As promised, here's an update of my latest adventure in homebrewing. If you remember, the plan was to make a summertime beer with a hint of citrus in it without abandoning barley malts for wheat.
On Sunday, I opened the lighter of the two recipes. It's a lightly hopped Kölsch with the juice from 3 decent sized limes added at the end of the boil. The result was better than I ever could have expected. I was worried it would come out too light but it came out a very pretty color. Most importantly, the lime, while understated, is definitely there and I think adds a nice extra dimension. A bunch of us kicked back and drank this BeerHappens original while barbequing in the backyard.
Last night, I open up the other citrus beer I worked on. This one was meant to be an amber ale, again lightly hopped, but this one included both lemon and lime in the boil.
This tasting was disappointing for two reasons:
(1) I must have screwed up the priming sugar because, this beer was way over carbonated. The first bottle fizzed up as soon as I opened it and made a giant mess. Very sad. Very big waste of beer.
(2) Once it settled down and I was able actually drink beer instead of foam, there was really no citrus flavor to be found. I used a good amount of lemon and lime juice in this one but I guess it wasn't enough so it all got masked by the amber malts.
Besides that, it's a good beer. To use Mark's favorite term, it's a Dog Show Beer. It tastes just like was an amber ale should taste like. Nothing too remarkable about it, just what you'd expect from an amber. It's a bit of a downer for me, though, especially after the Kölsch was such a success the night before. In the end, you just have to look on the bright side: it's still beer. Exploding beer, but still beer.
Of these two, the Kölsch is definitely the winner and it has earned the right to be called Zitrus.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Victory Lap
As promised today’s post is dedicated to the far and away winners of the 2008 Ale-ympics, the Germans.
Best original German style? How do you choose? Altbier, Kölsch, Weizen, Bock, Helles, Roggenbier, Schwarzbier, Dunkel; they’re all German and they’re all fantastic. That’s eight styles I just came up with off the top of my head, each worthy of a 9 or 10. Some would even argue that it’s more appropriate to break up Bocks into the various different types (Urbock, Eisbock, Doppelbock, Maibock, etc.) because they vary so greatly. You know what, I’m not even going to pick one. It’s so hard to choose, let’s just agree that at least one of those styles is worthy of a 10 and move on.
Determining the single best German beer is probably a taller order than deciding on the best style, once again because there’s just so many. Once again, I could just cop out and say “We all know that one of these deserves a 10” and move on but I’m gonna use this as an opportunity to pitch Hirschbraus’s Doppel-Hirsch. It’s very hard to come by on the east coast and I only stumbled upon it up by accident (literally, I got home and was angry with myself for having grabbed the wrong bottle) but it has become of my favorite brews and is easily my favorite Doppelbock. Hirschbrau is a Bavarian brewery that only imports to the U.S. through an Oregon based company (yet another reason to move out west) but I’m dying to try some of their other offerings so I keep scouring the liquor stores. Anyways, another 10 for Deutschland.
As for the beer culture category, this is pretty much a cakewalk for the lederhosen wearing ale-thletes. One Word: Oktoberfest. That alone is worthy of a perfect score but Germany’s impact on beer culture goes way farther than that. Even when it comes to beers invented outside of Germany, the Germans have a knack for improving on other people’s work. Think of the Marzens I discussed in the last post. Hell, the pilsner wasn’t an original German invention but look at the close association with it today. And look at the amazing impact German immigrants have had on beer here in America. Without Jim Koch’s great-great-grandfather’s recipe, there would be no Sam Adams. The German impact on the beer world has been huge, so huge, in fact, that if I hadn’t already used the joke, I’d give them an 11, but since I can’t, they get a 10.
So congratulations to the German team Have fun celebrating guys, just don’t do go overboard.
And for any of you out there upset with the results of this illustrious competition, I’ll remind you, just like the events in the real Olympics, no one is going to give a shit about it for the next four years.
Best original German style? How do you choose? Altbier, Kölsch, Weizen, Bock, Helles, Roggenbier, Schwarzbier, Dunkel; they’re all German and they’re all fantastic. That’s eight styles I just came up with off the top of my head, each worthy of a 9 or 10. Some would even argue that it’s more appropriate to break up Bocks into the various different types (Urbock, Eisbock, Doppelbock, Maibock, etc.) because they vary so greatly. You know what, I’m not even going to pick one. It’s so hard to choose, let’s just agree that at least one of those styles is worthy of a 10 and move on.
