AW's Beer Reviews

[AWMiller]

Brew: Shiner Old-Time Alt

Brewed by: Spoetzel Brewery; Shiner, Texas USA

Style: altbier

Glassware: Best served in a stange.

Personal Notes: This beer was rather enjoyable. I had read previous reviews of it on BeerAdvocate.com where other reviewers had not given it such a good rating. But being the skeptic that I am, I just had to try it out for myself… and I’m rather glad I did! When poured this beer sports a rich amber color with hints of orange. It didn’t bolster up a large head, maybe an inch or so but the head stayed with the beer and provided for some nice lacing on the side of the glass. One thing I really enjoyed was the beer’s toasted-malt aroma; but at times hints of caramel were also noticed. The flavor of the beer is largely the toasted-malt flavor but again, tastes of caramel were detected. There’s a nice lingering flavor and the beer is a very drinkable beer. Would I stock up on it? Probably not; but it’s not a bad one to have a few on hand!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Tommyknocker Butthead Doppelbock

Brewed by: Tommyknocker Brewery; Idaho Springs, Colorado USA

Style: doppelbock

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass or mug.

Personal Notes: Tommyknocker’s Butthead Doppelbock is a very outstanding brew in my humble opinion. Rich and VERY smooth and delightfully malty and not overfilled with all that taste of hops! When poured, your eyes will delight in the dark mahogany color with a hefty tan to light brown head that will cling to your mug leaving those wonderful ring-lines all the way down the glass. Your sense of smell will swoon filled with malts, various fruit, warm bread, and the like. Once that syrupy thick brew hits your tongue you will taste a meld of flavors but overall I compare it to warm bread fresh out of the oven! There is a slight bite of alcohol but it’s nothing at all in the way of conflicting with the fine taste of this brew. Definitely one of the best American doppelbocks I’ve ever tasted!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen

Brewed by: Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu; Munich, Germany

Style: märzen/oktoberfest

Glassware: Best served in a pint glass or mug.

Personal Notes:

Of the Oktoberfest beers that I’ve sampled thus far, this Spaten is definitely right at the top of my favorites list!!! When I make it over to Germany, Munich and this brewery are definitely on my list of attractions to visit!!! When poured this beer sports a hearty head that stays well with the beer all the way through. Its deep ‘caramely’ brown body (much like a hearty cream soda from those old-fashioned soda fountains!) and caramel scent were just almost too much to bear while taking pics of the brew! There’s a very well-balanced combination of caramel, hops and malt with this fine brew that sits well and proves to be a very easy drinkable beer. An awesome beer to pair up with some delicious brats hot off the grill!!!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Franziskaner Weissbier

Brewed by: Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu; Munich, Germany

Style: Hefeweizen

Glassware: Best served in a weizen glass.

Personal Notes: Pours a very hazy golden amber color with a substantial head … either wait a bit for it to go down or deal with the foamy mustache! The aroma of this brew was amazing!! It put off scents of bananas and cloves … and just a subtle hint of lemon-grass. The taste is just amazing … like sweet banana-nut bread or bread pudding with warm cream sauce just poured on! Nice, creamy, and an exceptional finish! Definitely an awesome companion with poultry and seafood dishes!!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Shiner Spring Ale Dortmunder

Brewed by: Spoetzl Brewery; Shiner, Texas USA

Style: Dortmunder

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass.

Personal Notes: Well this is my first ‘dortmunder’ to try out. The body is a nice rich golden color with a pretty good level of carbonation going on. As you can see it sports a tall, frothy head! Light scents of grain, malts and just a slight hint of hops here and there. Although I prefer ‘heavier’ beers, this one was a nice ‘light’ beer with subtle flavors of malt and grains and a tinge of spice from the hops at the end. I’d probably keep a few of these on-hand to enjoy after a long day spent working the yard/garden; but definitely something I’d enjoy during the spring or summer seasons.

[AWMiller]

Brew: Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

Brewed by: Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan; Freising, Germany

Style: Hefeweizen

Glassware: Best served in a weizen glass.

Personal Notes: Stop the press! I have just enjoyed the MOST amazing hefeweizen ever!! Definitely one that would make me pack a bag and head overseas to Freising, Germany, just to enjoy this beer at its freshest! It pours a tantalizing hazy golden colored brew with a hearty frothy head. Some beers are meant to be savored at many levels and this is exactly one of those beers! Sit back and let the scents of cloves and banana-nut bread along with subtle hints of citrus fill your sense of smell. The savor this prime brew and enjoy that warm banana-nut bread flavor following by a nice slightly citrus-y aftertaste. Words just cannot describe how amazing this one is … you just have to get some for yourself and enjoy!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Samuel Adams Imperial Stout

Brewed by: Boston Beer Co.; Boston, Massachusetts USA

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

Glassware: Best served in a pint glass, becker or a snifter.

Personal Notes: This is definitely the darkest beer I have yet to try (at least as of the time of this review)! Held it up to the light and all I could compare it to was a solar eclipse … light was not getting through! I was expecting a more frothy head but once the head ‘fell’ it formed a nice mocha-colored ring and formed subtle lace lines on the glass while I drank the beer. There were an abundance of scents and flavors in this beefy brew: chocolate, coffee, espresso, toffee, sweet raisins, vanilla, and more. That snifter glass is the key glassware to use to trap all those wonderful scents while you enjoy drinking this beer. The body is very thick (but not chewy!) and each sip is followed by a hearty aftertaste of strong coffee mixed in with some rich hot chocolate. Definitely a beer to be enjoyed during the chill of fall and winter months and absolutely NOT a beer that is to be quaffed!! Sit back, slow down and enjoy this beer for a while.

