Smuttynose Winter Ale

Passing on the typical gimmicks of winter ales (such as super high alcohol content and exotic spicing), the always steady Smuttynose gives us a different kind of cold weather brew. The use of a Trappist ale yeast, along with predominantly fruity notes, makes this beer somewhat similar to a Belgian double. Yet it's not quite a Belgian double. It might be closer to a brown ale, actually. And to be honest, I think I'd take a brown ale over a Belgian double at least six days a week. Either way, this is a damn fine beer. It's less in-your-face than a lot of winter ales (sometimes with winter beers, "warming" just means it'll knock you out if you drink more than one). The flavors are quite nice: lots of dark fruit and brown bread notes with some caramel, and it's got a good solid Crystal hop bitterness to even things out. So it's a little sweet, but by no means a lot sweet. And at 5.83 ABV, this is way more sessionable than your typical winter ale. It's great to drink one or two with dinner on a cold night. Although I generally consider myself a huge fan of winter ales, there are a lot of them that I don't like. This one, while not anything that's going to wow the palate, is wicked smooth and enjoyable to the last drop. I'd give it a B+.

http://smuttynose.com/

Sixpoint The Crisp

I generally don't go for blondes. I'm more a full-bodied brunette sort of guy. Give me a stout, porter, or even a brown ale, and I'm a happy camper. But there are times when a man does desire a crisp, golden beer that's not bland corporate swill. You rarely hear about craft breweries making blonde lagers. I guess a lot of them figure that beer snobs like me don't bother with that sort of thing. But really, we do. It just has to be delicious. If you've ever had a Stoudt's Gold, you understand that plain old lagers don't have to be plain old lagers. I put Sixpoint's The Crisp in the same category. Barring imports, it's the best blonde beer I've ever had. A beer like this goes against a lot of trends in craft brewing. You can't just hop it to death or fill it with exotic ingredients and call it a day. You actually have to know how to make a great-tasting beer! Sixpoint totally nailed this one. If I had to guess, it's their interpretation of an old world German pilsner. Living up to its name, it's a crisp lager with a nice mix of grassy and herbal hops. It's just a tad bitter and lightly malty, with biscuit notes mixing nicely with lemon and mint as it finishes. It's nothing fancy, but for the style it's perfectly executed and beautifully balanced. There are times when I'm drinking beer with a meal that I've got to have something crisp and refreshing in my glass. And The Crisp really hits the spot on those occasions. It's probably a notch too elevated to qualify as a "lawnmower" beer, but it's definitely along those same lines. It quenches the thirst and goes down smooth. Indeed: great beers don't always have to be sophisticated beers. This one is simple but extraordinary, and a brilliant twist on a classic style. Highest recommendation!

http://sixpoint.com/

Flying Dog K-9 Winter Ale

It's the dead of winter, which means it's already spring on the beer calendar. The winter warmers have already started disappearing from the shelves. So I'm only going to review a couple winter warmers this year. And I want to start with one I've enjoyed tremendously. If you believe all the reviews, then Flying Dog's K-9 Winter Ale isn't anything special. It has a pretty bad score on Beer Advocate (76), and even amongst winter ales it's not particularly highly regarded. Well, I'm not saying that all the reviews are wrong. I'm just saying that I don't at all agree. I'm a huge fan of winter warmers, and K-9 (formerly known as K-9 Cruiser) is one of the very best I've had. While not exactly a daring concoction, K-9 is very tasty and pretty much a classic winter warmer. It's sweet and malty, with a touch of bittering hops and the usual roasty, nutty notes you'd expect from a darker beer. It actually has a bit of an English Pale Ale feel to it, which works for me since I could drink Bass any day of the year. And of course, this ale is quite warming at 7.4 percent ABV. The recipe changes slightly every year, and perhaps this year's batch is an improved product. All I know is that I really love this beer. All those caramel malts hit me in just the right way, and I always enjoy an English ale yeast. I'm not saying this is one of Flying Dog's best beers, but it sure isn't one of their worst. It's perfect for a cold night (we've had a lot of those lately!), yet it's not as "heavy" as some other winter beers. If you're a winter ale fan like me, ignore the snobs and give this one a chance!

http://flyingdogales.com/

Beer of the Year 2012

As we rapidly near the end of 2012, it is again time for me to declare a Beer of the Year. This year I've decided to also award winners by style category. So without any further ado, let's get to it! 

