Beer #338 – Oktoberfest by Sprecher Brewing Company

Oktoberfest by Sprecher Brewing Company

Did you get it?  Well if you didn’t…you better.  Steel Panther just released their 2nd CD/MP3 album today, Balls Out.  Absolutely brilliant…this is what heavy guitar rock or metal is all about.  And talk about the lyrical themes here…mind blowing.  I raise a toast to Michael Starr, Satchel, Lexxi Foxxx, and Stix Zadinia…this beer is for you!!!  Panther rocks!!!

Beer #338 is Oktoberfest by Sprecher Brewing Company from Glendale, Wisconsin.  This is the last of my Beer Of The Month selections…at least for this month.  This is a Marzen or an Oktoberfest with an ABV of 6%.

It poured the color of amber with a minimal off-white head.  The nose was really light.  It consisted mainly of caramel and bread.  The taste followed suit with it being quite malty with a slightly sweet caramel flavor and a nice crust from the bread kind of taste.  There was a bit of a nutty, earthy thing going here also.  It had a mdeium body, was light on the carbonation and was quite smooth.  It would be quite easy to drink quite a few of these.

This was a pretty solid brew for its style…definitely above average.  I was never a big fan of this style, Marzen/Oktoberfests, but I think it they have really grown on me.  Nice tasting, light in alcohol content, very drinkable…what is there not to like?

Rating: B

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Beer #336 – Hefe Weiss by Sprecher Brewing Company

Well thanks to the snow yesterday…we have had no cable service (which means no TV, internet ,or phone) since last night. Comcast Triple Play, or whatever they call it, for the win…or FTW if you prefer.

I will be composing this on my HTC Trophy smartphone with the WordPress app. I don’t know how to attach a photo, so unless I get my cable service back, there will be none.

Beer #336 is Hefe Weiss by Sprecher Brewing Company from Glendale, Wisconsin. Their version of a Hefeweizen has an ABV of 4.2%.

Out comes my Mos Eisley Cantina glass for the pour. Come on….you know you love Star Wars and that song they played in the Cantina. I do too…it used to be my favorite movie before The Lord Of The Rings movies. This beer poured a very cloudy, almost murky, yellow or gold. The head was quite nice, white and creamy and silky smooth. Let’s dip our noses in…shall we? Smells like bread and is quite spiced with the scent of cloves. The spiciness of the cloves is really evident in the flavor. It also had a bit of a lemony zing to it. Throw in a nice bread flavor all throughout, and you have pretty tasty, with low alcohol, brew. The body was fairly light but not watery. The carbonation was on the low side. It was quite smooth and creamy. Very sessionable if that is your thing.

I liked this beer…it may have not been my favorite Hefeweizen, but it was really pleasant to drink and the best of the latest Beer Of The Month Clubs offering.

Rating: B

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Beer #281 – Bock Beer by Lakefront Brewery Inc

Bock Beer by Lakefront Brewery Inc

It is amazing what a difference a week makes. At this time last week, we were getting hammered by Hurricane Irene.  Today I decided to strap on the spandex shorts (with baggy shorts over them…no…I’m not one of those), don the bike helmet, fill up the CamelBak, and hit the local trails with my Salsa El Mariachi.  Six Mile Run Reservoir (funny thing is that there is no reservoir here) was in fine form other than a few blown down trees.  They are nothing a chainsaw can’t make short work of.  Cheers to the gents over at Halters Cycles (www.halterscycles.com) who organize trail maintenance to keep this awesome park open for biking and hiking.

After putting in 12.55 miles of fun tongue sticking out single track, it was time for beer #281, Bock Beer by Lakefront Brewery Inc from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Brewed in the style of a Bock, this beer has an ABV of 6.7%.

Into my Stella glass went this iced tea colored brew.  The head was amazing, huge and tan colored.  I dipped my nose in the glass and was greeted with lots of toasted caramel malts, slightly sweet.  There wasn’t any hop component that I could pick up on but I did get a slight boozy aroma.  The taste was much sweeter than the nose led me to believe.  The toasted caramel malts were the star here…and they were quite sweet.  There was also a dark fruit thing, like raisins, along with a nutty thing going on here.  The nutty thing came on at the finish and into the aftertaste.  This was quite smooth and creamy with low carbonation.  It had a medium body.

This was a solid beer.  If you like Bocks, give this one a try.

Rating: B

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Beer #240 – Red Vixen by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Red Vixen by Horny Goat Brewing Company

All good thing must come to an end.  OK…maybe not everything that comes to an end was good.  Take for instance this Horny Goat fest.  This was down right bad.  So lets finish this fest and move back on to real beer.

