Day #143 – Sierra Nevada Summerfest

Another summer beer today. How can I tell you ask? Well it’s right there in the name, SUMMERFEST!!

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

I just had a Sierra Nevada beer on a couple of days ago and now they have another being featured for a glass night. Believe it or not, this will be my first Sierra Nevada glass. Crazy right? The 2nd largest craft brewery and I don’t have a glass from them? Yeah it’s about time I corrected that.

Their summer beer is another great summer style, premium lager (you’ll recall yesterday’s was a kolsch) and it sits at an easy 5%.

The appearance is very clear, light gold to almost a yellowish hue. Foamy head that fades quickly. White color.

Aroma is sweet bread and grains with a light grassy aroma and maybe the smallest touch of fruit. Fairly nice smelling!

Flavor is smooth grains with bitter malts and a touch of bittering hops. Refreshing flavor with a thin mouthfeel. Finishes a tad bitter. Good summer beer.

Cheers!

Day #119 – Maui Brewing Bikini Blonde Lager

Maui Brewing Bikini Blonde Lager

Maui Brewing is obviously from Hawaii and it very recently began distribution in our area. I bought it because it has a awesome picture on it. It’s classified as a premium lager at 4.5%.

This beer pours a very clear light yellow color with a white type head.

Aroma is bitter pilsener malts and grains. Slight metal and sweetness.

Flavor is sweet malts with a bready grain flavor. It finishes much the same.

Pretty straightforward brew. Cheers!

Day #61 – Shiner Kosmos Reserve

Kosmos Spoetzl was the first major brewmaster at Shiner way back in the early 1900’s.  With him he brought the brewing traditions and styles native to Bavaria and incorporated them into Shiner’s recipes and offerings.    He certainly shaped what the brewery was and what they would eventually become.  In 2009 Shiner released this beer in honor of him.  It is classified as a Premium Lager and has an ABV of 4.98%.  Remember what I said yesterday about Texas liquor laws?  Yeah.  Stupid law strikes again.

Shiner Kosmos Reserve

So I went a little crazy when pouring this beer, and held the bottle literally a foot above the glass, and the head went everywhere.  (Insert that’s what she said joke here) I can at least say that this beer has a decent head response!  It pours a clear, bright orange color with a tall foamy white head.

The aroma is a little watery and grainy, but what is there is fairly faint.  There are some corn elements also but it’s not too offensive.  The label said that this beer was “hop-jacked”.  Well I honestly couldn’t detect any hops until after the beer warmed up AND I read the label.  So there’s no telling whether I actually smelled hops or if it was implanted in my brain while I slept on a plane.

The flavor is very bready with lots of bitter grains.  It pushes to an increasingly bitter finish with some efforts of corn in the mix.  It also has a bit of a watery mouthfeel.  As it warms up there are more and more bitter, metallic notes.  I guess the bitterness comes from the hops?  Not impressed.  If there are hops in this they are hiding behind a kernel of corn.  Kosmos would be rolling over in his massive tomb filled with Bavarian hops after trying this.  At least I have an episode of Conan on my DVR to drink to!

Cheers to that!!!

Day #45 – Sam Adams Light

Yes I know, another freaken Sam Adams beer.  I tell you, I’ve got a ton of these available to me, and I had a few of them come into my possession without me seeking it out, so I figure as long as I’ve got it and it’s available here, why not review it?  Holy crap I’ve got 320 beers left so I’ll get to some other stuff…..eventually.  For today, another beer from Boston Beer Company.  At least I am adding a new style to my Categories list!

Sam Adams Light

This beer is classified as a Premium Lager, which is basically a pale lager on steroids.  Premium Lagers are typically light and clear with a bit more taste than a pale lager.  They are usually brewed with a bit more actual ingredients and often times do not use adjuncts.  Either way, it’s like dressing a hobo in a tux.  Let’s see how ole’ Boston Beer puts their spin on it.

Right off the bat I can tell you this beer does not appear like any other Premium Lager I’ve seen before.  It is much darker and much more appealing.  The color is a clear copper orange with a foamy white head.  There is lots of carbonation emanating from the base of the glass.

The aroma is light and grainy with a slight bit of sweetness and metal.  I’m not really detecting many, if any hops in this.

The flavor is slightly dry, with big sweet grains over the tongue.  There is a slight tingle, but only a small one.  It finishes with a small bitterness that comes from the dry grains.  Perhaps the light use of hops can create this feeling as well.

Well I can admit this was much better than I was expecting.  If you are a Bud drinker only and are looking for something to slowly get you into something of higher quality, I’d look to this beer.

Cheers!