El-Cheapo 40oz Showdown Round 1

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything and I’ve decided to take a break from serious beer advocacy to re-visit some cheap 40s that I haven’t tried in years. You’ll have to forgive the clutter on my desk in the photos.

For this comparison, I’ll start with what I believe to be the “Big 3″ of 40s in this area, which are Colt45, Olde English 800 and Steel Reserve 211. Lots of numbers but all 3 are under 8% ABV and about $2.50-$3/each, which is slightly more than what they cost years ago. Keep in mind, what I am doing here is not original as I have seen other sites do the same with 40s. I’m just looking for some humorous beer-related dialogue.

Colt 45

Poured into a frozen Sam Adams glass (blasphemy!), the color is slightly golden with a frothy head that fades after a minute or two. Standard fare for this style and if I could pick which shade of urine, let’s just say you’re mildly dehydrated.

The aroma is full of notes of corn, slightly stale bread and it’s not too sweet. The taste? Full of alcohol warmth that mutes any other potential flavor that this had.  Slightly metallic taste follows up along with just a hint of corn/bread underneath. Coats the mouth with alcohol warmth, though I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. No real buzz comes from drinking this.

Verdict: I’m not sure how Billy Dee Williams was able to drink this with a straight face. I’m sure the recipe may have been altered over the years but otherwise, this is pretty rough to drink.  Well, here’s an old ad to tide you over, should you chug this down and be left writhing in pain, your lunch begging to come back up. And no, this is not a commercial with Billy Dee Williams as they had other commercials.

Olde English 800

Pours a bright yellow color with a head that is quick to fade after a minute. As for the shade of urine, you’re well on your way, if not quite to being fully hydrated.  Otherwise, standard for the style.

The aroma is your standard sweet corn water with not much of an alcohol bite. Somewhat mellow. Taste is nothing but sweet, sweet, sweet malt. Little or no alcohol burn. Kind of bland but inoffensive to the taste buds.  Kinda like bread as well, but slightly stale.  Alcohol isn’t really noticeable until after you first taste it, in which it coats your throat.

Verdict: It’s inoffensive and smoother than Colt 45. Other than that, it has no other redeeming traits.

Steel Reserve 211

Pours a mild yellow color with no head into my glass. What a rip-off. Shade of urine is pretty much similar to Olde English 800. Standard fare once again.

The aroma is full of sweet corn and malt. Nothing interesting but at least it’s a stronger aroma. Not much else at hand. The taste is quite watery and sweet and not much else in-between. Very little alcohol burn. For something that’s supposed to be fresh, the light killed it already (damn clear bottles).  It’s still drinkable but only by default. Nothing too impressive.

Verdict: Weaksauce but at least you can chug it without the nasty burn of Colt 45.

For this round, I’m going to go with Olde English 800. Sorry Billy Dee but I can’t tolerate the harshness of the Colt. I don’t care for the overt sweetness of Steel either. Olde English 800 is the kind of shit I’d want to be seen with if a cop were to pull me over. Of course, only the really cool malt liquors have commercials.

Round 2 coming soon! Until then, get shitfaced and fight like a pair of bums.

REVIEW: Narconaut Black IPA

7.5

Pours a black-as-midnight color with a brown one-finger head into my snifter.

Aroma is full of floral hops and as it warms up, the aroma shows more.

Taste is full of grassy hops with a good bite. Nothing overpowering. Walks the line between hoppy stout and ipa very well.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering grassy hops and slightly roasted malt.

Very drinkable. Any more hops and a bigger malt bill and you’d have an imperial stout. Still worth a try.

REVIEW: Vermont Wry

Pours a dark amber color with a one-finger into my glass.

Aroma is full of spicy rye that stands out in the nose. Sweet with some hop essence.

Taste is full of spicy rye that is kind of grainy as well. Hop bitterness is contained but still there. Definitely falls towards the english style, which was intended. Chewy as well.

Mouthfeel is full of spicy rye and buttery malt. Very nice flavor presence here.

A decent rye ipa that deserves a try. It’s ipa month at flatbread/zero gravity as well.

REVIEW: Tulach Leis

Described as a flemish sour red ale, fermented with brett.

Pours a lovely amber color with a one finger head into my glass.

Aroma is full of grape and strawberry with just a slight hint of funk in the nose.

