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April 30, 2005

Efes: Extra

Name: Efes: Extra
Brewed In/Type: Turkey / Lager (euro lager)
Bought at/Price Gift / $unknown
Dennis: I did not expect what came out of this bottle. I assumed that it was going to be a generic euro pils no name knock off. This is very malty brew, with a rich smell and surprisingly high alcohol content (8%). Very lightly hopped, sort of like a pils. If you like strong malts give this a shot.
Jen: This one isn't too bad. It has a distinct malty taste that is quite overwhelming to tell the truth. I don't mind this brew, but it does somewhat resemble a euro pils. Not bad, but it's best quality is its high alcohol content for a "lager".
Rating: 3 out of 5

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April 28, 2005

Salvator: Double Bock

Name: Salvator: Double Bock
Brewed In/Type: Germany / Double Bock
Bought at/Price Gift / $unknown
Dennis: As the type indicates, this is a very malty beer. Beyond maltitude almost. Smell comes across as rich, sweet, and yeasty, the taste is very deep without being cloying, with a slight twinge of bitterness at the end from the alcohol and malts. There are no hops here, so malt lovers only. Just a little to much for me personally.
Jen: I really don't generally enjoy dopplebocks. This one is very sweet with practically no aftertaste. It has a sweet malt flavor (almost too much) and a finish of "barely there" bitterness. The alcohol content is very present and it doesn't seem like they try to disguise it. I don't find it to be all that great, but overall it isn't too bad.
Rating: 3 out of 5

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April 26, 2005

Ayinger: Brau-weisse

Name: Ayinger: Brau-weisse
Brewed In/Type: Germany / Hefe-Weizen
Bought at/Price Gift / $unknown
Dennis: The aroma on this is typical wheat beer, but unusually strong in my opinion. The taste and body is whats surprising. While the body comes across as to fizzy, it's uncharacteristically light and easy to drink. The taste comes across just right with a nice wheaty/spiciness to it. Overall a pretty good representation of a wheat beer certainly worth having.
Jen: The aroma is almost an overpowering scent of bananas. Almost overpowering. The taste offers something different. It is light and bubbly. The flavors are of faint bananas and clove with minor citrus and hops. It ends with a nice peppery kick. This is a good hefeweizen and brings to the table everything a true hefe-lover would be looking for.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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April 24, 2005

Stella Artois

Name: Stella Artois
Brewed In/Type: Belgium / Lager
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $10.99 12 pack
Dennis: Yet another pale euro lager with a little bit of hops and some malt undertones. Goes down easy but is slightly dull tasting over all, not to skunky.
Jen: I don't find this to be anything special in regards to the European lagers. It has the skunky head, light body and slight over abundance of carbonation. I don't really mind this, but sometimes these Euro lagers tend to blend together. Nothing makes it stand out of the crowd, but at the same time, I wouldn't pass this up if given to me.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

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April 22, 2005

Bitburger

Name: Bitburger
Brewed In/Type: Germany / Pils
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $8.49 12 pack
Dennis: This in my opinion is Germany's version of Miller Light. Cheap mass produced beer, which isn't always a bad thing. Unlike american beers you can taste the noble hop's here (usually defined as a skunk head) but not by much. However, if your craving a european pils for little cash this guy is your man, although taste wise it might leave you lacking and yearning for more.
Jen: Clean, crisp and easy to drink. It has a nice mild hoppy flavor that ends with a slight bite. It has nice smooth carbonation. It is like a generic German pils. However, I definitely prefer this over others (like St. Pauli Girl), especially for the $$.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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April 20, 2005

