Homebrew Wednesday is now officially into the double digits! I tried to celebrate but the midgets had a falling out with the greased up Orangutans from down the road and there was no way I was going to find fifty gallons of grape jelly on my own.
So, I settled for a blog post.
Recently it's been rather quiet on the brewing front. There's a few liters of apple wine bubbling away in my closet and I haven't decided if I want to make a post for it yet so you'll have to wait to read about it. If you're lucky and happen to be in Taiwan I might even let you drink some.
Anyway, for Christmas that-guy-who-looks-like-me forked over a few pretty nice brews that he'd found in the belly of a department store, along with an entire case of beer from Costco. Obviously I am burdened with the task of drinking all of this beer and it struck me as a good idea to share my thoughts on them in case any of you have considered buying them and been struck by the questions, "How tasty is this beer? Do other people like it? Should I buy some? Where do unicorns buy hats?"
Fret no more, meatbags. I've got it covered.
I actually tasted these brews a few days ago but I had the forethought to take notes of first impressions and I've copied my thoughts here. Gosh I'm smart.
Pale Ale- Not too bad! Got some nice lacing in the glass. Reasonably hoppy ale with a nice amber/gold color. Pretty good mouthfeel but the overall experience is just ok. Good to try, though.
German Lager- Can't say I've had an authentic lager from the Fatherland, so I don't have much to compare this to besides it's commercial bretheren. Nice tall head after the pour but that's per usualy with a lot of the commercial stuff. Dark golden color. Much lighter flavor than the Pale Ale or the Amber Ale. Reminds me of a clearer version of the Le Ble D'or but without the syrupy aftertaste. Hoppy finish when I lick my lips. Pretty good!
Amber Ale- Nice thick head on top after the pour. Red color. Much mellower flavor than the Pale Ale with a touch of malt. Softer hops profile, as well. Very smooth and easy to drink. I like this one a lot.
Fuller's ESB- You probably aren't surprised to read that I was drinking a beer while writing this HBW post, and this brew was so good I had to include it. I first had this at a small bar downtown and it was actually in the company of an Englishman (you know who you are you dirty redcoat!). I couldn't recommend this beer more; just smelling it makes me happy. This brew has the aroma, taste color, and foamy amazingness that other beers wistfully dream about. This ESB has a great hoppy bite that grabs your taste buds and throttles them from the very first. The finish is clean and the mouthfeel should be charging my tongue for the lap dance it just gave. This is one of those beers that is that full flavored and weighty enough to be appreciated but not too aggressive as to prevent subsequent quaffings.
I could climb into a wading pool of this and drink my way out. Seriously.
Don't tempt me.
There is also an Inda Pale Ale and when I was taking pictures for this post I realized that the case of beer from Costco had two bottles with green caps. I was wondering why there were two rows of German Lagers and only one of the others. Oops! So, I haven't tried this one yet but once I do I'll tack a follow up onto this post. Cheers!
I promised I'd post a follow-up with details on the IPA from Costco, and here it is, chumps! Initial thoughts are that it has a nice color and it reminds me of the Coopers IPA I brewed a few months back. Smells great. But, after the first sip I'd say its just ok. It's hoppy enough to be on the low range of an IPA but overall the hop profile is pretty mellow, even weak. Tasty, sure, but usually when I'm swilling IPAs I want a bit more of that lip-puckering bitterness that comes with stronger versions.
I'd have a few more of these, but only because I have five more in the box and also because Taiwan is pretty slim on anything even resembling an IPA. Beggars can't be choosers they say.
But that doesn't mean we can't whine about it.