Old World/New World: East Coast/West Coast

Another LiveBlog... 3 styles, 3 takes (Europe, East Coast US, West Coast US) on each one of them.

A. Lagers:

1) Paulaner Pilsner--you all know this one by now. If you don't, go try the damn thing.

2) Buzzards Bay Lager--not sure which one specifically... let's be honest... you've had 400 East-Coast American lagers at this point. This one's just fine, but nothing special... it's pretty hairy on the finish--American brewers need to figure out how to balance the hoppiness in some of these. This is one of those.

3) Anchor Steam Beer--California Common is anything but. I doubt any of you need my thoughts on one of the most-discussed American brews. Thanks for saving craft-brewing, and thanks for a delicious brew.

B. IPAs:

Despite the recent trend of intense IPA-hatred among brew-heads, we've got three offerings.

1) Burton IPA--raise your hand if you've ever had a true English IPA. What? Nobody?!? This stuff is hard to come by, but it is the right way to have an IPA. So much more dynamic than the American pretenders, with fascinating malt on the front and a near-caramel syrupy undersweet. The hop character is still powerful and still strong, but it's balanced. And interesting. Which makes it radically different than the American IPAs. (Which I still love).

2) Berkshire Brewing Company (BBC) IPA--welcome to America. Still, more balanced and interesting than most of the American IPAs--some interesting fruit, and some sweet malts that come through at the front. Worth a try, especially if you're a fan of the style.

3) Green Flash IPA--the Westest of the West Coast. Very green taste at the front, and the hops are fun, but you absolutely can't taste the malt one bit. Too bad, because it's an interesting hop profile, and some balance would make it one hell of a beer.

Porters:

1) Samuel Smith Tadcaster--readers, you know what I mean when I say something is a dogshow beer, yes? This one is a dogshow beer. In a big way. I appreciate a good porter, and this is a very pure porter--maybe even a little bit less roasted flavor than most. It's good stuff.

2) Mayflower Porter--perhaps too roasted, a little too sharp on the bottom, but otherwise, tasty.

3) Mad River Steelhead Stout--some chocolate on the nose; a little reminiscent of the Abita TurboDog with the sweet scent. Good malt balance on the nose as well. Well-rounded on the front, with a little hidden sugar and chocolate, largely overwhelmed by slightly dry malts. The middle bottoms out a little bit (unsurprising, since the bottle bills it as a "Scotch Style Porter,) and rolls smoothly into a nicely roasted finish with a tiny bit of very dark fruit peeking through. This is emphatically NOT a session beer, but it is an excellent single-glass beer.