Entries Tagged 'Beer Tastings' ↓

It's been a while since we've done some beer tastings and I'm happy to
report that we'll be doing quite a few this week.  I'm also happy
to report that most will taste better than this beer. 

Unibroue is one of my favorite brewers, so I'm not sure if I should
blame them or the bar I was visiting.  This belgian style a ale
came with a decent head, but quickly fell flat.  Mild carbonation
is typical but this was non-existant.  As for taste, it reminded
me of a trip to AB's factory where you can discover what beechwood
tastes like.  The body is as thick as water, with a mild woody
overtone for flavor. 

So yes, I'm disappointed in this beer.  As I eluded to before,
this could be the establishments fault as it was a draft.  As
someone asked, “why didn't you just return it?”  Even if it's a
bad beer, it's still a beer damn it.

I was bored of my usuall beer the other night so I grabbed the beer list looking for something that would be naughty or nice.  I found something, called North Coast Brewing Company PranQster – Belgian Style Ale. 

It's a good beer.  It's not a belgian ale by far, but as a substitute I would recommend it.  When it came to the table, it had the largest head I have ever seen on a belgian.  Ok that sounds wrong, but belgian ales aren't usally as carbonated as this belgian style ale is.  The body is medium with a good fruity taste for the palate.  I would describe the beer further, but after several of these, the 6.9% alcohol content hits you.   

If you're looking for something a little different, grab a PranQster.  It's similiar to a Blue Moon, but with more carbonation. 

As for price, I paid $6 per glass. 

Since it was Cinco De Mayo, I thought I would review one of Chris's recommendations to give you a different perspective. 

The only thing amber about this beer is the color and the slight hint of caramel as it goes down.  Here's the experience.  Looks good, smell – hmmm - no overtones of anything, smells like a Budweiser.  Taste is light, with a hint of caramel but you would never know it unless you are looking for it.  Aftertaste is strangely related to the aftertaste of a budweiser.  It's nasty to the point where I have to take another sip. 

I repeat this process and determine that this beer isn't getting any better.  It's kind of like nickle beer, the more you drink of it, the nastier it gets until you are drunk.  It is a Mexican beer so I didn't expect much, but sad to say I would prefer a beer with lime in it over this one. 

Like most Mexican beer, pair it with your typical Mexican foods. 

For the amount of beer Chris and I drink we sure are lazy when it comes to reviewing them.  Regardless, here's out latest review.

A few days ago, a friend and I went for sushi at Nara Grill.  I'm not a big fan of sushi, but hey they had beer and I was game for that.  I could have ordered an American beer, but the hostess recommended Asahi.  If there is one thing I believe, it's that the Japanese / Chinese / Thai understand food pairings better than anyone else.  The beer, Asahi, complimented my tuna roll perfectly.  It was light, low carbonation, and mellow enough to leave my palate clean from the soy / wasabi dipping the tuna had taken.  This is a mild beer and it matches Tuna, California, Salmon, and Tempura rolls well. 

To provide a reference, the beer was not bold enough to handle unagi well.  The heavy sauce on unagi required several sips to clean the palate. 

So, next time you are out having sushi and you want a beer that matches well, ask for Asahi.  You will be pleased.

Since we are slacking here at Hail the Ale! on our beer tastings, I
point you to ~~$aurabh~~ (no, that's not a typo) where they have a nice post of tastings for some nice beers, mostly Belgian ales.