Category Archives: Beer Trips

For those times when you have to go out of your way to make something possible when extending your Beer Experience.

Kingfisher Lager: Not that great … but ok

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I went out today with my family to an Indian restaurant and had a Kingfisher Premium Lager.  It said it was made from the best Barley and Hops, but it sure had that taste like it had Rice (or corn) in it.

This beer is brewed and bottled in New York by a subsidiary brewery of this company.  I could swear it had that hot, dry alcohol flavor you get when you use rice/corn as an adjunct.  I agree with these reviews, it is drinkable, but it wouldn’t be my first choice … unless my first choice was bud light, then it would probably be my first choice!

Beer Mentor

Southern Tier 422 Pale: Yes, a wheat beer

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I cracked open a bottle of Southern Tier’s 422 Pale Wheat Ale tonight (I bought it in a sampler 12-pack from Total Wine and MORE).  I have to say, this is the first Southern Tier beer that didn’t really knock my socks off.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a very drinkable Wheat “ale,” and I enjoyed the extra hoppiness that you wouldn’t find in a normal wheat beer, but it was basically a session beer … and if I want a session “wheat” beer I would probably reach for a Saison or a Belgian Wit.  Oh well, all of their beers may not be homeruns, but most of them are at a minimum a double!

Beer Mentor

Sam Adams Seasonal: Summer Ale

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I was in Jacksonville, NC, today and was having dinner at their local Chili’s restaurant.  I scanned the menu, didn’t see Shiner bock, so I decided to have the Sam Adam’s Seasonal — currently the Summer Ale.

I would like to say I enjoyed this beer … but I can’t.  I like the fact that their summer ale is a wheat beer … but the problem I had was not with this beer, it was with the dispensing equipment at this Chili’s.

If you’ve had plenty of beer from the tap (yes, I have), then you know what I’m talking about.  It is almost automatic when you get a whiff of the beer that the lines haven’t been cleaned in a while (see this article about this).

So, I know I usually enjoy my Sam Adams … especially their summer seasonal, but I’ll have to get it at another location.

Restaurants — clean your lines!  Actually, I probably should have mentioned it to them… next time, I swear, I’m going to mention it to them!  I had the same problem at a place called Bilbo Baggins in Alexandria, VA.

Beer Mentor

New Belgium Beer! The Ranger IPA

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I drove to North Carolina today to visit my son and found a six pack of New Belgium’s Ranger IPA in the shoppette.  Sweet!  I hadn’t had this beer yet (they weren’t making IPAs when I was in Colorado before…)

Don’t be confused by these pictures if you’ve seen this before — the packaging is actually lime green — the lights in my hotel room where a different color for some reason and made the packaging look yellow.

As for the taste/flavor/etc … yes, I like this beer!  This is definitely in style for an IPA, it had a very nice flavor (really enjoyed the hop finish and the aftertaste).  Excellent offering of an American IPA from a typically Belgian Beer maker…

Beer Mentor

Leinenkugel 1888 Bock

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Just a quick update for today.  I had another Leinenkugel’s … this time their 1888 Bock.  This is a nice offering, in style except it seems a little light for a bock.  Of course, this is also the case (I think) for the Shiner Bock beer too.  I’m not sure, but both of these beers are a larger offering from Craft Brewers and they seem to be slightly thin (from a bock perspective).

So far, I like all the beers I’ve had from Leinenkugel’s brewing — you can tell they take pride in their beers and in the presentation.  Overall, this is a quite drinkable beer — I will continue to sample the six-pack I bought! LOL!

Beer Mentor

Flying Dog Woody Creek White … excellent!

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I had a Flying Dog today–their summer seasonal … it is a Belgian-style Wit Beer.  I thoroughly enjoyed this beer.  I think they got this one right–excellent aroma, very nice flavor, I think the right ABV, and excellent finish … add all these up and this is a great summer drinking beer!

I recommend it!

Beer Mentor

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

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Wow.  What can I say — it’s good to be back in the USA, especially in the DC area!  For those who enjoy a great craft brew, it’s hard to miss out when you can find great selections within a couple of miles of your house.  Both Whole Foods AND “Total Wine and More” (focus on more) have excellent selections!  I purchased a nice six-pack of these Dogfish Head 60-minute IPAs at my local Whole Foods.

I won’t go into the details of how they use a hopback, etc … but you can read it here. This is just a fantastic IPA … from the first look at the color to the wonderful hop aroma to the final finish.  I love this beer.

Oh, and if you are in the mood to have it on tap (and you live in the DC area), just hop over (pun intended) to the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Seven Corners … and you can get all the other Dogfish Head brews there as well.   Well worth the trip!  DC is great!

Beer Mentor

Unearthly? Yes, and unbeatable!

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The nice thing about being back in the USA is the availability of a wide range of brews.  I can still get many of the German and Belgian beers I enjoy while sinking my teeth into all of the excellent offerings from the USA’s craft / micro-breweries.

One brewery I think that has been right on target recently is Southern Tier brewering.  They are a New York brewery that is doing great things with beer.  They have been pushing the envelope on flavor/ingredients and it has really struck a cord with me.

My beer for today is their Unearthly — a 11% ABV super-hopped up IPA.  If  you read the label, you’ll see they hop it up early in the wort, plus use a hopback, PLUS dry-hop the heck out of it.  This beer is for you hop-fanatics … and fortunately, I am one!  LOL!

I strongly recommend this beer … but don’t pour you a big 22oz like I did if you are going to drive.  Fortunately (again) I was hanging around the house and had a nice buzz going about 1/2 way through this thing.

Beer Mentor

The Oldest Brewery in the USA: Yuengling

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You may have noticed I’ve been staying pretty close to the German/Belgian theme (that will change over the next few days) … so today I picked an American beer from the oldest active brewery in the US – Yuengling — and I had their Lager beer.

For an everyday drinking beer, this is quite good.

Beer Mentor