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I’m an enthusiast, but even I didn’t think I’d be THIS enthusiastic about the top beer on my Holiday Drinking List.
Here’s the background: I’m Dave, the suburban dad. I live in Chicagoland, and I said goodbye to a friend over the holidays. That friend? Dominick’s. The Super Market.
Their loss is our gain, as their Going Out Of Business Sale meant 30% off on a whole bunch of stuff. We stocked up and then some and I said “ALL THE BEERS” in all caps and the drinking commenced.
THEN…I went to a beer hall place, and they did a Flight Thing and I enjoyed that, too.
So it’s A LOT of BEER!
In true Metasip fashion, here all all of the ones I tried. However…we’re going to rank them in reverse order because that’s the way to ensure that you make it all the way to the bottom. Because you won’t believe what was Number One.
Horray, Beer!
Here goes nothing:
#15 – Smithwick’s: B-Part of the “Six Pack Sampler” from ye olde brew pub. I’ve had this before, and I’ll have it again, I’m sure. Nothing to write home about. Grade: B-.
(Let’s talk just a little bit about this “Six Pack Sampler.” I paid, I don’t know, ten bucks? For a flight of six beers. And each pour was 5 ounces. Math was never my strong suit…But upon further review, if a “B-” beer is the worst of the six, and you’re getting 2 1/2 bottles of premium stuff for ten bucks…this, my friends, is a deal.)
Let’s now talk about the biggest surprise of the batch:
#14: Blue Moon Gingerbread Spiced Ale – B-Why was this the biggest surprise? I thought, frankly, that it would be atrocious.
It wasn’t.
Dare I say it was at least drinkable – but, sadly, it can’t get a grade of “B.” It’s a B-, because…
Well, I was expecting “gingerbread” the whole time. I got some of the molasses and a little of the sweetness, but not much else by way of flavor. Incredibly average, but exceeded expectations.
5.5%ABV (according to YOBP*) and didn’t knock you down. Special Holiday Ale, whatever that means. Not insanely hoppy, folks. So that’s good. Give it a grade of “B.”
*Ye Olde Brew Pub.
BTW, it’s lower left in the photo of the six little glasses above.
#12: Samuel Adams Double Agent IPL – BI’m guessing that “IPL” means “India Pale Lager.”
I didn’t know what to expect…so this wasn’t unexpected in that it tasted like something I didn’t expect (thus making it expected, I guess, and making this a run-on sentence).
Should have called it “IPA.” Came as part of a Samuel Adams Multi-Pack. I give it a solid B.
On like a pot of neck bones.
Everything Bell’s does is pure hoppy goodness. This, too, but, in true “Pale Ale” fashion, not overly hoppy.
This also makes us pine for summer and think about Oberon. “B+” grade.
#10: Blue Moon Rounder Belgian-Style Pale – B+Not “Pale Ale.” Just…”Pale.”
Pales in comparison to their other stuff, though. I expected a little bit more – this one was tried AFTER one of their other brews was tried. (FORESHADOWING: it’s one we really really liked.)
Hoppy, with an extra dose of alcohol. 7.8% ABV. I only finished one-half of the 5 ounces. Good thing.
As is the beer – “Floral Belgian…brewed with Maine Barley.” Thanks to YOBP for the notes. Liked it.
Pictured above, second from left in the front.
Most of what New Belgium does is gonna be rock-solid. This, too, falls into that category. But it’s also served with a fair warning:
8.5% ABV. See above about “not finishing the whole thing.”
(It’s also part of the photo above of the sixer.)
Dr. McGillicuddy’s Mentholmint – A-Beautiful stuff. Not your father’s Peppermint Schnapps.
(Actually, this WAS my father’s Peppermint Schnapps. He loved this stuff. Cheers!)
This British ale has “wonderful warm flavors of malt and toffee.” And it does. Plus, it’s not TOO heavy – 5.2% ABV – and has a nice color to it. (The lightest of the six in the photo above – upper right corner.)
#6: Stone IPA – A-Boom! And from San Diego. Like hoppy? This is for you.
They’ve got a tremendous reputation out west. As well they should.
#5: Revolution A Little Crazy IPA – A-Chicago represents! If you’re in San Diego and you’re a Stone fan, you should probably hunt these Revolution folks down. Good stuff – this, though, is not as hoppy as Stone, or as other stuff from Revolution. “Belgian Pale Ale.” Right about right.
#4: Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA – A-Color me SHOCKED. This was quite quite good – just a hair short of an “A” grade. The “Latitude 48” refers to just where they get the hops from. Says so on the bottle, but check your map, too.
#3: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – AYou can’t expect that I, the one who at one point anointed this “BBKTM*,” would give this anything less than an A, did you?
(*Best Beer Known To Man.)
It is still one of my all-time faves. People who are really into craft beer will call me a sell-out. I don’t care. It’s a beaut.
Also, beer snobs point to Munster, Indiana as the HQ for all things hip, since that’s where Three Floyds operate. All three of them. The Floyds. (Above, it’s in the middle of the back row.)
This, according to YOBP, is 6.5% ABV. And yes, it out-ranked the BBKTM on this ranking. Maybe it was our mood.
But…it wasn’t the winner. The winner…well, let’s just say that, before you start judging books by their covers – like WE DID – remember that it’s what’s inside the bottle that counts.
Here goes…
#1: Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale – ASomething jumped out about this one. It was downright glorious – “red ale” to us means closer to “Belgian” or “pale.” But also enough hop, enough malt, and a little bit of that toffee…Without a doubt the “best in breed” on this holiday.
So, what was the point of all this?
