Beer Tasting

Ok, another non-outdoorsy post, but hey, it's cold out and I wanna stay in and drink BEER!!! hahaha! Boo and I decided to have our very own beer tasting. We headed out to our local Total Wine store, sailed past the wines, and cruised down the beer aisle. We picked up an assortment of beers from all around the world. The cool thing about Total Wine, is you can just buy one bottle of beer. So after some serious browsing, we walked out with quite a variety of libations. We used our little pint sized pint glasses we got from our beer tasting we did a couple of weeks ago. They were the perfect size b/c one beer filled both 6 oz glasses.

Our first beer was FAT TIRE. It's touted as being the "New Belgian" beer and it's from Colorado. The Fat Tire recipe originates from a co-founder's (husband and wife) bicycle trip through Belgium from brewery to brewery. This eco-friendly company practice employee ownership and in 2008, it was named THE place to work in America by Outside Magazine.

REVIEW: It was good. Amber colored, and cloudy. Had a nice little after taste kick, maybe from the hops. Might try it again.

Next up was Hoegaarden. A true Belgian Beer. I liked the pretty bottle and had fun running around saying HO Garden, HO garden! like a 13 year old. haha! It's actually pronounced Hu-garden. It dates as far back as 1318 and was named after the village it was brewed from, just east of Brussels. It's an unfiltered beer that won tons of awards.

REVIEW: When I poured it, I was nervous at how cloudy this pale beer was, but that's b/c it's unfiltered. I have to say that the crisp taste made this my favorite beer of the night. The taste ended up being orange peel and coriander, as written on the bottle. It had no after tasted, which I definitely liked, and it was sort of fruity tasting. Very good beer. Will definitely try this again.

Green Flash West Coast was next. This beer hails from Sunny San Diego, California, and I've heard many good things about it so I was excited to try a beer from my beloved SD. It's an IPA that won several first place awards in 2008.

REVIEW: If I recall correctly, the description on the bottle says hoppy and pungent. It ain't lying! Talk about hoppy.... whoo hoo, this beer is hoppity hop hop hoppy. If that's your thing than this is the beer for you. Personally, I'm not a hopped up person, so I was a bit disappointed I didn't enjoy it as much as all other things southern Californian. Not sure if I would try this pungent beer again. (sniff, sniff, one tear falling.) Sorry SD, I still love you.

Up next, we made our way to Germany. I was kind of looking forward to this one. After all, isn't Germany known for its beer? So we had a bottle of Dinkel that we got from my in-laws, I think... Anyways, we decided to add it to our little beer tasting. I couldn't find anything on this beer bottle that was readable to me. It was all in German. So this is what I think. I think Dinkel, means Dunkel, which means Dark Beer in German. That's all I got.

REVIEW: This beer was pale, cloudy with chunky bits floating in it, and looked scary to drink. We poured about half a glass full and took about 10 minutes of agruing who was going to attempt to drink this first (at one point I looked at Boo and jokingly asked if his parents meant to kill me with this. haha! He didn't think the in-law joke was funny. Oh well. haha!) It tasted like straight WHEAT. So gross, we tossed it down the drain. You'd think after a couple of beers anything would go down easily. This beer threw that theory out the window. Maybe the saying is that Germany's know for drinking beer, not making it? Anyways, NEVER trying this one again.

Up next is one of Boo's favorite. The San Fransisco, California made, Anchor Steam. Founded in 1896 during the gold rush. The 1906 San Fransisco earthquake and subsequent fires actually burned down the original brewery, but it was rebuilt in a different location in 1907. During the 50's and 60's it went through some rough times when Americans started drinking the pale mega breweries like Bud and Coors. It actually closed down for a year in 1965. It was bought out for a couple of thousand dollars, moved to a different/current location, re marketed with a new recipe and BAM, it's now a great, sought after American beer.

REVIEW: I really wanted to love this beer cause it was Boo's favorite. But my palette had a different idea. It had a strong kick to it that I didn't enjoy and it was a bit hoppy. I'd try it again, but not one of my favorites. For those who like a hopped up beer, this one's for you.

Next, we went down south to New Awlins, Louisiana, (I know it's New Orleans, just like pronouncing it New Awlins. Oh, and Abita is actually made in Abita Springs, Louisiana, north of New Awlins), and tried another one of Boo's fav's, Abita Turbo dog. Founded in 1986, this baby American beer company not only makes beer but also makes root beer in the same facility. Another eco-friendly "green" beer company, saves the environment while mixing together "British and North American malted barley, German and American yeast strains, Pacific Northwest hops and the pure artesian water of Abita Springs." (Abita website)

REVIEW: This dark, velvety, coffee/chocolately flavored beer was one of my favorites of the night. It was a smooth perfect winter beer. It actually tasted alot like Carolina Brewing Company's "Low Down Brown" beer, which I like. I will totally try this beer again and looking forward to trying the Pecan Beer too.

For our last beer, we decided to stick our tried and true Corona in for good measure and to end the tasting on a good note. :) So off we go to Mexico. Usually served with a slice of lime, the pale ale Corona, or should I say Corona Extra, is a cerveza (beer) owned by Modelo Brewing (Cervecia Modelo, which happens to be another one of my favorite beers). Not only is Corona the top selling cerveza in Mexico, it's the top selling export in the United States.

REVIEW: What can I say about this beer other than it's liquid gold. It is a refreshing, smooth, great tasting pale beer. It has the best beer commercials I've ever seen and if you ever come to casa-de Sweetpea, chance are my fridge has a few Corona's floating around in it. It's a staple in our house. Of course I'll try this one again. haha!

Well, that does it for the at home "Beer Tasting." Hopefully I entertained, as well as gave you a few suggestions on new beers to try. If you have any favorite beers you want to pass along/recommend, let me know, I'll be happy to taste test it, all in the name of science ;) Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!