The Official INGO Beer Snob Thread

[apfroggy0408]

Well no one answered prompt enough for tonight's tasting. I've picked up Bell's Kalamazoo Stout made in Comstock, Michigan. Stay tuned for the review!

 

[apfroggy0408]

Alright here it is!
Bell's
Kalamazoo Stout

from Michigan

ABV- 6.0%

From Bell- "Kalamazoo Stout represents stouts in the Bell's year-round roster, offering a blend of dark chocolate and coffee flavors with just a hint of brewer's licorice. One of our oldest recipes, it balances a significant hop presence against the roast malt body."

My thoughts -

Packaging: When I'm looking for a new brand of beer to try I'm easily swayed by the packaging. A nice looking 6 pack can catch my eye and I feel is important for what I buy. Bell's packaging was minimalist which I found to be quite nice with many of the other brands basically yelling at you to get your attention.

The Pour: I try to enjoy every part of my beer tasting experience and pouring the beer is no different. I'm very interested as to how the beer fills the glass and watching the head form. As you can see in the picture a very nice head formed when poured correctly. It has a soft brown caramel like color. The beer itself resembles a stout very well as it has a dark brown and almost black color.

The Aroma: A beer's aroma is a sneak peek to what flavors it might hold. As with any other stout you get hints of coffee, bread, and chocolate. In this particular brew chocolate seems to have the strongest smell, at least for me.

The Swig: Arguably the most important step in a beer tasting process is actually tasting it!! Initial taste is composed of a bready flavor with some hints of coffee. This is not the type of stout that you can chew though, it is silky smooth as it floats above the palette. Once you've actually swallowed the beer a sense of chocolate hoppyness arrives.

Would I recommend?

Yes!!

Although I paid 11.99 for this 6 pack and still enjoy Sam Adam's Creamy Stout more you should give it a shot. There's a lot of character to this brew and it's worth giving a shot.

 

[LanceRobbins24]

alright....I've been into the craft beer scene for about 2 years now and have had quite a few different crafts in my fridge. I guess I'm gonna dive into the review portion of it now that I'm no longer a noob (guess I kinda still am, but I feel I've been around the block a couple times and don't feel so green now). South Bend has a great selection from fairly close brewers (3Floyds/Bells/Founders/Bare Hands) and I'll post some of my favorites here soon. Anytime I crack a new beer, I'm pretty good at snagging a pic and punching in some notes on my iphone BeerBuddy app. I've become a hop head and a stout guy...it almost pains me to drink a light beer anymore as my tastes have drastically changed over the past 2 years. I'll post some soon! Life is short...drink good beer!

 

[apfroggy0408]

It's Friday!!

Bell's
Oberon Wheat Ale

From Michigan

ABV- 5.8%

From Bell- Bell's Oberon is a wheat ale fermented with Bell's signature house ale yeast, mixing a spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas. The addition of wheat malt lends a smooth mouthfeel, making it a classic summer beer.

My thoughts -

Packaging: Well when I walked into the store today I didn't expect to get another beer from Bell. But this little pony keg caught my eye and so I grabbed it. As you can seen in the picture the keg is nicely decorated in outdoor living.

The Pour: Pouring is much different than a tap or from a bottle. It was a little harder to get an appropriate pour from this but with a little practice you can get it after you discharge some of the foam from the first initial pours. A very nice white head forms once you can make a good pour.

The Aroma: This beer has a very strong orange aroma, I can't seem to get much of a smell of anything else. There's possibly a small hint of a pine smell.

The Swig: The orange aroma is overwhelmed with that piney taste and an orange peel taste comes in for an after taste. It is a very crisp beer and goes down smooth.

Would I recommend?

I mean if you like lighter beer I guess it's worth giving a shot. Damn marketing ploy got me good!

I paid about 22 dollars for this pony keg and would probably not buy this one again.

 

[Scutter01]

Stumbled across this article a few days ago and I have to admit that it makes some pretty fair points. I've seen craft beers get stupidly hoppy over the last few years. What say you?

Against Hoppy Beer
The craft beer industry’s love affair with hops is alienating people who don’t like bitter brews.
- Slate Magazine

 

[rockhopper46038]

Partook in a Cantillion tasting on Friday. Had the Gueze, the Kriek, the Grand Cru and one other that I didn't identify. Fine beers. Grand Cru was my favorite.

