That being said, what did I find when I ripped open the box from Reno, NV?

Heck if I knew.  Buckbean really embraced stark minimalism on this one.  Two, shiny silver cans with nary a jot of text glimmered from within.  Coors has got nothing on these silver bullets!  I emailed the brewery prior to drinking to inquire as to what exactly was contained in the cans.  Maibock.  Maibock can be a great brew this time of year, but I’ve had a few craft versions of this German style brew that were utterly disgusting.   The point:  It’s an easy style to screw up.

But in all objectivity (yes the beer was free, no I won’t pander to the brewers feelings) Buckbean nailed it.

I’d just finished cutting the grass.  Then I had to bathe the kids (virgin eyes beware).  It was hot (95 degrees).  I don’t have central AC.  A beer was in order.   Upon pulling the silver bullet out of the fridge and into the humidity, it instantly was covered in sweat.  Having just cut the grass, my sweaty odoriferous body was already bonding with the beer.  It pours a golden brownish bronze and is a bit hazy.  The odor is fairly hoppy, citrusy, and there is even a slight acidic sour fragrance.

I’ll be honest.  I probably guzzled the first five ounces, and man, was it good.  In fact, it was great.  I found myself liking this Maibock for a peculiar reason.

It tasted like homebrew–bottle conditioned–homebrew.  Now that’s a flavor that’s hard to quantify.  The beer reeks of raw fresh yeast goodness.  It tastes like the way a sack of fresh grains smell.  I don’t know if this was can conditioned or forced carbonated, but it tasted like the former.

For a Maibock, this beer really has a sour apple cider feel to it.  There are flavor profiles that remind me a bit of estery Belgian yeast strains (which is unusual, since Maibocks are lagers).  The beer has a nice hoppy kick to it that really balances it well.  I am not sure what the ABV, but I’d be willing to bet it’s at the upper end of the scale…maybe in the 7.2+ range.

Bottom line, is the beer is good, refreshing, and would be a “buy again” beer if Buckbean’s distribution made it this far.

Let me first start off by saying that I did not buy this beer. It was a birthday gift as a part of a bunch of singles I was given by my sister-in-law. There, at least I think my man card is safe with that explanation. I wasn’t real excited about this brew, and I actually gave a lot of brews away that I received, because so many of them were very light lagers as part of some sort of international 10 pack that was put together by Cost Plus World Market. But this one looked at least a little interesting so I figured I would give it a try. Since I had been hanging on to it for about 6 months, it seemed that this particular “Sip with Us Saturday” would be the ideal time to crack it open and give it a try.

So to review like you do at THFB…

The Pour

It poured a golden orange with a pretty serious head on it, about two fingers when the photo was snapped, and it was almost a pure white color and had good retention and a lot of lacing from it left on the glass. Not overly complex but what do I expect for a Lager.

The Nose

Wow! The bottle says this is a lager with a Kiss of strawberry flavor. Well, you couldn’t tell it was just a kiss from the nose, this was more like heavy petting and foreplay. It actually smelled a lot like the shampoo my sister used to buy in the seventies. With a sickeningly sweet aroma of strawberry jam. I was leery. But I decided to carry on with the tasting and the review.

The Flavor

Well, you might expect what I’m going to say, but here goes. OK as for that Kiss of flavor, I’m sorry, this was full on intercourse! The strawberry flavor was so pronounced it was hard to tell I was drinking beer. The smell just enveloped my olfactory senses, and the flavor was almost a foregone conclusion. It was sweet like strawberry compote and the lager didn’t do anything to save the day. It was almost like someone put strawberry flavoring into a Budweiser, but I would have rather had a Budweiser. This stuff was vile and repulsive. Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde Lager does for beer what Bartles and James did for Wine! This was a 12 ounce bottle and I drank about half of it before I couldn’t make myself drink any more. I kept trying it to see if there was something I was missing, some redeeming quality. I drank it slow, I drank it fast, I drank it cold, I drank it…Guulahh, warm. Nothing helped. I poured it out, and that was probably a mean thing to do to my poor sink.