Best Stout- Founders Breakfast Stout
Best Imperial Stout- Victory Storm King
Best Barleywine- Troegs Flying Mouflan 
Best American Porter- Stone Smoked Porter
Best Scotch Ale- Founders Dirty Bastard
Best American Pale Ale- Founders 
Best I.P.A.- Dogfish Head 120 Minute I.P.A.
Best Pale Lager- Uinta Skipping Stone
Best Helles Lager- Stoudt's Gold 
Best Dark Lager- Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel
Best Amber Lager- Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Best Fruit Beer- Dark Horse Raspberry Ale
Best English Ale- Fuller's London Pride
Best Summer Seasonal- Anderson Valley Summer Solstice
Best Winter Seasonal- Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
Best Fall Seasonal- Flying Dog The Fear Imperial Pumpkin Ale 
Best Oktoberfest- DuClaw Mad Bishop
Best Christmas Beer- Troegs Mad Elf 
Best Pilsner- Great Lakes The Wright Pils
Best Brown Ale- Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar
Best Brew Pub- Stoudt's (Adamstown, PA)
Best Brewery- Founders

Beer of the Year: Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale
Based on all the reviews, this is a beer that people either love or completely hate. And I love it! It is what you'd expect it to be - an ale made with applewood-smoked bacon, smoked and hickory malts, and maple syrup. Essentially it's a cross between a brown ale and a rauchbier - two of my favorite beer styles. It's super smoky and a tad sweet, and I had no objection to paying $16 for a bottle. In fact, I bought three. Some people are just turned off by smoked beer, but I've always been a fan. And come on! Everything is better with bacon! A Rogue beer has won this award two years in a row (last year's honoree was Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale). Will it happen again next year? We shall see!

Samuel Adams Merry Mischief

I love Samuel Adams beer! Their Boston Lager is often the only decent beer you can get when you go out to eat, and their small batch "experimental" brews always intrigue me. One good example of the latter is Merry Mischief, a gingerbread stout now available in bomber size bottles. That's right, I said gingerbread stout! How sweet is that! For sure, this is far from another run-of-the-mill Christmas ale. It's quite a daring concoction, combining the dark malts of a stout with traditional holiday spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. I'm not sure it's a complete success, but I do appreciate the attempt to think outside the Christmas beer box. For a stout, it's a little thin. And the roasty quality you'd expect from a dark beer is pretty much obliterated by all that spice. Still, as a malt-head I have to be holding my thumbs up for the way this beer basks in its own sweetness. I've seen a lot of reviews comparing it to a pumpkin ale, and I totally get that. This doesn't really taste like a stout, nor does it taste like a Christmas ale. But if you're going to get experimental with a beer, rule #1 is that it should at least taste good. And I must confess, I had no trouble finishing my bomber of Merry Mischief. I liked all that sweet, intense spice, and mixed with those dark malts, this beer went a little overboard in an entirely pleasurable way. It reminds me of those times I went crazy and ate too many Christmas cookies (Ah, memories...of two weeks ago). As is the case with all of those Sam Adams small batch offerings, the alcohol content is, uh, "hearty". I'm not saying you should buy four or five of these, but this is one of those beers that everyone's got to try once. Have a friend or two over, crank up the Christmas music, and indulge. Surely some mischief is in order this holiday season!

Stone Vertical Epic Ale 11.11.11

Like a good little boy, I waited. I sat on my bomber of Stone Vertical Epic for an entire year, just like I was supposed to. And as soon as the beer "matured" on 12/12/12, I found myself drinking it that very night. If I'd been smart, I would have bought two bottles last year and tried one of them right away. Then I'd have some kind of point of comparison. Alas, I can only tell you that after a year in the cellar, Vertical Epic 11.11.11 was pretty darn fantastic.