Drinking a Pappy Fog right now in Fountain Square. 13.1% Belgian Quad aged in a Pappy van Winkle bourbon barrel. I'm admittedly biased, but this is the finest bourbon barrel aged beer I can recollect, and I've had the pleasure of attending FOBAB the last 4 years...

 

[littletommy]

Stumbled across this article a few days ago and I have to admit that it makes some pretty fair points. I've seen craft beers get stupidly hoppy over the last few years. What say you?

Against Hoppy Beer
The craft beer industry’s love affair with hops is alienating people who don’t like bitter brews.
- Slate Magazine

That's very true of my experience with introducing people to craft beer. I took my brother to Smokey Mt. Brewery a few months back, he was interested in trying some different stuff, but wound up, after the six beer sampler, ordering a mountain lite, which is their version of bud/miller/coors lite. I absolutely love SMBs Cherokee red ale, it's my favorite from there, but he couldn't get past the first sip. It's just not what most people think of when they think of drinking a beer, and I'll admit, my first foray into craft beer (which really started at the Smokey Mt brewery several years back) did not immediately reach out and grab me. It was after trying a few different beers from a local specialty store that the hoppy flavor really started to grow on me.

Most people I know who don't really get into the craft stuff just can't give it another try, or try to find something they do like, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm that way in most other aspects of my life.

 

[Scutter01]

I'm not a huge fan of bitters. I much prefer pilsners, heffeweizens, etc. but I never noticed how bad the industry has gotten until I read the article and started to think about it.

 

[prowland]

That article is kinda lame imho.

I have yet to run into a brewery that only produces hoppy brews. They (hop forward brews) are popular because there is a market and some of that might be because they are trendy, but not the sole or even major reason they are successful.

A lot of that article is also incorrect facts and poor research.

Full disclosure: I love beer that will almost destroy my taste buds... I don't care how it does it. Hops or malt or whatever.

 

[JettaKnight]

Stumbled across this article a few days ago and I have to admit that it makes some pretty fair points. I've seen craft beers get stupidly hoppy over the last few years. What say you?

Against Hoppy Beer
The craft beer industry’s love affair with hops is alienating people who don’t like bitter brews.
- Slate Magazine

The author's other article on Slate is, "Victoria's Circuit, Harnessing the untapped power of breast motion."

And like many other pop pieces, there's absolutely no journalism to back up her claims. Not even anecdotal.

I say the carft beer industry is big enough for all. It used to be West Coast hop blasters tended to dominate the beer scene. Not anymore. Now, you can get any style, now made in America.

Give the rise of sours, fruits, spice/herb/vegetable and barleywines, I'd argue that beer is now lower in IBUs as a whole than before. The difference is that now the standard deviation is much, much higher.

I refuse to allow beer to be accepted by all if that means that it becomes more like budmilloors.

 

[Scutter01]

The author's other article on Slate is, "Victoria's Circuit, Harnessing the untapped power of breast motion."

And like many other pop pieces, there's absolutely no journalism to back up her claims. Not even anecdotal.

Oh, I never claimed it was journalism. It's clearly an opinion piece, but I can't disagree that craft beer has been getting steadily hoppier. I went to the Fishers beer fest thing a few months ago and the vast majority of the beers I tasted were bitter. That's the way tastes are going, though, I guess. Can't really fault the brewers for brewing what people like.

You're right, though, that the field is big enough for everyone now. We're in a golden age of American craft beer and if you can't find an excellent beer to suit your taste, then you're not trying even a little.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Miami Weiss. Union Brewing, Carmel. 4.1 ABV, 22 IBU. Eminently sessionable. Great floral nose. Slight sour on the sides of the tongue, a little bready on the finish. A dark Berliner Weiss. Well worth the taste. Good on you, Union.

 

[Hookeye]

Scotty Karate- Dark Horse Brewing Co.
9.75%
Very similar to 3 Floyds- Robert the Bruce.
Salesman said better, I see no diff.
Maybe because I'm so bummed about not finding Double Crooked Tree

Sweet, thin, safe for women this brew is (Scotty Karate).

 

[LanceRobbins24]

Sixpoint Resin
Sixpoint Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
9.1 abv
103 ibu


Appearance: A golden amber pour. Initially left a two finger head. Lots of lacing. This looks bright, crisp, and refreshing

Aroma: Floral hops. Some pine and grass. Some sweet grapefruit perhaps. Definitely some pear and apple fruity esters. Possibly even some bananas. Very sweet smelling. This may be one of the best smelling beers I've come across.

