: 4.35%
Availability: Nationwide. Look for it in the Summer Styles Variety Pack

Other beers that may interest you:
Sam Adams' Rustic Saison
De Proef Brewerij's Saison Imperiale
Odanata Beer Company's Saison Ale

Ridiculous Beer Marketing: Miller Lite - "Triple Hops Brewed?"

Here is one of Miller's ridiculous commercials. I won't get into the nerdy reasons why, but brewers almost invariably add hops three times to the brew kettle. To claim that adding hops three times makes Miller unique is akin to my claiming that breathing oxygen makes me a unique human. Such a claim is patently absurd. Great job Miller. Keep up the good work.

-Ryan

Eel River Acai Berry Wheat Review: What the hell is Acai berry and why is it in my beer?

Eel River's Acai Wheat

I admit it; I'm being hypocritical, but Eel River nearly lost me before I even tried this beer. I hate fruit in my beer. To me, beer and fruit go together like Israelis and Palestinians. Eel River did not just go local farmers' market for this particular fruit either. The brewery went all the way to the Amazon for this nearly unpronounceable flavor adjunct. I don't mean to complain, but I suspect that Eel River chose Acai berry not for its flavor characteristics, but for its marketing potential to hipsters.

The beer itself poured golden and cloudy, with no hint of pink food coloring. The berry aroma hit my nose immediately, which was a bit of a surprise considering the lack of berry color. The taste was tart, not sweet, and filled with berry. The beer finished with a strong wheat presence.

The overall effect of the Acai berry and wheat partnership was refreshment. Despite the organic hippy nonsense on the label, I like this beer.

-Ryan

Style: Wheat Ale/Fruit Beer
ABV: 4.0%
Availability: Specialty stores nationwide

Great Divide Hibernation Ale Review: Can Ryan Find Anything in this Beer to Complain About?

Hibernation Ale: Is year round
too much to ask?

Great Divide Brewing Company has produced an outstanding strong English-style ale with Hibernation. This beer is truly difficult to complain about, but I'll try. The beer pours a dark brown with a light tan head, which dissipated cleanly. The aroma was a nice balance of maltiness and hops, quite pleasant. Failing to disappoint, the Hibernation also balanced well on the tongue, but with a bit of a bitter, hoppy punch. I found something to complain about! Supposedly, Great Divide dry hops this beer, but I didn't detect the usual strong hop aromas that come from dry hopping. Another thing that I don't like: Hibernation is a winter seasonal. Do not buy this beer if you value strong dry-hopped aromas or if you like good ale!


-Ryan

Style: English Brown Ale
ABV: 8.7%
Availability: Nationwide with a few exceptions, such as Utah, which hates beer and America

Wisdom from the Beer Snarks

Miller Lite cannot claim to be "triple hops brewed" until we can taste hops.

The Beer Snarks attempt to inspire (insult) you to drink craft beer

Let me begin by saying something nice about macro lagers. You should sit. Coors, Budweiser, and Miller Genuine Draft are incredibly consistent. The taste, color, and smell never change from can to can. Every time you open a nearly freezing can of one of the Big Three macro brews you get exactly the same experience. Congratulations to the brewmasters. Consistency is difficult, and they have mastered it.

Thankfully, America is a land of extremes. Thousands of American craft brewers make the best beers in the world, in a dizzying array of varieties. However, the standard lagers of the international brewing giants SABMiller, AB InBev, and Molson Coors dominate the market in the US and around the world. How do we account for this situation? Marketing plays some role without doubt. Who would drink Coors Light were it not the “Coldest tasting beer in the world?” Who would drink Budweiser if it did not come from the urethra of a Clydesdale? Who would drink Miller Light if it were more filling, not less? Probably no one.

America’s obsession with macro lagers is not due solely to marketing marketing, complacency plays some role as well. Most beer drinkers have grown accustomed to the American Pilsener style. It tastes familiar, gets them drunk, and doesn’t cost too much. Most Americans are also too lazy and too unadventurous to try something new.

Unless you are a frat boy looking to get drunk as cheaply as possible, put down the Miller. The true path to the High Life does not involve aluminum-clad fizzy water. Start experimenting with some craft brews. Go to a local brew pub, Bev Mo, Total Wine, or even the supermarket and pick out a beer that you haven’t tried before. Be adventurous. Craft brewers are artists and craftsmen. They make incredible beers from the classic to the radical. You will find a beer, possibly dozens, that you like. On the other hand, macro breweries have worked for decades to design their products to offend as few people as possible. Would you rather drink a beer that you are used to or a beer that you love?