What happens if you add Anaheim chillies from New Mexico plus whole cinnamon sticks to an amber ale fermented with Belgian Flanders Golden Ale yeast? You get a full-flavored but not overly hoppy variant on a "big" Belgian, replete with a substantial kick of alcohol (9 percent ABV!). Sometimes I find Belgian ales a little too sweet, so I was definitely intrigued by the inclusion of chili peppers. While Anaheim chillies are pretty mild in terms of heat, they do add a supremely flavorful dimension to VE 11. Their spice, along with the cinnamon, really "completes" this beer. As is typical of a Belgian ale, notes of banana and clove mix in with a bready malt taste. And while the hops are far from overdone, there's just enough of them to bring balance to this wonderfully smooth ale. I really enjoyed this beer. It's spicy, but not "hot". It's malty, but balanced. It's boozy, yet easy to drink. Was it worth waiting a year? Well, let me put it this way: when I pick up the Stone Vertical Epic 12.12.12, I'm drinking that shit right away! Life is too short to deny yourself fine beer, and it doesn't get any finer than Stone.

www.stonebrew.com

Shiner Holiday Cheer

Ahhh, Christmas beers. They're so appealing in theory, but how many of them do you really like? Troegs Mad Elf and Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve are my go-to holiday beers, and I've enjoyed both this Christmas season. They remain the gold standard. But I may have found another Christmas beer that I like quite a bit. Say what you will about Shiner beer. But nobody can deny it's an American icon. And from what I've experienced, the Spoetzl Brewery makes pretty decent beers. Shiner Holiday Cheer may be my favorite of their offerings. It's not your typical Christmas beer. It's an old school Bavarian Dunkelweizen with peaches and pecans and a hint of holiday spice. The idea of taking a dark wheat beer and making it taste a little like fruitcake may seem quite odd. But truthfully, it works. This beer is fruity and malt-forward, and with its light carbonation it almost has a peach Kool-Aid type taste. Hop presence is very mild, which makes this beer potentially appealing to individuals who don't ordinarily go for craft beer. It's kind of light-bodied for a winter beer, but its maltiness is pretty classic for the season. And with its fruity and nutty notes, Holiday Cheer is "different" in a genuinely good way. The cliche about "drinkability" certainly applies, but I don't think that's a bad thing at all. It's not like all your friends are beer snobs. If you're having people over for the holidays, this would be a nice beer to have on hand to share with friends and family. And while my wife and I pride ourselves on not having people over, this is one beer I'll continue to buy every Christmas season. Very nice!

Elysian Brewing Company Blight Pumpkin Ale

Elysian's 12 Beers of the Apocalypse series answers the simple question, "If the world were coming to an end, what beer would you brew?" Replete with amazing Charles Burns artwork, these apocalyptic beers are just freaking cool. If the world's coming to an end, let's not settle for ordinary beer! I had the Torrent Pale Beet Bock last weekend, and it wasn't bad. Even better was yesterday's bomber of Blight Pumpkin Ale. Elysian knows a thing or two about brewing pumpkin ales, and clearly Blight was not going to be just another variation on a typical style. Brewed with pumpkins, brown sugar, and Vietnamese cinnamon, Blight is as in-your-face as an apocalyptic beer should be. Do you love cinnamon? I mean, do you love cinnamon to the point where you'd consider marrying it? If not, just forget about this beer. Blight is a full-on assault of cinnamon. It hits you hard with cinnamon, then pounds you with more cinnamon. But while the cinnamon does dominate, it doesn't totally obliterate the taste of pumpkin and sweet malts. Alcohol is certainly there (7.4 percent ABV), but it's well-hidden underneath all that intense spice. This is a classic fall dessert beer with a little something extra. If you like pumpkin pie and gingerbread, this might be a beer that you could get into. I probably wouldn't drink it all the time. But for a special occasion ale, Blight really hits the spot. It's bold, but it totally works. "Too much" cinnamon? Come on! We're anticipating an apocalypse! We don't have time for moderation! I wish I'd gotten two of these.

