Fireside Nut Brown - Leinenkugel's

Hello out there in blogosphere, is that the right word? Sorry about last week, I usually get my beers out of my ‘broken’ fridge and place them in the family fridge on Tuesday or Wednesday. Well, I did last week but come Friday I just didn’t have the energy to review the beer that was planned. It was a beer I had tried several times and so there in-lies the problem. I was used to it, even liked it a lot but was just no excited about reviewing it. It is even a beer I have brewed a few times (I like mine better but we’ll leave that out) but I think I have grown tired of it. Just in case you’re wondering it was Son of a Peach by RJ Rockers and this is their second year brewing it as a summer seasonal. I must say that this year’s is not nearly as good as last year’s but still good.


Now, on to this week’s beer, it is definitely one I have never had before so there is no chance of me being disinterested. Although the first beer I tried from this brewer was like drinking fruity peebles so if you have tried it you already know what beer I speak of. This one though is spot on for the style and very good indeed.

Fireside Nut Brown – Leinenkugel’s 

It pours out a reddish brown color that is almost identical to what a glass of sweet tea looks like without the ice. Nice big bold head but it’s a shame it didn’t stick around as long as it looks like it should. The scent if of mostly roasted nuts and almost no hint of hops, taste is pretty much the same but it takes you a few seconds to actually get the full taste of the roasted nuts and caramel. Like I have said before I love a full body roasted beer like brown ales, stouts, porters, etc… so this was just what I expected, nice and hearty and really makes you wish you were sitting by the fire as the name suggest. The alcohol content is a modest 4.9% A/V so you can consume more than just one without losing yourself. So stock up beer friends on the big and hearty beers as Fall is here and old man Winter ain’t far behind and you are gonna need something to warm the belly. I say Fireside Nut Brown is a good start. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub

Octoberfest - Samuel Adams

Oh yeah, my favorite time of year. College football has started, baseball is entering its final stretch to the pennant race and Samuel Adams has released Octoberfest. One of my all time favorite styles, I guess you could say I more of a malt head instead of a hop-head. I also love the English brown ales, stouts and porters cause their so full of malty goodness.

Octoberfest – Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Co)

As to be expected with a rich malty beer, it pours a deep orange-brown color with a thick off-white head. You can smell the scent of all the malts right away, no need to put the glass up the nose. First taste gives you the bitter semi-sweetness from the roasted malts that transition smoothly into the finishing bitterness of the hops, very clean and refreshing leaving absolutely no after taste at all. I always look forward to the first batch of Octoberfest as it is only brewed a few months a year and seems to always have a slightly different taste each season. Last year was so so but this year has really nailed it. I had it on draft last week and I really can’t tell that much difference in the bottled version vs. the draft, usually there is always a difference even if it is ever so slight.

So with a awesome weekend of college football this weekend, there is no reason not to pick up a few of these delicious brews to chase down that tailgate food, that was obviously prepared on a charcoal grill right, that’s what I thought. Cheers my beer friend!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Lagunitas IPA

Labor Day weekend, where has the time gone? Good news, College Football season is here, bad news….can’t think of any. I had grand plans of reviewing a beer from the state of UGA’s weekly opponent, this week it was University of Louisiana-Lafayette, easy enough to get a good beer from Louisiana and next week is USC (east), once again, easy enough to get good beer from South Carolina. The problem comes in week 3, Arkansas; I have no way of getting my hands on any craft beer from Arkansas. So, me being as superstitious as I am, I was not about to do it for some and not all of them and bring some bad mojo on the Dawgs.

So, with all that said, I have had this beer in my fridge for several months now, it being an IPA and all I have put it off as long as possible but I had to try it sooner or later. So here it is, Lagunitas IPA by Lagunitas Brewing Co. (say “lah-goo-KNEE-tuss”). I emailed my notes to myself last night, here is my exact quote “Odd color for an IPA. Looks more like a wheat ale than an IPA. Odd scent also, slightly sweet with citrusy hops mixed in. Good mixture of malt and hops. Very drinkable ipa”. It has an orangeish color to it just like the wheat ale I’m drinking right now. Me not being of the IPA fan club I never understood the statement by other beer geeks that an IPA didn’t have enough malt for the beer to stand on, I mean, an IPA is supposed to be hoppy right? Well, now I understand, this beer had a good malt front end followed by the massive hop flavors making it very well balanced and nice to drink. I may need to revisit some of the other IPAs I have had to get a real impression.

So, the dawgs win, I’m at the beach & it’s a 3-day weekend, what else could be better? Maybe if the Braves win tonight that would be the cherry on top. So cheers my friend and grab yourself a cold one on this long weekend.

FourBoysBrewPub!

