Beer Review: Southern Tier Eurotrash Pilz

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.2 percent

Appearance: This beer poured a very, very light shade of yellow/gold. It is also easily seen through. If you put this up aside something like a Miller Lite, the only things that would distinguish this one would be the following two characteristics that I noticed. The head was a little thick initially, but settled in as a thin creamy layer that resonated for pretty much the rest of the drink. The carbonation rushed very fast towards the top. If you enlarge the photograph you'll notice that they're actually kind of blurred. They also formed their own twisting and bending column inside the brew. This resembled something like a waterspout.

Smell: This beer had an effervescent aroma of sweet maltiness. There actually was a ton of it. This was slightly unexpected. There was also a tad of floral notes that were able to poke through.

Taste: The label of the beer stated that this was brewed with two types hops as well as two malts. That really wasn't noticeable on my tongue. This beer was really sweet to the taste. Like a lot. Especially up front. This is a pilsner after all. So, I was looking forward to a little biscuit bit on the back, but I didn't get much. Everything seemed off-kilter in the balance department. Not much hop bite was present either.

Overall Rating: 

I like a good pilsner with a bit of bite in addition to its maltiness. I've always said that a balanced beer is a good beer. I like the sweetness of this, I just felt like the finish of this beer was kind of like when you have to leave a good movie early and miss the ending. I kept waiting for that bite, but it wasn't there.

Much of the Maibock

Over the past few weeks I've had chances to try two of the local maibocks. A while ago a growler full of Straub Maibock fell into my hands by chance. Over this past weekend I ordered a glass of Penn Brewery's Penndemonium Maibock while on one of my Blue Dust excursions.

I think that both brews were diverse in nature given the way the style of beer is. Maibocks are traditionally a spring beer, tend to be a bit darker than bocks  and have a hop character that's a bit more noticeable.

The two local ones I tried were at two ends of the spectrum, though. Straub's was really strong. The hop bitterness was intense as was the alcohol presence. It was a bit of a struggle. On the other hand, the Penndemonium was subtle and pleasant. There was a sweet maltiness that was present and mixed well with the above-average hop bitterness. It was just right.

One could make the argument that the Penndemonium might not fit under the Maibock category due to it's lighter hop content. Don't forget who's writing this, though. You know how I am when it comes to that. While I'm talking about Penn Brewery.

You might remember an older post about the new Summer Berry Weiss they brought out. I also found myself a bit of that. The wheat presence was very strong and provided that backbone that reminds me of a well-baked pie crust. Oh yea, and there was some tasty berries.

Monday Rant: Chunnel

I'm at the point of driving within Pittsburgh that I avoid I-376 and the Squirrel Hill Tunnel at all costs. Especially on weekend when one lane or more are closed due to renovations. Hell with that. If you live in the area that I do, you'll notice the backups that occur throughout Squirrel Hill and the Homestead areas. That's due to people using the back roads to get to the parkway.

You wouldn't think that any of this has anything to do with craft beer, but for me it does. When I go to East End Brewing in Larimer to get my growlers refilled it's usually on weekends and I go through Homestead and into Squirrel Hill to get there.

The backups due to the tunnel closures have been harming my ability to consume some fine ales from East End. I realize that this is a somewhat selfish rant, but I've had enough of PennDot's inconveniences in my life. The trek through Squirrel Hill was already loaded with abnormal traffic patterns. This just enhances all of it.

I miss my favorite local beer in Monkey Boy. I want to be able to try the new Lord Nordsberry Belgian Ale. I want all of this, but without the hassle of sitting in traffic. Yay Pittsburgh.

Which is Worthy?

There was a post in The Session beer blog series just a few months ago that had a subject matter of "One Beer to Rule Them All." Being a lazy piece of trash, I forgot about the monthly session posts for quite a few months over the last year. I'm the worst.

Beauty.