http://www.elysianbrewing.com

Schlafly Oktoberfest

Late this past summer, as I usually do, I bought a number of different Oktoberfests (aka Marzens) for the fall. It's not that they were bad. But it just seemed like quite a few of them were at best slightly above average. Luckily I did find one new Oktoberfest that really hit the spot. Schlafly Oktoberfest is very much a traditional Bavarian Marzen. It's nothing earth-shattering, but it's smooth and malty like a good Oktoberfest should be. Overall, notes of sweet malts (especially caramel) prevail, along with the classic bready/nutty flavors you expect from this style of lager. If there's an extra edge this particular version of the Oktoberfest has on some of its competitors, it would be that the hops (Tettnang, Mittelfruh, Marynka) are not just an afterthought. While far from a "hoppy" Marzen, this one's got a balancing bitterness that works very nicely with all those sweet malts. Here we have a perfect example of a brewer not messing with a winning formula. Maybe this won't send you into a state of bliss like some of the A-level German Marzens, but all in all this is one of the better American versions of the style that I've come across. We're running out of time to enjoy Oktoberfests (man, it's almost November!). Whether you're tackling a huge plate of brats or just chilling on the couch watching football, this beer will enhance your enjoyment of the season.

http://schlafly.com/

Anderson Valley Brewing Company Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

This is the third beer I've tried from Anderson Valley, and so far they're batting .1000. Stouts, like porters, often end up tasting generic to me. I've had so many craft-brewed stouts that essentially tasted like poor man's Guinness. But Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout is one of those rare exceptional stouts like Founders Breakfast Stout and New Holland's The Poet. Of course it's full-bodied and creamy like any good oatmeal stout should be. But what sets it apart is its incredible complexity of flavor. It's got the usual notes of mocha and roasted malt, but there's also a slight sweetness and a pronounced hop presence that's often missing from this type of beer. As I drink, this is a stout that delights me in many different ways. It's definitely got a flavor to savor. And even with all of that complexity, it's smooth and completely refreshing. Easily one of the top five stouts I've ever tasted. I think I've figured out what I need to do: if I find any beer with Anderson Valley's name on it, buy it!

http://avbc.com

Yards Brewing Company General Washington's Tavern Porter

In my effort to provide continuing coverage of the Yards Ales of the Revolution series, I now turn my attention to General Washington's Tavern Porter. I previously posted on Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale, and for my money General Washington's Tavern Porter is even better. I am a firm believer that dark beer, with its many flavonoids, has a performance-enhancing effect when consumed in appropriate quantities. It's no wonder, then, that George Washington's troops were ultimately victorious if this is the stuff they were drinking! Washington was a huge fan of Philadelphia style porters, and this particular porter is based on his original recipe. I myself am a great lover of porters, but if I had a gripe with the style it would be that a lot of them are pretty generic. But here we have a porter with some character. It brings all kinds of flavor: nutty, roasty, sweet, and just a little bitter- with distinct notes of molasses, coffee, milk chocolate, and even some dark fruit. It has the "classic" components of an English porter, but there is lots more going on taste-wise compared to your run-of-the-mill porter. I love how the sweetness and hop bitterness complement the usual roasty porter profile, and at 7 percent ABV this bad boy will quickly provide relief after your very own battles of the day. And its ultra-creamy mouthfeel is something that all brewers of porter would be wise to emulate. If not quite on the world-class level of the porters produced by breweries such as Stone and Founders, this is nonetheless one of the finest porters on the craft beer market. Like Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale, it is far more than a mere novelty beer. Drink it, and you too shall be victorious.

