Entries Tagged 'Beer Tastings' ↓

Since it was Cinco De Mayo, I thought I would review one of Chris's recommendations to give you a different perspective. 

The only thing amber about this beer is the color and the slight hint of caramel as it goes down.  Here's the experience.  Looks good, smell - hmmm - no overtones of anything, smells like a Budweiser.  Taste is light, with a hint of caramel but you would never know it unless you are looking for it.  Aftertaste is strangely related to the aftertaste of a budweiser.  It's nasty to the point where I have to take another sip. 

I repeat this process and determine that this beer isn't getting any better.  It's kind of like nickle beer, the more you drink of it, the nastier it gets until you are drunk.  It is a Mexican beer so I didn't expect much, but sad to say I would prefer a beer with lime in it over this one. 

Like most Mexican beer, pair it with your typical Mexican foods. 

For the amount of beer Chris and I drink we sure are lazy when it comes to reviewing them.  Regardless, here's out latest review.

A few days ago, a friend and I went for sushi at Nara Grill.  I'm not a big fan of sushi, but hey they had beer and I was game for that.  I could have ordered an American beer, but the hostess recommended Asahi.  If there is one thing I believe, it's that the Japanese / Chinese / Thai understand food pairings better than anyone else.  The beer, Asahi, complimented my tuna roll perfectly.  It was light, low carbonation, and mellow enough to leave my palate clean from the soy / wasabi dipping the tuna had taken.  This is a mild beer and it matches Tuna, California, Salmon, and Tempura rolls well. 

To provide a reference, the beer was not bold enough to handle unagi well.  The heavy sauce on unagi required several sips to clean the palate. 

So, next time you are out having sushi and you want a beer that matches well, ask for Asahi.  You will be pleased.

Since we are slacking here at Hail the Ale! on our beer tastings, I
point you to ~~$aurabh~~ (no, that's not a typo) where they have a nice post of tastings for some nice beers, mostly Belgian ales.

OK, this
is a first: Sam Adams White Ale is so bad I couldn't finish my standard
two bottles I drink for tastings. How bad is it? Well, I think Alan at A Good Beer Blog was half right when he said: “Sam Adams White Beer is not so bad that it is foul - it is bad because it barely resembles a witte.”

To me, it was foul like I got hold of a bad brew. I think I've ruled
that out since this is the second time I've had this beer in about
three months and it was foul both times. Also, as Alan noted, this
doesn't have the fruity, spicy characteristics of a white ale, or witbier.

I had high hopes for this beer since I like just about every other Sam
Adams beer (you can keep the Cherry Wheat, thankyouverymuch). My
advice: don't waste your money.

Like my last tasting, this one was inspired by a previous post
and a trip to my local ABC (it doesn't have the best selection, but it
is close to home). This time, I pulled a six pack of Grolsch Blonde. I
couldn't find out for certain, but this looks like either an update to,
or the same as, the Grolsch Summer Blonde that was out a couple years
ago.

Vital Stats
Price: $6.99/sixer
Bottle size: 12 oz.
Type: Lager
Alcohol content: 5% (could be 4.7%)
Produced by: Grolsch
Imported from: Holland
Web site: http://www.grolsch.com/

My Thoughts
Wow, this is light! A very small hint of lager taste (no skunk!) and a
bit lemony, the Blonde goes down easy but without much to tempt the
pallete. This isn't a bad beer, but there is nothing to it that makes
me notice I'm drinking a beer. However, it may be nice and refreshing
on a hot, summer day.

Aftertaste
You would like this if you like light lagers or the (lack of) flavor of
the new low-carb beers.  I wouldn't recommend pairing this with
food since just about anything you eat will overpower the slight flavor.