Blue Moon Belgian White: Appearance Hazy orange hue (too dark for the style). Translucent with some fine carbonation visible. Pours to a small, white, soapy head which nearly completely dissipates and leaves no lacing. Blue Moon Belgian White: Smell Sweet orange scent, but reminiscent of artificial flavoring. Not much authentic Belgian character to it. Blue … Read more
Otter Creek is a brewery that’s really upped their game in the last few years. I wouldn’t consider them trend-setters per se, but when a new style comes along, they’re able to jump on the bandwagon and made a great entry without the pretentiousness of smaller, supposedly “artisan” breweries. Citra Mantra is their take on … Read more
Simpler Times Lager: Appearance Pure gold hue, crystal clear, highly bubbly at first but calms down quickly. Forms a large, white, soapy head which fizzles away quickly and almost completely and leaves bare minimum lacing on the glass. Simpler Times Lager: Smell Very typical lager. No foul scents or adjunct aromas. Generic. Simpler Times Lager: … Read more
Red Stripe: Appearance Dark white gold, crystal-clear, quite a lot of carbonation present. Forms a one-finger bright white sudsy head which mostly evaporates and leaves trace lacing. Red Stripe: Smell Typical macro lager smell of corn and grain. Not skunky or sour, but nothing appealing to the aroma. Red Stripe: Taste I wish macro lagers … Read more
Old Speckled Hen: Appearance and Aroma Old Speckled Hen pours to essentially the same appearance in all serving forms – the difference being it’s cloudy when nitrogen-charged and on cask, but crystal clear when carbonated. It’s a very attractive shade of pure copper with orange and red hues. It forms a generous head, initially, but … Read more
Allagash White: Appearance Bright lemon skin-yellow hue. Opaque. Pours to a small, bright white, foamy head which mostly evaporates and leaves minor lacing on the glass. Allagash White: Smell The smell of summer: bright orange and lemon citrus, light spices, clean flowers and Belgian yeast esters. Allagash White: Taste There isn’t much to say about … Read more
There are some beers whose reputation is so bad that even Joe Six Pack types who only drink “The Big Three” will mock them – the most famous being Pabst Blue Ribbon. So I decided to sit down and give it a fair shake to see what all the hubbub is about. I was pleasantly … Read more
It seems like no matter what country you go to, their best-selling beer is a pale adjunct lager. I’ve never understood this since these beers are very difficult to brew consistently and they lack flavor. The only thing going for them is their drinkability. And when it comes to Japan things aren’t any different, as … Read more
Elysian Space Dust IPA : Appearance Orange in color with a haziness to the body. There are miniscule particles in suspension (unfiltered, I assume). Pours to a two-finger, ivory, frothy head which retains and laces extremely well. Elysian Space Dust IPA : Smell Pungent spicy/herbal aroma, most notable garlic and oregano. Some orange citrus as … Read more
Dos Equis XX Special : Appearance Pure gold hue with absolutely crystal-clear body. Some carbonation noticeable. Not much head and little to no retention or lacing. Dos Equis XX Special : Smell For a light lager in a green bottle it’s surprisingly skunk-free. That’s not to say it’s very aromatic, though. Just a generic “beer … Read more
