A little town called Shiner Pt. 3

Rounding out the Shiner Family Reunion pack are the Shiner Blonde, Hefeweizen and a newcomer, the Prickly Pear Lager. I have had the Blonde and Hefeweizen before, but will be trying the seasonal Prickly Pear for the first time. I will start with the familiar ones.

First for the Blonde.

Appearance: Beer is a clear pale yellow or straw color. As you can tell from the picture, it is highly carbonated, like all the Shiner beers I have had so far. No head at all with this one, and patchy lacing.

Smell: Nothing stands out aroma wise. The best way I can describe it is smelling just like Miller Lite. An fyi, Miller Lite is my least favorite of any macro beer. If I must have a light macro beer, like Harry Caray used to say, "I'm a cub fan and a bud man."

Taste/Mouthfeel: As would be expected, this beer has a bubbly mouthfeel and is very light. Taste is just like the run of the mill macro beer mentioned above. Very thin and watery tasting with a dry dull finish. It is however, easy drinking due to the wateriness.

Overall: Not one that I would seek out again. I did offer some to Margaret and she said that she liked it. If this is any indication, Bud Light is her favorite go to beer. Shiner also makes a "light" version of this blonde. I made the mistake of getting some. I don't know how they made it lighter, but apparently to make it lighter, they added something that gave it an off putting smoky flavor. Not a fan of the light or the leaded version above.

I have since had a Nola Blonde and compared it to the Shiner version. The Nola beer had a much more complex flavor. The hops gave it a depth of flavor including some sweetness, that is lacking in the Shiner blonde. For a blonde fan, the Nola version would be a better bet.


Next, the Hefeweizen.

Appearance: Beer poured a cloudy, chalky looking yellow color. It looked just like the powdered drink Tang, from my youth. Beer was highly carbonated with a very thin white head. It did have some patchy lacing.

Smell: The main aroma I got from this one was one of yeast, like white bread.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Due to the high level of carbonation, beer had a medium, but bubbly mouthfeel. A citrusy flavor of primarily lemon with some orange was noted. Some mild citrus flavor lingered on the tongue.

Overall: Not a homerun, but this beer was pretty good. I liked the mild citrus notes and the fact that it was not very heavy, which helps out on hot summer days. Makes sense that a brewery in TX would have beers that are more on the refreshing side.

Last, but not least, on to the Prickly Pear Lager.

Appearance: Beer pours a dark golden clear amber color. This beer had the best head of any of the Shiner beers tasted, and had some good lacing present. As usual with these I have tried, it was very carbonated.

Smell: Lots of floral notes and aromas with this beer. Also had the smell of a grape flavored candy.

Taste/Mouthfeel: A broken record on the mouthfeel, but due to carbonation it was bubbly and light. Like the smell, the beer tasted like grape flavored candy. It had a sweet dry finish.

Overall: I am usually not a fan of fruit flavored beers. This one is similar in taste to Abita Brewery's Purple Haze, which I have never enjoyed. However this one differs in giving some tartness and a dry finish that gives the sweet candy like flavor some balance. It also had the best head and lacing of any of the Shiner beers I tried.

So now for a recap of the 6 Shiner beers that make up the Family Reunion 6 pack.

1. Shiner Bock - although it is their signature and iconic beer, I would give a thumbs down on it.
2. Shiner Blonde - too light and not very distinctive flavor. This would be my least favorite of the 6.
3. Shiner Hefeweizen - kind of a middle of the road grade. Far from my least favorite, but not likely to seek out over something I have not tried yet.
4. Shiner Prickly Pear - a pleasant surprise and nice addition to the family. As far as fruity beers go, this one is worth a try. 
5. Shiner Kosmos Reserve - I am glad to see I still enjoy this one. Nice complexity of flavor from a lager. My 2nd favorite of the bunch. 
6. Shiner Bohemian Black Lager - this one has been a go to beer for me for a couple of years. Nice malty flavor without being too heavy. My favorite from this brewery. 

