Real Beer Blog

Sam Adams The Vixen

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:08:28 +0000

Sam Adams just came out with a new line of beers which come in large 22oz bottles and creative patches for the art. The bottle catches your eye with its size and looks. The beer doesn’t disappoint either. While it was high in alcohol at 8.5% it had a smooth after taste with some heat. While I was drinking it, whipped cream with chili in the mix came to mind. It has a nice malty taste that wasn’t over the top with a good mix of nuts and a touch of cinnamon. The pour was also darker than I imagined with a thick creamy head and good aroma upon inspection. I give it 4.5 out of 5 burps.

Sam Adams The Vixen

Shock-Top Belgium White Beer

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:42:03 +0000

I recently bought a 12 pack of this beer on my way to Taos, NM. I was looking for something different and enjoy Blue Moon so I thought I would try another companies version of a Belgian White. Problem is the beer is bland. If someone were watering down Blue Moon, this is what it would taste like. Its not a terrible beer, but what appeals to me about Blue Moon, the Orange Peel simply is not strong enough. The beer comes off like a soft drink, a sierra mist if you will. Plenty of carbonation but short on flavor. 2 out of 5 burps.

Samual Adams defective glass bottle

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:14:59 +0000

Not sure if anyone else has had this happen but it bothered me enough to blog about it. I opened a new bottle of Sam Adams yesterday with a bottle opener and the cap came off with no problem. The problem was so did the lip of the bottle. Ive probably opened thousands of beers this way over the years and never had this happen before. See the image I included. Not sure what the cause of it was but I ended up with a shard of glass in my finger and a wasted beer. Fluke? or some manufacturing flaw? Sam Adams should bang on their glass suppliers door and see what is going on.

Sierra Nevada Porter

admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:46:39 +0000

This beer comes in a short stock brown bottle with a sky blue label which seems so inviting I had to try one. They are brewed in Chico, CA and is moderately carbonated. It has a pleasant subtle smell to it of malt and barley. The flavor is where I get slightly short changed. I suppose not every brewer out there wants to make a nice rich tasting stout porter but this porter is a little more mild than my taste buds care for. It leaves you wanting more flavor and the aftertaste is just too dry for me. The bottle says it uses the highest quality ingredients and uses old world traditions. I am not clear exactly what that entails but I don’t think they used much brown malt.

Over all I would give it 3 out of 5 burps.

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager

admin — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:24:20 +0000

So I am reviewing this beer after having had 3 other beers tonight. Surprisingly they were all good and I am just now getting around to typing up a review. I like to do the review while it is fresh. Unfortunately my typing and eloquence start suffering after 3 beers. Shiner Black Lager is a very good beer. It is not overly carbonated and the taste is not too heavy. It is a moderate lager and doesn’t try to hit you hard with too much flavor. The malts are well balanced and proportional. It has a nice head on it and comes in a dark bottle with a black Jack Daniel’s looking label. Definitely a beer I would recommend if you want a smoother beer to drink with a milder malt flavor than some lagers.

3.5 out of 5 burps.

Cooper’s Lager Beer

admin — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:20:52 +0000

I ate at Outback Steakhouse last night ( an Australian? Steakhouse chain) and decided to have a couple of Cooper’s Lager Beers. I actually thought it was a pretty decent beer. It had mild carbonization and nice amber color. The flavor was a little on the lighter site than I prefer, but it had a nice fruity flavor and went down easily. No discernible aftertaste, over all a pleasant lager if you don’t want a heavier beer.

3 out of 5 burps

Miller Chill

admin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:26:53 +0000

I usually avoid reviewing larger American beer companies beers because I don’t think much of their products. They tend to be watered down and bland. John Cleese said it best, “American beer is like having sex in a canoe, it is the next closest thing to water”.

Miller Chill is no exception, it is an odd lemon/lime flavored beverage masquerading as a beer. If Sprite made beer this would be it. It reminds me of B&J wine coolers I drank in the 80′s, very light, fruity and very little aftertaste. It is heavily carbonated, so much so that just sitting it back on the table causes a wall of foam to build inside the bottle. It has a zing of lemon/lime , a shot of salt, and not much else.

If you like Sprite and hate beer then this is your beer.

2 out of 5 burps.

Saint Arnold Lawnmower

admin — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:49:32 +0000

Saint Arnold Microbrewery is out of Houston, Tx, which, since I am a Texan, makes me proud. Unfortunately this particular beer doesn’t have a Texas sized taste to it. It has a lot of carbonization and a decent malty flavor to it but it lacks a real punch in the flavor area. The brew master seems to have held back on this beer in the flavor department. I am not saying it is a bad beer, it has a pleasant smell, but it is just too bland and unidimensional. Overall I would rate it 2.5 burps out of 5.

Hofbräu Dunkel

admin — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:10:11 +0000

If you haven’t made to Munich, Germany and had the opportunity to visit the Hofbräuhaus
I highly recommend it. I went 20 years ago and still remember the pleasant intoxicating experience. It was a large tavern style building and the beer was flowing, flowing, flowing. Hofbräu apparently means “beer of the court”, which is to say something along the lines of beer made by the government of Germany. This beer has a storied history going back some 500 years. Not very many beers can say that, but then again the Germans take beer seriously.

Hofbräu Dunkel is a dark bottom fermented beer which is brewed according to the German purity law( so you know its good). The beer itself has a pleasant flavor with lots of malty flavor and mild carbonization. Its has a good head on it that is not too big. The smell is quite pleasant, without a hint of bitterness. What I like about this beer is that it is not too heavy. It has a tad bit of a bitter aftertaste that hits your tongue just right and a good amount of malty flavoring with a splash of caramel for good measure. I absolutely recommend this beer to anyone who is looking to step up a notch or two above a Sam Adams type beer. It will definitely leave you wanting more.

4.5 out of 5 burps.

Hornsby’s Hard Cider Amber Draft

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:07:05 +0000

Hornby’s Hard Cider is not quite beer but I does go through a similar process. It is a pale amber color and light on carbonization with not much of a head. It is a really easy cider to drink , if you’re into that sort of thing. Its has a mildy sweet flavor of apples to it and an easy aftertaste. I would recommend this to anyone who is not much of a bitter beer fan and likes sweeter fair such as white wines.

Over all 3 out of 5 burps.