157. Allagash White

Ok, so I said I'd squeeze in an hour to get some updates done, but that didn't happen.  What had happened was... I ended up getting a phone call from my buddy to play some frolf aka frisbee golf.  We arranged to meet within the hour, and that was that.  Then after being done with frolf, there was lunch, then I had to deliver my keys and do the final walk-through at the apartment, then there was a birthday party for my nephew, and then I needed to spruce up the man cave and organize my beer (I bought (3) 18 bottle wine racks to hold my wine and 22 oz bombers.  I have plenty to spare to fill up with more beer!  Yeah!  Now it's the end of the day and I told myself I'd get back to this, so here goes.

After I enjoyed some Dos Equis Amber at the mexican restaurant I visited, we walked to a nearby coffee shop called Common Grounds Coffee.  I got a frozen blended coffee drink and was content to drink it.  Common Grounds happens to serve beer as well.  My brother and law bought me an Allagash White and I wasn't about to turn it down, even if my stomach was full of beer and food and could barely handle going through another 12 ounces of liquid.  Still, I would push through, as only a man with some semblance of pride and honor would do!

The beer was offered in the 12 oz bottle.  I didn't pour into any glass so I couldn't really comment on the appearance.  I could detect aromas of banana and clove, with some faint citrus, wheat, and some spicy notes like pepper.  Based on the aroma alone, I could tell that this was a little more complex than the standard witbier that I'm used to dealing with.  With the banana and clove, I was thinking Hefeweisen, but they don't have a stronghold on all beers that have aromas of banana and clove.

I could taste the clove and banana, as well as the wheat, faint citrus, and spice.  There was a complexity to it, as everything didn't come through all at once.  The wheat backbone is fairly heavy in the beginning, the spice and citrus very subtle on the back end, the spice lingering slightly afterwards.  Light to medium bodied, with average to high carbonation.  It's sessionable with it's light 5.0% ABV content but it's not one of those beers you can throw down quickly.  I'm sure it makes for a great summer beer.  Unfortunately, with my stomach struggling to drink this one down, I know I didn't get a chance to truly appreciate this one.  Still, it was a good beer and I look forward to drinking again.  

Grade: B+

Price Paid: Free! (12 oz bottle)

156. Dos Equis Amber

I can't say that I'm a Spanish expert.  I took four years in high school, none in college.  I speak a few words and phrases here and there, attempt to speak Spanish to my wife, who will then tell me to use English.  I want to be tri-lingual one day, with Spanish being one of the languages.  The Rosetta Stone or something like it is in my near future.  Anyway, Equis means X.  Dos Equis means two X's.  Maybe that'll help the bottle make more sense.  Cerveza is beer.  There's your Spanish lesson for the day.  We had just finished closing on our house and we wanted to celebrate by going out.  We went to a Mexican restaurant and there were some pitcher specials.  A pitcher of Dos Equis?  Si!

We were given some standard pints to go with the pitcher.  I gave it a standard pour, getting a good finger and a half of soapy head to show up.  Light retention, not much lacing.  The beer had a light caramel color to it.  When getting the beer, I was expecting to get Dos Equis Lager, not the amber, but when I saw the color, I knew what I had.  No complaints here.  Aromas of malt dominate, with a little bit of caramel notes as well.

When you taste it, it's definitely an amber.  It's not overly sweet, but the malt base is evident on this one.  Not much, if any hop finish.  There's a metallic taste to it which I experience with most ambers.  It wasn't bad, just a little unbalanced.  I did share half of the pitcher, so there was plenty to drink, and I honestly didn't appreciate it like I could have from a drinking standpoint.  There was a lot there and I didn't want to waste it, I needed to chug it down!  It's one of the better "mass-produced" beers that I've had, but I may be simply favoring the amber style, which I admittedly like.  Oh well, chalk this one up as another beer worth having if the selection is really light.  

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $9.50 (48 oz pitcher)

155. Foxbarrel Cidery Reserve Rhubarb and Elderberry Unfiltered Pear Cider

Naturally fermented using 100% pear juice, not from pear-juice concentrate, or flavored hard apple cider.  Unfiltered, using racked pear-wine, infused with rhubarb & elderberry juices.  Smoothed with organic honey.

A deep plum colored cider.  A big robust nose of elderberry with a background of rhubarb.  A crisp, tight tart start which rounds out to sweeter elderberry & hints of honey.  A zesty, drinkable cider with an almost vinous complexity but a subtly creamy mouth-feel.

No added colorants, sugar, sorbate or benzoate preservatives.  No added malt, spirit, grape or apple-cider alcohols.  Give a full bottoms up tilt and vigorous swirl to dispense unfiltered pear-wine sediment evenly through the bottle.

Alright, I took a look at what I've consumed but have yet to post and I've built up quite the backlog..!  I told myself that I'd dedicate an entire hour to try and catch up.  I'm hoping to get through six!  If I can do that, I've done a pretty good job.  I had consumed a lot of beer lately and in the process of moving, needed to get rid of some 22 oz bombers.  I figured that drinking a cider I bought a while back would be a good solution.  I got this particular flavor combination from a 4 pack at Total Wine.  I've yet to see this one out on its own.

