Sunday, June 14, 2009

Weyerbacher Merry Monks: 22

Taste: 7 Finish: 8 Visual: 4 Aroma: 3
Total: 22

A nice golden and cloudy color. The aroma is lacking. The ale is really bright on the tongue. Lots of carbonation. In fact, too much. In the middle is some are some cloves and spice. That leads to orange and honey. The finish leaves of bit of hop bitterness and some tartness. Under it all is warming alcohol. Overall it's very close to a real belgian ale. It could use a bit more citrus and a little less carbonation. But it's very close to a Duvel.

Weyerbacher Insanity: 28

Taste: 10 Finish: 10 Visual: 4 Aroma: 4
Total: 28

For my first barley wine, I check out Weyerbacher Insanity. In fact, I had no idea it was a barley wine when I bought it. What a great surprise. It's a deep and cloudy mahogany color. It has a very sweet aroma. The flavor up front is very sweet. Lots of honey and brown sugar. Next is raisins and dates. Mid tongue through the finish the oak finishing comes through. Then a lot of warming alcohol (11.1%). A bit of butterscotch is left in the aftertaste. Even with its strength, I wanted to gulp it. A truly fantastic and complex flavor.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Pabst Blue Ribbon: 7

Taste: 2 Finish: 2 Visual: 1 Aroma: 1
Total: 7

Oddly, PBR is "hip" right now with the college crowd. It's cool to be so blue collar and drink PBR. But how does it taste? Not horrible. That's about the best I can say. It's very pale in color. The aroma is typical of American macro-brewed beer. The upfront taste is very sweet. Definitely a lot of corn. From there the boiled down hops are evident. If drunk very cold it is acceptable and it certainly quenches a thirst. But other than that, PBR is not worth the effort. If you want an American lager, I say go for Coors which I actually enjoy.