Sch'Wheat - SweetWater

Sch’wheat, its Friday! I actually had planned on doing this beer a few weeks ago. I picked up some steaks and a six pack on a Saturday, fired up the grill and before I knew it, they were gone. So needless to say it is very good. So I made it a point to find some more, and make sure I save at least one for the following Friday review.


Sch’Wheat – SweetWater Brewing Co.

It pours only slightly cloudy, not nearly as cloudy as some wheat beers. A nice golden yellow color with a fair head. You get a sweet smell mixed with the flowery hops. The taste is very smooth and crisp with a light mouthfeel. A light wheat taste followed by a nice touch of hops that don’t overpower the entire beer and leave you with a bitter taste. I like to try the SweetWater beers because they are just up the road an hour or so but this and 420 are the only ones I like so far. I’m not a fan of their Blue (blueberry beer) but still want to try a real Black and Blue (Guinness and SweetWater Blue).

I was also hoping that reviewing a beer from the ATL would get my Braves back to winning, no so much, they are down 7-0 so far against the Marlins in the top of the 7th. Oh well, it’s still Braves baseball, and if I survived the 70s/80s with these Braves I’m sure I can handle anything they do now and days. So go ahead and relax, pick up a beer you’ve never heard of and think outside the box. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Levitation Ale - Stone Brewing Co

Well another week another beer, so here we go. I survived the 107F golf outing of last Saturday only because of lots and lots of liquids, mostly water with a little beer thrown in. I even came out $10 to the good, always nice when that happens. This week’s entry into the beer blog is from one of my favorite breweries, not only do they have really good beer, they also give you a good long description and story of the beer you are consuming on the back of the bottle. Now, I always try to have no real knowledge of the beer before I review it, so, even though there is a description and story there, I will wait till I finish the beer to read it.

Stone Levitation Ale – Stone Brewing Co.

As you can see, it pours a deep burnt orange/brownish color with a massive head. The scent is all over the place with smells and I even get a little peppery burn in my nose. Interestingly enough though, the taste is not as nearly as complex as the smell is, very smooth at the beginning but you are then hit with the spicy pepper that you get when smelling the beer. Some burnt malts mixing very nice with the bitterness of the hops. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this beer, being called ‘Levitation’ Ale and all, but it is a very complex, yet smooth beer very easy to enjoy. I am also very impressed with the head on this beer, it has been at least 20 minutes since I poured this beer and it still has a very nice creamy head. Most good beers will create this thick of a head at the initial pour but it never last this long. The more I drink it the easier it is to drink, the true sign of a good beer.

So, once again I ask that you try and stay cool, enjoy the weekend and definitely relax with a nice cold one beer friend. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Drifter - Widmer Bros

Well if you are able to peel yourself off the pavement after another hotter than #$%! week, I have another summer beer to help cool ya down. Now, I’m not sure if it is a seasonal beer but it is a good beer to consume in these dog days of summer. It also comes highly recommended, so anytime I have someone tell me how awesome a beer is I at least have to give it a try, if for no other reason than to see if they have some sort of good taste or not.

the Original Drifter Pale Ale – Widmer Brothers

It pours a really cool color of burnt orange with a thick creamy head. You immediately pick up on some citrus scents, almost grapefruit. The taste is almost exactly like the smell. You get a nice bit of malts at the beginning than the citrusy/grapefruit taste hits you making for a remarkably refreshing beer. This is one of the few beers I wish I had bought a 12 pack of, especially since I am going to be playing golf tomorrow and the heat index is supposed to be 107, yeah you read it, One Hundred Seven degrees!

So beer friend, please try and stay cool and hydrated, I’m going to do my best. Maybe this heat wave we are in will soon be gone, its not so much the heat I’m tired of as the fact that this is giving the global warming clowns something to argue with. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Wacko - Magic Hat

Ok people, another hot week has passed so I’ll keep the summer beers coming. I really hope this beer is better than the only other beer from this brewer I have had. They have a vast array of beers in their lineup but I have only tried one and it is a little too fruity for me. As for this beer, it is advertised as being a ‘beer with beet juice color’; hopefully they just mean the color and not actual beet juice.

WACKO – Magic Hat Brewing Company

Well, not sure if you can see it in t he picture but it does have a red pinkish color to it with a small thin head. Not real sure what I pick up in the scent, it really smells like a homebrew. Most homebrews I have brewed and sampled have a unique, ‘can’t really tell what that is’ smell. The very first taste was quite unique with a surprising bitter bite at the end. I find myself at a loss for what this taste is. I have never had beet juice so I have no idea if it really is made with beet juice. After the first few swallows the bite calms down at the end and it really does become a very good summer thirst quencher.

Ok, a bit of good news for my fellow beer friends, here are 5 reasons why you SHOULD have a few brews a day. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!