And how did “His Favorite…Change The Way You Think About Craft Beer”?
More than just clickbait – the goal is to get you to think a little differently about what you buy, what you try, and what you think.
Happy drinking!
The French have figured a few things out: bread, wine, leisure, socialism…wait…beer?
Gotcha! This isn’t a discussion of whether or not France is a Socialist country, or whether Prime Minister Hollande has a wife who’s a model. This is actually a discussion of French BEER.
GOTCHA AGAIN! This French Beer is NOT from France. It’s from Illinois, which can be pronounced “ILL-uh-NWAH” to sound like it’s a French word.
Styled as a “French Style Country Ale” by the folks at Two Brothers in Warrenville, Illinois, USA (makers of the Resistance Ale, reviewed on these pages earlier this year), this beer has everything you always wanted in a beer, and less.
(Stealing from “Lite Beer from Miller,” wow, we’re on a roll today!)
Let’s review, then…
We say “and less” not just because it’s clever, but this beer is also not as bitter as an IPA, so it’s closer to a pale ale than anything you’d find.
“Food-friendly ale” is a pretty good description, too – that’s what the bottle says. Let’s go with that, then.
Again, not too bitter. Yes, have it with food – a great complement to just about anything with flavor. Hoppy. Pale, good color (caramel-ish, not too dark).
Our friends over at Beer Advocate call this a “Biere de Garde.” 5.9% ABV. 24 IBUs.
Is it me, or is EVERY micro-brew, craft-brew, and non-big-brewer-brew about $9 or $10 for a six-pack? That’s what this cost us.
It didn’t bowl us over, but it’s pretty darn okay, too. More of a product of what you’re having with it – what food – than anything. Good complement to something spicy.
Challenge: Spanish Red Wine with Italian Food.
Specifics of the challenge:
Well, I buy a decent amount of wine. (You should expect that, what with me running a wine, beer, and spirits review site. Right?)
Sometimes, I’ll pick something up specifically for a certain thing – a meal, or an event.
Other times, I grab something because the price is right…then I leave it in the cellar (which is a corner of my basement that’s dry and stays a pretty constant temperature all year) and wait for the right occasion.
Yesterday – the right occasion was lasagna that needed wine. And all I had were Spanish Reds. So this was the winner…but is it something you should check out?
To the review: Cruz de Piedra 2011 Garnacha.
I’ll admit to forgetting what I spent on this wine – only vaguely remembering that I likely picked it up for less than $10 somewhere. (So I’m writing the review before Googling this wine and figuring out the price.)
Garnacha is the exact same thing as Grenache. Wikipedia says so!
Seriously, in France, a good chunk of the Southern Rhone Wines are Grenache. In Calatayud, where this particular wine is from, half the wine is Garnacha.
First round of tasting, the nose was very fruity – but the wine itself wasn’t overly so. It DEFINITELY needed a “long decant” – second round (hours later) yielded more fruit on the palate, with some black pepper, too. Blackberry and black cherry flavors are the winners, yet, on the “semi-dry” to “dry” spectrum, put this one over on the dry side.
Interestingly – and not totally what this palate experienced – the website for the folks behind these wines, Axial Wines, says Cruz de Piedra is known for “authentic Garnacha fruit flavors.” So we won’t totally argue – but it was still rather dry to us.
I’m imagining this wine as an easy-peasy pour with any tapas.
Or lasagna, which isn’t tapas.
This is a 2011 Garnacha, and it’s from Calatayud – one of Spain’s “DOs” (Denominacion de Origen). (You can learn more about the wines of Spain here: Wines From Spain.)
Time to get to Googling…
Wine Searcher tells us we should expect to pay around $8. And, a check of the receipts shows us spending $6.97 at Costco. Score one for the value shopper!
This will not knock your socks off – but it won’t disappoint you, either. I think it’s a great value – if $7-$8 works for your “house red wine,” then you could do a lot worse.
What did I just drink? And is it worth $1.50?
Really, local supermarket chain? REALLY? You’re going to tempt me by taking something that is (1) in a champagne bottle, (2) has a pretty label, and (3) is in the discount bin marked down to $1.50…AND get me to like it?
Well, as the saying goes, “I’ll try anything once.”
The overriding question: Will I try it TWICE?
Let’s find out and review Delicia Whipped Flavor.
My expectations were these:
Something bubbly, since it comes in a champagne-style bottle.
Something that tastes like whipped cream, since the flavor is “whipped.”
And something that might be along the lines of a Smirnoff Ice, since…well, that’s about the only thing I can think of that’s sorta kinda like a whipped cream flavor and is also a “malt beverage.”
Like drinking Cool Whip.
I mean that with all sincerity – this is not like drinking whipped cream, the real kind. This is like drinking Cool Whip.
Bear in mind that, before I tried to be all healthy and stuff, I LOVED Cool Whip. It has that “this is bad for me so why don’t I try a little more on my pie” taste that I associate with over-indulging at the holiday dinner table.
Which brings us back to the taste of this particular beverage – it’s a strong, artificial, whipped cream-ish taste that pretty much hits you over the top with the following message: “Don’t have too much.”
Bottle says “Malt Beverage” (see photo above) and, in smaller letters, “Flavored Beer.” ABV is 5% so it’s more like the “Ice” beers that were popular for about fifteen seconds in the 90s.
I think I wasted my buck-fifty.
Now, the website does offer some…interesting cocktail recipes. Here’s one: “Female Spy Punch.” I am obviously not the target market for this drink.
My dollar-fifty is an investment for tax purposes, and for you, the reader. I can’t imagine a scenario where this stuff is worthwhile for you to purchase.