Conclusion

Run away! Never, ever, ever, EVER buy this beer! I was trying to figure out who was their target audience, and near as I can tell it is toddlers, tweens, and teens. I suppose if you wanted to get a little kid into beer (not that anyone would ever want to do that) this would be the beer. Nuff Said!

Beer and Whiskey Bros.

When I was touring the brewery, the amiable Steven Pauwels did try to send me home with a bottle, but unfortunately none were to be found un-boxed, and I had to leave Kansas City before Collaboration was released.  Fortunately, a good friend recently visited Springfield, MO–and old stomping ground of ours–and brought me back a bottle.

Every limited release beer I get I have a hard time drinking, especially when I only have one.  But with an imperial pilsner (contra an imperial stout or IPA) I was so geeked over this beer I waited only minutes to open this brew and share it with friends.  I was a bit nervous since it was smuggled back to Toledo via non-carry-on luggage…good chance for oxidization.

The Pour:
This strong European lager is golden to the hilt with a slight greenish tint.  It is quite clear in the initial pours, and bursting…I mean BURSTING…with effervescent carbonation.   The crisp two finger white head paired with the bubbly action in the glass would lead you to believe you are holding a glass of champagne in your hand.

The Nose:
It does not smell like champagne, thank God, because I like beer.  Up front, the aroma fills you in that this is not a typical Pilsner, and the Orval influence is apparent.  It has a very earthy and mineral smell, and there is a profound copper penny aroma.  You’d think Jean Marie Rock brought some well water with him to Boulevard!  The lemony and spicy Saaz hops are unmistakable.  For those who brew at home, it smells as if you just opened a package of raw Saaz leaf hops.  The maltiness is clearly pilsner, and smells like sweet honey.

The Taste:
The flavor is very delicate and well balanced.  Please note that I used the term “delicate” to describe a beer with 8% alcohol content.  No where in the drinking experience did I discover any astringent flavors.  I don’t have to make up a bunch of nonsense like, “this beer tasted like wild honeydew with a machiatto glaze and elderberries.”  This is a simple beer.  It tastes like a true Pilsner should and is a starling example of balance and a demonstration of brewing know-how. The beer tastes like it smells.  Up front there is a mineral/coppery flavor, immediately replaced by the lemongrass nature of the hops.  As the beer is nearing the throat the sweet hay flavor of Pilnser grain takes over.  As it washes down, the flavors perfectly compliment each other and leave you instantly craving another sip.  All the while the liquid was in your mouth, the intense carbonation never felt foamy, but rather dry and pleasant.  We all agreed…this beer was fantastic.

Overall Thoughts:
I’ll put my money where my mouth is.  In my opinion, this is the best American brewed (although, it’s not really American…more an American/Belgian hybrid) Pilsner I’ve encountered.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¾ 

Among Other American Brewed Pilsners: ★★★★★ 

I am just now getting around to reviewing the beer because since Buckbean was so kind as to send me a free sample for review, I wanted to make sure to put some pics of their product up, and my camera was broke.

It takes guts for a brewery to send out a free sample for review to sites such as ours.  You see, we will be honest…brutally honest.  Not only could it be a waste of their money, but the internet has an eternal memory and a bad review is one evil spirit to get rid of.  When I opened the box, I picked up a can (Buckbean is one of those craft breweries that chooses can over bottle).   Ironically, Buckbean included a little key chain bottle opener.

At first glance, I saw “Doug’s Very Noddy Birthday Lager,” and put it in my refrigerator.  Without knowing anything about this brewery I assumed it was a pilsner.  However, when I went to sample it and surveyed the very minimalistic packaging (which was cool) closer, I was delighted to see that this was actually a schwarzbier (a black lager, some might say bock) and imperial one at that.  Very cool.  It was nice to see something besides the overdone imperial stout as a special release, and also, schwarzbiers are somewhat of an endangered species in the American craft scene.

