Beer for cyclocross

Cyclocross season is coming and I need some homebrew for it. Why? Well if you don't know much about cyclocross, it's basically a marriage of bike racing and beer. Normally, that could be dangerous, but 'cross takes place on grassy fields and in parks, so nobody's going to get hurt. And if they do, it's not the beer's fault.

Name: TBD
Belgian Blonde Ale
Original Gravity: 1.062
Final Gravity: 1.000
ABV: 7.9%
IBU: 33

Malt Bill:
9.5# Belgian Pilsner
1# Wheat
.5# Caravienne
1# Belgian Candi Sugar

Hops:
1 oz. Northern Brewer @ 60 min
1 oz. Hallertau @ 30 min

Wyeast French Saison Yeast
Mashed @ 152 for 60 min

Light beers don't have to suck, but Keystone Light does.

I can deal with hot summer days, but the hot summer nights lead me to do crazy things like drink awful, awful beer (provided it's real cold). A couple Fridays ago, the always-generous Kuklickx was hosting a party with free beer. I can't knock him for serving Keystone, because hey, I'm not paying for it. In fact, I'm greatful to Kuklickx for providing me with some drink-for-thought. Only by trying to worst beers, can we understand the best. Also, once my six-pack of Kellerweis was empty, I was at the mercy of his kegerator. So Kuklickx, this post is dedicated to you. Assuming you ever read it.

Now the interesting thing about light beer is that while most suck, they don't have to. Over the last week, I tried a great beer at Emmaus's Tap and Table that was far lighter than Keystone (only 2.8%), but still tasted like good beer. Anyways, here the reviews to compare and contrast two vastly different light, low-alcohol brews.

Keystone Light
Coors Brewing Company
Light Lager | 4.20% ABV

D / 2.1 (this is an above-average score)
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | drink: 2.5

A friend had this on-tap in his kegerator and I couldn't resist giving this a try. I was also out of Kellerweise. Last time I drank this it was in an unfinished basement in college. This experience, frankly (and thanks to Kuklickx), wasn't terribly different. I found the key to this beer was to taste it as little as possible. Letting sit on my tongue for a split second before gulping left just a cream soda and white bread taste. When I let it linger, it tasted like a chemical spill. It was sharp and acrid with a dirty water background. Stick to chugging, you don't want to taste this.



Mirage
General Lafayette Inn & Brewery
Belgian Pale Ale | 2.70% ABV

B / 3.6
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

On-tap at Tap and Table in Emmaus, PA for $3/pint. An impressive beer for the strength. Good job General Lafayette. It drinks like a typical session beer of greater strength and reminds me of a milder Squatters Full Suspension. The malt is mellow with a little toasted barley followed by kicks of apricot and lemon peel hops, very tasty. Give this beer a try if you're into session beers.

Summer is delicious: Hot weather beer

For me, the summer is (a little) less about trying new beers as it is simply about enjoying great beer. It's a balance, really, because some new beer just sucks. Still, I've picked up a couple new favorites when it comes to flavorful, yet light and drinkable, session beers.


B.B. Bürgerbräu (Budweiser Bier)
Budějovický Měšťanský Pivovar
Czech Pilsener | 5.00% ABV

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

On-tap at Tap and Table for $5/pint. Thanks to Tudor for the recommendation. This is a tasty and fresh Czech pilsener - something that's hard to some by. A lot of alleged Czech pils are really just bland macro lagers. There's a smooth, dry bready malt taste and the pils finishes with a mildly bitter spicy hop taste. Very nice and very refreshing. Pils-lovers should seek this out.

Sculpin India Pale Ale
Ballast Point Brewing Company
American IPA | 7.00% ABV

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

Shared a bomber at Tap and Table in Emmaus, PA for $14. Totally worth it. This is easily one of the best IPA's I've had in sometime. Reminds me in terms of quality of the pint of Town Hall Masala Mama I had last week. The hops jump out of the glass once the beer is poured - I love when that happens. The hops are a mix of spicy citrus that are juicy, but dry and drinkable. There are also tasty notes of apricot, white grape, and orange peel.The aftertaste just doesn't go away. I had to go out of my way to find an even bigger beer to follow this up, otherwise this beer would have still been hanging on my palate.


Those beers kicked ass. Now, for posterity, here's one of the new beers that landed closer to the other end of the awesome-suck beer continuum.


Dirty Blonde
Atwater Block Brewery
American Pale Wheat Ale | 4.50% ABV

C+ / 3.05
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | drink: 2.5

On-tap at Liberty St. Tavern in Allentown, PA. Appears hazy dark blonde. There's nothing very remarkable about this beer. It was a slightly sweet wheat malt flavor so it kind of just tastes like sugary liquid bread. No hops to speak of and while it's easy-drinking and balanced, it's not really a pleasure to drink. It just does nothing for me.