Determining the single best German beer is probably a taller order than deciding on the best style, once again because there’s just so many. Once again, I could just cop out and say “We all know that one of these deserves a 10” and move on but I’m gonna use this as an opportunity to pitch Hirschbraus’s Doppel-Hirsch. It’s very hard to come by on the east coast and I only stumbled upon it up by accident (literally, I got home and was angry with myself for having grabbed the wrong bottle) but it has become of my favorite brews and is easily my favorite Doppelbock. Hirschbrau is a Bavarian brewery that only imports to the U.S. through an Oregon based company (yet another reason to move out west) but I’m dying to try some of their other offerings so I keep scouring the liquor stores. Anyways, another 10 for Deutschland.
As for the beer culture category, this is pretty much a cakewalk for the lederhosen wearing ale-thletes. One Word: Oktoberfest. That alone is worthy of a perfect score but Germany’s impact on beer culture goes way farther than that. Even when it comes to beers invented outside of Germany, the Germans have a knack for improving on other people’s work. Think of the Marzens I discussed in the last post. Hell, the pilsner wasn’t an original German invention but look at the close association with it today. And look at the amazing impact German immigrants have had on beer here in America. Without Jim Koch’s great-great-grandfather’s recipe, there would be no Sam Adams. The German impact on the beer world has been huge, so huge, in fact, that if I hadn’t already used the joke, I’d give them an 11, but since I can’t, they get a 10.
So congratulations to the German team Have fun celebrating guys, just don’t do go overboard.
And for any of you out there upset with the results of this illustrious competition, I’ll remind you, just like the events in the real Olympics, no one is going to give a shit about it for the next four years.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The bad news? Some of the athletes in Nicks ale-ympics were recently discovered by their competitors to be underage and in violation of sport rules.
The good news? Sometime this weekend, once I've had a little bit of sleep, the real beer Olympics will start. As soon as I think of a funny name for them.
The good news? Sometime this weekend, once I've had a little bit of sleep, the real beer Olympics will start. As soon as I think of a funny name for them.
Medal Round
Here we are, down to the final three. I’m so excited I can’t hold back any longer; let’s just dive in:
BRONZE
Austria
Original Style 9, Individual Beer 9, Culture 8
Total = 26
Austria just barely edges out the Irish to make it to the medal stand. They get high scores in all three categories but are led by their invention of Marzen/Oktoberfest. We usually associate Marzen with Bavaria, but the beer was first developed in Austria and was known as Weiner Typ (Vienna Style). Later, when the neighboring Bavarians enforced strict regulations on brewing in the hot summer months, this beer that's brewed in March but isn't ready until September or October, became extremely popular across the border and the new name took hold. These wonderful lagers almost make the end of summer not seem so bad.
For best individual Austrian beer, I’m going with the Augustiner Marzen. It’s hard to come by in the U.S. but if you ever see it, pick it up. A buddy of mine and I have been dreaming/planning of going on a brewery tour in Germany, but the prospect of having this beer on tap alone is enough to make me want to trek into Austria as well. It’s definitely the best Marzen I’ve had.
The culture score for Austria has got to be high but, at the same time, I don’t want to go too high because of the rather large overlap with and borrowing from Germany’s cultural contributions, hence the 8.
SILVER
United Kingdom
Original Style 9, Individual Beer 10, Culture 9
Total = 28
I went by Olympic rather than World Cup rules for dealing with the U.K. squad. In the World Cup England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland all compete separately but in the Olympics they all come together to form one U.K. team. Scotland and England could easily hold their own in this competition but seeing as I began this whole thing because of the Olympics, I’m going to follow the I.O.C.’s lead and judge them together. Don’t like it? Send your complaints here.
Best original beer style for the U.K. is a tough one: do I choose the I.P.A. or the E.S.B.? (I could also pick the Brown Ale, but come on, no acronym?). I’m going with the E.S.B. because when they’re good, they’re damn good (though, when they’re bad, well, when they’re bad they’re the one I made back in November).
