AW's Beer Reviews

[AWMiller]

Brew: Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

Brewed by: Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan; Freising, Germany

Style: Hefeweizen

Glassware: Best served in a weizen glass.

Personal Notes: Stop the press!  I have just enjoyed the MOST amazing hefeweizen ever!!  Definitely one that would make me pack a bag and head overseas to Freising, Germany, just to enjoy this beer at its freshest!  It pours a tantalizing hazy golden colored brew with a hearty frothy head.  Some beers are meant to be savored at many levels and this is exactly one of those beers!  Sit back and let the scents of cloves and banana-nut bread along with subtle hints of citrus fill your sense of smell.  The savor this prime brew and enjoy that warm banana-nut bread flavor following by a nice slightly citrus-y aftertaste.  Words just cannot describe how amazing this one is … you just have to get some for yourself and enjoy!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Samuel Adams Imperial Stout

Brewed by: Boston Beer Co.; Boston, Massachusetts USA

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

Glassware: Best served in a pint glass, becker or a snifter.

Personal Notes:  This is definitely the darkest beer I have yet to try (at least as of the time of this review)!  Held it up to the light and all I could compare it to was a solar eclipse … light was not getting through!  I was expecting a more frothy head but once the head ‘fell’ it formed a nice mocha-colored ring and formed subtle lace lines on the glass while I drank the beer.  There were an abundance of scents and flavors in this beefy brew: chocolate, coffee, espresso, toffee, sweet raisins, vanilla, and more.  That snifter glass is the key glassware to use to trap all those wonderful scents while you enjoy drinking this beer.  The body is very thick (but not chewy!) and each sip is followed by a hearty aftertaste of strong coffee mixed in with some rich hot chocolate.  Definitely a beer to be enjoyed during the chill of fall and winter months and absolutely NOT a beer that is to be quaffed!!  Sit back, slow down and enjoy this beer for a while.

[AWMiller]

Brew: Samuel Adams Imperial Series Double Bock

Brewed by: Boston Beer Company; Boston, Massachusetts USA

Style: doppelbock

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass or mug.  But I really wish I had a becker glass for this particular brew!

Personal Notes: Whoa…. now this was one nice hearty brew!!  Pours a deep dark mahogany with a sporty head that stays with the brew for a long time.  Sweet scents and flavors of malts, caramel, toffee, espresso and hints of clove or some sweet fruit (almost candy-like).  Definitely one of my favorite brews to enjoy during the chill of fall and winter.  This is a thick (but not chewy!) brew and one that is easily drinkable so you can enjoy a few each time.  This is a brew I turn to especially when having wild game for dinner!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower

Brewed by: Saint Arnold Brewing Co.; Houston, Texas USA

Style: kolsch/altbier

Glassware: Best served in a stange or pint.

Personal Notes: Pours a clear amber body with a nice white foamy head. Filled with scents of grains, bananas, and cloves.  This is a nice crisp beer that’s to be truly enjoyed during the hot summer months.  The carbonation in this beer is just right; crisp and a wonderful clean finish with only a slight bitter aftertaste. Flavors of sweet malt, bananas, and cloves are complimented well with ‘herbally’ hops. Stock up as the weather warms up!!

[cb223]

Ever try any thing from the Kalamazoo brewing company(BELLS) or the New Holland Brewing company? Bells Cherry stout is one my all time favorites! Along with the Kalamazoo stout, the batch beers are also awesome! Every 1000 batches they take the yeast and make a batch beer !!! From the New Holland Old poet is great, Mad Hatter rocks. There are  so many good ales it is hard to pick just one!!!

[AWMiller]

haven't tried any of those brews but I've got them added to my list!!  gonna be a while cause I think they are sitting in positions #173 and #174 (and i'm sure more will be added once i've tried them!!!)

thanks for the recommendations!

[AWMiller]

Here's a sneak peak at some upcoming beer reviews!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale

Brewed by: Black Sheep Brewery PLC; Ripon, United Kingdom

Style: English pale ale

Glassware: Best served in a pint glass.

Personal Notes:  Pours a rich amber colored body sporting a somewhat melancholy foamy head.  No big signs of carbonation that I took note of.  As with most English pale ales, this one has the pleasant scents nuts and butter and the taste supports those scents with strong flavors of nuts and butter; I did note that the hops presents quite a bitter punch on the first few sips but mellows out after a while.  It's not real heavy so it's a real good session beer!  But for me this was a fun beer just because of the label as this ale was "tempered over burning witches"!!