Taste is much like horse leather with a slight funkiness that stands out. Not too funky though.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering grape and strawberry in the mouth. Very nice balance of funk and other flavors.

A fitting tribute to the man. Greg Noonan. You must have one in his honor!

REVIEW: Handsome Mick’s Irish Stout

Pours a rich black color with a tan one-finger head into my glass.

Aroma is strong and rich with coffee being the dominant aroma followed by a slight hint of cream.

Taste is dry and full of nicely roasted notes. Coffee once again is the dominant flavor with that hint of cream to follow.

Finishes dry with lingering roasted coffee and very light cream. Nice.

I swear that I’ve had this before. A nice reminder of how a stout can be highly drinkable without needing tons of hops or alcohol.

REVIEW: Grand Slam Baseball Beer

While pondering over the Red Sox 4 game losing streak, I decided I needed a beer.

Pours a nice blondish-amber color with a one-finger head into my glass.

Aroma is full of sweet malt with a hint of fuggles. Not as hoppy as the other pale ale on tap.

Taste is full of sweet malt with some hop bitterness. Crisp. Simple. Works well on a day like this.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering sweetness. Not much to it.

Not bad. Drinkable on a nice spring day. Would go great with a game at fenway but it’d be cheaper and easily accessible than tickets to fenway.

REVIEW: Billybuck Bock

Billybuck Bock
Vermont Pub and Brewery
Bock

Pours a nice amber color with a one-finger head into my pint glass.

Aroma is full of sweet malt with a hint of caramel to it.

Taste is full of sweet, caramel-like malt with a slightly chewy feel to it. Clean.

Leaves a slightly dry feeling in the mouth. Very nice.

A decent bock that is worth a taste. Nothing fancy here. Just a solid, drinkable beer.

My Top-rated IPAs

Out of 76 examples of the American India Pale Ale style that I have sampled thus far, here are my 5 top-rated IPAs:

1. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye Rating: 5
http://tinyurl.com/hoprodrye

2. Zero Gravity Brewery Sim City IPA Rating: 5
http://tinyurl.com/afsimcity

3. Surly Furious Rating: 4.9
http://tinyurl.com/surlyfurious

4. Dogfish Head Aprihop Rating: 4.85
http://tinyurl.com/dfhaprihop

5. The Alchemist Pub and Brewery Heathen Rating: 4.85
http://tinyurl.com/alcheathen

2010 Vermont Brewers Festival

Information seems to be limited at this time but here’s a link to the website for this beer festival:

http://vtbrewfest.com/

It will be held Friday July 16th and Saturday July 17th on Burlington’s Waterfront.  Tickets are $25 and they include a souvenir glass and 15 beer tickets. Tickets will not be on sale in advance until May 15th. A partial list of breweries attending can be found here:

http://vtbrewfest.com/meetbrewers

Stay tuned to their website for more details.

(Editor’s note: Been attending since 2004. May or may not attend this year. Regardless, YOU should go. You’ll love it. Lots of beer, good food and good social interaction. I recommend Session II though as there is still plenty of beer and less people around for it.)

Reviewing Beer

One of the biggest problems in being a beer enthusiast is how to review a beer. Do you go by the standard 5 point system used by Beer Advocate (Color, Aroma, Taste, Mouthfeel and Drinkability) or do you aim to just note the prevailing characteristics of each beer?

Look back on my reviews from the past 3 years, I started out with basic sentences, not deviating far from describing what I could find in a beer. From that, I graduated to more lengthy reviews in which I tried to push myself to find things in the beer that just weren’t readily apparent at the time.

It all comes down to the style you are reviewing. What do you expect to find? How are you going to find it? If you don’t find it, will you note it? A beer I reviewed recently, for example, was Harpoon’s Leviathan Imperial Red Ale. It has, in my opinion, characteristics that are similar to those of an American Barleywine. Rating becomes more difficult because if you believe the style listed is incorrect or vague, you’re stuck on which merits to use to judge the beer. Should you review it against the style or should you just note what it has, doesn’t have for that style?

I’m purely an amateur and I tend to go by what my senses tell me.

It’s safe to say that when I started out reviewing beer, I never thought it’d get as far as it has gotten.

When I’m not reviewing beer, I have a cache of favorites that I buy often, such as Victory Brewing’s Prima Pils. I also tend to buy local beer, mainly if it’s in growlers, either from Magic Hat or VT Pub and Brewery.