2008 November | FupDuckTV

Beer Review – Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale (Michelob Brewing Company)

Winter’s Cask Michelob Brewing Company , St. Louis, MO
Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale

Typically, I am a closet fan of Michelob products. One of my favorite lawn-mower beers, Mich Classic Dark, was remarkably drinkable, flavorful, and cheap. Too bad they don’t sell that one anymore. And now for something completely different. This tastes like regular Mich that has been “aged in bourbon oak casks and [flavored with] whole Madagascar vanilla beans”, using their words. To start, it has the color of bourbon, that beautiful liquid-caramel color that just invites you to taste. Unfortunately, when it reaches your lips, you catch a whiff of that industrial beer smell like all AB products have, laced with a hint of vanilla. And then you taste it. The bourbon casks add a caramel-like flavor which is intensified by the addition of the vanilla. I won’t say this beer is disappointing; this beer is more just “average” than anything else. Because of all that flavor engineering, this beer is almost, but not quite, too sweet to drink. I suppose that the sweet and spiced beer thing is popular around the holidays, and this is another to add to the list. Too bad for Michelob, there are a dozen other holiday beers that don’t leave you caroling a resounding “meh”.

M!dd13m4n’s rating – 3 Pints 3 Pint

Tags: Beer Review by Midd13m4n
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Killer Duck!!!

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Tags: Images by DaVe
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Beer Review – Hazed & Infused (Boulder Beer Company)

Boulder Beer Company, Boulder, CO
Hazed & Infused

This is the first release from the Boulder Beer Company’s “Looking Glass” series of beers. To me, it sounds like they’re trying too hard to come through with the psychodelica references. My thinking is they need to back off on the hype and let the beer speak for itself. And it will actually say some good things, too. This is an unfiltered (thus “hazed”) dry hopped ale (thus “infused”) that has a nice, mellow pale ale character. The hoppiness is relaxed, with a soft lemon-citrus flavor balanced with a sweetness that suggests green apples. Once the beer flows into your throat, very little bitterness develops, and it stays wonderfully balanced all the way down. Drinking this beer is certainly not a psychodelic experience. In fact, if Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA is the standard-bearer for all pale ales (IPAs and otherwise), this one would fall unchallengingly into the middle of the pack. But as far as drinkability and all-around enjoyment goes, this one is “far out, man”.

M!dd13m4n’s rating – 4 Pints 4 Pints

Tags: Beer Review by Midd13m4n
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Beer Review – Bud American Ale (Anheuser Busch Brewery)

Anheuser Busch Brewery, St. Louis, MO
Budweiser American Ale

I give Anheuser Busch credit for trying something different. Typically, beers from AB shoot for the largest audience possible, for example Bud Light, Busch, Michelob, and all the other generally undrinkable swill that they seem to sell to the mainstream audience. The Budweiser American Ale is not, apparently targeted at the mainstream audience. It seems to be targeted at the microbrew beer-snob crowd. Too bad they completely missed the point. Completely. There’s a strange combination of floral hoppiness with almost an amber ale-like roastiness. And then there’s that bitter-metallic aftertaste that’s actually not just in the aftertaste – it seems to show its ugly face when the beer is just starting to move down your throat. I guess the best comparison I can make with this beer is slightly stale or skunked Yeungling, although Yeungling has lots of tradition and mystique despite its cheap price and occasionally grating flavor. Unbalanced and very unrefined, I predict that Budweiser’s American Ale will not be on the market very long. It is certainly much heavier in flavor than Bud, so it won’t sell with the straight-up Bud crowd, and its general undrinkability won’t be welcomed by the beer-snob crowd. Now what do I do with five more bottles of this stuff?

M!dd13m4n’s rating – 1 Pint 1 Pint