The Beer Retard

Pulled a disappearing act again, but I haven’t given up my quest to drink every beer at Bottleworks. I’ve been drinking, just not writing about it. I’ll cop to procrastination, but I’ve also been going out and living life a little instead of sitting in my recliner, swirling and sniffing beer and drinking with my pinky out. To catch up, here’s a quick recap of the nine beers I’ve tried since last time:

7. New Belgium Hoptober – 5 hops and 4 malts add up to a beer that doesn’t have an identity. Tried it two times and both times the flavors were muddled and nothing grabbed me enough to make me want to keep drinking. (*)

8. Hale’s O’Brien’s Harvest Ale – Some people think this is one of Hale’s best beers, but I’m not one of them. Couldn’t finish the whole bottle. The earthy hop flavor wasn’t my thing and bitterness sat on my tongue in a bad way. After half a bottle, I was slogging my way through and not getting any enjoyment out of it. (*)

9. Bayern Oktoberfest – Wow, this was not good. Way too sweet and overall crappy-tasting. Drain pour. If anyone bought a sixer of this, I feel for you. (zero stars)

10. Leinenkugel Classic Amber – For what it is, it wasn’t bad. It’s on the bland side, but there’s enough flavor to keep you interested. In a certain situation, I could take down a bunch of these and have no complaints. (**)

11. Victory Sunrise – I’m out of my element talking about wheat beers, but this one had the flavors you’d expect from the style. Something was missing, though. Would I have it again when Weihenstephaner or Ayinger are around? Probably not. (*½)

12. Lagunitas Lucky 13 – Some of Lagunitas’s 8%+ beers are too sweet for me, but this big red ale has the right balance of hoppy bitterness and malty sweetness. It’s almost as tasty as Mad River’s Double Dread. (***)

13. Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale – I wanted to like this more than I did. Cool Hieronymous Bosch image on the label, brewed inside the Konigshoeven abbey… but I was a little underwhelmed. It was like a toned-down Belgian dubbel (a style not really in my wheelhouse to begin with). Not bad, but nothing I’m gonna make a point of having again soon. (**)

14. Spaten Oktoberfest – Not as rich malt-wise as Ayinger’s, but more drinkable. I could throw back a couple of liters if I were in Munich right now. (**½)

15. Big Sky Trout Slayer Ale – A wheat/pale ale from the can that was refreshing at first, but took a turn for the worse with an odd bitterness about halfway through. Maybe you just need to drink it ice cold in 3 minutes or less. (*½)

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