The Pour:

This beer pours a creamy dark brownish black.  It is visibly a smooth beer.  The head was impressive.  Admittedly, I’ve not had much in the way of American canned craft beer, but this can boasted the thickest head to date.  I had to wait a good 3 minutes for the brown billowy cloud to dissipate!

The Aroma:

I haven’t read a single review on this beer, but I found the aroma to be very smokey.  I picked up scent of smoked hickory and campfire.  There was a pronounced coffee aroma, as well as fresh cocoa and vanilla bean.  Not much in the way of hops, but that is to be expected for the style.

The Taste:

The more I sipped on this beer, the more I liked it.  I served it too cold, so after the first couple of sips I let it sit and warm up.  The  flavors really came out at this point.  The beer was sweet and candy like (but no sickening sweet).  It tasted a lot like bittersweet dark cocoa, mocha, espresso, vanilla, smoke, and mild flavors of raw grain.  The beer is exceptionally smooth.  The cool thing about this beer, unlike stouts/porters, is the lack of fruity notes.  Just go look at any review of a porter and you’ll find descriptives like “figs” “plums” “cherries.”  You don’t get that in this beer (in my opinion) and that’s the point.  It really lets the grain qualities shine.

Overall Thoughts:

This is an unbiased review.  To be honest, at first glance I wasn’t expecting much.  I haven’t had anything else from this brewery, but I can tell you, Doug’s Noddy is fantastic, and a nice break from the trend.  Usually American black lagers let me down.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ 

Among Other American Schwarsbiers: ★★★★¾ 

Among Other Schwarzbiers: ★★★★¾ 

Pilsner Urquell is a bit of a classic.  As the name suggests (so Mike pointed out to me) it is the original pilsner.  Brewed in Czechlosovakia, it reeks of eastern European lager-ness from the packaging on down.

The Pour:

Urquell pours  with ample carbonation and, given a little help, a decent head.  The beer is crystal clear, as it out to be.  I mean, you could actually make beer goggles out of a couple of glasses of this brew were beer goggles literal spectacles and not a euphemism for unlikely hookups.  What is noteworthy is the color of the beer.  Pilsner Urquel is not a faint, watery, patel yellow like American macro lagers.  It is TRULY golden, seemingly boasting an absence of adjuncts.

The Nose:

It is difficult to push into the aroma of this style of beer, in my opinion, as our presuppositions from our Macro years cloud our judgment.  However, with my nose buried in my glass in deep concentration I found the aromas of bread, cake donuts, bread dough, boiling sugar, toasted bread, light grapes, melon, noble hops, and citrus.

The Taste:

At first glance, this beer could let you down…if that’s what you want it to do.  But it is more than your typical American Lager.  This brew is much hopier, to begin with, showcasing a crisp bitter bite unlike a triple hopped Miller Lite.  From these hops, I picked up lemony notes and–surprisingly–mild grapefruit flavors.  The beer is slightly mineral/metallic laced with a hearty malt backbone with plenty of earthy grainy flavors.  There is a slight spiciness towards the end of the tasting experience.  Right as the beer washed down my throat, I picked up on a raspberry flavor.  The aftertaste of the beer is pleasantly bitter.  It actually reminded me of the way the Saaz hops pellets smell.

Overall Thoughts:

Pilsner Urquell is a great beer.  It isn’t your college party’s beer, and will make a great subtle substitute as you try to convert your buddies as you watch the next football game.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Golden Pilsners: ★★★¾☆ 

At one point in time, such a beer was a delicacy as it required advanced brewing technology to maintain the cool temperatures necessary for lagering.  Regardless, this Czech pilsner is considered top notch by many.  The brewers sure consider it a thing of beauty:

For generations our dedicated, passionate brew masters have ensured that Pilsner Urquell with its distinctive darker shade of gold and snow white head has maintained its uncompromised purity of flavour.

