Otto's Apricot Wheat

Otto's Apricot Wheat is a good all around beer.  It doesn't have any overpowering tastes, and the style is enjoyable year round.  It does have a clear apricot flavor, so I could see why some people might enjoy it more during the summer months.

With a half-inch white head and slightly cloudy golden body, this is an appealing brew.  When the head settles, it leaves slight lacing on the sides of the glass, and mild carbonation maintains a small ring around the edge.  9/10 for appearance

The aroma is about what you'd expect.  The apricot comes through, as do the wheat tones.  The aroma is fairly faint, though, so if you're sitting near the kitchen door where the smells of cooking would be stronger, it may be difficult to pick up on the nose on this one.  22/30 for aroma.

The taste nicely matches the aroma.  There's a bit of nutty-grainy flavor under the apricot, but no flavors are overpowering.  It's smooth and mellow, with very little lingering aftertaste.  The only real downside for the taste is that the apricot flavor tastes somewhat fake or artificial, like that fruitiness is just a little too sweet or something.  On the upside, the malt flavors keep the sweetness nicely in check.  31/40 for flavor

I'd say this beer has a medium mouthfeel -- it isn't watery, but it isn't really full-bodied, either.  It's a fairly crisp beverage, and that crisp, clean mouthfeel works well with the flavors in the beer.  8/10 for mouthfeel.

This is very much a drinkable beer.  It isn't the kind of beer I'd savor, but it's a nice change of pace, it pairs well with a wide range of foods, and it's crisp and clean enough to enjoy on a hot summer afternoon.  Because it's suitable for so many occasions, that ups the drinkability factor.  8/10 for drinkability.

Overall that comes to 78/100.  This isn't a great beer, but it's tasty and it gets the job done.  It's one of Otto's beers that seems to have a wider distribution every year (maybe that's just my perception, or maybe it's just a local thing, I haven't really looked too much into it).  I'm looking forward to picking up a sixer of this come yard work season (which is hopefully just around the corner -- I hear birdsong in the mornings again!).

Cheers!

Miller Lite

This may be a very difficult review for me to write fairly in some regards.  I've got the BJCP guidelines open next to me so I can hopefully be more even-handed in my review than I might otherwise be.  I'm partial to beers that use a minimal amount of adjuncts, since I don't always enjoy the adjuncty tastes.  (In case you haven't figgered it out by now, I like making up my own adjectives.  I do not like, however, when Subway commercials do the same.  I'm a hypocrite.  What of it?)

Miller Lite falls squarely into the Lite American Lager category of the BJCP.  The straw coloring and lack of any real head are fairly typical of this style.  Despite the fact that it looks like a glass of urine from some dehydrated bastard, it does match the style guidelines.  7/10 for appearance

There is only a very, very slight grainy aroma, very difficult to detect.  Going by the BJCP guidelines, this fits the category.  Going by my rubric, it would receive a fairly low score.  I should revise the aroma row of my rubric.  Since it does abide by the style guidelines, I can't really grade it too harshly on aroma.  22/30 for aroma

There is very little taste to really evaluate here, and the slight taste that exists is thin and watery.  However, this style isn't supposed to have a strong flavor, and I can see why many people consider this a "refreshing" beverage, though I would not myself describe it that way.  My buddies and I jokingly refer to it (and most other Lite American Lagers) as piss-water or yellow fizzy.  That being said, the detectable flavor is mostly grainy (corn?) with just a faint hint of nuttiness.  I really don't taste much in the way of hops at all.  It isn't really a bad taste, and it certainly isn't an overpowering taste.  Nor does it leave much of an aftertaste, except maybe a slight stale flavor on the back of the tongue.  There aren't any signs of skunking, and I can taste no off-flavors.  It is very difficult for me to assess this beer fairly (which is why I'm relying on my rubric and the BJCP guidelines very heavily here...), but I would feel comfortable giving this a 30/40 for taste.  (My personal preference would put it closer to 8/40, give or take)

I honestly feel that the moderate to high levels of carbonation detract from the experience of the beer here.  It becomes somewhat difficult to really taste all aspects of the beer because of the sharp effervescence.  That much bubbly coupled with that scanty taste is an unbalanced combination.  And here we find another fault with my rubric, which I will need to adjust: the mouthfeel is within the BJCP guidelines, but it would score poorly on my rubric.  7/10 for mouthfeel

I do have to rate this beer pretty low for drinkability, though.  When guests bring this beer to my house, the leftover cans usually go in a crock pot with some corned beef, not into my glass.  I rarely want a beer so badly that I'll grab any kind of Lite American Lager, except for maybe Yuengling lager, which has a bit more taste and slightly less carbonation than its competitors.  2/10 for drinkability

Overall, I give this beer a 68/100.  While it does meet the Lite American Lager criteria, I don't particularly care for it.  I'm somewhat surprised that my score for this beer came out as high as it did, so I guess working with the guidelines and a rubric did help me be a little more level and fair than I otherwise might have been.  And, this was obviously a good beer to test my rubric against, since it did point out a couple flaws that I will need to address.

