Beer Thoughts 08-28-2014

Like a phoenix from the ashes, I arise again!

Yes, after a long, long, long hiatus, I've returned to the Grimdark Parking Lot.  I've no proper excuse for my lack of updates other than laziness, but, like my cat, nature abhors a vacuum. Although, to make it up, between my last post and this one, my mind has been putting a good deal of blog post ideas on the back burner so expect to see more posts than normal in the following weeks.

Alas, the muse has returned to me, so let's get drunk!

Full Sail Session Black Lager - Like most dark beers, I can smell that strong and familiar chocolate/mocha scent. It’s like opening a box of dark chocolates and taking a huge sniff . It’s surprisingly much smoother than I anticipated.  It still has a bit of bitterness to it but not enough to distract from the coffee-like taste.  The taste does linger on the tongue for quite a while though.

Redbridge Sorghum Beer - On the bottle, it says that this beer was made without wheat or barley and is gluten-free.  I still don’t know what a gluten is but apparently a lot of people aren’t fans as I see gluten-free products everywhere.  I don’t smell anything in particular when opened. Not sure if that’s a good sign or bad.  It has an odd taste. Not bad, mind you, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it reminds me of. Sort of fruity with a tart taste.  Overall, it goes down well though with no bad aftertaste.
(Note: This is the 230th beer I’ve tasted!)

Pedernales Classic Hefe-Weizen - This is Redbridge’s Bizarro double as it’s chockfull of wheat.  It has a bit of a bread-ish smell to it upon opening.  Like other hefeweizens, it has that dark wheaty taste, although, like some other wheat beers, it doesn‘t taste like liquid bread. It’s easy to drink but there is a slight bitterness when it hits your tongue.

Woodchuck Private Reserve Pink - This cider’s labeled pink not just because it looks cute but it’s for a good cause. Every purchase of this particular cider raises money for Dragonheart Vermont, a support group for cancer survivors.  Right away as I open it, it smells like I walked into an orchard.  Although a little tart at first, it’s quite smooth with a pleasant and sweet apple taste.


 

Dogfish Head Festina Peche - I’ll be honest, what first drew me to this beer was the artwork on the label: an angry, almost rabid-looking raccoon holding a peach like how Gollum holds the One Ring.

Aw, look at this little guy...

 I can smell a very slight hops scent but nothing that reminded me of peaches.  This one also has a tartness to it but not nearly enough of the sweetness that the Woodchuck had.  It definitely has a fruitiness to it but it’s hard to pinpoint the peach flavor.  Aside from the taste, it goes down easily with no aftertaste.

Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy - I can smell a strong citrus-y smell, particularly lemons.  It tastes a bit sour at first when it hits your tongue but it mellows out pretty quickly for a smooth drink. Perhaps a bit too quickly as after that sourness goes away, there’s not a whole lot of flavor to go out on.

Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - I’m going to have to give it to the Woodchuck Private Reserve Pink with Redbridge coming in at a close second.  The sweetness of the cider really stuck with me in a good way.  This is a drink I’ll be trying to get my hands on again.  Plus, unlike its awesome Fall Seasonal cousin, Woodchuck Pink is available year-round!