Troegs: Hopback Amber Ale

Name: Troegs: Hopback Amber Ale
Brewed In/Type: Harrisburg, PA / Amber Ale
Bought at/Price unknown / $24.99 24 variety pack
Dennis: This was a very difficult beer to get in IL. Turns out the distribution is only on the east coast, and we had to have a special delivery made thanks to the kindness of an online friend. That being said I am happy to say that this beer was worth the effort. Aggressivly hopped (smells like cascade hops to me mainly) this beer comes across with a plesant, strong bitter taste and a mild body. I could easily see myself whipping through a six pack and wondering where they went and why my head hurt the next morning. Very good beer.
Jen: I don't find this beer to be as hoppy as Dennis does. It starts with a generous malt flavor and has a body of bitter hops. It has a slightly sweet caramelized finish and mild bitterness that doesn't stick around for too long. It has a lot of malty flavor for the name hopback. That being said, I do like this and it is very easy to drink.
Rating: 4 out of 5

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April 18, 2005

Troegs: Lager

Name: Troegs: Lager
Brewed In/Type: Harrisburg, PA / Bavarian Lager
Bought at/Price unknown / $24.99 24 variety pack
Dennis: Typically lagers suffer when compared to their Ale brothers, but this is a pretty heafty brew. The smell is musty, and the mouthfeel comes across as fizzy and slightly bitter in true bavarian style. Over all a good drink that goes down pretty smooth with a hint of honey to it. I'd take the Hopback Amber Ale over this, but certainly an enjoyable beer.
Jen: This is a pretty good brew for a bavarian lager. It has a slightly sweet taste to it, with a yeasty baking. It almost has a creamy feel in your mouth and this ends with a very mild hop finish. It is starts sweet and malty, with a slight bitter finish. Nothing else I can really say.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

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April 16, 2005

Michelob: Honey Lager

Name: Michelob: Honey Lager
Brewed In/Type: St. Louis, MO / Lager
Bought at/Price Costco Seasonal Variety pack (18 bottles) / $16.59
Dennis: Michelob Honey Lager.....wow, this is a sweet beer. And I don't mean excellant sweet, I mean way to sweet. No hops, slightly malty and very sugary sweet. If you see this pass it by unless your buying beer for a chick. In that case grab a 6pack and skip to the register.
Jen: This tastes like carbonated water with a few drops of honey and a little touch of lemon in it. Not much more to say except that it is way too sweet for me to drink. I am glad that I don't have to experience this one again. (Unless it was one of the last beers on earth!)
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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April 14, 2005

Summit: India Pale Ale

Name: Summit: India Pale Ale
Brewed In/Type: St. Paul, MN / IPA
Bought at/Price Binny's / $11.99 12 pack (variety)
Dennis: Very mild aroma for an IPA, probably because they didn't do a dry hopping during the second fermentation. That being said I feel the strongest aspect of this beer is the balance of bitterness vs. hop aroma. Some IPA's come live by the motto more hop armoa makes a better beer. And while I generally agree with this (Hop Wallop for example) I find the bitterness to be a refreshing taste. Almost more like a special bitter, than an IPA. Give it a shot if you like IPA's or bitter's.
Jen: This brew has a scent of mild hops and malt. It's flavor is light and spread throughout the ale. It has a definite bitter hop flavor to it. It is of citric and pine hops, but they are far from overwhelming it. This seems to be very smooth and goes down well. Overall, it is a traditional IPA, but with something different to it to make it stand apart.
Rating: 4 out of 5

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April 12, 2005

Summit: Winter Ale

Name: Summit: Winter Ale
Brewed In/Type: St. Paul, MN / Ale
Bought at/Price Binny's / $11.99 12 pack (variety)
Dennis: This is a very malty, chocolatly, warm kinda beer. More like a porter than an ale or stout. Comes across softly and warm with a deep malt/barley taste, but the body never get's to thick. Typically I would expect a "winter ale" to be a bit more hearty in it's body than this, but over all not a bad brew considering it weighs in at 5.9% alcohol. If offered I'd drink this happily, I just wouldn't go out of my way to purchase it.
Jen: I am not as thorougly impressed with this brew as I was with their hefeweizen. It has a soft taste to it of malts and an end of extremely mild hops. It has a slightly caramel undertones with a very slight chocolate taste. I wouldn't go out of my way to get this brew again, but I wouldn't turn it away either.
Rating: 3 out of 5

