It’s the apple version though, first created in 2002, that is their most popular. So popular, in fact, it has transcended the word “ephmere” by being distributed year round. It’s also the only version they sell in the United States. At the time of this posting black currant was the only other version on the market and it’s only sold in Canada.

Unibroue Ephemere Apple is described on their site as a white ale brewed with apple must. Apple must, in case you didn’t know, is a German variant of cider (don’t feel bad, we didn’t know that either). The bottle actually states “ale brewed with apple juice, coriander and curacao.” Ephemere weighs in at 12 oz with a 5.5% ABV. For our review we used a tulip glass (as recommended) and got a starting beer temperature of 43.9 F.

Our initial pour gave us an average 1 1/4″ fizzy white head the left no head lacing as it dissipated quickly. There was a tremendous amount of carbonation – quite fizzy actually – and the body was fairly clear at first, but clouded up once we got the whole bottle in the glass. The yeast is in there. The color was a very light straw.

For our aromas we got caramel, wheat, floral, light orange, green apple, light banana, light pear and a light vanilla. The green apple dominates and it’s a lot like the smell of opening a green apple Jolly Rancher. Once you get over the Jolly Rancher it starts to resemble a caramel covered apple. It’s one of the most interesting smells we’ve found on a beer.

For our initial flavors we got a moderate sweet and light tart, followed in the finish by a light sweet, very light bitter and moderate tart. For our tastes we got light caramel, light wheat, orange, green apple, coriander, light pepper and light vanilla. The orange notes are in the background but come in similar to what you’d find in a witbier (more of the zest/rind).

The finish length is short, the mouthfeel is oily, the tongue hit is front and middle and there’s no body lacing to speak of. On the malt to hop scale it’s fairly well balanced right in the middle – it’s not really malty or hoppy in the traditional sense of the word, thus it’s balanced.

For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance, harmony, memorable and buy again. Our only no was to wow factor. It’s not a wow, per se, but it’s unique.

Ephemere definitely seems to have more of a granny smith apple base than any other kind of apple and that’s okay with us. Very tart. It’s not an everyday beer by any means, but it could be a rare treat from time to time. It would work quite well in the hot summer months and the ladies might enjoy it year round. It’s quite refreshing.

You might be wondering why we gave it a 5 out of 10 when our bottom line notes and the review in general read so favorably. Well, there wasn’t enough depth and flavor in it for us to give it a higher rating. It’s well-crafted, but just a little too light for our tastes. It would compare quite favorably to a pomme lambic.

Overall it has the textbook Unibroue uniqueness that makes all their beers so great, but we’ll stick with some of their headier offerings.

Great back story for the Jockamo – the name comes from the tribes of Mardi Gras Indians who have marched in New Orleans since the 1800s. The word Jockamo is referenced in the popular New Orleans Mardi Gras song we know as “Iko Iko” that was originally titled “Jock-a-mo.” It’s a wordplay on the lyrics “Jock-a-mo fee-na-ne” that are repeated multiple times during the song. The song has been covered by countless artists, most famously by the Dixie Cups, but also by New Orleans artists like the Neville Brothers and Dr. John, as well as more mainstream artists like Cyndi Lauper, the Grateful Dead and the Dave Matthews Band.

The 12 oz Jockamo IPA bottle weighs in with a solid 6.5% ABV and sports a weighty 52 IBUs. It’s also got 190 calories in it, but we know you don’t care about that. For our review we used a British pint glass and got a starting beer temperature of 50.4 F.

Our initial pour gave us a large 2 1/2″ foamy off-white head that left a good amount of head lacing as it dissipated. There’s a soft amount of carbonation and the beer itself is a sparkling clear – a very clear amber/orange color.

For our aromas we got a light caramel, nutty, citrus, floral, grapefruit, pine, light yeast and a light pineapple. Not overly complex by any means and the aromas are what you’d expect from the Pacific Northwest hops they use (Willamette and Columbus hops).

