Beer Reviews: Bad Beer and Going Against the Grain

This morning I was asked my thoughts on PBR, or Peeber as it's affectionately called around here. I replied that for what it is, a mass-produced macro lager, it's relatively good. I mean really, for that category, all it has to do is resemble good beer and be inoffensive.

This got me thinking to a recent addition to BeerAdvocate, where you can see how your review of a beer deviates from the average. Low and behold my top 3 beers that I rated over their average were either light macro lagers, or macro lagers - because hey, for the style they're not that bad.

Some people may not take a brew's style into consideration while reviewing, but a trained judge such as myself (a "recognized judge" by the Beer Judge Certification Program) knows that some styles suck pretty hard and it's unfair to the beer to just say it all blows. Sure it may be splitting hairs when the flavor profiles are so bland, but hey, somebody's got to do it.

Bud Light
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
Light Lager

Average score from 666 reviews to date: D- / 1.87
My Score:http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif C- / 2.6
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | drink: 3
rDev: +28.1%

Looking at Bud Light as pure beer, as an art removed from the social implications of drinking, it is both uninspiring and disappointing. To begin with, there isn't much to look at. It sits flatly in a glass like a urine sample. The aroma is weak with only hints of fresh barley. The flavor is a touch sour and grainy with a slight sweetness and faint bitterness. An easily ignorable but unpleasant and unnatural tasting flavor lingers after each cold gulch.

All in all, when it comes to the flavor department, Bud Light is severely lacking. What is so impressive about Bud Light, however, is the beer craftsmanship of Anheuser-Busch. In the world of brewing, a finely-tuned light lager is the most difficult product to create. Errors or flavor imperfections are readily evident, with nothing to mask the flavor. Then consider the flavor consistency for the millions of barrels of Bud Light, and you have one of the best-made beers in the world.



Amstel Light
Amstel Brouwerij B. V.
Light Lager

Average score from 276 reviews to date: D+ / 2.47
My score: B- / 3.4
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 3.5
rDev: +27.4%

Wow, the best light beer I've had. But maybe I'm just easily impressed by hops in a light lager. The pale malt was weak, but there was an actual hops profile of spicy European hops. The aroma was actually quite big for a light beer, and while it hinted at it's light lager style with adjuncts, the pale malt and hops still showed through. Really, this has to be one of the only light lagers that actually leaves some bitterness in your mouth. Still, this beer is only good for the style.



Busch Beer
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
American Macro Lager

Average score from 221 reviews to date: D / 2.04
My score: C- / 2.6
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | drink: 2.5
rDev: +21.5%

Poured from a 16 oz. tallboy into a weizen glass

Pale yellow (some would call it piss-colored) with a bit of suds Smells like DMS, lots of cooked vegetable with a little bready pale malt in the background. The flavor, while bland, isn't offensive, which is alway the threshold of bad beer. Instead this lends a light toast taste with a bit of lager tang which is almost fruity - sort of like an artificial fruit flavor. The carbonation is appropriate, not too sharp, not too flat, and while this beer isn't out and out offensive, I don't see myself drinking another. Still, considering the style, this could be a lot worse.

Good Bad Ideas: Running Marathons

Nothing like a good bad idea to look forward to.

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I should also mention that my only previous marathon (2003 Twin Cities) ended with me limping the last 9 miles. Still I managed a 3:50. Right now all indications point to a sub-3 hour marathon if everything goes well. At my age, under 3:10 will qualify me for the Boston Marathon, so I'll use that as a goal.

This, of course, begs the question of what to drink after the race. After looking through my personal database of beer reviews, I'll go with this if available. Stone Brewing says they named this beer for the ruinous effect it has on your palate. I think in this case it will be more apt for the state of my legs after the marathon.

Ruination IPA
Stone Brewing Co.
Double IPA

A / 4.35
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4.5

For some stupid reason, I came into this beer determined to find faults, thinking it was some how over-rated. I was dead wrong.

Ruination has an orange body with a fluffy head of fine bubbles. You’re met with a powerful, pungent aroma of sweet fruits and earthy, floral hops. Tastes of caramel and toasted malt overrun by bitter mixed citrus juice and lemon peel with tangerine and pine flavor fading out before the long-lingering herbal bitterness kicks in. Feels rich and smooth for such bitterness, invites another sip. A bit tart too.

Upon emptying the bottle, I wish I had another. This would also be an amazing beer to pair with sharp, bold, and spicey foods. God damn its good.