It took me forever to finally compile a review for yesterday of my beer that rules all other beers. I've never experienced anything like it before. No other beer has a color like it does. It also has a wonderful combo on the finish that's a little hoppy and biscuity. It's awesome. Perhaps one of the reasons I didn't partake in that edition of The Sessions because I didn't want to spoil the review I had been planning for months prior.

I know there are some craft beer fans out there that love IPA's and might even drool a bit more for a Double IPA. You could be like me and enjoy something a little more subtle or balanced in terms of malt and bitterness. Is it a chewy stout or porter that you crave when it comes to an awesome pint?

I'm curious to know. I know there are about three or four people that stop by these parts and leave a comment or two once a week at least. Maybe we can get a bit of debate going on this issue. I'd enjoy comparing my favorite to that of others.

Beer Review: Anchor Steam Beer

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 4.9 percent

Appearance: Anchor Steam Beer is a shiny and attractive copper. It has both pink and orange hues floating around in the body of the brew as well. I've never seen a color like this before. There are your typical amber and copper beers, but this (at least in my mind) is the measuring stick. I just want to keep staring at it. I also noticed a slight cloudiness within the body. It wasn't totally obscuring, but it seemed to be less hazy towards the bottom of the glass and got a bit more intense as I looked higher. The head is an awesome-looking cream white and was very lively. It ended up leaving a ton of thick and ample lacing. There was also a plethora of carbonation bubbles quickly approaching towards the head of the beer.

Smell: I took in a large helping of caramel aroma at first. It was strong, but intriguingly it didn't come off as sweet. There was also a hint of dark bread as well as some dark, but not-so-dark malt. There was also something fruity behind all of that. To me, it seemed close to something such as a pear. That was a nice compliment of sweetness.

Taste: This is where it all came together for me and this brew. This beer is interestingly sweet and malty up front, but tangy and bitter on the back. Everything compliments something else amazingly. The caramel and the dark bready grain bathed my tongue at the beginning of my first sip. At the midway point (which I rarely pick up in some beers) the sweetness of the pear peaked through albeit just a bit. The fruitiness in this was just enough to make this beer look kind of heavy, but play lightly. The finish and aftertaste ended up being the two most fascinating pieces in this beer's taste. There's a bitterness and a slight zest. The bitterness isn't your typical hop bitterness though. There's a slight biscuit taste from the malt that jumps in right before it goes down. Both bitter tastes stick around in the aftertaste.

Overall Rating: 

This beer is pretty much my standard. I don't think beer gets better than a glass of this does. That's just my thoughts. I sometimes lean towards Southern Tier's Pumking, but I always end up coming back to this one. I've waited to review this beer so long because I wanted it to transfer from my fingers through to the keyboard perfectly. The same goes for the photographing process. I love the color of this beer. I've never seen a color that compares to this one. The taste is also unlike any other beer out there. Just an extremely unique beer.

Maitre'D, This Stout is Too Dry

There are plenty of differences when it comes to British beer and American beer. I'm not here to knock one beer scene or the other. I enjoy what we have here in the States. I dream of one day noshing on some fish and chips and some awesome ales in England one day. While I'm at it, I'd like to do the same in Germany at some point. Except maybe with a giant pretzel.

I've joined in many discussions concerning Guinness over at Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog. The subject was brought up once again in a recent post. To shed some light on the issue, I should tell you that it's pretty evident in England that Guinness is viewed as we view Coors Light, Miller Lite etc over here (at least from my observations). Still, I've taken notice to a presence of Guinness over here in some of our best pubs. It's always been on tap at Blue Dust and Pipers Pub on Carson Street.

Then it occurred to me. The reason why it still might be even a semi-popular drink might be because our craft brewers here in America still haven't hit the big time int he Dry Irish Stout category. Think about it, Are there really that many? I can only come up with Brooklyn's Irish Stout. Not that I'm an expert on the Irish Stouts we have here, but that's about it.

Or maybe I'm just still tired.