[AWMiller]

Brew: New Belgium Blue Paddle

Brewed by: New Belgium Brewing Co.; Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Style: German Pilsener

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass or mug.

Personal Notes: This brew pours out a clear light golden body that sports a tall foamy head that stays well with the brew for quite a while.  Scents and flavors full of malts well-blended with just the right amount of hops to make for a superbly balanced brew.  Light and refreshing ... definitely a great brew to be enjoyed during the hot Texas summers!  A great brew to be enjoyed with poultry and fish/seafood meals!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Brewed by: Stone Brewing Co.; Escondido, California USA

Style: American Strong Ale

Glassware: Best served in a mug, pint/becker, or a snifter.

Personal Notes: Pours a dark reddish brown body sporting a good foamy head which left thick lacing on the sides of the glass while the brew was being enjoyed.  A very "citrusy" scent and flavor hit strong at first but as the brew warms, there are scents and flavors of brown sugar, roasted hazelnut (most likely from the oaking process), and loads of hops coupled with subtle undertones of roasted malts.  If I were to coin a term to describe either the scent or the flavor it would be 'complex'.  Definitely a great session beer!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Lagunitas Censored (a.k.a. The Kronik)

Brewed by: Lagunitas Brewing Co; Petaluma, California USA

Style: American Amber/Red Ale

Glassware: Best served in the drain…. or perhaps a dixie cup…. or if you want to go high-society you can serve it up in a pint glass or mug.

Personal Notes:


  YUCK!!!

First things first… I had some high expectations for this brew based on inputs that others had given me on it and other brews that they have tried from Lagunitas.  I’ll state for the record that if the rest of their line tastes like this, I’m spending my money on some other brewer!!

… it’s been days and I still can’t get that taste out of my mouth!!! …

And now for the review…

It started off looking like a good brew!  A rich warm copper body but it only sported a teeny-tiny foam ring that dissipated quickly and left very little (if any) lacing on the side of the glass.  The smell though was just a turn-off and I should have stopped right there and poured it down the drain!  But nooooooooo, morbid curiosity got the better of me!  It tasted as though I just took a handful of rotten hops and chewed on it!  (and the beer wasn’t ‘off’… bottle was sealed right and it was recently brewed/bottled… it just tasted horrible!)  I figured that a few more samples would do the trick and let the real flavor come out but I was sadly disappointed.  I just can’t put into words how bad this beer tasted (ANY brew would be better than this)!

Sorry folks… no pics of the brew in the serving glass… didn’t want to waste the time with all the editing required on a shoddy beer like this one!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Paulaner Salvator Double Bock

Brewed by: Paulaner Brauerei GmbH & Co; Germany

Style: Doppelbock

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass or mug.

Personal Notes: Definitely a brew going into my BHOF (Beer Hall of Fame)!! This brew pours a rich dark red body that sports a thick foamy head that lends well with the brew for quite a while.  Scents of strong malt, coffee (maybe a rich espresso) followed with rich malty flavors blended with hints of orange or cloves with very little presence of the taste of alcohol.  It has a nice thick feel to it and is a great beer to pair up with wild game or other rich meats.

[AWMiller]

Brew: Kronenbourg 1664

Brewed by:  Brasseries Kronenbourg; Strasbourg, France

Style:  European Pale Lager

Glassware: Best served in pilsner glass.

Personal Notes: This being my first French brew to sample, I didn't have any set expectations.  Not a bad brew at all I must say, but nothing outstanding either.  If you like Heineken then you'll easily like this brew as well.  It pours a rich copper-colored body sporting a somewhat dismal bubbly head that dissipates very quickly and leaves very little lacing. Upon opening, my senses detected a very grassy, somewhat pungent, odor that frankly nearly kept me from sampling this brew.  It's a bitter tasting beer; for me it was almost too bitter (but that's just me).  Flavors detected consisted of the traditional grains, malts and hops; but I just could not find a happy balance between them; but the grassy flavor was very appearant and somewhat overbearing.  It's very light on the pallet and a brew that can be a good session beer; especially on those hot summer days.  This brew would be good with some fish or possibly some small fried baby crabs!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Left Hand Milk Stout

Brewed by:  Left Hand Brewing Co; Longmont, Colorado USA

Style: Milk/Sweet Stout

Glassware: Best served in a pint or a mug.