My favorite U.K. beer is one I’ve already posted about. Traquair’s House Ale is a fantastic Scottish brew that, if it were more readily available, would have the serious potential to turn me into an alcoholic. I love this beer. Dear God, I love this beer.
The United Kingdom’s contribution to beer culture is one that I don’t think gets enough credit. Hell, just look at the three styles I had to choose from above. Can you imagine world without those three? This is the country that perfected the use of hopping (and came up with some great hop names, too). I also think that they deserve some serious points for their conservation efforts.
GOLD
Germany
Original Style 10, Individual Beer 10, Culture 10
Total = 30
Was there every really any doubt? Of course the Germans were going to win, the real question was by how much. I’ll save my Ode de Deutschland for tomorrow. Check back then for the victory lap.
BRONZE
Austria
Original Style 9, Individual Beer 9, Culture 8
Total = 26
Austria just barely edges out the Irish to make it to the medal stand. They get high scores in all three categories but are led by their invention of Marzen/Oktoberfest. We usually associate Marzen with Bavaria, but the beer was first developed in Austria and was known as Weiner Typ (Vienna Style). Later, when the neighboring Bavarians enforced strict regulations on brewing in the hot summer months, this beer that's brewed in March but isn't ready until September or October, became extremely popular across the border and the new name took hold. These wonderful lagers almost make the end of summer not seem so bad.
For best individual Austrian beer, I’m going with the Augustiner Marzen. It’s hard to come by in the U.S. but if you ever see it, pick it up. A buddy of mine and I have been dreaming/planning of going on a brewery tour in Germany, but the prospect of having this beer on tap alone is enough to make me want to trek into Austria as well. It’s definitely the best Marzen I’ve had.
The culture score for Austria has got to be high but, at the same time, I don’t want to go too high because of the rather large overlap with and borrowing from Germany’s cultural contributions, hence the 8.
SILVER
United Kingdom
Original Style 9, Individual Beer 10, Culture 9
Total = 28
I went by Olympic rather than World Cup rules for dealing with the U.K. squad. In the World Cup England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland all compete separately but in the Olympics they all come together to form one U.K. team. Scotland and England could easily hold their own in this competition but seeing as I began this whole thing because of the Olympics, I’m going to follow the I.O.C.’s lead and judge them together. Don’t like it? Send your complaints here.
Best original beer style for the U.K. is a tough one: do I choose the I.P.A. or the E.S.B.? (I could also pick the Brown Ale, but come on, no acronym?). I’m going with the E.S.B. because when they’re good, they’re damn good (though, when they’re bad, well, when they’re bad they’re the one I made back in November).
My favorite U.K. beer is one I’ve already posted about. Traquair’s House Ale is a fantastic Scottish brew that, if it were more readily available, would have the serious potential to turn me into an alcoholic. I love this beer. Dear God, I love this beer.
The United Kingdom’s contribution to beer culture is one that I don’t think gets enough credit. Hell, just look at the three styles I had to choose from above. Can you imagine world without those three? This is the country that perfected the use of hopping (and came up with some great hop names, too). I also think that they deserve some serious points for their conservation efforts.
GOLD
Germany
Original Style 10, Individual Beer 10, Culture 10
Total = 30
Was there every really any doubt? Of course the Germans were going to win, the real question was by how much. I’ll save my Ode de Deutschland for tomorrow. Check back then for the victory lap.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Narrowing the Field
Welcome back to BeerHappens exclusive coverage of the 2008 Ale-ympics! In yesterday’s action, we saw Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Japan, and Mexico get eliminated from the competition, leaving us with today’s six Medal Round teams ready to duke it out and go for gold.
It’s a tough competition, but here’s how I see it playing out:
6. United States
Original Style: 5, Individual Beer: 10, Culture: 2
Total = 17
The best original style I selected for this is the California Common (a.k.a. steam beer). All the other “American beers” are really just knock-offs of older, better European styles. Steam beers are a solid entry but, while they represent a creative brewing achievement, the end product has never really blown me away in terms of taste. Anchor Steam is very good beer, but it doesn’t have that “Wow!” quality of some of the other styles we’ll get to later.
