Bilbo's Beer Tasting report card #2

Bilbo here,
Of the 6 or so tastings I have done now, the reports of which are forthcoming, this was pretty decidedly the worst. Thats not to say all of the beers/ales were bad, but many were underwhelming and several were quite terrible. Here we go!

1. Lakefront New Grist Gluten Free Beer - Our second gluten free beer in as many weeks. Are these wheat-allergic folks really worth all that pandering? ^_^ Anyway, this beer had a slightly winey smell, and that is about all you can say for it. It basically tasted like beer and was pretty bland at that. Inoffensive, but not really recommended unless you need gluten free beer. In which case the beer from my previous post is better.

2. Mateveza Ale Brewed with Yerba Mate - Now Yerba Mate is a South American tea that I believe is gaining in popularity here at least within tea circles. But as far as its role in this ale, I cannot be sure. I couldn't taste it. The ale was very bitter, which could be the tea and overall light in texture. Not really a pleasant taste but compared with what was to come, pretty good.

3. Drake's Hefe-Weizen - It is known that I don't like Hefe-Weizens or wheat beers in general, so my opinion on this is slightly biased, but I found this quite unpleasant. It had a slight clove smell and a little bit of skunkiness in the taste. And overall I really did not enjoy this. Maybe if you like wheat beers you can give this a try, but I think there are better out there.

4. Drake's Blonde Ale - Drake's is 0-2 with this one. Absolutely gross. Very light in a pilsnery way, and skunky in flavor. I had to just knock the sample back on this one to finish it. Definitely not recommended.

5. Wolaver's Pale Ale - Nice amber color on this ale but the bitter grapefruit taste of the hops make this one passable, but I wouldn't really want to drink a whole bottle.

6. Wolaver's India Pale Ale - As we make our way through the Wolaver's stable of beverages here, this one is only slightly different from the last one. It is overall a little lighter as IPAs tend to be, and it has a slightly sweet smell, but again the bitterness of the taste makes it somewhat unpleasant to drink.

7. Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout - This is one of those very chocolaty stouts that are also kind of runny. I find most micro brew stouts to be this way, and I don't like it as much. That being said, this has a light bitterness to it, much less than the previous two, and was fine overall, but it didn't sent me to the shelves to buy a bottle.

8. De Proef La Grande Blanche - Here we move back into wheat beer territory. As wheat beers go, this one is decent. It is citrusy and light with a mild floral flavor. Also it is quite bubbly. This one is certainly drinkable, even for a wheat beer hater like me.

9. De Proef Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale - The first thing that struck me about this ale is the smell which has a weird combination of corn and grapes that hits the nostrils pretty strongly. As far as the taste, it is kind of fruity, almost like a lambic, but not any flavor in particular. It was also a little sharp in the mouth. Again, ok, but not exciting.

10. Bison Farmhouse Organic Saison Brewer's Reserve '07 - Now the smell on this one was really weird. I was hit with the smell of bubblegum and spice. Not really what you want when you are about to drink some ale. But even stranger is that the bubblegum continues into the flavor as well. This was a very strange beer that I didn't hate, but couldn't strongly recommend.

11. Bison Organic Red Ale - I had high hopes for this one as I quite like amber and red ales, but this was ultimately disappointing. The smell had a very strong odor of grain. The taste was very alcoholy and yet the alcohol content isn't particularly high at 6%. It was also quite bitter in the finish. Again a mediocre ale at best.

12. Butte Creek Organic India Pale Ale - Here we return to the foul ales. This just had an overall bad smell and the flavor was not an improvement. It was very bitter and sharp with the hoppy grapefruit overtones. Generally bad.

13. Butte Creek Revolution XI Organic Imperial Pale Ale - This was a slight improvement on Butte Creek's previous entry. Overall it was a somewhat bitter and at the same time sweet ale, with a cool bottle. Just ok.

14. Santa Cruz Organic Dread Brown Ale - This probably is in a tie with the Drake's Blonde for worst sample of the day, and possibly of all the samples before and since. The first thing that happens when you go to drink this is that your nostrils are assaulted by the smell of canned peas. This is not a pleasant smell when you are ready for some peas, so it is especially bad when you are about to drink some beer. The flavor does not really improve. It is very sharp and bitter and you can't escape the idea that you are drinking carbonated pea juice. Very bad.

15. Santa Cruz Organic Devout Stout - Here Santa Cruz makes some ground back with a perfectly serviceable stout. It is again fairly runny in consistency but it has a nice dark and slightly bitter taste that makes it drinkable if not exciting.

Well, there you have it. A very weak week for beer tasting. Things improve for next week when we had High Gravity Beers!

Bilbo.