http://www.yardsbrewing.com/

Uinta Brewing Punk’n Harvest Ale

I had originally planned to pass on the pumpkin ales this fall. Last year I bought a few different kinds. Some were good, and a few were not so good. I figured that for fall 2012, I’d mostly focus on the Oktoberfests. But when I went to stock up on cool weather seasonals a few weeks back, I did pick up a six-pack of Uinta Punk’n. I thought, “What the heck? I like Uinta beers!” And I’m glad I did, because this ale really hits the spot. It’s not the “boldest” pumpkin ale you’ll ever taste, but perhaps that’s what I like about it. It’s not trying to kick you in the ass. It’s not competing with the imperial pumpkin ales out there. Instead it’s a classic, drinkable pumpkin ale with a malty backbone and light spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, and honey). It’s got just enough of the seasonal spice to satisfy my craving for the “taste of fall”. Hop-heads will be unimpressed. At just ten IBUs and only four percent alcohol, this might make a great “gateway” beer for anyone who’s new to craft brews. There’s something about the mouthfeel of all Uinta beers that I really like. Maybe it’s in the water. Maybe it’s the freshness or the high quality of the product. Either way, this brewery can do no wrong in my opinion. Punk’n is one of the tastiest pumpkin ales I’ve tried in recent years, and in the future it will be a staple of my fall drinking schedule. The irony is that all of those Oktoberfests I bought were pretty mediocre. For fall 2012 so far, Punk’n is my big winner!

http://www.uintabrewing.com/

DuClaw Brewing Company Euforia Toffee Nut Brown Ale

The name says it all, doesn't it? Toffee nut brown ale. Doesn't the mere sound of it make your mouth water? Well it sure makes my mouth water. Given that I do a large portion of my beer shopping in Maryland, I often get the chance to sample the wares of DuClaw. I haven't really loved any of their beers - until now. Euforia is a beer that was made for maltheads like me. It uses five varieties of malts (pale, crystal, carawheat, chocolate and rye) to achieve that perfect flavor combination of sweet and roasty. It's a simple beer, really, but boy does it go down smooth! At only 22 IBUs, it's not in any way aggressively hopped. It is exactly what its name suggests. You taste the toffee, you taste the nuttiness. After a couple of months of drinking mainly summer seasonals, I was looking for something a little different. I was perusing my beer stockpile and noticed I still had a six-pack of Euforia from a late spring shopping trip. As soon as I drank one, I kind of wished I had discovered the glories of Euforia sooner! But on the positive side, it was nice knowing that I had five more bottles of the stuff to drink! The cliche about this kind of beer is that it's "drinkable". But sometimes cliches are unavoidable. Drinkable is the word! I just love that mix of caramel sweetness and toasted grain. This is the kind of beer I could drink any day of the year. It goes well with food, and I can enjoy it equally without food. In general, I think brown ales are underrated amongst beer snobs. Unless you're talking about something like an Abita Turbodog, nobody seems to be waving the banner for brown ales. Perhaps I could take up the fight? We shall see! Euforia is one of the best browns out there!

www.duclaw.com

Great Lakes The Wright Pils

You may have noticed that blog updates here at WFB have been kind of infrequent in recent months. There are probably a number of reasons for this, but a big point is that I don't really have that many beers to write about at the moment. Most of the beers I'm enjoying these days are ones I've already reviewed. And although I've tried quite a few new beers this summer, a lot of them have been really average. But I can always count on Great Lakes. This summer they introduced a new seasonal, The Wright Pils. And, boy, is it ever good! It's precisely what I hoped it would be: a slightly Americanized version of a classic Czech syle pilsner. It's clean and crisp-tasting with a nice dry finish. The flavor is floral hoppy with some spicy bite, balanced by sweet, grainy malts. Hallertau hops replicate the character of German noble hops, while Czech Saaz hops bring an earthy quality to this drinkable but full-flavored lager. For this kind of beer, I usually favor an American craft version over an "authentic" import due to issues of freshness. With a Great Lakes beer, you know it's fresh because they've got the date right there on the bottle. If my gold standard for an American pils is the Victory Prima Pils or the Stoudt's Pils, this one is every bit in the same league. I don't think I've ever had a Great Lakes beer that I didn't think was absolutely great. And The Wright Pils is no different. It's thirst-quenching and delicious at the same time. You can knock one back on a hot day, but you can just as easily enjoy it with a fine meal. It's just a freaking fantastic beer. Get some before it's gone - we've still got half a summer to get through!

