Efes Pilsener

Efes Pilsener - Istanbul, Turkey

Alert. Green bottled beer! As mentioned in my first beer review back in September, I have a slight aversion to beers that come in green bottles. Simply put, they just never taste good to me. And I've tried, I really have...

Time to prove me wrong green bottled beer from Istanbul, don’t taste like a skunk! Upon smelling the beer my initial reaction is that this beer is not going to prove me wrong. Then once I poured it into a glass and smelled it suspiciously again…I smelled…apple cider? What? I must have stuck my nose down the wrong glass. But no, this beer smelled like apple cider. Tasted a little like apple cider too! Surprise! The fine brewers of Istanbul lace their creations with crack apples! I get 50% apple, 50% beer when I drink this one, which is a pretty splendid combination. Overall, it is a very acceptable pilsner. One that I would buy again, and then revel in the fact that it can be found in a green bottle.

PS - I blame my hatred for green bottled beers on Audrey Siple. The incident of Summer 2008 and the 6 pack of Stella Artois that came from the basement is still a, shall we say, ripe, skunky memory. Who knew a beer(s) [Audrey is gross for drinking more than one!] could stink up an entire house and an entire memory.

Beerlao Dark

Beerlao Dark - Lao Brewery Company, Laos

My first Asian beer for the blog! I do not have much experience with Asian beers so this was an exciting find. It was especially interesting because it is a “dark lager”, something that is not commonly seen on the shelves here...I think...at least by me.

I was confused if this beer was more like a porter rather than a lager, but I soon found out it matches with the latter. It’s also interesting because this beer smells like day old beer - you know like a living room the day after a house party. Stale and crusty. But it doesn’t taste like it smells! Pretty much it tastes like an ordinary lager…except it’s darker in color. I suppose there is a hint of some extra maltiness in it, but it’s really nothing special. Just a beer. From Laos. NBD. Maybe if you wanted to pretend that you like dark beers (but you really don't) you can buy this and act like a pretentious, 'I prefer to drink dark beers', person. No one will be able to tell, and you will accomplish your goal of 'fitting in'. Or, maybe you should just go hang out with the Dos Equis guy. He is cooler anyway.

Guest Berlog - Jordan Albrite

Probably the first of many guest posts by Jordan! Since she was, after all, the co-conspirator of Beer June, the event that led me to create this blog. And I have all 20 of her Beer June journal entries...So thanks for letting me post this without your permission Jordan! You da best. Let's see what Jordan has to say in her eloquent Jordanian style...

PS - I don't get why this text is highlighted in white and I can't seem to fix it. My absorbent amounts of free time do not want to deal with this problem right now, so we'll have to deal with it.

Zyweic Original - Poland Prized!

First impressions: This little number immediately jumped out from the Beers of the World box set because of its excellent label: Polish men and women in gargantuan hats dancing atop punctuation I don’t recognize? Yes, please. But its charm wore off a bit when I realized the label did not allow for easy peeling (by far my favorite beer-related pass time), and continued to diminish when I could only describe the smell as "mildly fratty". The verdict: While Zyweic is proudly Poland's #1 (!), it is not mine. I wrote down "dinner?" for flavor, eventually realizing that it tasted suspiciously like veggie burger, i.e., what I consumed immediately before my Zyweic. While overall inoffensive, I feel like my beer should be able to drown out my burgur, no?

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…