Ok, I'll be honest.  I only really had this beer for two reasons: 1) I wanted to evaluate a style of beer that I hadn't already covered, and 2) it was $1 on tap.  Seriously, how could I turn down a dollar draft, even if it is a pretty crappy beer?  It cost like 1/4 as much as my appetizer did.  I may be a beer geek, but I'm certainly not a beer snob.

On to the next one...  Cheers!

Yuengling Bock

Yuengling Bock is one beer that I haven't had more than a tiny taste of before.  I mildly enjoyed this beer.  In the past, I have seen some pretty good deals on this Bock at the local distributor, but passed it over since I wasn't sure I'd like it enough to merit buying a case of it.  Next time I see it, though, I will pick it up if the price is right.

I like the dark color with the white to off-white head.  It was served with about a half-inch head and showed a decent level of head retention, with moderate lacing as the head eventually fell.  It was a little difficult to see the true color of the beer due to the dark lighting in the pub and the dark backdrop.  9/10 for appearance

The aroma was grainy and malty, with just a touch of hoppiness.  I think I also smelled some toasty or chocolatey hints, but there were a lot of aromas coming out of the kitchen behind me, so it was kind of hard to distinguish.  The aroma that I could detect was very pleasant and inviting.  22/30 for aroma

The taste was more on the malty side of the spectrum, with some nutty, brown bread/toast, and maybe caramel notes.  It didn't have a strong or lingering aftertaste, which is a positive.  There is also a bit of hop spiciness, but it is more subdued than the malty flavors.  32/40 for taste

Moderate carbonation gave this brew a decent mouthfeel.  It wasn't anything that really grabbed my attention, but it certainly didn't detract from the beer.  It didn't have that thin, watery taste, nor was it very full-bodied, either.  7/10 for mouthfeel

This is very much a drinkable beer.  I could see myself drinking this by itself on a warm afternoon or pairing it with pretty much any dinner.  It's not the kind of beer I'd savor, nor would I pay extra to have one, so I'd give this a 7/10 for drinkability.

The overall score for this beer is a 77/100.  I'm usually a pretty big fan of bocks, dopplebocks, eisbocks, et al., but I wasn't overly thrilled with this one.  I'd certainly drink it instead of a plain old lager, that's for sure, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have another one.  However, if I could get a case for a decent price, I'd lay it by in my stock to enjoy with dinner now and then.

Keep hunting those distributor sales...  Cheers!

Guinness

Up until a few years ago, Guinness was my beer.  If I went out somewhere and they served Guinness, I wouldn't even think about having anything else.  I think in some strange way, I felt proud that I liked such a dark beer -- me, a chick, liked a "better" beer than all those suckers guzzling their Bud Light.  And then I discovered that there was really a lot more to beer than branding.

There are few bars or restaurants around here that serve any real selection, so I'm often stuck with very few choices.  Those choices usually include Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bud Light, Yuengling, Sam Adams Lager and seasonal, and maybe Shock Top.  Pretty slim pickin's for a beer lover such as myself.  There is, however, one local place that serves Guinness (sadly from a can), so when we went there to eat the other night, I got a pint of my old standby.  Unfortunately, my phone was about dead, so I was unable to get a picture to post.

I've always loved Guinness's appearance, with the rich, dark body and the creamy off-white head.  I especially love watching the bubbles fall.  Guinness is not the only beer with "falling" bubbles.  It's just the most well-known example.  I give Guinness a 10/10 on appearance any day, especially if served on tap.

The aroma is pretty faint and is mostly of roasted malt, with some subtle nutty tones.  You can smell the malt more than the hops.  22/30 for aroma.