The contents were poured into a tulip glass.  I forgot to give the bottle a good bottoms up tilt to spread the sediment around.  Whoops.  Oh well, the cider had a cherry juice look to it.  I have no idea what an elderberry is, but I know rhubarb is red, so that's where I'm assuming the color is coming from.  The aroma is very pleasant, with a lot of complex fruits.  I can detect more than just pear, and I'm assuming the other fruity portion is the elderberry.  There's also a veggie like quality to cider, which is where the rhubarb comes in.  There's a touch of sweet aroma from the honey as well.

Like most of Foxbarrel's offerings, this one isn't sweet.  Even with the touch of honey added, it tends to lean more towards the dry and unsweet side.  The fruit gives it a tart beginning with just the slightest bit of sweetness coming in at the end.  It's easy to tell where the other fruit is making their impact.  The elderberry gives me some wine-like notes.  The brew is light bodied with moderate carbonation, giving this a refreshing and crisp feel.  A cold glass of this on a summer day would go down great.  Overall, while all the notes hit, I'm not sure how I feel about this.  It didn't wow me or knock me off my socks.  Maybe I'm just not a fan of rhubarb and elderberry (even if it sounds like some great ingredients for a pie).  Still, I would give this one another go-round.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $5.99 (22 oz bottle)

154. Harpoon IPA

You think I would only have beer the day before a wedding?  Of course not!  This was the second of two beers I had before my old roommate's wedding.  I figured I'd be the only guy there drinking something that was an IPA.  

Just like the Yuengling, the beer was served in a 12 oz bottle, so I can't judge appearance.  IPAs typically have more aroma, so I was able to get a soapy hop aroma.  Didn't do too much sniffing after that.  In the taste, I found more floral hops, with a little bit of piney hops.  A slight bit of malt sweetness in the finish, the bitter bite isn't too bad.  Moderately carbonated with a light-medium body.  Maybe it would taste better out of a glass, but I found this to be slightly above average.  Too many good IPAs out there, and this one didn't stand out.  Agree or disagree?  Just let me know!

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $4.00 (12 oz bottle)

153. Yuengling Traditional Lager

I'll add in this disclaimer now, I've had Yuengling before.  I just couldn't remember what it tasted like, so I didn't bother to try and review.  In this case, I was down at the beach for a roommate's wedding (I was in the wedding party), and we had a couple of brews at a local bar the night before the wedding.  I went with Yuengling because the rest of the bottles for $3 consisted of Bud/Miller/Coors products.  Do. Not. Want.  

The beer was served in a bottle, so I couldn't tell you what it looked like, couldn't really tell what it smelled like either.  Bottles have their own type of aroma that blends into what you're drinking.  It could be all in my imagination, but that's just how I feel about it.  As far as taste is concerned, it actually has some.  It doesn't taste like the adjunct lagers you get the from the masses.  Has a bit of roastiness to it to go with the malt.  The aftertaste is a little funky, but nothing that'll turn you away.  Red Oak also falls into this Amber Lager category, and this is no Red Oak (I just had a Red Oak yesterday and it's still very superior, in my opinion).  Light bodied, moderate carbonation.  When the menu is limited, this is my go-to.  Average beer, but average beats the competitors.

Grade: C

Price Paid: $3.00 (12 oz bottle)

152. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Wow, it's been a while since I last made an entry.  I just finished closing on a house a week ago, and then spent this week moving in.  That's why I've been AWOL.  Still, a good amount of beer was consumed over that time span, and I'm still catching up from the previous week, so I'm going to try and put a dent into my backlog.  We're starting with Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale, which I felt like drinking with some dinner.  I think most people would consider this beer one of the quintessential examples of the American Pale Ale.  How I didn't get around to trying until now..? There's a lot of beer out there..!

I went with the pilsner glass for this one.  It poured a golden orange color with two fingers of off-white head. Excellent retention and lacing that sticks to the sides.  Aromas of sweet citrus, pine, and malt.  

I'm used to milder APA offerings, so the hop-forward nature of this one could leave some folks thinking that it teeters closer to IPA.  I've had enough IPAs and DIPAs to tell the difference, and I couldn't have said that a year ago!  The bitter hops are refreshing, then the malt sweetness comes in for an incredibly balanced beer.  Carbonation is moderate, leaving a slight spicy feeling at the end.  Light to medium body.  This is a great beer that can be found in a lot of places.  The hoppier options (Torpedo) are great too, but if you don't want that kick in the mouth all of the time, go with this one.  I think I'm going to make a point of always keeping some available in the fridge.

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)

151. Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy

Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy has been seen lately in the commercials, touted as some sort of beer and lemonade hybrid.  It's not like a Smirnoff Ice, at least I don't expect it to be.  Smirnoff Ice is a malt beverage, this is a beer.  Jacob Leinenkugel' Brewing Company (https://leinie.com/‎) is based out of Wisconsin and it seems like they only recently made it down here to my state.

I poured the beer into a pilsner glass.  It's a golden yellow color with a finger and a half of bone white head.  Not a lot of retention or lacing with this one.   Incredibly strong aroma of lemon, more akin to a lemonhead.  It actually smells really appealing with the strong aroma, makes me wonder how much lemon is at play with the beer.

The answer to my question?  Little to none.  The strong lemon aroma only leads to a very faint lemon taste with the beer.  What really shows is the typical wheat and bready malts that's expected from a wheat beer.  Only problem is that if you took out the lemon, it's not a very good witbier.  The body is light with moderate-high carbonation, which gives a soda quality to it.  I guess it would be a decent beer to have on a summer day, but I can think of other beers I'd rather have over the summer.  Pass on this one.

Grade: D

Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)