For the individual beer competition, I’m going to put forward my personal favorite, Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead. I’ve gushed about this beer a few too many times now, so I won’t go into it here, but if you’ve never had it, go pick up a six-pack when it hits the shelves in a couple weeks.
The American team really stumbles when we get to the culture category. The overarching U.S. beer paradigm is “Buy something cheap then drink a lot of it because being drunk is fun.” Overall, there’s a pretty strong argument that America has hurt beer culture more than it has contributed. Granted, we’ve been turning things around a bit recently, but until we get rid of this image, I can’t give the U.S. more than a 2.
5. Belgium
Original Style: 7, Individual Beer 9, Culture 7
Total = 23
The Belgians moved up and down in my rankings but in the end, I do think this is right spot for them. The original style competing is going to have to be the Belgian Tripel and it earns some quality points for being a high alcohol content brew that maintains a great flavor. However, I find Belgian beers to be too strongly carbonated, limiting the how much of the malts and hops you can actually savor and generally bringing down the brew.
Despite my general bias against Belgian beers, I had trouble picking my favorite offering. It was tough to choose between Chimay White and Kriek Boon, but ultimately, I’ll give it to the cherry lambic that has never done me wrong. Kriek deserves the 9.
Culture scores for the Belgians are hard to justify. There aren’t to many iconic Belgian beer images that spring to mind for most people but they deserve a solid 7 if only because of their influence on brewing in other parts of Western Europe.
4. Ireland
Original Style: 7, Individual Beer: 8, Culture: 9
Total = 24
I know Mark is going to rip my head off for this and another one of my Irish friends already screamed at me when I told him that the Irish wouldn’t be medaling, but here goes anyway:
Obviously, the original style choice is the Irish Stout, but as readers of this blog know, I’m not the world’s biggest stout fan. Not to mention, there’s a major historical question as to whether the stout really originated in Ireland. I’m already giving the benefit of the doubt on that one because I wouldn’t want to have to rate them based on the Irish Red.
The Irish individual beer entry is my favorite Irish Stout: Murphy’s. Some may be angry that I didn’t choose Guinness, but trust me, this isn’t meant as a knock on Guinness so much as a suggestion that you try a different stout for once.
The culture score is an easy 9 and would have been a perfect 10 if it weren’t for having to share soccer hooligans with the U.K. and the fact that St. Patrick’s Day didn’t become the crazy festival we know and love until the Irish migrated to the U.S.
That’s all for now but don’t forget to check back tomorrow when BeerHappens hands out the medals. Can you guess who will win gold?
It’s a tough competition, but here’s how I see it playing out:
6. United States
Original Style: 5, Individual Beer: 10, Culture: 2
Total = 17
The best original style I selected for this is the California Common (a.k.a. steam beer). All the other “American beers” are really just knock-offs of older, better European styles. Steam beers are a solid entry but, while they represent a creative brewing achievement, the end product has never really blown me away in terms of taste. Anchor Steam is very good beer, but it doesn’t have that “Wow!” quality of some of the other styles we’ll get to later.
For the individual beer competition, I’m going to put forward my personal favorite, Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead. I’ve gushed about this beer a few too many times now, so I won’t go into it here, but if you’ve never had it, go pick up a six-pack when it hits the shelves in a couple weeks.
The American team really stumbles when we get to the culture category. The overarching U.S. beer paradigm is “Buy something cheap then drink a lot of it because being drunk is fun.” Overall, there’s a pretty strong argument that America has hurt beer culture more than it has contributed. Granted, we’ve been turning things around a bit recently, but until we get rid of this image, I can’t give the U.S. more than a 2.
5. Belgium
Original Style: 7, Individual Beer 9, Culture 7
Total = 23
The Belgians moved up and down in my rankings but in the end, I do think this is right spot for them. The original style competing is going to have to be the Belgian Tripel and it earns some quality points for being a high alcohol content brew that maintains a great flavor. However, I find Belgian beers to be too strongly carbonated, limiting the how much of the malts and hops you can actually savor and generally bringing down the brew.
Despite my general bias against Belgian beers, I had trouble picking my favorite offering. It was tough to choose between Chimay White and Kriek Boon, but ultimately, I’ll give it to the cherry lambic that has never done me wrong. Kriek deserves the 9.