The roasted malt flavors come through, as does a fair amount of bitterness and something like burnt toast.  The nutty hints are also present, but seem more sedate in this particular pint than I remember them being.  However, if I am being honest, it isn't as full-bodied as I'd like it to be or as I'd expect it to be.  And I'm not referring just to this particular pint -- I've always thought Guinness tasted a little thin up front, and that it left a stronger taste afterwards.  It did pair well with the cheese steak I had for dinner, though.  33/40 for taste

I really don't understand where people get the idea that Guinness has to be "chewed" like liquid bread.  As I said above, it feels thin and watery, not bready or full-bodied.  6/10 for mouthfeel

Despite the thin/watery taste and mouthfeel, I do constantly return to Guinness, and I think it's more than the brand or nostalgia.  I really do just enjoy this beer, even though it isn't what I would consider the "ideal" Irish Stout.  The off-white-on-black appearance, the toasty aroma, flavors of the malt and the bitterness, and the lingering aftertaste all contribute to the Guinness experience.  Some beers you drink just to have a drink, but that's not the case with Guinness.  Not for me, at least.  I do enjoy a good Guinness.  8/10 for drinkability.

Overall, that sums to 79/100.  So far, my rubric seems to be holding up, but two data points does not a pattern make.  While Guinness has dropped a few notches since my awakening as a beer nut, it will always hold a special place in my heart (and my stock).  In some ways, it's a cultural symbol for me, what with the iconic Guinness posters and ads.  I even have an Irish flag with the Guinness toucan and a soccer ball.  It hasn't actually seen the light of day since it served as a door in my college days, but when I build my basement bar, it'll be a fixture.

Ní neart go Guinness!

My Beer Rubric & Homebrew Pumpkin Ale

So, I'm a professor.  And one of the things professors do is make rubrics.  I basically took the 100-point rubric I grade my students' essays on and converted it to a beer rubric.  I'm hoping this step makes my reviews a little more fair when it comes to styles that I don't particularly care for (Light American Lagers, for example).  I included a drinkability category so that my own preferences and tastes can still play in to the overall score, but I'm going to try to base most of my reviews on how well the beer matches its style.  If I don't know what style it's supposed to be, I'll use my best guess for the purposes of my review, and update my information when I can.  Here's the rubric I came up with:

It's a work in progress, but hopefully it'll help keep my reviews more even and balanced, especially for my least favorite styles.  So, let's give it a go with my homebrew pumpkin ale:

I brewed this beer over a year ago, in February 2012.  I used 60 oz. of organic pumpkin and spiced it with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger, then I added a few extra cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to the primary fermenter, too.

It's a cloudy burnt-orange color, which is about what I'd expect to see in a pumpkin ale.  The head is a little foamier than usual since I topped up the CO2 right before I pulled this mug from the keg.  9/10 for appearance. (It's hard to get a low appearance score.)

The aroma is predominantly pumpkin, but the cinnamon and cloves are very apparent, too.  I do, however, catch a little of the odor associated with the off-flavor that haunts my homebrew.  There's also a much more understated sweetness behind it all.  22/30 for aroma.

Sitting in the keg untouched for several months really helped this beer -- it tasted a little raw when I served it on Thanksgiving, though I still got quite a few compliments on it (my friends and family are thankfully honest with me; many of them have told me they don't like certain beers I make).  The flavors don't taste as sharp now as they did a few months ago.  I might have overdone it with the cinnamon, since that seems to be the one lingering taste on the back of the tongue.  The other spices, though, are mellow and mild.  It is difficult to taste the malt or the hops through the pumpkin and spices, since there is such a strong pumpkin taste (unlike many commercial pumpkin ales, which taste thin to me).  I think I should use less pumpkin, less cinnamon, more cloves, and let it mature longer next time around.  There is also, unfortunately, a slight off-flavor common to all of my homebrew batches, so I should knock a few extra points off for that.  My beer is warming up as I type this, and it's tasting better the closer it gets to room temperature, too.  It was probably about 35F out of the tap, and it's more like 55F now.  31/40 for taste.

It has a creamy, silky mouthfeel when you swish it around, but it finishes moderately dry.  I don't think the dryness goes very well with the flavors, though.  But, as it warms up, that dryness is less and less present.  7/10 for mouthfeel.

This beer is certainly drinkable, and it pairs very well with hearty meals.  It doesn't have that watery taste some commercial pumpkin ales have.  I like that you can taste the pumpkin clearly and easily -- if I'm drinking a pumpkin ale, I want to actually taste the pumpkin, not just get a hint or a whiff of it.  I would mark it an 8/10, but the off-flavor does slightly detract from drinkability, as well.  7/10 for drinkability.