Drink This Beer: Thomas Hooker Munich-Style Golden Lager

It's hot out and we all need light-bodied, yet full-flavored beers in the fridge. Check out this German-style lager from Connecticut. It has all the depth and nuance of the best Germany has to offer, but with the freshness you'd get at Oktoberfest. Yum.

One point of clarification I feel I should make. The German helles lager, is not the same as your typical (bland) import like Grolsch, Heineken, or Stella Artois. Those beers are brewed to be pleasant, but largely inoffensive and therefore don't lend much flavor. The helles style, however, is full of bready malt flavors, spicy hops, and sweet yeast character.

Thomas Hooker Munich Style Golden Lager
Thomas Hooker Ales and Lagers
Munich Helles Lager

A- / 4.1
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5


On-tap at The Farmhouse, served in a pint glass.

It's clear, light gold in the glass with a short white head. The aroma immediately hits me with spicy, grassy Euro hops, with bready malts in the background. The flavor is spot on for the style with a mix of biscuit and light toast paired evenly with gentle, but spicy hops. While this beer isn't drastically different from other helles lagers in terms of the flavors present, I believe it stands out because everything is so rich as a whole. This beer is drinkable, yet more aromatic and full-flavored than many of the best in this style.

One more thing about Le Tour

Christian VandeVelde finishes 5th.



For anything not familiar with BikeSnobNYC, the above image is made in homage to his rendering of Rip Torn's mug shot (RTMS).

Beer, Bikes, Etc: Things I like this week

1) Christian VandeVelde


Taking on the world's best in the Tour de France.

2) Mighty Muffins


The perfect 10:30AM snack.

3) Squatter's Full Suspension Pale Ale


B+ / 3.9
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

On-tap at the Porcupine outside SLC. Served in a pint glass.

Aside from a hazy appearance, there's nothing really off on this beer. In fact, my hat is off to Squatters on this one. They're pushing the limits of what Utah beer can be and it reminds me of a less subtle Surly Bitter Brewer. Juicy citrus hops dominate this beer with fresh, dry-hop subtley that reminds me of sniffing hops pellets at my homebrew shop. Yum. There's a slight malt background for balance and a moderately strong bitterness. Worth trying just to see what there's guys can do with only 4.0% abv.

Da Bear

Sorry I forgot to add this last post. Enjoy - The Remaining Bear of Bern.

(There used to be five, but as Dan pointed out, "there can be only one."

More Bern (+ Bear!)

Looks like I'll be spending the rest of my trip to visit Dan in Bern, Switzerland. This is more than fine with me as the city is gorgeous, everything is easily accessible by foot or the city's free bike rental (I've never had to use a bus), and the food and drink rocks.

To date some of the finer things that have gone down my gullet include:
-Tradition Rösti, a local dish thats basically Swiss hashbrowns with fried stuff on it.
-Rösti mit Wurst, I cant remember what kind of wurst, but you can see it in the picture.
-Fondue with tomato, onion, and garlic, because who doesn't love melted cheese?
-Döner Kebab on a tortilla, this was basically a Turkish wrap (lots of veggies rolled up with whatever meat their döner is plus some sauce and spice.
-Numerous salami and prosciutto sandwiches, they seem to love their Italian meats here.
-Tons of chocolate, mmmmmmmm... I like the ones with hazelnuts best.

Then, of course, there's been the Swiss beer. It hasn't been amazing but there are a few decent brews out there. And I at least appreciate that many breweries are producing zwickel (AKA keller, or cellar beer) beer, an almost lost style of unfiltered pale lager that's surprisingly flavorful.

Eichoff Klosterbrau Edeltrüb
Brauerei Eichhof
Alt Bier
C+ / 3.15
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 3

This is a smooth and bready lager (seriously, it tastes like a decent loaf of white bread), but comes off more like an American lager. This is probably due to the use of corn, which steers the malt character toward Budweiser territory. The complete lack of hops doesn't help, but there's nothing offensive here - it just doesn't taste much like a good Alt as is indicated.

Kellerfrisch
Brauerei Aare Bier
Keller/Zwickel Bier
B / 3.7
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

Hazy gold appearance with low head retention. Light grainy aroma with a hint of hops. The flavor kicks things up, however, with mineral and slight (not unpleasant) sulfur and mineral tastes and toast with a long black pepper and herbs hops bite to finish the beer out.Light on the palate and very drinkable. It's a shame about the aroma, but this is otherwise a pretty solid keller beer and one of Switzerland's better lagers.

