When entering the Saint Arnold brewery, an icon of Saint Arnold of Metz hangs on the wall just inside the door. This painting is the inspiration for the new Saint Arnold series called Icon. This series is a quarterly release that won’t be limited to a single batch or limited release. Instead, it’s intended to be easy to find for the quarter that it’s available. The picture on the label is similar to the painting hanging in the brewery, but  [ Read More ]

Here I go again, taking one for the team. Corona is actually an interesting beer when you consider the history and even look at the beer style this fits into. Before I bore you all to sleep, that is if you are still reading this. Corona as we all know is made in Mexico, but the beer is very close to its origins of being a German lager. So yes while you should drink a Corona with your tacos or  [ Read More ]

Aroma:    Not as skunky as I was expecting. Almost no skunky aroma. There is plenty of sweet pale malt aroma with some corn sweetness. Light floral presence in the nose, but if this beer gets too much light those hops oils will convert to skunk. Note, drink fast if you’re outside or the sun can change that aroma for you. Appearance:     It’s another pale yellow golden European Lager. There’s not much to say here. Thick head that  [ Read More ]

Hello there pumpkins.  As much as you would have thought that I had totally disappeared from this blog, I haven’t.  I just suck at blogging.  But last night at around 3am when I couldn’t sleep I was chatting with Siri on my new iPhone 4S and I told her to “remind me to write a beers and ears article tomorrow at 8am.”  Word, she did. So this morning in an attempt to backlog all the ones I wanted to review  [ Read More ]

We’re long overdue for a virtual tasting; in this installment we’re sampling Harp Lager and Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale. Both are found in various locations at the Walt Disney World Resort, and Fire Rock is being featured at the Craft Beer Collection booth during the 2011 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. Harp Lager: Brian: To me Harp Lager is a bit like the Dumbo ride. There’s nothing wrong with it, but there are a lot more interesting choices.  [ Read More ]

Shiner Blonde is the third beer I’m trying out of the Shiner Family Reunion six pack (previously tasted: Shiner Bock and Shiner Bohemian Black Lager). It’s a pale lager that to me doesn’t impart a whole lot of flavor. It’s a little sweet, a little malty, and a whole lot of meh. There’s nothing wrong with it, but not really anything right with it either. With every sip I find myself wondering what the next Shiner I try will be.  [ Read More ]

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range. But don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like mountains. Mountains taste like dirt, water and trees. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale still tastes like beer. According to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company website, “critics proclaim [the brewery's beers as a whole, I guess] ‘Among the best brewed anywhere in the world.’” No word on who these critics are, however. Marketing thrives on hyperbole. Now don’t get me wrong,  Sierra Nevada’s  [ Read More ]

The bottle makes it abundantly clear: this is an IPA, or India Pale Ale. If the 1.5 inch tall letters aren’t enough, the description around the border refers to it as a “homicidally hoppy ale”. When I poured the beer and tasted, unsurprisingly, it tastes like an IPA. I’m not sure I agree with the label’s statement, however. The Stone Ruination IPA I had previously would be “homicidally hoppy” in my opinion. Lagunitas’ IPA, on the other hand, is definitely  [ Read More ]

Full Moon Pale Rye Ale is the third and final beer in the Real Ale sampler pack. Unexpectedly, this tastes more like an IPA than a pale ale. Spicy hops coupled with a bready rye taste make this a nice beer to drink. I enjoyed this much more than the Rio Blanco Pale Ale I tried previously. The two are quite different despite both being classified as a pale ale. Overall, my experience with Real Ale brews has been quite  [ Read More ]

Tonight I’m drinking the second of three beers in the Real Ale sampler: Rio Blanco Pale Ale. Smooth, kinda light, the flavor is a bit lacking though. Drinkable, but nowhere near something like a Widmer Drifter. A bit disappointed with the White River.