Overall, that adds up to 76/100, and that seems about right.  This is not anything special, but it is a decent brew.  It has more flavor than many commercial varieties, but it also has off-flavors and is not well-balanced.  With 4.67% ABV, it's not surprising that there is no noticeable alcohol-warmth.  I enjoyed brewing and drinking this beer, though as I said, there are a few things I'd do differently next time around.  Hopefully next year's batch will be better!

Cheers!

Schneider Weisse Hopfenweisse

Schneider Weisse may well be one of my favorite breweries.  I fell in love with their Aventinus and Aventinus Eisbock a couple years ago, and when I got the chance to try another of their beers recently, I jumped on it. The Tap 5 Hopfenweisse that I bought does not have the same label as the brew made with Brooklyner, so I'm not sure if it's the same recipe.  I do very cursory research on most of the beers I buy, since part of this whole blogging about beer thing is really rooted in a strong desire to learn as much as I possibly can about beer.  However, I don't want my research to inadvertently affect how I taste and evaluate each beer, so I try to avoid really researching each brewer and/or beer until after I've had a chance to jot down my tasting notes.  I actually had this one a couple days before I decided to start blogging about beer, so today's post comes from my memory and my tasting notes.  First, I like the bottle:

It caught my eye on the shelf before I even realized I was looking at a product of one of my favorite brewers.  I know, liking two beers Schneider Weisse brews shouldn't necessarily label them as a favorite brewer.  But it does in this case, because Aventinus and Aventinus Eisbock are, in my opinion, about as close to the perfect beer as you can get, so Schneider Weisse scores uber points with me on that count.

I digress.  The poured beer was just about the prettiest beer I've seen recently:

There was a decent amount of sediment left in the bottle after the pour, and I tend to like that.  With good head retention and prominent lacing, this beer screams, "drink me!"  I love the cloudiness and the golden-orange color.  It just looks like it would have a more complex, more full-bodied character.  And looks here are not deceiving, either.  It has a very pleasant aroma, and you can smell the wheat, along with hints of banana, clove, citrus (lemon?), and an earthy/grassy undertone.  The flavors nicely complement the aroma, and though there is a small bit of a bitter bite up front, it does not linger more than a second or two before the smooth mellow tones of the wheat and esters of banana and clove take over.  While both the Hopfenweisse and the Aventinus are wheat-doppelbocks, the Hopfenweisse is much lighter in color and lacks the raisin/plum/dried-fruit-complex-sweetness that is prominent in the Aventinus.  (At some point, I'll actually write up a review of the Aventinus, preferably next time I have it so I can post a picture of it.)

If you like wheat beers, or if you're looking for a more complex palate, you'll probably enjoy the Hopfenweisse.  I highly recommend it, and I would rate it a 9/10, maybe even a 9.5/10.  (Seriously thinking about switching to a 100-point scale.  Maybe I'll draw up a rubric.)

Another day, another beer.  Cheers!

Shipyard IPA

Today, I went for one of the lighter colored beers in my stock, the Shipyard IPA that I picked up a few days ago:

It poured with one hell of a head, as you can see.  The head fell more quickly around the edges and more slowly in the center, leaving a mesa of foam in the middle of my mug and moderate lacing on the sides of the glass.  It has a crisp, pine-like aroma, but there's also something else in the background that kind of reminds me of straw or rope, something along those lines.  This IPA has a pretty decent flavor.  Some IPAs are so hop-heavy that it can be difficult to taste the grain profile, but that's not the case here.  I'd guess it's relatively low in IBUs for its style.  You can taste both the mellow malt and grain flavors as well as the grassy, floral spiciness of the hops.  There's also a touch of sweet apple, but thankfully not the green apple/rotten apple off-flavor associated with acetaldehyde.

What I liked about this beer in particular is that it doesn't have that overbearingly bitter aftertaste that some IPAs leave you with.  The hop flavors are strong up front, but the back end is fairly crisp and clean, with only a mild lingering aftertaste.  Overall, I'd say this is a slightly above average IPA, but it's definitely a smoother drink to have with a meal than some of the more heavy-hitting IPAs (Green Flash's Le Freak or Palate Wreaker, for example).  I'd give this either a 6 or 7 out of 10.  It deserves more than a 6, but maybe not quite up to a 7.  Maybe I should switch to a 100-point scale...

Still on the hunt for new beers to try.  Cheers!