So overall this brewery was 3 for 6. Unfortunately, two of the three I like are only part of this family reunion pack. These guys are not stupid and they know what they are doing. Thanks to Pop for doing the legwork and picking up this pack of beers for me. 

Cheers!

Best Irish gastropub ever

Margaret, the girls and I went to New Orleans this weekend to see some family. My family all still live in the New Orleans area, and her cousin lives there also. An added bonus this weekend included visits from Margaret's Aunts Carla and Bonnie.

Like any good foodie Margaret has a list of restaurants that she wants to try in town. Since I am now a beerie, I will check out the beer menu before deciding on where to dine. Due more to the beer than the cuisine, we dined at a place called the Irish House on St. Charles Avenue.

This place has a very impressive beer menu. Even better was the fact that their staff knew the beer I requested and brought me a couple of beauties from the Nola brewery. One I will review is the Hurricane Saison.

Th Hurricane is the first saison type beer that I have had. Beer advocate describes a saison as a sturdy farmhouse ale usually brewed in winter for summer consumption. It is a complex style noted for a fruity aroma and flavor.

Appearance: Beer has a dark golden almost orange color and is clear. Lots of bubbly carbonation with this beer. One finger of white head with good staying power. Patchy lacing was noticed while drinking.

Smell: Very floral aroma noted with this beer. Hops give this beer a sweet perfume like smell.

Taste/Moufeel: Sweet floral and fruity favors are present with this beer. The hops leave a sweet lingering flavor on the tongue. Carbonation gives this beer a bubbly but medium mouthfeel.

Overall: I really liked this beer. It has a very distinctive flavor with sweetness from the hops, but without the bitter finish that I would expect from a hoppy beer. It paired well with the fish and chips I ordered. I figured it was fitting to have some proper London pub food when the summer Olympics are in the UK.

For the first try with this kind of beer and first beer I have tried from the Nola brewery, i was very impressed with both. I am going to search out more of these kinds of beers. The night was made even better by spending it with good food, good beer, and good friends who happen to be family. For those who are not in on the title joke, whenever Margaret and I get together with her cousin Philip, whatever we are doing gets dubbed the best (insert thing or event) ever. Even though it is meant as an exaggeration, it usually does not disappoint, and it didn't.

Lastly, on a food note, the chef and owner of the Irish House, Matt Murphy will be appearing on the Food Network show Chopped on July 31. For those in the New Orleans area there will be a viewing party at the restaurant that night.

For more information on the Nola brewery, please see http://www.nolabrewing.com/

For more information on the Irish House, please see http://www.theirishhouseneworleans.com/


Cheers!

Too good not to share

This humorous cartoon is courtesy of the Shmaltz Brewing Company. 

http://www.shmaltzbrewing.com/


Cheers!

A little town called Shiner Pt. 2

Now that I have introduced the Spoetzel brewery and taken a taste of their signature beer, the Shiner Bock, it is now time to move on to the other 5 beers in the Family Reunion pack. Next up are my two favorites of the bunch, based on past experience, the Bohemian Black Lager and the Kosmos Reserve Lager.

First for the Black Lager.

Appearance: Beer pours a black cola color, with some dark brown tint when held up to the light. Very little tan head quickly disappears. There is some good carbonation, but it is sneaky. It did not appear to have much at the start, but I noticed more part of the way through. There is some good lacing present.

Smell: Took a little while for me to distinguish the aroma. When it warmed up a little, a burnt coffee smell was noticeable.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Carbonation gave the beer a bubbly, yet full mouthfeel. Taste is of roasted malt and some chocolate and burnt coffee. I also noted some smokiness. The beer finished with some lingering bitterness, however not overwhelming.

Overall: Prior to starting to review the 6 different beers of the Family Reunion pack, this was my favorite one. I am glad to see that I still feel that way. This beer has some of the things I like about dark beers, with the burnt coffee notes and malt flavor, without the heaviness of other dark beers.