Taste: Malt forward then big smooth hoppy finish. Banana bread. Caramel. Dry apples. Really nice start. Resiny (appropriate) piney hops. Tart grapefruit finish. Boozy, but not over the top. Finishes crisp.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and a slightly oily. Perfect amount of carbonation.

Overall: I'm thoroughly impressed by this beer. I've become more of a fan of the style and enjoyed this hop beast. Pick this one up if you can find it! Has become one of my favorites.

Serving: Poured from a can into a Sixpoint tulip glass.

 

[mayor al]

Closest I go to what I call FooFoo Beers is Shiner Boch. My acquaince with this fine Texas Brand goes back 30 years or more to when my Mom and I were roadtriping around the Czech heritage spots in the Midwest. We visited a number of festivals and museums etc, while digging into the genealogy of Mom's family name. After our first visit to Shiner Texas, and walking the brewery tour there, we made it a regular stop on those summer trips between SoCal and Louisville. I like several of their flavors but the Boch is the best in my book.

 

[JettaKnight]

Closest I go to what I call FooFoo Beers is Shiner Boch. My acquaince with this fine Texas Brand goes back 30 years or more to when my Mom and I were roadtriping around the Czech heritage spots in the Midwest. We visited a number of festivals and museums etc, while digging into the genealogy of Mom's family name. After our first visit to Shiner Texas, and walking the brewery tour there, we made it a regular stop on those summer trips between SoCal and Louisville. I like several of their flavors but the Boch is the best in my book.

FooFoo beer?

PS - It's Bock, not Boch.

 

[mayor al]

Thanks for the correction. Of the smaller label Shiner's, I like the Ruby Redbird a lot.

And the "FooFoo" comment is a tongue in cheek remark about those who 'overanalyze' any product down to the sub-atomic structure to make it "special". Good Beer is Good Beer and I like it...Bad Beer is Not...and unless I am desperate (and I have been) I will avoid it.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

My not so full of information "reviews" of a few things:

Seems I have recently become a fan of a few ShockTop offerings.

ST Honeycrisp Apple Wheat Ale:

Not a wholly wheat beer, not wholly one of the new trendy apple "beers". ("beer" in quotes there because I'm honestly not sure if one can call them beer)

Mild taste, a very even blend of both the typical fruity wheat-style beer + apple undertones. It really depends on A) what temperature you begin consuming it and B) what you have it paired with on what it tastes like sip to sip - at least in my inexperienced and uneducated palate. Have one on back-to-back nights, with two different meals, and you may find the wheaty / beeryness be the main taste, but the next meal seems to bring out the apple.

Not bitter at all - which is a good thing for me. Hint of sweet - which I think is good due to my sweet tooth.

ST Belgian White:

Honestly, it seems to be almost identical to Blue Moon. I don't know if I could tell a difference if tasting them one after the other.

ST Raspberry Wheat:

Review almost the same as the Honeycrisp above. Depends on what you're eating which flavor seems to come through more. At times, to me, the raspberry can almost taste a bit artificial.

Michelob Ultra Light Cider:

Very very "thin" tasting beer. Just enough apple flavor to keep me interested. I didn't notice any of the typical "American-style lager" taste that it LOOKS like. A buddy had a 6-pack. I priced it - it's expensive as compared to many similar things.

Reviewer notes: I'm not much of a beer drinker. I have a sweet tooth. Those "knowledgeable" about beer don't think much of any of these three ShockTop varieties. Good thing I don't really care what those folks think - the above taste right decent to ME.

So - if you're not currently a beer drinker, and want to try a few products that are quite different, the above may be what you're looking for.

-J-

 

[RyanGSams]

I just now seen this, I have brews from all over the country, will post pictures when i get home and am on my computer.

I have tried these all but the middle container. Trappistes 6 i liked better than the 10. Also, breakfast stout is a great stout.

Dark Lord and Zombie Dust. Zombie Dust is one of my favorite IPAs.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Review of a quasi-beer "Apple Ale"

Redd's Apple Ale:

Ain't a beer, but it's aimed at beer drinkers as something "different".

It's...OK. Nothing spectacular. Not too sweet, not too "alcohol-y" to coin a goofy word. (Only 5% ABV)

Might as well be a "hard cider".

I'll put it in the malt beverage clan along with Mike's Hard Lemonade and the like.

If you're not much of a drinker, as I'm not, this is another drink to try out if you generally don't like "drinks".

Enough quotation marks.

-J-