Virtual Happy Hour (Brews & Spirits, Pics & Reviews)

From Norway.



Cool blue can at the supermarket. That the highlight of the beer. Bland, boring and watery with no taste of malt, hops, grain or much of anything.

On the plus side wasn't bad as such just totally insipid. Prefer Bud 5/10.

Unranked on beer advocate only one moment from an Aussie who pretty much nails it.


Probably better on a hot day bbq but pointless over other better options for same price or cheaper.

NoDa Brewing Coco Loco Porter, brewed with Cocoa Nibs & Coconut. 89 Very Good 3.99/5 on Beer Advocate, 6.2% ABV. Solid porter with just the right hint of coconut. Certainly drinkable, but a bit disappointing because if the base was a better porter it would be spectacular.



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A patriotic brew from 13 Stripes for a Constitution Day - Peggy Stewart Porter:

"The Peggy Stewart was a merchant ship turned bonfire that is forever immortalized as the Annapolis Tea Party. On Oct 14, 1774 she made port in Annapolis Harbor with one ton of contraband tea amongst the cargo in her hulls. The timing couldn't have been worse as this was not the first ship to attempt to unload boycotted tea since the Boston Tea Party the year prior. With patriotic fervor in full swing, local leadership made the decision: the tea was to be burned along with the ship. On the night of the 19th, Capt Richard Jackson set fire to the Peggy Stewart "with all her sails and rigging standing and her colours flying." Although she sank beneath the waters of Annapolis Harbor, her story remains as a lasting reminder of the defiant spirit of our young Nation."

5.5% ABV, 35 IBU. Not enough to be rates on Beer Advocate. 3.74/5 on Untappd. It started of watery, but has gotten better as it's gone along. It's fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Listening to friend's reviews of other 13 Stripes brews I haven't tried from others, I almost wish they'd license the can designs out to someone else.

Wolters Pilsner. German.



Not bad not bad perfectly drinkable.

78 in Beer Advocate. Not to bad for generic macro lager. Strange compulsion to visit Warsaw or Paris. I'll go with BA's rating.

Founders Brewing Panther Cub. 9.2% ABV. 93=Outstanding (4.19/5) on Beer Advocate. I'm not a huge barrel aged beer fan, but this was certainly drinkable. Interested to see what barrel aged fans think of it.

"A robust porter, Panther Cub is aged in the finest bourbon barrels available along with a kiss of maple syrup and vanilla extract. The aroma of maple and vanilla notes combine with a surprisingly deep character to make this rare creature one to gaze upon fondly. Don’t let it fool you, this kitty has claws.

My tastes seem to lean towards generic Eurolager and APAs.

Down to the last 5/22 Baltikas. Kind of sick of it bought a bottle of Krombacher the other night and looking for that Lithuanian beer.

Krombacher and Wolters gonna be my go to I think.

Nectar of the Gods

Apricot and Mango hazy IPA 6.5%. Not to bad I quite like this one. 8.5 for me.

Helles Hefe Weizen by Tucher, founded 1672 in Nurmberg. 88 Very Good (3.94/5) on Beer Advocate, 5.2% ABV.

The usual hefe banana flavors is much more subtle than many and the flavor is very good. It's interesting in that its quite smooth up front and very dry at the end. Solid choice.

A friend noted the beer store that usually has fewer singles to pick from had about 13 different Pumpkin beers in their singles selection, while the other had one or two. So I Picked up eight I think are new to me and three good repeats between the two places.

Starting off the year I don't think I'm going to be able to remember enough to actually do a ranking of them all together like I did last season, but I'll put them into tiers (sorted by beer advocate rating within tiers). This is what I have going in to the year so far... and the Warlock I'm having now confirms it's place. I got another Night Owl and Pumking to verify there places.

Pumpkin Beer Tier List

My Favorites:
Southern Tier Warlock (90/4.03)

Solid Pumpkin Choice:
Elysian Great Pumpkin (92/4.15)
Southern Tier Pumking (92/4.13)
Great Divide Pumpkin Spice Yeti (89/4.11)
Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale (84/3.73)

Drinkable:
Elysian Dark O' The Moon (88/3.96)

Pass:
Elysian Punkuccino (92/4.17)
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (88/3.95)
Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale (70/3.03)

King Don's Pumpkin Ale by Catawba. First sip was very strong on the pumpkin spice, second was watery... and then after that it was very nice. Not hoppy, no overbearing alcohol taste, nice pumpkin flavor to complement the nice beer taste that appealed to this usually-a-hefe drinker. And one of the few pumpkins where drinking a few in a row wouldn't be over doing it flavor wise. Tentatively in the "my favorites" tier of the pumpkin beers.

86=Very Good, 3.86/4 on Beer Advocate. 5.5% ABV.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. The pumpkin taste up front is fine and you can't tell it's an 8% ABV... but the flavor and body all just kind of all die as it hits the back of your throat.

Beer Advocate gives it an 88=Very Good (3.92/5). Drinkable, but I wouldn't go out of my way to try it