[AWMiller]

Brew: Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower

Brewed by: Saint Arnold Brewing Co.; Houston, Texas USA

Style: kolsch/altbier

Glassware: Best served in a stange or pint.

Personal Notes: Pours a clear amber body with a nice white foamy head. Filled with scents of grains, bananas, and cloves. This is a nice crisp beer that’s to be truly enjoyed during the hot summer months. The carbonation in this beer is just right; crisp and a wonderful clean finish with only a slight bitter aftertaste. Flavors of sweet malt, bananas, and cloves are complimented well with ‘herbally’ hops. Stock up as the weather warms up!!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Samuel Adams Imperial Series Double Bock

Brewed by: Boston Beer Company; Boston, Massachusetts USA

Style: doppelbock

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass or mug. But I really wish I had a becker glass for this particular brew!

Personal Notes: Whoa…. now this was one nice hearty brew!! Pours a deep dark mahogany with a sporty head that stays with the brew for a long time. Sweet scents and flavors of malts, caramel, toffee, espresso and hints of clove or some sweet fruit (almost candy-like). Definitely one of my favorite brews to enjoy during the chill of fall and winter. This is a thick (but not chewy!) brew and one that is easily drinkable so you can enjoy a few each time. This is a brew I turn to especially when having wild game for dinner!

[AWMiller]

Here's a sneak peak at some upcoming beer reviews!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale

Brewed by: Black Sheep Brewery PLC; Ripon, United Kingdom

Style: English pale ale

Glassware: Best served in a pint glass.

Personal Notes: Pours a rich amber colored body sporting a somewhat melancholy foamy head. No big signs of carbonation that I took note of. As with most English pale ales, this one has the pleasant scents nuts and butter and the taste supports those scents with strong flavors of nuts and butter; I did note that the hops presents quite a bitter punch on the first few sips but mellows out after a while. It's not real heavy so it's a real good session beer! But for me this was a fun beer just because of the label as this ale was "tempered over burning witches"!!

[AWMiller]

Brew: New Belgium Blue Paddle

Brewed by: New Belgium Brewing Co.; Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Style: German Pilsener

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass or mug.

Personal Notes: This brew pours out a clear light golden body that sports a tall foamy head that stays well with the brew for quite a while. Scents and flavors full of malts well-blended with just the right amount of hops to make for a superbly balanced brew. Light and refreshing ... definitely a great brew to be enjoyed during the hot Texas summers! A great brew to be enjoyed with poultry and fish/seafood meals!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Brewed by: Stone Brewing Co.; Escondido, California USA

Style: American Strong Ale

Glassware: Best served in a mug, pint/becker, or a snifter.

Personal Notes: Pours a dark reddish brown body sporting a good foamy head which left thick lacing on the sides of the glass while the brew was being enjoyed. A very "citrusy" scent and flavor hit strong at first but as the brew warms, there are scents and flavors of brown sugar, roasted hazelnut (most likely from the oaking process), and loads of hops coupled with subtle undertones of roasted malts. If I were to coin a term to describe either the scent or the flavor it would be 'complex'. Definitely a great session beer!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Lagunitas Censored (a.k.a. The Kronik)

Brewed by: Lagunitas Brewing Co; Petaluma, California USA

Style: American Amber/Red Ale

Glassware: Best served in the drain…. or perhaps a dixie cup…. or if you want to go high-society you can serve it up in a pint glass or mug.

Personal Notes:


YUCK!!!

First things first… I had some high expectations for this brew based on inputs that others had given me on it and other brews that they have tried from Lagunitas. I’ll state for the record that if the rest of their line tastes like this, I’m spending my money on some other brewer!!

… it’s been days and I still can’t get that taste out of my mouth!!! …

And now for the review…

It started off looking like a good brew! A rich warm copper body but it only sported a teeny-tiny foam ring that dissipated quickly and left very little (if any) lacing on the side of the glass. The smell though was just a turn-off and I should have stopped right there and poured it down the drain! But nooooooooo, morbid curiosity got the better of me! It tasted as though I just took a handful of rotten hops and chewed on it! (and the beer wasn’t ‘off’… bottle was sealed right and it was recently brewed/bottled… it just tasted horrible!) I figured that a few more samples would do the trick and let the real flavor come out but I was sadly disappointed. I just can’t put into words how bad this beer tasted (ANY brew would be better than this)!

Sorry folks… no pics of the brew in the serving glass… didn’t want to waste the time with all the editing required on a shoddy beer like this one!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Paulaner Salvator Double Bock

Brewed by: Paulaner Brauerei GmbH & Co; Germany

Style: Doppelbock

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass or mug.

Personal Notes: Definitely a brew going into my BHOF (Beer Hall of Fame)!! This brew pours a rich dark red body that sports a thick foamy head that lends well with the brew for quite a while. Scents of strong malt, coffee (maybe a rich espresso) followed with rich malty flavors blended with hints of orange or cloves with very little presence of the taste of alcohol. It has a nice thick feel to it and is a great beer to pair up with wild game or other rich meats.