Beer #240 is Red Vixen by Horny Goat Brewing Company.  This Vienna Lager brewed once more in Wisconsin, has an ABV of 5.4%.

No red to be found at all in the appearance, nothing but amber and that amber was a bit on the dark side.  Very little head to speak of…so I won’t speak of it.  I should have known, another Horny Goat with next to nothing in the nose department.  OK, maybe just the slightest aroma of bread crust but I’m thinking I might have imagined that.  It had a watery, bread-like flavor and not a good bread at that.  It was much too thin in the body and had a bit of stinging carbonation.  Crap…

Nothing to see here folks…move along.  This was a horrible beer from a horrible craft brewer.  I am happy that the Horny Goat fest is finally over.  With an average somewhere between a D and an F, it would be wise to spend your money elsewhere.

Rating: F

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Bere #239 – Stacked Milk Stout by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Stacked Milk Stout by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Are you ready for the football?  Well you better be for they are back and the Cowboys will be ripping it up this year…ripping it up in a good or bad way is yet to be determined though.  Oh well..go Cowboys!

Beer #239 is another Horny Goat Brewing Company product, day 5 of the Horny Goat fest, from Wisconsin.  Stacked Milk Stout is a Milk Stout, who would have thunk it?  The ABV of this fine brew (really?) is 4%.

Well it looked like a stout, it was a deep dark brown or quite possibly black.  It also had the nicest head of any of the Horny Goat beers yet, a nice thick tan topped this Stacked Goat.  This was another Horny Goat with a very light aroma of roasted coffee…it also has a bit of a sweet caramel malt thing going on in the nose.  The sweet caramel malts show up first in the taste and then morph into a bit o’ coffee & chocolate.  It was quite thin in the body with little in the way of carbonation.  It was trying to be smooth and creamy but it didn’t quite get there.  No alcohol presence whatsoever and the lightness of this make it super easy to drink.

This was the best Horny Goat I have had so far (and that’s not saying much)…it actually reminded me of…get this…beer or a Milk Stout in this case.  Amazing, a craft brewer actually making something akin to beer.  I’m going to rate it higher than I probably should only because it was the best Horny Goat I have had, I’m feeling generous, I’m very happy today, and it is my blog after all and I am a King…KingBob that is.  So there…

Rating: C

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Beer #238 – Horny Blonde by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Horny Blonde by Horny Goat Brewing Company

We did it again…we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on an Imax screen…in 3D.  Absolutely fantastic and immerseive.  So now that I’m back and not at Hogwart’s…I guess I should continue my Horny Goat fest.

Beer #238 is Horny Blonde by Horny Goat Brewing Company.  Brewed in Wisconsin, like all of the other Horny Goat products, this Light Lager has an ABV of 5%.  I have to admit…I have always wanted a Horny Blonde…uh oh…did I really go there?  Forgive me, I just hope today’s Horny Goat is better than the other three.  It couldn’t get much worse, could it?

Horny Blonde had a good start appearance wise with a nice clear golden yellow color.  There were quite a lot of those lovely tiny bubbles (Don Ho?) rising to the top.  There was a just a tiny ring of a white head that actually left some lacing, not the best but it was noticeable.  Here was another Horny Goat product with next to nothing in the nose department…maybe just maybe a very, very faint smell of grains.  There was nothing else.  Those grains showed up in the taste along with a bit of honey and a lemon peel like flavor.  It had a light body and it wasn’t nearly as carbonated as it looked (love those tiny bubbles).

Another clunker from Horny Goat unless ‘lite’ beers are your thing.  I don’t understand the fascination with ‘lite’ beers.  Most aren’t worth the price of admission.  Oh well…only two more Horny Goat brews left in this fest, a Milk Stout and a Vienna Lager.  Stay thirsty my friends… (sorry for the blatant rip off of the Most Interesting Man In The World) !!!

Rating: D

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Beer #236 – Exposed by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Exposed by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Wow…100 degrees today in NJ with a heat index of 109. How did that song by Buster Poindexter go???  Hot…Hot…Hot.  So lets refresh ourselves with a beer, beer #236 and #3 in the Horny Brewing Company fest.  It can’t get any worse than the two previous…or can it?