Now for the Kosmos Reserve lager. I originally had this one as part of the family reunion pack a couple of years ago. It is named after the founder of the brewery, Kosmos Spoetzel. I was very disappointed to find that it only came in the family reunion pack. Pop confirmed that is still the case when he did the brewery tour earlier this month.

Appearance: Beer has a clear golden almost orange color when poured. It was highly carbonated, but no head to speak of. It did produce some average lacing.

Smell: At the start, noted a floral scent with some yeast and bready notes. As it warmed up, the fruity aroma of the hops became more present.

Taste/Mouthfeel: This one was like two different beers from start to finish. Initially noted the bubbly light mouthfeel with a crisp taste, but no real discernible characteristics. I did note some slight bitterness and dryness, but they were not long lasting. However as it warmed up, the fruity sweetness from the hops became more apparent.

Overall: As I thought I might, I enjoyed this beer. It is billed as a Pale American Lager, but due to the hop content, it is more complex than a typical lager. It was also probably the best example of a beer that's flavors changed throughout drinking that I have come across so far. It was very drinkable and suitable for the hot summer days going on now.

So far, so good. Of the three Shiner beers I have tried, I would recommend two of them. Three more to go to complete the journey.

Cheers!

A little town called Shiner Pt. 1

A couple of weeks ago, Margaret's grandparents went to visit some family in San Antonio, TX. On their way they stayed a weekend here with us. Pop, Margaret's grandfather mentioned that they were going to tour the Spoetzel brewery in Shiner and asked if he could bring me something back for my research. I mentioned that they have a particular favorite beer of mine that is only available in the specialty "family reunion" six pack. The beer is a lager called Kosmos Reserve, named after the founder of the brewery.

Being a military man, Pop gladly accepted the mission and completed it with flying colors, bringing me two 12 bottle family reunion packs. The beers included are:

1. Bock
2. Kosmos Reserve
3. Hefeweizen
4. Blonde
5. Prickly Pear Lager (Seasonal)
6. Bohemian Black Lager

Also pictured is the wooden nickel that is the currency used for the beer served on the brewery tour. 

I am pretty familiar with all the beers in the pack with the exception of the Prickly Pear seasonal one. Not sure how I feel about a cactus infused beer. The Black lager and the Kosmos reserve are among my go too beers. Unfortunately the Kosmos Reserve requires a purchase of the other beers. 

Over the next week or so, I will review the beers included. 

For a start, I took a shot with what I believe is the first microbrew I ever had years ago. Being in Louisiana, the flagship Shiner beer, the Bock was typically available in bars in the New Orleans area. It was a nice change of pace from the usual stuff that was on tap. In Louisiana, it has become synonymous with the brewery. I even heard someone recently refer to other beers from the brewery as Shiner Bocks, like Kleenex with tissues or Xerox with copies. 

Appearance: Beer was amber colored which turned to a ruby red when held up to the light. It had decent carbonation, but a very quickly dissipating tan head. Very little lacing was noted.

Smell: The main aroma I got from this beer was a yeasty one, like bread. 

Taste/Mouthfeel: Beer had a bubbly mouthfeel. Some malt flavor was noted. The most noticeable characteristic of the taste was the dry finish. It really dried my mouth out and left me parched. Like the smell, yeasty bread flavor was noted. 

Overall: This beer is not one that I will likely seek out again. It was a novelty when it was among the first readily available microbrews in New Orleans years ago, but in my opinion, it is far from even the best this brewery has to offer. However, I do look forward to trying the other 5 beers in the series. 

Cheers!

Beer + friends = good times

I am sure this equation is not news to anyone. I can remember when I was a kid and watching some cowboys on tv sitting around a campfire drinking some Milwaukee's Best (we lovingly referred to it as "the beast") and saying, "It don't get any better than this." Although I don't completely agree, it is hard to beat spending time with good friends drinking good beer. In case you were wondering, Milwaukee's Best would not qualify as good beer.

This weekend we traveled to New Orleans for the 8 and under regional swim meet. Both our girls swim on the Crawfish Aquatics team. We have a great group of friends and really enjoy the time together.