For our initial flavors we got a light sweet and a light to moderate bitter that evolved in the finish to a very light sweet and a moderate to heavy bitter. You’d expect this in an IPA – a ramp up in the bitterness and a drop in the sweetness as the malt backbone gives way to the hoppy hoppers. For our tastes we got caramel, a light nutty, citrus, floral, grapefruit, pine and light yeast. Again, not overly complex, but clean and simple.

The finish length is average, the mouthfeel is watery and the tongue hit is in the middle. There’s no body lacing to speak of and on the malt to hop scale it comes in 2 clicks to the right of balanced on the hoppy side.

For our bottom line notes we got yes to drinkable, repeatable and balance. We got no for harmony, memorable and wow factor. We’ve done too many IPAs for this one to really pop at us. For buy again we put maybe – it’s a solid beer for sure – but we’re just not hopheads who seek out IPAs.

Overall, the Abita Jockamo IPA is a very well crafted beer. It stays true to where it starts as it warms, easily passing the 60 degree test and not “nastying out” like some beers as they lose their cold. The mark of a quality crafted beer is the ability to survive temperature swings, and this one’s got it. If you’re a hophead you should seek it out – it’s a good IPA with a good ABV that borders on being sessionable. Along with our other Abita favorite Turbodog it’s a part of their year-round lineup, so you know it’s a solid performer.

Our amber ale for this review comes from New Yorker Brewing, the East Coast home for the Kirkland beers. Our best by date was January 3, 2011, and we did this actual review on December 23, 2010, right before Santa Claus came to visit our houses and drop off even more beer.

The 12 oz bottle came in at 5.7% ABV and 25 IBUs. For our review we used a shaker glass and got a starting beer temperature of 44.4 F.

For our initial pour we got an average 1″ creamy off-white head that dissipated quickly and left virtually no head lacing. There was a soft amount of carbonation and a clear body that’s copper in color – like a 1994 penny.

For our aromas we got caramel, dark amber honey, toasted malts, grapefruit, light orange, light resin, dough, light clove and a light metallic. The metallic wasn’t off-putting, but it was there.

For our initial flavors we got a light to moderate sweet and a very light bitter that evolved in the finish to a light sweet and a light bitter. For our tastes we pulled out caramel, dark amber honey, toasted malts, light grapefruit, light orange, light resin and clove. There’s a slight metallic taste to the finish as well.

The finish length is average, the mouthfeel is oily, the tongue hit is in the front and there’s no noticeable body lacing. On The BeerFathers’ malt to hop scale it comes in one click to the left of balanced on the malty side – a good sweet spot.

For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance, value and buy again. We got a no to harmony, memorable and wow factor.

Overall, it’s a solid, well done beer. The dark amber honey is a very nice touch and gives a really great backbone to the brew. It definitely gets better as it warms though – the malts get stronger and it smooths out a bit. We’d recommend drinking it closer to 55 F than 45 F. It does pass our 60 degree test as well if you let it get that warm – our last taste came in at 65.5 F and it was delicious.

Overall, the Kirkland Amber Ale is one of the best in the bunch for us in the 24 pack. As with most of the Kirkland beers, the price is absolutely unbeatable for the quality of the beer you get. The most resounding “yes” we’ve ever put to value, based on the 79 cents a bottle you spend for the case. Even if you only like half the beers, it’s still a good value. We think you’ll be like us and really like two of them, and be okay with the other two. It really depends on what you like in a beer (hophead or malt madman?) to determine which of the two you’ll like. For us (malt madmen through and through), the Amber Ale and the German Lager are the best in the bunch.

It’s one of four beers that come in a 24 pack that you get at Costco of all places. The 24 pack includes a 6 pack each of the German lager, a hefeweizen, an amber ale and a pale ale (for more background on Costco, Kirkland and their contract brewing situation, check out our previous post on Costco entering the craft beer business).