Personal Notes:   This was my first experience in the Milk/Sweet Stout line of brews and this first introduction was quite an interesting one to say the least!  The brew pours up very rich and thick with a near-black body that looked very inviting to enjoy!  This would have been an awesome view had it not been for the puny head that disappeared so fast that I hardly had time to take a picture of it!  Aromas of sweet chocolate and robust coffee teased my senses along with rich flavors of chocolate, strong coffee and a light hint of something smoky.  It was very rich and thick but not syrupy like I had imagined it might be.  Definitely a brew to be enjoyed after a good meal as it's almost like a fine dessert wine!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Shock Top Raspberry Wheat

Brewed by: Anheuser-Busch, Inc.; St. Louis, Missouri USA

Style: American Pale Wheat Ale

Glassware: Best served in a pint glass, mug or a weizen glass.

Personal Notes: Now I'm not a huge fan of fruity-tootie brews but this one wasn't all that bad; not all that great but definitely not all that bad!  It pours a very hazy/murky orange-ish body and sporting an 'ok' foamy head that goes away rather quickly.  Loads of raspberry scents are detected right upon opening followed up with a slightly citrus-y scent. The flavor is, in my opinion, too heavy with the raspberry flavor and definitely not pure raspberry being added!  There are also hints of orange (and sometimes lemon) flavors as well.  The body feels creamy and very smooth with no harsh alcohol being detected.  Might enjoy a couple on a hot summer day but not something I would drink a lot of or that often.

[AWMiller]

Brew: Hofbrau Munchen Hofbrau Dunkel

Brewed by:  Staatliches Hofbrauhaus (Hofbrau Munchen); Germany

Style: Munich Dunkel Lager

Glassware: Best served in a pilsner glass.

Personal Notes:  This is a very fine dunkel!  Pours a rich, dark brown body with a hearty frothy head that stays with the brew a long time.  Hints of roasted malt and caramel are both smelt and tasted; followed up with a light, crisp hit of bitter hops that's just right!  An excellent pairing with meats and wild game!

[AWMiller]

Brew: Samuel Adams Cream Stout

Brewed by:  Boston Brewing Co; Boston, Massachusetts USA

Style: stout/porter - sweet stout

Glassware: Best served in a pint glass or mug.

Personal Notes: Pours up a rich black body with a nice frothy head that leaves good lacing on the glass while you drink.  Warms scents of robust coffee, toffee, caramel and roasted malts.  Rich tastes of the roasted malts and coffee/caramel.  The body is velvety smooth with light carbonation.  Tastes best when it's not so cold.  A very nice cream stout indeed!  Would serve as a great dessert brew!

[AWMiller]

Brew:  Kona Wailua Wheat Ale

Brewed by:  Kona Brewing Co.; Kona, Hawaii USA

Style:  wheat ale - american wheat

Glassware:  Best served in a pint glass, mug, or in a weizen glass.

Personal Notes: This was my first Hawaiian brew and overall it was 'ok'.  The brew pours up a very clear, almost peach-like body but not a thick head like I was anticipating (and it dissipates very quickly!).  Scents and flavors of sweet malts and various citrus fruits and a light tinge of hops make for a fairly balanced brew.  The passion fruit was very dominant which for me made it almost 'too fruity' to enjoy; but others may be looking for something along those lines.  It would be a good session brew on a hot summers day.

[AWMiller]

Brew: Murphy's Red Ale

Brewed by: Murphy Brewery; Cork, Ireland

Style: ale - scottish ale

Glassware: Best served in a pint or mug.

Personal Notes:  A very nice session brew!  This brew pours up a rich red body with a sporty thick foamy head. Scents and flavors of sweet malts and caramel tantalize the senses.  The flavors are very rich and complemented with a very clean finish and no harsh lingering aftertaste; lightly carbonated and very, very smooth.

[AWMiller]

Brew: Schneider Aventinus

Brewed by:   Private Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH; Kelheim, Germany

Style:  lager - weizen bock

Glassware: Best served in a flute or weizen glass.

Personal Notes:  OOOOOH MY!!  Yet another excellent brew to be added to my own personal 'hall of fame'!!!! This brew pours up a rich dark mahogany body and sports an enormously thick, foamy head.  Scents and flavors of chocolate, clove, caramel and so many others you'll delight in each savoring trying to determine what wonderful scent or flavor you are being enticed by!!  The body is heavy yet smooth and very creamy and oh so refreshing.  Although most say that this brew is to be enjoyed during the wintry months, this brew is (in my opinion) made to be enjoyed all throughout the year!  An excellent brew to have with grilled meats and wild game!!