Exposed by Horny Goat Brewing Company from Wisconsin is a Saison or a Farmhouse Ale.  The ABV clocks in right at 4.9%

Exposed had a cloudy pale yellow color with another tiny ring of a white head.  I’m already disappointed.  The nose was very faint with a grain like odor and an even fainter odor of grass.  It didn’t smell like any Saison I have ever had.  There was none of that spiciness or yeast like aromas.  There wasn’t any sweetness or fruitiness…just very faint odors, yep odors, of grains and grass.  I reluctantly took a sip, wheat with maybe, and my mind could have made this up, a touch of lemon.  All of it mingled in too a very bland tasting beer.  There was nothing here that even reminded me of a Saison.  After a few sips to try and find some redeeming qualities, which I found none, I downed it.  That wasn’t an issue because it was very watery and light bodied and had little in the way of carbonation.

Epic fail…the worst Horny Goat I have had yet.  Crap, crap and more crap.  If this was what craft beer was all about, I would stick to water.  I find my well water has more flavor than this did.  I have 3 more Horny Goat brews but with what I have experienced so far…I may have to make a run to the beer store to try something else.

Oh well…stay cool!  Until we meet again…

Rating: F

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Beer #235 – Hopped Up ‘N Horny by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Hopped Up 'N Horny by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Day #2 of the Horny Goat Brewing Company fest.  Lets hope this will be better than yesterdays.

Beer #235 is Hopped Up ‘N Horny, an American Pale Ale with an ABV 5.3%, is brewed in Wisconsin by Horny Goat Brewing Company.

Hopped Up ‘N Horny poured a clear orange amber with a small, and I mean small white head…more like a ring.  Lets take a sniff…shall we?  The nose was very light with a touch of malts…like bread actually.  The taste had a bit of a grapefruit flavor up front and then the malts took over, lightly of course, with some grain and bread flavors.  It had a slight bitterness overall.  There was a decent amount of carbonation in this medium bodied brew.

This was better than yesterdays Horny Goat…but not by much.  It was like I was drinking a light APA.  Nothing to see here folks…move along.

Rating: D

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Beer #234 – Belgian Style Wheat Beer by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Belgian Style Wheat Beer by Horny Goat Brewing Company

Beer #234 is Belgian Style Wheat Beer by Horny Goat Brewing Company.  Yep…Horny Goat Brewing Company…as soon as I saw the name of the brewer, I had to pick this up.  It came in a variety 12 pack so for the next few days it will be all about the Horny Goat.  This Witbier is brewed in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and has an ABV of 5.2%.

Into my tulip glass went this hazy golden orange brew.  Just look at that head…oh wait…there was none.  It had a pretty light aroma that reminded me of orange soda…and that was it.  Where was that familiar Belgian style yeasty goodness I’m used to?  Wow…very wheat-y in the taste department with an herb-y flavor near the back end.  I didn’t get any of the orange I smelled in the taste.  The mouthfeel was that of a medium bodied brew with a ton of carbonation that made it a bit on the fizzy side.

Below average but far from horrible.  I have had far better Witbiers…Allagash White FTW! (For The Win)…heck even Sunset Wheat by Leinenkugel is better than this.  Oh well…back to Potter Fest.

Rating: D

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Beer #222 – Lilja’s Sasquatch Stout by Pangaea Beer Company

Lilja's Sasquatch Stout by Pangaea Beer Company

Bigfoot has always fascinated me.  That fascination goes back to when I was a kid and saw the famous Patterson-Gimlin footage shot at Bluff Creek, California.  Was it a fake?  I don’t know but I do know it left a lasting impression on me.  So much so that every once in a while I find myself hunting for Sasquatch (love that word) but imagine my surprise when I found the big footed fellow not in the deep woods of New Jersey, but in the big aisles of my local Joe Canal’s…not that I actually found Bigfoot but a beer named after him.

That beer, #222, is Lilja’s Sasquatch Stout by Pangaea Beer Company.  Pangaea Beer Company hails from Wisconsin and they brew this American Stout with an ABV of 7%.

Just a word of caution to all the New York Yankee and Derek Jeter haters, from now until Mr. Jeter gets his 3000th hit, of which he is 2 away, I will be using my Yankees glass.  So into that said Yankee went this black brew.  The head of this was light brown and dense.  Lots of cool lacing was left on the glass from that head.  I took smell, it had a nice roasted malty aroma with dark chocolate and a faint sweet thing going on.  The dark chocolate flavors hit me first in the taste followed by a sweet almost fruity flavor, what fruit though was beyond me.  It finishes with just a slight coffee flavor that disappears very quickly.  It had low carbonation, was quite smooth and had a body midway between light and medium.  I was a bit disappointed as I was expecting something a bit more sticky and full bodied.

Overall a decent beer and a fine way to end the week.

Rating: B

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