For this review our bottles come from New Yorker Brewing. Our best before date was January 3, 2011, which was good as we actually did this review on December 2, 2010. Our 12 oz bottle of German lager has a 5.5% ABV and 22 IBUs. We used a shaker glass for our review and got a starting beer temperature of 46.4 F.

For our initial pour we got an average 1″ foamy white head that dissipated quickly. There was a medium amount of carbonation and the body was a clear sparkling amber golden color. Quite a good looking brew.

For our aromas we got a light biscuity short bread, light caramel, light cereal, light toasted malts, honey, floral, light grass, orange, light pine, light ginger and a little bit of soapiness.

For our initial flavors we got a light to moderate sweet and light bitter, followed in the finish by a very light to light sweet, a moderate bitter and a very light saltiness. For our tastes we got some more of that biscuity short bread, caramel, light cereal, light toasted malts, honey, floral, grass, orange, pine, light ginger, soap and some metallic. The taste is fairly true to the aroma, with some notes coming in a little more potent.

The finish length is average, the mouthfeel is oily and the tongue hit is in the middle. There’s no body lacing to speak of and on our patented malt to hop scale it comes in almost balanced – just a 1/2 click to the right of balanced on the hoppy side.

The bottom line notes are good – yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance, value and buy again. No to harmony, memorable and wow factor.

Overall the Kirkland German Lager is a nicely done beer. It’s well crafted and passes our 60 degree test. The sweetness edges up as it warms – what we thought was a light sweetness when it was cooler (under 50 F) we realized was really a moderate sweetness once the cold mask came off. It’s actually a very good beer to drink around 55 to 60 F. We were tasting ours around 57.7 F and it was spot on.

This may be the best example we have of value in a beer. Really – the price is ridiculous – $18.99 for a 24 pack, which comes out to 79 cents a bottle. You won’t find a better value anywhere for the quality of the beer.

Our final take: it’s a very good once-in-a-while beer, especially if your whiles aren’t too far apart. Perfect if you’re having some friends over and want to share something nice. The BeerFathers approve.

The Drifter Pale Ale comes from Widmer Brothers Brewing out in Oregon, the land of the Pacific Northwest hops. The 12 oz bottle sports a 5.7% ABV and 32 IBUs. We used a British pint glass for our test and got a starting beer temperature of 45.9 F.

For our pour we got a large 2 1/4″ foamy off-white head that left a fair amount of lacing as it dissipated slowly. There is a soft amount of carbonation to the clear amber body.

On the nose we pulled caramel, honey, floral, grapefruit, tangerine and ginger. A really strong nose dominated by the grapefruit that we’ve come to associate with Summit hops.

The initial flavors come in with a moderate sweet and a light bitter that evolve in the finish to a light sweet and a moderate to heavy bitter, along with a light tart. The taste comes in fairly true to the aroma with caramel, honey, grapefruit, tangerine and ginger. The floral notes don’t pop through in the taste for us – probably too delicate to overcome the grapefruit and tangerine flavors from those Summit hops. The grapefruit in the taste is strong, but not overpowering. Overall the taste is more subdued than the smell.

The finish length is average to long, the mouthfeel is oily and the tongue hit is in the middle, but also works up to the roof of the mouth. There’s a fair amount of body lacing and on our patented malt to hop scale it comes in 1.5 clicks to the right of balanced on the hoppy side.

For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance and memorable. We got a no to harmony, wow factor and buy again. We say we wouldn’t buy it again for ourselves because we don’t normally seek out pale ales, but we definitely would recommend it to someone who did like that style.

The Summit hops really jazz things up with this one. The press release that came with the beer reads “Most pale ales are brewed with Cascade hops. Ours is truly an original, made with Summit hops known for their delicate flavor and undertones of tangerine, mandarin orange and grapefruit.”

As unique as it is we fully expect others in the marketplace to try to copy the style. The hops don’t bite too hard, but they do hang around for a while on your cheeks and the roof of your mouth. For us, two well known malt madmen, we can say this – it’s a very good summer beer. As American pale ales go the Drifter Pale Ale is pretty unique. For a Widmer beer – we’re very impressed (we weren’t very keen on their hefeweizen). It should run around $9 or $10 for a 6-pack, so the price point is pretty spot on. If you’re a hophead you should feel right at home.