Culture scores for the Belgians are hard to justify. There aren’t to many iconic Belgian beer images that spring to mind for most people but they deserve a solid 7 if only because of their influence on brewing in other parts of Western Europe.
4. Ireland
Original Style: 7, Individual Beer: 8, Culture: 9
Total = 24
I know Mark is going to rip my head off for this and another one of my Irish friends already screamed at me when I told him that the Irish wouldn’t be medaling, but here goes anyway:
Obviously, the original style choice is the Irish Stout, but as readers of this blog know, I’m not the world’s biggest stout fan. Not to mention, there’s a major historical question as to whether the stout really originated in Ireland. I’m already giving the benefit of the doubt on that one because I wouldn’t want to have to rate them based on the Irish Red.
The Irish individual beer entry is my favorite Irish Stout: Murphy’s. Some may be angry that I didn’t choose Guinness, but trust me, this isn’t meant as a knock on Guinness so much as a suggestion that you try a different stout for once.
The culture score is an easy 9 and would have been a perfect 10 if it weren’t for having to share soccer hooligans with the U.K. and the fact that St. Patrick’s Day didn’t become the crazy festival we know and love until the Irish migrated to the U.S.
That’s all for now but don’t forget to check back tomorrow when BeerHappens hands out the medals. Can you guess who will win gold?
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Let's See NBC Cover This
Helllllllllooooo beer fans!
Given the current festivities going on in Peking, I thought it only appropriate to spend a little bit of time analyzing who would come out on top in the Olympics of Beer (or Ale-ympics if you prefer).
To govern this event, I will follow the lead of the real Olympics and have devised a judging system that will be poorly explained, horribly enforced, and completely irrational. Nations will be judged completely subjectively by my sleep-deprived self on a scale of 1 to 10 in the following three categories (1) best original beer style, (2) best individual beer, and (3) contribution to beer culture.
Right off the bat, let’s presume that only a handful of countries actually make it to the Ale-ympics (I like the sound of that more and more each time I say it) while the rest just got the shit kicked out of ‘em in the qualifying competition. Here’s what the field should look like: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the good ol’ US of A. Even amongst this group, it’s pretty clear that we can narrow it down a little further before we get to the Medal Round.
Let’s see who doesn’t quite make it into the finals:
Australia
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 2, Culture: 3
Basically, they gave us the giant beer can and that’s it.
Canada
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 2, Culture: 5
America’s Hat really only scores points for inventing (the sadly forgotten) McKenzie Brothers.
Czech Republic
Original Style: 6, Individual Beer: 4, Culture: 5
These guys just barely miss out. Their two problems being (a) I'm not a huge pilsner fan and (b) they may have invented it, but the Germans perfected the pilsner. Sorry guys, think of it this way, you're still doing better than the Slovaks.
France
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 5, Culture: 1
See my previous post.
Italy
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 1, Culture: 1
Italy’s greatest beer is essentially imported Milwaukee’s Best.
Japan
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 2, Culture: 1
If sake were beer, we could have a conversation. Since it’s not … just no.
Mexico
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 2, Culture: 3
The Austrians tried to teach them about beer but boy did that backfire.
That’s all for today but tune in tomorrow for BeerHappens continuing coverage of the 2008 Ale-ympics, where the Medal Round should be a real dog fight between the seasoned veteran European teams, but will the young upstarts from the United States have enough to earn a spot on the podium?
Given the current festivities going on in Peking, I thought it only appropriate to spend a little bit of time analyzing who would come out on top in the Olympics of Beer (or Ale-ympics if you prefer).
To govern this event, I will follow the lead of the real Olympics and have devised a judging system that will be poorly explained, horribly enforced, and completely irrational. Nations will be judged completely subjectively by my sleep-deprived self on a scale of 1 to 10 in the following three categories (1) best original beer style, (2) best individual beer, and (3) contribution to beer culture.
Right off the bat, let’s presume that only a handful of countries actually make it to the Ale-ympics (I like the sound of that more and more each time I say it) while the rest just got the shit kicked out of ‘em in the qualifying competition. Here’s what the field should look like: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the good ol’ US of A. Even amongst this group, it’s pretty clear that we can narrow it down a little further before we get to the Medal Round.