I am not telling you to drink craft brews because of any devotion to Gaea-centered, organic hippiness. I am not telling you to drink craft beers because I want you to support small, fair-trade, sustainable eco-breweries. I am telling you to drink craft beer because it tastes better.

-Ryan

Wisdom from the Beer Snarks

Never trust a man holding a light beer.

Koshihikari Echigo Beer Review: A Drinkable Beer from Japan, If You Can Stomach the Price

Koshihikari Echigo Beer

Echigo Beer Company, Nigata, Japan

http://www.echigo-beer.jp/

Echigo Beer: Not as
bad as you'd expect.

I have never had a Japanese beer that I enjoyed. Ever. The Japanese are to beer what the Germans are to sashimi. There is no denying that the Japanese have a predilection for tasteless, dry lagers. They seem to make nothing else. They have no business in the beer business, which is why Echigo Beer was such a surprise. It definitely was not as horrible as I expected. The pale straw colored, lightly carbonated lager was sweet on the tongue and dry on the finish. The interplay between the sweetness and the dryness made for a more pleasant drinking experience than expected from a Japanese beer. The beer was still nearly body-less, however, with no head. If Japan began to make beers only of this quality and higher, the country could eventually, possibly crawl its way out of the League of Shame. Not at this price though, the beer cost me $8 for a 12 oz. bottle at Tokyo Table in Irvine, CA.


-Ryan

Style: Rice Lager

ABV: 5%

Available: California, Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts, New York City

Beer Valley Leafer Madness Review: A Taste Bud Ass Kicking

Leafer Madness

Beer Valley Brewing Company, Ontario, OR

http://www.beervalleybrewing.com

Leafer Madness: A nice taste bud
ass-kicking if you can get it.

Leafer Madness is quite possible the bitterest liquid I have ever drunk. I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, the name practically shouts that some serious herbage was involved in the brewing of this beer. The beer exploded from the bottle, soaking me and the floor. Once I got it into a glass, Leafer Madness poured a deep golden color, but somehow confused my taste buds into thinking that some roasted grains lurked under the bitter barrage of more than 100 IBUs. The bitterness stayed with me after each sip. Don’t start an evening of beer tasting with this beer; you won't taste anything else for the rest of the night. The head was long-lasting and tightly woven with tiny bubbles. The aroma provided a hint of sweetness and a gale of American hops. At 9.0% ABV, this beer puts lightweights like me on our asses.

-Ryan

Style: Imperial IPA

ABV: 9.0%

Available: Total Wine, Bev Mo, and specialty shops on the west coast only

Moonlight Brewing Death and Taxes Lager Review: Death and Taxes? Yes please!

Death and Taxes Black Lager
Moonlight Brewing, Santa Rosa, California
http://www.moonlightbrewing.com/

Smoked, dry, lightly sweet, and smooth. In a word, delightful. I was gulping without realizing.  Perfect for sitting on the porch, or watching a football game, or watching a football game on your porch if you are so inclined. I'm happy to report that Moonlight Brewing has put out a very nice Vienna lager that I would easily order over Negra Modelo. Well, that is to say when the opportunity presents itself of course.

-Jesse

Style: Dark Lager
ABV: 5.0%
Available: On tap in coastal Northern California only

Coopers Pale Ale Review: Another Aussie Export We Could Do Without

Coopers Original Pale Ale

Coopers Brewery, Adelaide, Australia

http://www.coopers.com.au/

My least favorite pale ale ever. No hops character on the nose or the tongue. The beer tasted quite a bit like a light lager. The color was a cloudy straw, and the head was thin and dissipated quickly. Coopers Original Pale Ale is bottle-conditioned, but I didn’t get much from the presence of the yeast either. I expected more after tasting the entirely drinkable Sparkling Ale from Coopers. Coopers Brewery has been around a long time, and it brews the right way, but I didn’t love the Original Pale Ale. I suppose that one could use this beer to train drinkers of macro lagers to be more adventurous, but if I am honest, I’d rather have a Budweiser. That is not a ringing endorsement from me.