Since 1842 we have used only the purest, most natural ingredients to create a beer of golden opulence. From the soft crystal clear waters, to the superior Bohemian and Moravian barley and noble hops from the Saaz region. Even our yeast has a centuries-old pedigree…

Considering this, it would of course be inconceivable to simply drink our pure golden pilsner. This brewing icon, coveted by the discerning, is a lager to be slowly savoured and relished.

Look…

Catching the light, the clear golden amber colour and creamy head beckons…

Inhale…

Whirl gently to release the floral aroma, raise the glass to your mouth and inhale deeply. Relish for a moment the aromas of fresh baguette, earthy hops and honeysuckle.

Savour…

And now it is time…

Don’t hurry. Drink deeply.

Slightly sweet, somewhat malty, the honey nut flavour sparkles on the tip of your tongue, and slides into your mouth where tart citrus flavours and warm caramel bitterness builds quickly before slipping down your throat full of rich body, thoroughly refreshing…

And … the aftertaste… the sharp, distinct bitterness overlapping with caramelised sweetness lingers and develops on your palate.

Who could resist another tingle tongued deeply gratifying swirl, savour and swallow when the first was so superb?

Pilsner Urquell – the pure pilsner from Pilsen.

Even if you disdain this choice, in the Pavlovian sense, you have to admit at least a bit of intrigue.

Cheers!

The Pour:

Spaten’s Optimator fills the glass with a dark brown mahogany deliquescent fluidity.  There is a reddish quality hidden in the darkness.  A ample malty head, dense and thick leaves awesome sticky lacing behind.  The beer itself is remarkably clear, a bonus from lagering.

The Nose:

The sweetness of Optimator dominates the aroma.  A strong whiff of caramel, vanilla, chocolate, and  slight fruitiness (cherry/berry) block out hop aromas.  The smell is simple, but pleasant.  The smell alone could convince a non beer drinker–partial to sweet mixed drinks like chocolate martinis–to venture past the foreboding darkness.

The Taste:

This is one of those cases where what you smell is what you taste.  Caramel and toffee are dominant.  There is a nutty flavor that wasn’t so obvious in the aroma.  The beer is very smooth and easily drinkable.  Like the smell, it isn’t a mind blowing complex mixture of exotic flavors…but does a beer have to be so intense to be good?  Not so!  Optimator is delicious!

Overall Thoughts:

Optimator is a great beer, and as mentioned above, could be a great choice for luring a loved one into the delightful folds of beer.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¼☆ 

Among other Doppelbocks: ★★★¼☆ 

When it was first opened in 1817 by Johann Peter Wallenbronn ,the brewery was only set up to brew top fermenting yeasts (ales). The cooling technology necessary to utilize bottom fermenting yeast (lagers) wasn’t easy to come by. In 1871 the brewery was revamped and updated technologically, including the capability for lagering beer. In 1883 Bitburger brewed its first Pils beer.

Before you roll your eyes at the choice of a light lager for SWUS, keep in mind that it is only light in color.  The beer is considered full body, and utilizes a unique and high quality water for the brew that comes from a well owned and drilled by the brewery.  See if you can pick up on these nuances.

Due to it’s popularity, you should have no trouble finding this beer at any of your local beer stores.  If you are so daring, feel free to try any of Bitburger’s other variations: Drive (NA) or Sun (light).  Stop by the Brewery’s great site for more history on the brewery, as well as decent narrative on the science of brewing.

Atwater itself was established in 1997 and may be considered a “local” beer.  In fact, I don’t believe they distribute west of the Mississipi, but do hit up a few states clustered around the rust belt.  I picked up Voodoovator because I was in the mood for a doppelboch, although as far as beer names go, Voodoovator seems a bit corny.  Subjectivity is not limitied to beer flavor, after all!  Nonetheless, I was excited to try this beer merely for the fact that it is a more obscure and lesser tried beer and due to it being a “local beer”.  I suppose I’m one of those nerds that is drawn to all things recondite.