Let’s see who doesn’t quite make it into the finals:
Australia
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 2, Culture: 3
Basically, they gave us the giant beer can and that’s it.
Canada
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 2, Culture: 5
America’s Hat really only scores points for inventing (the sadly forgotten) McKenzie Brothers.
Czech Republic
Original Style: 6, Individual Beer: 4, Culture: 5
These guys just barely miss out. Their two problems being (a) I'm not a huge pilsner fan and (b) they may have invented it, but the Germans perfected the pilsner. Sorry guys, think of it this way, you're still doing better than the Slovaks.
France
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 5, Culture: 1
See my previous post.
Italy
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 1, Culture: 1
Italy’s greatest beer is essentially imported Milwaukee’s Best.
Japan
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 2, Culture: 1
If sake were beer, we could have a conversation. Since it’s not … just no.
Mexico
Original Style: 1, Individual Beer: 2, Culture: 3
The Austrians tried to teach them about beer but boy did that backfire.
That’s all for today but tune in tomorrow for BeerHappens continuing coverage of the 2008 Ale-ympics, where the Medal Round should be a real dog fight between the seasoned veteran European teams, but will the young upstarts from the United States have enough to earn a spot on the podium?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Wolfgang's Summer Bash
Whenever I brew, I feel compelled to turn the day into a celebration of all things beer and what better way to do that then to find some new beer and try it out while brewing? Usually, the goal is to find something that either (a) I’ve never heard of, (b) is similar to whatever it is I’m making that day, or (c) both. For my latest concoction, I went with option c and it turned out to be damn good choice.
I explained to the owner of my local package store that I was attempting to brew a lighter, citrusy ale for the summer months and he immediately grabbed me a 22 oz. bottle of Amadeus from Les Brasseurs de Gayant. Not only had I never heard of this beer, I’d never heard of the brewery. Hell, let’s be honest, I’d never heard anyone recommend a French beer.
I’ve seen French beers before, but not ones I would drink. Usually a French beer is just a poorly crafted Belgian. I mean come on, France? Beer? These things go together about as well as water and gasoline, Red Sox and Yankees, Ben Affleck and film. In a word association game, no one, literally, no one would hear France and say “beer.” Still, it came strongly recommended and he said it had a hint of lemon so I figured I’d buy it and at the very worst I’d have something new to make fun of France for.
Once I tried it, I was immediately humbled and began to question my many years of frog-bashing (well, okay, I didn’t question it that much). This is beer is a very high quality white ale. It’s light, smooth and refreshing with understated but not completely absent hops. The lemon gives it a great little bite at the end that makes you come back for more.
You know the image Corona tries to convey: the perfectly relaxed couple sitting on the beach or by the pool without a care in the world? Well screw Corona, that should be this beer’s ad. It’s a light but flavorful hot weather brew I could sip all day long and forget how many I’ve had, because who cares? It’s summer!
Now if only I could afford to go on vacation…
I explained to the owner of my local package store that I was attempting to brew a lighter, citrusy ale for the summer months and he immediately grabbed me a 22 oz. bottle of Amadeus from Les Brasseurs de Gayant. Not only had I never heard of this beer, I’d never heard of the brewery. Hell, let’s be honest, I’d never heard anyone recommend a French beer.
I’ve seen French beers before, but not ones I would drink. Usually a French beer is just a poorly crafted Belgian. I mean come on, France? Beer? These things go together about as well as water and gasoline, Red Sox and Yankees, Ben Affleck and film. In a word association game, no one, literally, no one would hear France and say “beer.” Still, it came strongly recommended and he said it had a hint of lemon so I figured I’d buy it and at the very worst I’d have something new to make fun of France for.
Once I tried it, I was immediately humbled and began to question my many years of frog-bashing (well, okay, I didn’t question it that much). This is beer is a very high quality white ale. It’s light, smooth and refreshing with understated but not completely absent hops. The lemon gives it a great little bite at the end that makes you come back for more.
You know the image Corona tries to convey: the perfectly relaxed couple sitting on the beach or by the pool without a care in the world? Well screw Corona, that should be this beer’s ad. It’s a light but flavorful hot weather brew I could sip all day long and forget how many I’ve had, because who cares? It’s summer!
Now if only I could afford to go on vacation…
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