greatlakesbrewing.com

Uinta Skipping Stone Summer Lager

So you always hear how American lager beers aren’t what they used to be ever since all the big corporate breweries conspired to water down their product sometime in the 1970s. I don’t know if this is true or just an urban legend. I wasn’t even born until the ‘70s. I don’t know what a Bud or a Coors tasted like in 1968. But you hear stories about how they were actually good beers back then. Well, I’m going to venture a guess that if American pale lagers really were better back in the day, they may have tasted something like a Uinta Skipping Stone. Although technically a summer beer, this is a lager that most people would drink year-round. It’s an everyman beer - clean and thirst-quenching and completely without pretension. But compared to corporate suds, it’s just better-tasting. It’s actually got flavor! You know how Schlitz advertises a “kiss of the hops”? This stuff has actually got it. At only 22 IBUs, you might expect piss water. But there’s a nice grassy hop bite that does not go unnoticed, along with a little malt sweetness and a crisp lemony finish. And I dig the foamy head! How do I explain it? It’s like your typical beer, except it tastes more, uh, “beery”. All in all, this is top-notch swill. This is up there with Victory Throwback when it comes to micro-brew versions of macro lagers. Yeah, I know you can almost buy a case of Miller High Life for what you would pay for a six-pack of this stuff. Fair enough. But at the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

www.uintabrewing.com

Mt. Carmel Brewing Company Summer Wheat Ale

Holy hops, Batman! A wheat beer with some bite to it! Who knew? Wheat ales are always good summer beers, but rarely are they anything to write home about. If I were for some reason in holed up in Cincinnati, I would most definitely write home about Mt. Carmel's Summer Wheat Ale. This is without doubt one of the finest wheat ales out there. At a modest 34 IBUs, you would not expect much in the way of hops. But surprisingly, the flavor is hoppy in an American pale ale sort of way. I taste a good bit of citrus, and the main fruit notes are lemony. The lemon cuts the wheat but doesn't wipe it out completely. I mean, why drink a wheat beer if the wheat's going to be completely downplayed? Mt. Carmel has done a great job of doing what all craft brewers try to do at this time of the year - create a lighter "thirst quencher" beer with a genuinely fuller flavor. This is a really nice beer, made with quality ingredients and very fresh-tasting. Maybe you think of this as a wheat beer, or maybe you think of it as a wheat beer/pale ale hybrid. Either way, I've found a mainstay of my summer drinking lineup for years to come!

http://mtcarmelbrewingcompany.com/

Great Lakes Brewing Co. Lake Erie Monster

What kind of brewery makes its summer seasonal a double IPA? An awesome one! I’m weird since I dislike American pale ales because they’re “too hoppy”, yet I like the far hoppier India pale ales. And I like double IPAs twice as much as I like regular IPAs. Perhaps it’s because double IPAs balance all those hops with tons of malts. This may be blasphemy, but I’d say the Lake Erie Monster is just about as good as the vaunted Bell’s Hopslam. At worst, it’s a nine out of ten compared to Hopslam’s ten out of ten. Not too shabby! And hey, you don’t really have to take sides since one comes out in the winter and the other comes out in the summer. I just love it that while almost every other craft brewery is bringing wheat beers and fruit ales and pale lagers for the warm months, Great Lakes goes big for the summer. Named in honor of the Lake Erie monster, South Bay Bessie, this beast of a beer weighs in at 9.1 percent ABV and 80 IBUs. Up front it’s, of course, a hop bomb. You get that big blast of Simcoe and Fuggle hops the instant the beer hits your tongue. But as you continue to drink, the malts (primarily Harrington two-row) really step up. And so you’re left with an ale that packs a punch but ultimately comes off as perfectly balanced. This is not just another hopped-up ass-kicker of a beer that’s all brawn and no finesse. It’s smooth and flavorful, buoyed by a powerful dose of citrus hops and a nice malty backbone. As imperial IPAs go, it does not get more drinkable than this. Considering the higher price point and scary percentage of alcohol, this is not quite a “typical” summer beer. You probably don’t want to slam two bottles right after you finish mowing the lawn. Or maybe you do. I’m not going to judge you. If I were going to go out on Lake Erie in hopes of catching a glimpse of Bessie, I’d take a four-pack of this stuff with me. Or maybe two four-packs. I really want to see that monster.

