Archive for November, 2009
Win a Kegerator
Bud Light Golden Wheat
Bud Light… Golden Wheat? Got to give everything its fair chance I guess. In a slight change of pace, instead of working off notes, which I typically due when writing up reviews, I am “live blogging” this tasting. Anyway, lets see what those crazy Belgians of A-B InBev have in store for us.
The beer pours a golden orange that is lightly hazy in my US pint glass. Lots of carbonation in the body that produces a large, slightly off-white head. The head fizzes like soda as it recedes, and it recedes to nothing in roughly a minute. For the brief time the head is in existence I get a pretty good whiff of lemon. Once the head disappears, so does the lemon aroma, and coriander makes itself known. The mouthfeel is light, but heavier then regular Bud Light. Definitely some coriander in the taste, and a smattering of lemon-citrus. I do not find either of the flavors artificial or off putting, but they are definitely light in nature. They do a good job of masking Bud Light’s typical crappy taste however, so that is nice. As the beer warms the coriander takes on a larger presence in the nose, and becomes a bit harsher in the taste. Definitely a beer to drink regular refrigerator cold, i.e. no beer fridge for this six pack!
Overall, it is not as bad as I was expecting it would be. I was expecting more of an artificial flavoring to the beer, similar in nature to their Bud Light Lime product (I had a sample of that stuff, and really do not look forward to doing a full review of the beer). I will also give points for sediment in the bottle because, again, I did not expect such a thing from AB-InBev, and the fact the label actually mentions “Unfiltered Wheat Beer Will Settle Roll Gently to Mix”. If I was stuck choosing between Bud Light and Bud Light Golden Wheat, I would probably be the designated driver for the night… but if I was forced to choose between the two… I would go with the Golden Wheat. At $8 for a six pack however, I would spend the extra buck or two to pick up a better craft brewed wheat beer, then pick this up again. Its not like AB-InBev is hurting or anything.
NB: I also tried this beer in a Weizen glass, though I doubt the typical serving container will be a Weizen glass (more likely a plastic cup). I did not notice any real taste difference between the Weizen and the US pint glass.
Weissenohe Monk’s Fest
Oktoberfest is long over with, hell so is October, but one more Oktoberfest 2009 review for the Sevenpack readers out there.
The Weissenohe had a white head made of tight, tiny bubbles. These tiny bubbles also coursed through the beer’s amber copper body. The nose had a very nice aroma of toasted bread, light malt, and a fading essence of high fiber cereal. The taste was, unsurprisingly, very malty. Tastes of high fiber cereal, pumpernickel bread, and crackers all pervaded my mouth. The beer had a light to medium mouthfeel and was smooth the whole way through.
Though my description of the beer is rather lacking, I will say this was the best of the Oktoberfest 2009 beers I had. I found the beer tasty and fulfilling, but not so much that I could not have a couple more. A great beer overall.
Troëgs Java Head
I have not had a Troëgs beer in quite some time, so when I saw this Java Head at Half Time I decided to pick it up. Troëgs has impressed in the past so lets see if they keep up the good beer record.
Poured into a pint glass the beer is black in color, even when held up to a light. A light tan head consisting of a tight packing of small bubbles graced the top of the beer for a good five minutes. A lightly roasted coffee aroma pleasantly greeted my nose. In the mouth the coffee went a lot bigger, when compared to the aroma. Rich Columbian black coffee came to mind. The beer finished bitter and a bit course, but this just enhanced the coffee essence of the beer.
Though rather one-dimensional in flavor, mixed in with the coffee was some flavor of dark malt, I found the beer very good. Smooth and medium on the tongue, I had a hard time putting the beer down long enough to scribble some notes. Another good showing by Troëgs.
Harpoon UFO Pale Ale
Harpoon recently added a Pale Ale to their UFO line of beers. The past couple of new Harpoon beers have missed their mark with me, so lets see if this UFO Pale Ale serves as redemption.
The beer poured a hazy golden-orange in my pint glass. On close inspection I could see the haze producing small debris just hanging in the beer’s body. The white head stayed around a couple minutes, but went very thin afterwards. There were only sparsely spaced columns of bubbles along the glass walls. The nose was a pleasant mix of hop with grass, lemon, and citrus emanating from the beer. In the mouth the beer was light on the tongue, but not in the taste. On the tip of the tongue the beer began with a taste of lemon grass. Progressing mid-tongue the beer displayed a pale malt flavoring. The pale malt provided a good counter balance to the beer’s bitter-lemon finish. Though strong in lemon, the lemon never seemed artificial, like with the Crystal Wheat, and was an enjoyable hoppy-lemon flavor. This lemon also provided the beer’s aftertaste, which was lemon and slightly grassy in flavor.
Overall I found the beer pretty good. It was light and crisp, but provided a fare amount of flavor. I found the lemon a bit much towards the end of the session, but that is my only knock against the beer.