The Helles (German for “bright”) style of beer has an interesting history going back to the 1800′s when the Czech pilsners were starting to become popular. The Munich brewers were worried that Germans would start favoring Czech beer over their own German beer so they created the Munich Helles Lager. The Helles shared some of the same spiced hop notes as the Czech beers but had more malt backbone to balance it out. Problem solved. The style lives on today with some great Helles beers coming from Paulaner, Hofbrau, Lowenbrau, Spaten, Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr and the usual cast of Munich greats.

But back to the beer at hand. The Shiner 99 Helles Lager comes in with an ABV of 4.99% (or “5″). It packs 18 IBUs into the 12 oz bottle. For our review we used a tumbler glass and got a starting beer temperature of 46.6 F. As always, all Shiner beer comes from the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, TX.

Our initial pour gave us an average 1 1/2″ foamy white head that left no head lacing as it dissipated quickly. It’s a got a lively amount of carbonation to it and the body was a clear sparkling golden color.

For our aromas we pulled out hay, lemon, yeast, pepper and spices. For our initial flavor we got only a moderate sweet that evolved in the finish to a light sweet, light bitter and light acidic. For our tastes we got a light biscuit, lemon, light pear, light pepper and a touch of corn as it warms.

The finish length is short, the mouthfeel is dry and the tongue hit is in the middle. There’s no body lacing as you drink it down and on the malt to hop scale it comes in one click to the left of balanced on the malty side.

For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance and buy again (though that would be impossible now that it’s not on the market anymore). We got a no to harmony, memorable and wow factor.

The hops are just right in this one – the Hallertau hops out of Germany are mild and nice. The taste is not too far off from an actual Munich style Helles (American beers tend to be more hopped up even if the style is the same as their European counterparts).

It’s a tasty gulper of a beer – a perfect session beer actually. We found as it warmed it was still good even at 60 degrees – it didn’t fall apart like a lot of American hefeweizens, for example. The hops do come out a bit more as it warms, a noticeable shift from the more malty edge we felt it had as it was colder. No matter, it’s a well crafted beer and a welcome treat from Shiner, who is known so well for their Shiner Bock.

Though the Shiner 99 is off the market now there’s always a chance they could bring it back – the Shiner 97 Bohemian Black Lager (their Schwarzbier) proved so popular that they made it a permanent part of their lineup. Keep your fingers crossed because this one is pretty good.

For those not in the know – the “butt” reference speaks to the style of porter you may not be familiar with – the Entire Butt Porter. We write more about it in our review of the Entire Butt English Porter but so you know in 18th century Britain the porter was a blend of three beers – a stale or soured old ale, a brown or pale new ale and a mild to weak ale – resulting in a beer commonly referred to as the “Entire Butt.”

Back to the Santa’s Butt – it’s not cheap, coming in around $5 to $6 a bottle depending on where you find it, but at least you get more than a normal bottle – it’s 1 pint 0.9 oz (500 ml). It sports a 6% ABV and for our review we got a starting temperature of 51.1 F.

Our initial pour into our English pint glass gave us an average 1 1/2″ foamy light brown head that left a good amount of head lacing as it dissipated quickly. It’s a dark beer, but clear, with the color coming in somewhere between brown and black. It has very little carbonation to speak of.

The aromas come in with light toasted malts, soap, alcohol, light brown sugar and some nondescript spices. Not the greatest nose, but a lot of the aromas are muted so it’s not too off-putting.

The initial flavors come in with a moderate sweet followed up in the finish by a light sweet, very light bitter and a very light salty. The tastes come in with a light chocolate, light coffee, light roasted malts, light butterscotch, light sherry and finally some vanilla. As with the aromas, the tastes run light on this one.