www.greatlakesbrewing.com

Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy

There are lawnmower beers, and then there are lawnmower beers. Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy is the lawnmower beer to end all lawnmower beers. Its rating on Beer Advocate is a paltry 71 – definite proof that a lot of craft beer connoisseurs have prejudices against “average Joe” brews. Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly well-crafted. Hell, a beer like this that could easily be terrible if it were not perfectly in balance. So hats off to the Leinenkugels for getting it right! Summer Shandy is their take on a traditional German Radler – half pale lager, half lemonade. It is, of course, brewed specifically for the summer months when something cold and refreshing is in order. And boy, does this stuff ever hit the spot! It doesn’t taste “off” or too sweet or disgusting. For what it is, it’s pretty darn perfect. It may be a lemonade beer, but it’s still a beer. The lager component is rock solid. And if you hate the idea of lemonade in beer, that’s a matter of taste and not a knock on the quality of this product. Honestly, I haven’t mowed a lawn in almost 20 years. But coming home from the gym in a non air-conditioned car is kind of similar to coming in from mowing a lawn. And I do that a lot. Both cases are fine occasions to pour a Summer Shandy! The cynic will say that the booming sales of this beer are a sign that it’s lowest common denominator swill. But conceptually, there’s nothing wrong with a beer that almost everyone can love. It’s simply a matter of whether it’s quality or garbage. If Bud or Miller tried to make a shandy (and trust me, they will sooner or later), they’d fuck it up royally. Do not underestimate the Summer Shandy!

Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout

Honestly, it's not as gross as it sounds! Flying Dog's Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout stout is brewed with Rappahannock River oysters. Proceeds benefit the Oyster Recovery Partnership, which works to restore the endangered Chesapeake Bay oyster population. What a cause! And what a beer! I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of stouts, and this is seriously one of the best stouts I've had in a long time. To use some highly technical beer terminology, I'll say it, uh, tastes real good. It's creamy, and a little on the light side for a stout. There are notes of roast, subtle chocolate, and coffee. The inclusion of oysters adds a slight mineral element, which may sound weird. But it's not weird. This is a damn good beer - one of the best Flying Dog offerings I've tried to date. If you prefer smooth, flavorful stouts to "intense" ones, you will dig. This beer has done so well that it's been graduated to year-round status. So clearly I'm not the only one who approves. When's a novelty beer not a novelty beer? When it's delicious!

www.flyingdogales.com

Anderson Valley Brewing Company Summer Solstice

Honest to God, Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice is the best summer beer I've ever had. I don't think anything else comes close. Too often in the craft beer industry, "summer ale" is a euphemism for "overpriced swill". If that's all you're looking for, you might as well drink Miller High Life. But Anderson Valley, brewers of one of the world's best winter ales, make a summer beer that's just as good. The typical summer ale is light - both color-wise and taste-wise. Summer Solstice, on the other hand, is copper colored and majorly malty. And you know how I am about those malty beers! A little added spice brings something "extra" to the flavor, and all in all this is a sweet & creamy dream. It's the best of both worlds, really: combining the crisp thirst-quenching qualities of "lawnmower beer" with the depth of flavor and quality craftsmanship of the finest micro ales. Plus it's sweeter than your run-of-the-mill summer beer. And in the summer, I like sweet. I've seen this knocked as a "woman's" beer. What does that even mean? Women don't know good beer? Come on! Some of the highest authorities on beer I know are women! Who drinks Summer Solstice? Everyone who likes their beer to be awesome!

www.avbc.com