Tram Weizen
Altes Tramdepot
Hefeweizen
B+ / 3.9
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

Ordered a stange (.3L) with the traditional rosti (yum) at the Altes Tramdepot (old train station) brewpub.

Slightly hazy appearance witha fluffy white head. This beer greats you with a wonderful, big sugar candy and vanilla aroma. These elements carry over into the flavor with lightly roasted barley and sour wheat. The beer finishes with a touch of balancing hops. I'm digging the balance of yeast character and malts here. Definitely worth trying if you find yourself near the bear pit.

Bier Review: Best of Bern, Switzerland

The beer in Bern is good, but nothing's blown me away yet. Being, in the German part of Switzerland, the local breweries are all German styled and focus on basic lagers. This particular picture was taken, as you can see, while enjoying a game of Monopoly at the Glocke Hostel with a couple backpackers from the Philly area.

Unser Bier Pech Schwarz
Unser Bier
B- / 3.5
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 3.5

Pours a black body with a tan head. The aroma and flavor are both a bit muted - not much is going on. Still there are mild cocoa notes also with bready, German grains paired with a smooth mouthfeel. Not a great beer, but plenty tasty and worthy of a stein.

Export Bier (Lager)
Rugenbräu AG
D+ / 2.4
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | drink: 3

Poured from a green bottle with a pull-off top (sweet). Not bad for washing down German/Swiss grub, but otherwise it's just a mostly harmless Euro lager. There's a sizeable cheap lager tang, like Heineken but magnified. Otherwise there's a hint of malts and enough balancing bitterness to keep this drinkable.

Zwickel Bier
Rugenbräu AG
B+ / 3.9
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

Appearance is yellow with a short white head and lacing. The aroma is a touch musty (cellar-like) with a touch of sulfur and minerals over malts. The flavor has a bit of those earthy mineral notes with light, yet slightly creamy biscuit malts and a hit of peppery hops. All in all a fine zwickel. Don't like Rugenbrau Lager think this brewery only makes light lagers.

Bärni Dunkel
Brauerei Felsenau AG
B / 3.6
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

This is the darker option from Felsenau. Pours a dark amber with a white head that quickly disappears. The aroma is heavy with creamy caramel that continues in the flavor and is paired with dry toffee and light dark bread malts. There's a hint of spicy hops that make for a nice balance to the sweet malts. All in all, this is nothing amazing, but it's a tasty and drinkable dark lager. A bit like a marzen/O-fest but with more caramel.

Feldschlösschen Hopfenperle
Feldschlösschen Beverages Group
C- / 2.55
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | drink: 2.5

I asked the beer store for the hoppiest Swiss beer. The two guys shrugged, mumbled to each other, then pointed to this. They were no help.

I will say this is an improvement over the regular Feldschlosschen offering. It's a clear, light gold with no head. The aroma is skunky at first thanks to the green bottle and then clears up to somewhat unpleasant husky grains. The overall flavor is smoother and blander (those tend to go hand in hand) with very light biscuit malts, an orangey flavor that kind of remembles hops and then a very subtle black pepper finish. Yeah, it's beer.

Im Bern

Beer on the Road

"Yeah, but I'll get into Heathrow at like 7 AM."

"Sure, but what time is that here?"

"True."

German Beer Reviews: Hacker-Pschorr Munich Gold and Yellowtail Pale Ale

Last night I enjoyed a couple German styles of beer. This should be good prep work for my upcoming trip to Switzerland to visit Dan Hart as he recovers from a his fateful mountain descent, as I'll be in the German-speaking region. Sure I took a semester of German once, but I'm banking on getting by with one all-important phrase, "Ich mochte ein bier, bitte."

Munich Gold
Hacker-Pschorr Brau
Munich Helles Lager

B+ / 3.9
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5

In a sentence, this beer is simple but tasteful. In my pint glass this beer shines a brilliant gold with a white head that leaves a bit of lacing. The aroma is of sweet, bready grains, a hallmark flavor of the style that carries over onto my palate with a drop of caramel and finish of mild peppery hops.

What can I say other than I could drink a stein-full of this tasty, unadulterated Munich helles lager.


Yellowtail Pale Ale
Ballast Point Brewing Co.
Kolsch

B- / 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

Well it's a good thing they're calling this a kolsch, because it wasn't much of a pale ale. This beer just has a clean pale malt flavor with a touch of sweet biscuit and a hint of hops. The aroma has sort of a bland light malt smell, but not much more. Still a tasty beer, nothing wrong with drinking this if you want something lighter.