Style: Pale Ale

ABV: 4.5%

Available: Total Wine

-Ryan

Victory Brewing Company Golden Monkey Review: It's no IPA, but I'm Learning

Golden Monkey
Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA
http://www.victorybeer.com



Victory has a neat little Belgian whatchama in their Golden Monkey. Yes, I'm out of my element. My taste is a product of the Pacific Northwest, and it's hop obsession. I haven't traveled through the Low Countries nor have I been schooled in the nuance and interplay of sour sweet acidity that heralds the your entry to the "Disneyland of beers." Go easy; I'm a child of divorce. Golden Monkey is an exceedingly clear liquid, even compared to Budweiser. The best advice I can give is don't start with this one unless you are entertaining western European guests or end with it either, as the aftertaste is not what you'd want to go home with.  Me personally? I want to snuggle up with a beautifully balanced IPA before bed, but I digress. I suppose the final word I have on this one is "try" it. I assume that little Belgian boys and girls had to try it at one point before they got so damn sophisticated, so that's my advice to you.

-Jesse

Style: Belgian Tripel Ale
ABV: 9.5%
Available: Victory's beers are distributed in roughly half the states in the Union and sold by Bevmo.

Sierra Nevada Estate Ale Review: Beer for Beer Snobs

Estate Ale

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, CA

http://www.sierranevada.com/

I have a theory that the more difficult opening a beverage is, the better the drinking experience inside. Cheap wines often come in bottles with screw tops, allowing us to get drunk quickly. More expensive wines invariably come corked, and getting the damn cork out of the bottle is sometimes the most difficult part of the day. Beer follows a similar pattern. Tasteless, yellow fizz comes in cans with tabs. Sure the beer smells of aluminum, but think how easy it is to get it out of the can! Twist-off caps are more difficult; we must twist, burning up a calorie that we have carefully stored through drinking beer. The best beer usually comes from bottles with pop tops. Pop tops require a tool -- only humans, with our opposable thumbs, can get to the beer inside. 

None of these packaging choices was complicated enough for Sierra Nevada’s Estate Ale. Each is too easy. We cannot properly appreciate a beer like Estate Ale without struggling to open it. To assure that we do respect the beer, Sierra Nevada dipped the sealed bottle in Kevlar-reinforced wax. The damn thing is nearly impossible to open. Getting the top off took patience and a chainsaw. My wedding took less planning.

Once I got the bottle open though, the experience was magnificent. Fresh grapefruit aromas met my nose even before I began to pour. The Estate poured a golden color with a nice, off-white, lingering head. The flavor was well balanced with sweet, toasty malts and citrusy hops mingling nicely. 

Those beer drinkers who find IPAs to be frequently too bitter should still be able to enjoy this ale. Estate Ale is also 100% organic for hippies.


-Ryan

Style: Ale

ABV: 6.7%

Available: Total Wine

Tell Us About Interesting Beers

We drink a lot of beer here at Beer Snark, but we can't get to every delicious beer at once. Have a beer that you want us to try? Let us know. We love any excuse to drink more beer, especially if it is good. Tell us where to find it, and we'll drink it and post about the experience here.

-Ryan

Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier: A Pleasantly Mediocre Hef

Hefe-Weissbier

Paulaner, Munich, Germany

http://www.paulaner.de/home.php

This lightly sour, cloudy, and orange wheat is not what I'd have thought to pair with a burger. Well actually in this case it's portobello burger, but I think the remark "pleasant surprise" is warranted. This beer actually has a way of preserving and lifting the savory favors without destroying your pallet. Again I'd believe this observation would hold true for beef's flesh as well. That said, I don't feel like this one distinguishes itself as a unique Hef and that's ok; I'm not disappointed, but at the same time it isn't a brew I'd walk a block for considering the ubiquity of Widmer's.  

-Jesse

Style: Hefe-Wiezen

ABV: 5.5%

Available: Widely Distributed

Tasted: Burgers and Brew, Sacramento, CA

Beer Snark's Purpose

The primary purpose of Beer Snark is to allow us to taunt people into drinking good beer. Beer Snark's ultimate goal is to promote the craft beer industry in the United States and around the world at the expense of bland, American-style lagers. If you have stumbled upon our humble blog, you must either like good beer, want to like good beer, or your Google machine is broken. At Beer Snark, we care not how you arrived, only that you drink good beer. We employ a highly scientific tasting and rating system that enables us to review beers objectively and accurately; if we like a beer, we will say so in a snarky way. If we hate a beer, we will say so in as snide a manner as is humanly possible. You have our word.