The Pour:

The beer pours out of the bottle a tad thinner than I had expected and leaves an attractive stable head whose color is the same as coca-cola fizz.  Held up the the light, this darn walnut colored beer reveals violet colors.

The Aroma:

Not bad, but not very intricate either.  There is quite a bit of caramel and toffee going on here, as well as dates and dried dark plum.  There is a pretty discernible vanilla aroma.  Behind the sweet malt flavor, traces of alcohol (9.5% ABV) reach the nose.  As far as doppelbocks go, this forbodes of a weak body.

The Taste:

Now this is a little strange.  Up front, there is a sweet (but not as sweet as anticipated) caramel malt presence and a bit of roasted grain flavor.  But even while these sweet flavors tingle on the tongue, there is a pervasive sour flavor that is quite unusual.  I don’t use the term “unusual” to imply a negative characteristic, as the sour flavor reminded me of sour cherries, a flavor I personally find teriffic.  Nonetheless, it was unusual and did add character to the beer.

Overall:

Voodoovator is not a bad Doppelbock, but certainly not the best I’ve had.  I would buy it again, however I would trade a little alcohol content for a bit more malt backing.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Doppelbocks: ★★★☆☆ 

This happened to me a few weeks ago as a walked down the aisle.  The kooky label is what drew me in:  A bare (no nudity) backside of a woman with a large lobster tattoo on her back.  The name of the beer was as kooky as the label:  “Lobster Lovers Beer.”  The back of the bottle read:  “Has life ever snapped at you?  Grab it by the claws!”  I suddenly became a slave to impulse.  I had to buy it.

Lobster Lover beer is brewed by Rinkuškiu Alaus Darykla, a Lithuanian Brewery.  It should be classified as perhaps a pale or strong lager.  Like I said, it is 9.5% ABV.  Here are my thoughts:

The Pour:

Pours a crisp, golden color, slightly darker than a typical American lager with a decent amount of carbonation bubbles swirling as the glass fills.  Minimal head and lacing.  I was surprised.  the pour certainly did not reveal a 9.5% alcohol content.  In fact, it looks a good deal like Miller Lite.   Hmmm…I wonder if it’s bursting with hop flavor too?  Based off the looks of this beer I was expecting it to be a snoozer like a bland corporate lager.

The Nose:

Grain, grain, and grain…not to be confused with malt, although there is a faintly sweet malt aroma.  The smell reminded me of fresh pilsner grains right out of the mill.  Very slight hop aromas…too insignificant too pick up on a variety.  There was an earthy coppery smell as well, and a slight dairy/buttery aroma.  A little more complex than I had expected.

The Taste:

Looks can be decieving.  There is an initial dirty/sweet confrontation at first swig.  That grainy aroma I smelled earlier comes through on the taste buds.  It is a sweet, bready flavor with notes of grass, moss, toasted malts, some nuttiness, maybe a little honey flavor.   On top of all this there is a salty note that I picked up on after my wife took a sip and pointed it out.  Surpsingly, it is a very thin beer.  The brewer must have let the yeast go to town on these malts!  Also surprisingly is the lack of alcohol flavor.  I even wondered if the brewer stretched the truth a bit in his alcohol claim.  As it washes down your throat, there is all the flavor combine into a weird, funky bite.  It reminds me of a whole wheat cracker with a musky cheese on top that doesn’t tastes as good as it looks, but mixed with a pilsner lager/marzen style beer.

Overall, not bad.  It is way better than I had initially expected, but I doubt I’ll go back for more.  The biggest question I have is…Why is it called lobster beer?

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★☆☆ 

Among other Strong Lagers ★★★☆☆ 

Among other Lobster Beers: ★★★★★