brendan
Brendan Keenan
Registered Since: 2008-01-03 22:33:54
Profile: I like beer, and am trying to expand my knowledge of it. I have been homebrewing all grain for a little over a year, so I think I approach beer with a little bit of knowledge and a lot of awe.
Reviews by brendan:
Special? More like dependable.
Week 10: Lake Superior Special Ale (March 3–9) | Reviewed on March 10th, 2008
This is a nice friendly pale ale with floral hop aroma and taste and a good malt backbone. I really like a good sessionable beer. Sometimes I do not need to have a taste experience, or have my assumptions about beer challenged. I need a beer that has a good solid malt and hop flavor, and not too much ABV so I can have another.
Two would be fine, but you can drive.
Week 7: Surly 2 (February 11-17) | Reviewed on February 18th, 2008
I think this beer was pushing around 9%, but I did not notice. There was so much going on in the flavor department, that I missed the fact that my legs were being dissolved. Glad I walked. This one is really complex, and I really liked the contrasting flavors of the cranberry and chocolaty malt.
Winter Good
Week 5: Summit Winter (January 28-February 3) | Reviewed on February 4th, 2008
This beer is frequently a solid performer. I enjoy it every year. But I have to say that it does not light my fire as much as a more high flying beer. It’s solid and good and enjoyable, I buy a twelve pack or more every year. It inspires loyalty rather than slavish devotion.
Shake it up, figuratively not literally.
Week 4: Surly Furious (January 21-27) | Reviewed on January 21st, 2008
As Tina Turner says: Every now and then, we like to do something nice.. and easy. Only there’s just one thing: we never do anything nice.. and easy. This beer is like punk rock in a can for me. If you have been drinking nice, pleasant beers with subtle flavors and mellow bitterness, sometimes it’s nice to just drag your fingernails across the chalkboard of your palate and shake things up. Furious is a beer that does just that. It’s like an alarm or a call to action. It fairly screams “you are still alive and there are still flavors you haven’t become accustomed to!” Purists and nerds will ask: Is it a true IPA ? Is it well balanced? Furious answers them with a resounding “Go sod yerself toolbag!”
Belgian Session Ale
Week 3: Flat Earth Belgian Pale Ale (January 14-20) | Reviewed on January 21st, 2008
Most Belgian beers tend to be more like wines in alcoholic heft and complication of flavor. It’s nice to see a Belgian style which does not want to knock me over, and I can enjoy a few with friends, or pair with a meal. I enjoyed this beer. It has a great fruity flavor from the yeast and a nice spicy bite from the German hops. It is subtle enough that it complements almost any meal, but I noticed the best return with salty fried foods like calamari or onion rings. The fruit and the hops really come to the fore with that tasting, go figure.
Meh, meh and double meh!
Week 2: Gluek Honey Bock (January 7-13) | Reviewed on January 14th, 2008
This beer would be fine if you were trapped at your uncle the cheap drunk’s house without an alternative. This is one of those beers, that is best served as cold as possible. When it is very cold, you taste nothing, then a sweet taste. This is pure alcohol delivery device, and as such it has few other redeeming characteristics. I like a little flavor with my alcohol. To sum up I would not seek it out and I would not purchase it. Thanks to Cassie and CJ for delivering this to me.
Dubbel delivers on promise.
Week 1: Schell Snowstorm (January 1-6) | Reviewed on January 7th, 2008
I read that it is supposed to be a belgian dubbel in style I really think it delivers on that promise. If you know what a dubbel is, you expect big malt flavors, a thickish mouth-feel and then fruity estery flavors from the yeast. So I was expecting a sweet, fruity strong beer that coated my mouth and got it. I like this beer, maybe I am forgiving, since no one else around here makes a dubbel, I have not compared it to my favorite in the style: St. Bernardus Pater 6. This one probably will not impress macro-lager drinkers, or the hop heads, but on a cold day, a strong malty brew like this is nice.