Orval Trappist Ale

Oh baby, this one gives great head; this is perhaps the headiest beer I have ever had. With nodes of orange, lemon zest and jasmine flower, the best way to describe this beer is a cross between a Hefeweizen a pale ale and a citrus beer. It smells sweet, however this beer has a bit of a bitter bite, so it is best enjoyed with sweet and spicy foods like a pannini sandwich or some sweet chili grilled tofu. This beer looks like a spring sunset, orange and golden. Enjoy!!!

Samuel Adams (Summer Ale) By Samuel Adams brewing co.

Usually you will find me bashing this bean town beer brewer. However, this is perhaps a first. This is a pretty good beer. This particular beers key feature is a lemony zest with the slightest hint of bitterness followed with a barley taste. However, the much touted "grains of parricide" that is apparently used in the beer I have no way of giving you a taste profile on because I have nor really had any other beers that I can remember having it in the ingredients. So, all in all the fact that I am saying this offering from Samuel Adams of pretty good is saying a lot, perhaps this beer is best as just a drinking beer and not so much one you pare with food. Stay cool, stay hydrated and always think right, drink right.

Rock Ice Limon (Costa Rica)

Fresh off my trip to Costa Rica, I had the opportunity to sample some of the beers of Costa Rica. To start the reviews of Costa Rican brews is Rock Ice lemon, which is a chelada style beer in that it has a nice mix of salt and lemon flavors of which one finds primarily in Mexican style beers. However, not mixed within the beer like it is with Rock Ice Limon, usually you must mix the salt and lemon yourself but with Rock Ice that is not the case at all. This beer is truly a treat after a day full of swashbuckling your way through a Costa Rican rain forest. After all the sweating one does in the jungle a beer like this helps to restore essential salts and elector lights to the body. This beer meats my standards of versatility and goes well with fish and chicken of which were exceptionally flavorful down at the el Refugio GRILL where the picture of the beer is from. This one is going into the hopper for beer of the year because of it’s refreshing out of the norm flavor profile and the fact that it was so dang refreshing, if you like Tequiza, Miller Chill or Budweiser Lime, you will enjoy this beer. So if you find yourself in Puerto Viejo Costa Rica ask about the el Refugio Grill. Good food, good people, greate beer, enjoy.

Shiner Smokehaus Helles Style (By the Spoetzl Brewery)

Just in time for the 4th. So I am in my favorite adult candy store yesterday looking for some caned beer for a concert in the park and I happen to over hear some guy squawking about some smoked beer. Well knowing me I just had to inject myself right into this conversation. Sure enough the gentleman is talking about the latest offering from that brewery of breweries in Shiner Texas. Now as you all know I am a swashbuckler of sorts when it come to trying new beers, but this one was right on the edge of being way to out there and novel even for me. I just did not know, plus I was just in there for the staples, beer. Not necessarily some for reviewing but just for drinking. Well to make a long story short I just could not resist an opportunity to slap another notch on my beer drinking gun belt and picked up a sixer and was on my way. I am glad I did, because there is nothing like enjoying a beer with you family over lobster and bacon raped wrapped scallops. This beer went so well with dinner it was uncanny. The beer does go best with food but it is still good as a standalone. This is definitely what I would call a "snack beer" when you are hankering for a beverage with flavor substance but no so filling like what you get with the Guinness. The marinating potentials are endless with this beer. The beer is reminiscent of Shiner dunkelweizen which I did not care for, the redeeming qualities of my last statement is that it is smooth and has that slight hint of smoke which for non adventurous beer drinkers may not be as pleasing as you would want it to be. This beer is exactly what it says it is, and there is no misconception as to what this beer is going to be like and as a consumer I enjoy it when a product description is what it says it is and nothing more. So in conclusion this beer will not be making it into the running for beer of the year. However, it will be making an appearance on the dinner menu. So the next time you find yourself at my house, be on the lookout for this beer. Happy 4ht!!!

Landshark Lager (By the Margaritaville brewing co. Jacksonville, FL)

Yes it is that Margaritaville, thank you so much Mr. Jimmy Buffett. First, let me say thank you to all of you out there who kept urging me to continue with this. It is truly ridicules how quickly a year or even a keg can be pissed away like so much cheap beer when your are busy or just drunk. Anyhow, on to the revival of this blogg. This offering from the same people who brought us some of the best tequila this side of Tijuana, (no really it is pretty dang good for coming from someone who is so relatively new to the new to the commercial world of alcoholic beverages, but I digress.) This is a smooth tasting beer; refreshing, not as "bitey" or bitter as say a Corona with just a hint of the sweet stuff. However, when matched with the right food, say a summer greens salad with stuff you picked up at your local farmers market (support local things people!!!) you can taste that old familiar bitterness creep ever so lightly back onto the palette and this is not such a bad thing. This beer lives up to my "standard of versatility" which means that the beer goes well with food and without. Interested in more info on this beer you can check out the web page at http://www.landsharklager.com/ . However, a word of warning. This web page is fairly lame, I was over it in thirty seconds. Enjoy, and remember Captain "C" says " Think right, drink right."

Pyramid Amber Weizen

Slightly bitter with a hint of soy sauce as a light aftertaste, this is a great beer for enjoying with a meal. The beer also has a hint of cherry wood and raw cranberry. I ma surprisingly pleased with this beer, which goes to show you that you should never write off a beer brewer just because you may not like other beers that the brewer produces. You are really doing yourself a dis-service by being so closed-minded; I myself was guilty of this till recently. The only detractor is that the beer is perhaps best only with food. But other than that, it is wonderful.

Pilsner Urquell

When translated, stands for crappy tasting beer. Touted as "the original pilsner" this beer is bitter as all get out. It even leaves a bitter aftertaste in the mouth. This beer is an overall unpleasant experience. For those of you who read "good life magazines" you will be seeing this beer advertised in your mag. WARNING THIS BEER SUCKS AND TASTES LIKE A SKUNKS ASS, DRINK AT YOUR OWN STUPIDITY. Do not be "April fooled" into purchasing this stinker of a beer no matter how "real" and "authentic" and "true" tasting they say this beer is. The advertising boast; "using the finest local ingredients" well the local ingredients they must be talking about is skunk shit. So the moral of the story is, don’t be fooled by well thought up adds in snooty magazines.