A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale

Lagunitas - A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale – Petaluma, California

“Life is Uncertain. Don’t Sip.” Is written on the label for this beer; along with a scantily clothed woman of some sort and the cap has…a dog on it? I’m all confused about the message this beer is trying to get across. Scantily clothed women like dogs? Anyways, it is a very golden brew, with a LOT of hops. I tend to shy away from really hoppy beers normally, but there is something different about this one that makes it very drinkable for me. It has a really strong taste at first as it rumbles around your mouth, overwhelming the taste buds a bit, but the after taste is very light. This is a great summer beer for that reason, and I would definitely buy it again or order it at a bar if I saw it! As a wise man once said, “This is a serious beer.”

Full Sail Amber

Full Sail Amber - Hood River, Oregon

This is an interesting beer because it is “independent employee – owned” with a robust staff of only 47 people. (I learned all of this from the bottle – go labels!) Basically this is like my dream come true career, to be a part of some sort of Oregon/West Coast based brewing company that brews good beers (as opposed to crappy ones?). And this is what Full Sail Amber is – a darn tasty beer. Like I have said before, I’m a fan of Ambers, and this one is pretty much the epitome of a solid Amber Ale. It’s not offensive in taste at all, and goes down very smoothly. I salute you, 47 employees of Full Sail Brewing! Not only did you create a delicious beer, but you did it in an awesome part of the country AND you still own and control all of your own shit! God bless America.

ps - I realize Milwaukee, Wisconsin is not a place on the West Coast, and Old Milwaukee's Best should not be talked about in a post about West Coast beers or breweries. But it's the crappiest crap I've ever had. So I had to phinagel a diss in.

Hacker–Pschorr Munich Gold

Hacker–Pschorr Munich Gold – Munich, Germany

Ah, yes, the crisp refreshing taste of a German lager. The master German brewers have successfully created a beer that has the perfect beer color, and perfect beer flavor; although there really is nothing special about this one! I can think of many uses for it – it would make a great summertime beach beer, tasting especially good on a hot day when you have worked up a particularly beady mustache sweat. Heck, if it was Spring Break and the time was right I would just shower this beer all over me when I got home from a day at the beach (making sure to drink some as I did it). Refreshing no? No, maybe not to you, but to me a beer shower would be quite a life accomplishment. Why didn’t I think of this when I was in college? Dang.

Wild Raspberry Ale

Wild Raspberry Ale (Great Divide Brewing) – Denver, Colorado

Skepticism. I am overly skeptical about any beer that is “berry” flavored. Or fruit flavored. Berries and fruitiness are just not what I want in a typical beer I suppose. I usually avoid them, but this time I was forced to buy one because Jessica Corey Berry Johnson Dupont made me. I figured – what the heck - we are splitting this, I’ll only have to drink half. One thing that I failed to realize though is that unlike many fruity or berry flavored beers this beer is an Ale, NOT a wheat beer. I think this is ultimately what made the difference upon taking my first sip. It was not gross! Yes, it tasted like raspberry, BUT it did not have that gross wheaty taste after it! (FYI - Not a fan of wheat beers if you didn't pick up on that yet) So maybe I just need to scour the shelves of Total Wine for more fun, fruity ALES – and open up my girly beer repertoire a little more so I don’t end up being the girl ordering a Yeungling while the two guys I’m with order Blue Moon’s…