These meets are two days and that means two nights of hanging out in the hotel lobby with our friends and our old friend beer. As usual, I came prepared with a selection from my inventory. This included some selections from the Spoetzel Brewery in Shiner, TX, the Shmaltz Brewery in San Francisco and the Sierra Nevada brewery in California. Also represented was a small Colorado brewery that makes some beer called "the silver bullet." Maybe you have heard of it. That one is for you Mandy.

Unfortunately the only beer picture I got was of the Sierra Nevada Porter.

No full review this time. I did however notice the porter had a creamy chocolate taste with a nice tan head. I will have to pick up another and put some more notes on this one. I very much liked the taste I had. Try not to pay attention to the dork holding the iPad in the picture. Apparently I am not smart enough to know not to take a picture in front of a window. 

Although we did not accomplish our team goal, we had to settle for 2nd place, a good time was had by all. As usual, it was enhanced by some good beers. 

Whether it is the silver bullet, the beast or something else you like, go out and share some with friends. 

For information on the breweries mentioned, please see their websites. 

http://www.shiner.com/

http://www.shmaltzbrewing.com/

http://www.sierranevada.com/

Cheers!

The dog days of summer

With it being nearly the surface of the sun hot here in Louisiana these days, with humidity near 1,000%, my usual strategy of drinking darker beers is not a winning one. Therefore I figured it was time to try some beers on the lighter side. Not light beers per se, but ones that are more appropriate for the season. I have two such beers to review. First is the Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager and second is the Harpoon UFO (Un-filtered offering) Hefeweizen.

Sierra Nevada brewery of Chico, CA is one of the most recognizable brands in craft beer. Even non-beer drinkers have undoubtedly seen their label and their most popular beer, their Pale Ale. Their Summerfest Lager is a seasonal beer that I picked up as part of a mix and match six pack from my local Fresh Market store. I knew I had to try this one when my priest, Father Tom, who frequents the blog, asked me last Sunday if I had tried the Summerfest. Pure coincidence that I happened to have one in the fridge at the time.

Appearance: Beer poured a clear pale to golden yellow color and was highly carbonated. It had a thin white head. Not much lacing noted on the glass.

Smell: Nothing stood out from an aroma standpoint. Being a summer beer, I had pegged it to have some wheat and therefore citrus notes, but it did not.

Taste/Mouthfeel: No wheat taste as noted above. The best way I can describe it is being like a Heineken, but without the bite. I have also described Stella Artois this way. The beer had a light mouthfeel, as would be expected.

Overall: This one was appropriate for the season, but unremarkable. It was very drinkable, which is very important when the mercury reaches 100 here in south LA. For more information about this beer, please see http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/summerfest.html


The second beer , UFO Hefeweizen, was also part of a mix and match six pack, but from the World Market. For the uninitiated, a Hefeweizen is a beer that is brewed with a large portion of wheat in addition to the barley. Hefeweizen is the name in German for unfiltered wheat beers. Commonly available wheat beers include Blue Moon and Hoegarden. They are usually garnished with an orange slice to accent their typical citrus flavors.

Appearance: Cloudy golden color with nice carbonation. Beer poured a thin white head that dissipated rapidly. No real lacing was noted.

Smell: Not much in the way of wheat or yeast smell. The aroma was most like a pilsner.

Taste/Mouthfeel: This beer had more bite than the Summerfest, but did not have any citrus hoppy notes to speak of. It was not bitter, but not as smooth as the previous beer. It did have a light mouthfeel.

Overall: This one was kind of a disappointment. I had an idea of getting some wheat and citrus flavor with this one, but nothing there. Kind of watered down. It was however drinkable and light enough for summer. If I were to recommend a wheat beer from what I have tried so far, it would be the Great Northern Wheatfish. For more information on the UFO Hefeweizen, please see http://www.ufohefeweizen.com/

Although it is still hot here, I am not sweating it. Lots more seasonable beers to try. If they don't work, there is always fall and winter.

Cheers!