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April 10, 2005

Gales Millenium Brew

Name: Gales Millenium Brew
Brewed In/Type: England / Ale
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $3.49 single bottle
Dennis: Took a sip, poured it out in the sink. Made in '97, this did not age well. Don't buy it.
Jen: Same as above.
Rating: 0 out of 5

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April 08, 2005

Youngs: Special London Ale

Name: Youngs: Special London Ale
Brewed In/Type: London, UK / Ale
Bought at/Price Binny's / $2.99 1pint
Dennis: This is my first Youngs, but we've been keep our eyes on them to pickup up some for a review for a while now. Traditionally London beers have come across as flat and tasteless, and while I can't disagree with that entirely this is a tasty drink. There isn't much aroma here to smell, only a slight metallic hint. The carbonation is very low, almost nonexistant, but that only serves to make this beer smoother as opposed to flat. The taste is soft and nutty with lot's of warm malts to balance out the minute hops and slight bitterness. Over all this goes down quick and easy, which isn't bad for a 6.4% alc brew. You'll wonder where it all went :)
Jen: A good start for Young's brews. It has a nice malty flavor with a slight taste of toasted caramel. It also presents itself with bready undertones. It has a slightly bitter end with a definite alcohol taste to it. It has very low carbonation but goes down smoothly leaving a very slight aftertaste. Really a good brew.
Rating: 4 out of 5

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April 06, 2005

Summit: Extra Pale Ale

Name: Summit: Extra Pale Ale
Brewed In/Type: St Paul MN / American Pale Ale
Bought at/Price Binny's / $11.99 12 pack
Dennis: I believe this is an great example of what a pale ale should be. It has some hoppy scents in it's head, but a really soft warm malty body that makes the slight bitterness roll out smoothly. Light body, crisp taste, subtle hop flavor and a hint of lemon/citrus. Pretty good stuff over all.
Jen: This Summit brew starts off with a nice mild malt flavor that is followed by an even blend of hops that aren't too overwhelming. It is smooth, but none of the characteristics seem to stand out to a point where you say "wow". I do enjoy it; I am presently surprised, and I definitely wouldn't turn this one away!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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April 04, 2005

Tyskie

Name: Tyskie
Brewed In/Type: Poland / Lager
Bought at/Price Binny's / $4.99 6 pack
Dennis: Over all this is just another generic european golden lager. The difference is that it has surprisingly rich taste for what it is and some hop aroma and taste to it (saaz hops I think...not sure). As opposed to some other euro lagers (Pilsner Urquell) this actually goes down pretty smooth. Honestly between the price we paid (at Binny's no less) and the taste it's a hands down winner.
Jen: Kind of a ho-hum European lager. It offers a different kind of flavor which makes it stand of the crowd. It goes down fairly easily with a slight sparkling water feel to it. It has a somewhat sweetness to it with no bitterness or skunky aftertaste. For the price, I would go for this anytime, but in general I like traditional german pils.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

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April 02, 2005

Youngs: Double Chocolate Stout

Name: Youngs: Double Chocolate Stout
Brewed In/Type: England / Stout
Bought at/Price Binny's / $2.69 1 pint
Dennis: The thing I hate about most chocolate beers is that they try so hard to taste like chocolate they over power you. Adding real chocolate to into the brewing mix is incredibly hard to do actually, so success is impressive, and doing it right even more so. Rich malts help convey the flavor, but the real surprise is the relatively light body and subtle flavor. Honestly, I'd drink this again and I'm pretty impressed.
Jen: Usually when I pick out a beer that I have been wanting to try for some time, it sucks. This time I have found a "champion". They actually use real chocolate in this beer, so it has an authentic taste of light chocolatey goodness. It is such a rich dark color and subtle aroma, you would expect an beer you could cut with a knife, but this one has a nice medium body, with a lot of carbonation and a smooth after taste. I will definitely buy this again!
Rating: 4 out of 5

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