Beer:30... Beers to Avoid.

The title of this post says it all. Beers to avoid. Only going to dive into three today, but these are the worst that I have had in the past couple of months.

We will start with this:
Bluegrass Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Stout

Image from lyketodrink.blogspot.com

While creating my own sixer one day, I was surprised to see this beer hiding on the rack. Normally selling only in 4 packs, hovering around $10, this was the perfect pick for the mix your own situation. I do enjoy bourbon, so this style of beer seems like a great idea to me. However, this specific model is to be avoided. There is a slight bourbon flavor, but not much. All I was picking up was a very bitter, smokey, harsh metallic, and even cheap tasting beer. I love a bitter beer, but this was different. Nothing about it seemed to warm me over. After it warmed for a bit in my glass, nothing seemed to improve. So on that note, a big congratulations goes out to you Bluegrass Brewing, you are the first beer that I have dumped out for 2012. Bravo.

Moving on, this beer should be on the list, just following the Bourbon Stout:
Bud Light Platinum

While scanning a random service station's beer selection on Super Bowl Sunday, this beer caught my eye. Bud Light in a blue bottle? Never one to shy away from clever packaging, I just had to take a look, just to see what Budweiser was up to. 6.0% ABV for Bud Light? Interesting. I passed on it, bought some beer with flavor, and continued on my way to the football party. Once there, lo and behold, a shiny blue bottle peeked out of the cooler surrounded by craft beers. So, I had to try it out. Survey says? I would call this Bud Light with a spoonful of sugar dumped into it. As you can tell by the photo, still looks the same. Basically, it is still the watered down, rice lager that you all know. Only it will get you drunk I assume. I would imagine, much to the chagrin of Budweiser, that this will be the choice of the new generation, aka, the underage. Way to go Bud, ruining the future taste buds of America.

Lastly, this guy needs to be thrown into the mix:
Yuengling's Bock Beer

Image from portchesterbeer.com

I touched on this beer on a recent post (Check it here.) so I will not go into that much, if any detail about it. It just needed to be here to round out the list.

So there you have it, three beers to avoid for this time of year. I will admit, the Bud Light was no surprise, but the other two were huge disappointments. I expected better. Til next time..

Cheers!

Beer:30... A Tale of Two Bocks...

Beer comparison time! Enter two similar, but very different beers: Troegs Trogenator, and Yuengling's Bock Beer.

Let's start with Yuengling. Yuengling is still relatively new to the Ohio beer scene, and their lager rolled through the state with an almost legendary status. It is a good lager, but it is still just a lager. You can't really dress it up more than that. What Yuengling does well though, is that it is a "gateway beer." It is introducing the mindless Bud Light zombies of the world to real beer flavor. For that they deserve a tip of the hat. Anyway, on the popularity of their lager, Yuengling rolled out their first seasonal in this area, the Bock Beer.

First off, it has great packaging. Almost a retro feel to it, and of course, the image of a goat that has become synonymous with the style. The label is classy. Unfortunately with this one, that is all that is classy. This is by far, one of the worst beers that I have ever had. I would hardly call it a bock beer even. The beer pours like a nicer bock beer, but once the beer hits your taste buds it is all downhill from there. Not much on the sweet, malt flavor, but more on the bitter end. It has an almost bad lager taste, almost metallic, and finishes a little dry. Not a good representation of the style at all. For the oldest brewery here in the States, I expected a little more than this. This is now on my list of "Do not buy."

Next up is a similar beer, in Trogenator. This beer is a classic. Granted, it is a little heavier on the alcohol, at 8.2% compared to 5%, but this beer makes Yuengling take a backseat. The beer, like Yuengling's, pours like a bock should. The difference here is that the Troegs version has a more sticky head, that laces the glass nicely. For the taste, the sweet maltiness redeems any bad thoughts of the style from Yuengling, with even a touch of caramel. Well balanced, slightly sweet, with perfect carbonation, this beer is in my top five of all time. I will admit, it has lived on that list for some time now. When it comes to bock beers, you will be hard pressed to find a better representation of the style.

So there you have it, two bocks, two very different outcomes. For both beers coming out of the Keystone state, it is amazing at how different they really are. Sure you could argue that one is just a bock beer, and the other is a double bock, or that the higher alcohol content clouds your tasting vision, etc. But when it comes to flavor, and drinkability, Trogenator wins hands down. To me, it is worth the extra $3-4 for a six pack.

Cheers!

Beer:30...Yuengling Lager.

When you think of a lager, what do you think of? Here in Southern Ohio, I would assume that you think of Budweiser. Hopefully, starting this month, you will now start to think about what Budweiser strives to be. Enter Yuengling:

Yuengling has roots. Deep, deep roots. The oldest brewery here in the USA, Yuengling has figured out how to brew a lager. Normally lagers do not get me all excited, but this beer is a little bit different.

For starters, you could not get it in Ohio. When I first tasted Yuengling, it was a rare treat from the East. Now, you can find it everywhere here in Ohio. At first this gave me some mixed feelings. I assumed that the quality would be less due to producing more to satisfy demand. But after having both canned and from the tap, I can assure you that this is the beer that you know of from other lands. As I stated above, this is the beer that Budweiser wishes it could make. And who knows, it probably was until they discovered rice.

For the taste of this beer, it is a classic lager. Nice colored amber beer, with a subtle sweetness to it, and a clean, nice smooth finish. This is what a lager should be. Since it is available here in Ohio now, this is my go to garage or summer time beer.

Anyway, welcome to Ohio Yuengling. Thanks for coming, and enjoy your stay!

Cheers!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

We will start with beer:
The Good:
Troegenator. Fantastic beer. I had the pleasure of being in the D.C. area a few weeks ago, more on that later, and had the chance to try this wonderful brew from the tap. Such a malty nectar. This is definitely on my top 5 list of favorite beers.
Yuengling. Since I was in the D.C. area already, some of this beer made the journey back to Ohio with me since its not available here. It only makes sense, the oldest brewery in the states has it figured out.
The Bad:
Sam Adams Noble Pilsner. Not good at all. I did give it a couple tries though. Once on tap, and once from the bottle. To me, it tastes like a watered down version of their Imperial Pilsner. This was a little bit of a disappointment.
The Ugly:
Two different mountain bike rides in muddy conditions. One here in Ohio and one in the D.C. area. Both were a blast! At one point in D.C., the mud and muck was so think that the tires stopped rotating! Now before anyone starts to complain or start quoting IMBA trail rules, this was not pristine wilderness. This trail was located underneath a power line. I do think also, that here on the East coast we are a little too whiny when it comes to muddy conditions. I will step down from my soapbox. It was ugly, but it was awesome.