August Schell Dark

Don't be afraid of the dark. Isn't that what the old Michelob Dark commercial said? This Schell's Dark is probably one of the most well mannered beers I have ever tasted. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it before about how I taste my beers, but here goes: I first Pour a 4 ounce amount of the test beer into a glass and spend some time looking at it, checking on the head color and consistency, and smell the beer and finally, taste the beer. This takes place at around 38 to 45 degrees which gives me a good chance to evaluate the brew at the temperature that most people like to drink it. Then, I wait for a few minutes with the same bottle and give the remainder another pour at the 55 to 60 degree mark. That is where I am able to detect smells and flavors that are masked at the lower temperatures. Smooth, balanced beers will taste equally good at both temperatures. This is a smooth, balanced beer. If you have had the chance to enjoy a Yuengling Lager from the PA area, this is the brother to that fine brew. The flavors are so similar that the only way to tell them apart is to drink them side by side. I am partial to both brews as they are both fine. I had a friend tell me recently that he prefers sweet, non bitter beers and I recommended August Schell Caramel Bock to him. I think that while he would have enjoyed that fine brew that, to his palette, the August Schell Dark will be more mild with a pronounced, but not thick, sweet flavor. This brew has a very mild hop presence and is so darn drinkable that the next time I buy it, I will take vacation time in order to recover from drinking a keg full.

4.5 out of 5 points -Very nice drinkable beer!

Hog Heaven Barleywine Style Ale

Avery Brewing Company of Wonderful Boulder, Colorado. I love their beers and really have been dreading trying this intrepid brew from this talented brewer. Their manner of brewing seems to be, make it well and spare no expense to make it well. 9.2 abf and 2.5 lbs of Columbus dry hops per frigging barrel. If you have no fresh flower hops available, you will have to take my word for it...just rub your nose into a fresh hop and that is the smell of this hoppy brew. It is all about the hops with a sweet malty base that really is second fiddle for the hops. This brew to me is not unlike the Sierra Nevada offering Harvest. I really do not call these brews my cup of tea. I like much more balance for my taste. But that is me. This brew does stand alone along with twenty others in that Hops and hops alone are the focus. This brew does however go quite well with A CAO Maduro cigar...I like the creamy smoke followed by this sweet, cool, bitter brew. Cool combination, not to dunk your cookies in to be sure. I recommend this brew for the not so faint of heart. If you want to find out what hops truly taste like...well swig away. If you lean toward the malty, sweet brews that abound the shelves, then get back as this stuff will jade your senses and make you think that this is the new sweet. Not so, it is all about the hops.

4.5 out of 5 Points for a Barley wine. It is awesome to be sure. It is not however, subtle.

Pabst Blue Ribbon

1970's beer at its best. Actually, to be accurate, the best years for Pabst were the years prior to 1951. You see, Pabst from the year 1900 till 1951 was one of the invincible breweries that advertised everywhere and had the most modern equipment and for the most part, was the most popular beer in America. 1951 arrived with Pabst in command of the market share in the United States. They had just introduced a new Quart Crowntainer Conetop can. Their marketing was the total success story that anyone in business would love to have their name attached to. 1951 was also the year that the brewery had to renegotiate its contract with the brewery workers union. The negotiations were brutal with the brewery and its labor not agreeing and breaking off talks. The union went on strike for months while the Management had to watch as Budweiser, Hamms, Miller and Schlitz advertised aggressively, pointing out that their beer was good and in stock. Pabst was never the same...Pabst was overtaken in market share by Anheuser-Busch and that lead was never relinquished.

Good thing that every brewery did not go on strike that year... I am tasting the very good quality Pabst Blue Ribbon in the classy looking long neck bottles. I have read that SABMiller was doing this beer by contract brewing. Pabst, the brewery that does not any longer own an actual brewery, had sold off the breweries it owned in order to survive. Funny thing that in recent years the stats on brand name growth have shown Pabst to have one heck of a large gain in popularity. I am cool with that as this was one of the beers that I drank in the 70's in Nebraska. I later sampled it in the early 90's and bought a case of it and ended up using the 2 year old cans for target practice. Another Story.

Remember, I compare apples with apples. I am going to tell you that I not only like this beer...I am going to tell you that for taste, this beer blows Budweiser and Coors out of the water. The taste is crisp and dry with a light touch of bitter for a following of satisfying American Premium Style beer. It is good lawnmower beer and good football game beer. It tastes good and drinks smooth. The head is like soda pop as it dissipates quickly and the only scents are to me...alcohol in nature. I like what SABMiller is doing with its contract brews. I try these beers regularly and I like the improvements. Just if they could brew Falstaff, I would not have to dream and remember that flavor from college.

4.5 out of 5 This beer is really too good to only have 4.5 lets make 4.5 the new five

Neptune's Brewery Toad Back Bock

I just do not get it. Livingston, Montana...yep, Neptune would be just the perfect name that will fit right in. And of course, when I think of Neptune, I also connect that entirely with toads. Toads? Boy, I just love the idea of thinking of toad parts while drinking my beer and I tell you, it is a good darn thing that they chose to put a picture of Neptune on the label instead on a toads backside. It is just a good thing that the beer is good. Neptune's Brewery LLC is located at 119 N L st. in Livingston, Montana. I am sure that this is a nice, small, location. I just do not get the Neptune's thing.

The beer is nice however. Heavy, yet with pleasant chocolate, nutmeg tones. Nice head and dark coffee dark color. Very drinkable and very satisfying. Light bitter finish, not what I would call a really sweet beer, but nice light sweetness abounds. Really good, and yet I almost did not try it because of the odd name.

4.75 out of 5 points Prost!

Alaskan Amber

Another beer in a long line that I have not tried because it has the dreaded word on its label. Amber...ugh! This beer was really easy drinking and nicely balanced and well flavored. It was also very sparkling with fine bubbles and an almost soda pop like carbonation. It danced off the tongue. The head while tan in color, had little staying power and one was back to a liquid with mild traces of a head. Not bad for an Amber. Not bad at all.

3.6 out of 5 Recommended