The finish length is short to average, the mouthful is full on creamy, almost buttery, and the tongue hit is in the middle. There was a fair amount of body lacing on the glass during our review and on the patented malt to hop scale it comes in 2 clicks to the left of balanced on the malty side. A good sweet malty edge on it.

For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable and balance. We got a no to harmony, memorable, wow factor and buy again (although to be honest the no to buy again is based purely on the price and not the taste).

Santa’s Butt is a good bittersweet beer. The tastes and aromas come in much lighter than a traditional porter so it shouldn’t scare anyone off. It could be a great conversion beer for someone wanting to get into porters. Yeah – a perfect conversion porter. It could be a good session beer as well for a seasoned beer drinker (though technically 6% doesn’t fit the definition of a session beer), if not for the stifling price tag.

The hops are very mild and it almost strikes us more like an American bock style of beer. It’s wildly clean and could be a good porter for the ladies (make that the ladies who don’t know good porters, so not The Beer Wench or The Beer Babe). It’s wildly clean and the mouthfeel is just superb – it hits the middle of the tongue and coats the inside of the cheeks. It’s kind of an anti-porter porter, if that makes sense. Maybe a Porter Bock. Either way it’s unlike most porters you’ve tried so it’s worth picking up.

The Sam Adams seasonal lineup goes like this, starting in the spring: Sam Adams White Ale, Sam Adams Summer Ale, Sam Adams Octoberfest and Sam Adams Winter Lager. All Sam Adams beers are brewed by the Boston Beer Company, which makes lots of good craft beers – seemingly a new beer every few months now – that cover a broad range of styles, alcohol contents and price points.

For our review we used a British pint glass and got a starting beer temperature of 44 F. The White Ale weighs in with a 5.2% ABV and our traditional brown 12 oz bottle yielded a generous initial pour where we got a large 2 inch creamy white head that dissipated slowly and left virtually no head lacing. There was a lively amount of carbonation in the gold colored, hazy body of our delicious looking brew.

For the aromas we got honey, wheat, floral, orange, coriander, spices, light grapefruit and a light ginger. There’s enough spices in it that they muddle together a bit and make it hard to pull out the individual notes.

For the tastes we got wheat, floral, grapefruit, orange, clove, coriander, pepper, spices and a light ginger. Our initial flavor notes were a moderate sweet and very light bitter that evolve in the finish to a light sweet, light bitter and light tart. You’d expect a little bit more hop presence, but even at the end it’s a subdued bitterness that is very light by Sam Adams standards (I’ve heard Sam Adams has a wall of tongues at their headquarters that have fallen directly out of people’s mouths from bitter hop shock caused by some of their other brews).

The finish length is short to average, the mouthfeel is dry and the tongue hit is in the back. There was no body lacing to speak of as we gulped it down. On the malt to hop scale it comes in one click to the right of balanced on the hoppy side – slightly hoppy, but not in the danger zone.

For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance and buy again. We got a no for harmony, memorable and wow factor.

Overall it’s good for the season – it would probably be better for slightly cooler temperatures – think a New England spring season more so than a Louisiana spring season. But as a seasonal it hits the mark. Beer temperature-wise, cold is good – probably around 45 to 50 F. We wouldn’t let it get up to or past 60 F, as it does hop up a little bit more as it warms. We don’t think that will be much of a problem though as it’s a good, drinkable, sessionable beer that you could easily have a few of, especially at a restaurant with a good meal. Our hat’s off to Sam Adams for their excellence of execution in their seasonal lineup.

2010 Update: The Sam Adams Noble Pils has now replaced the Sam Adams White Ale as the spring seasonal beer. The White Ale is now a part of their Brewmaster’s Collection.

Holiday Cheer weighs in at 5.4% ABV in it’s 12 oz glory. It comes in with an IBU of 22, very mild on the bitterness scale. We got a starting beer temperature of 43.9 F.

Our initial pour gave us an average 2″ frothy light brown head that left no head lacing as it dissipated quickly in our English pint glass. There was a  soft amount of carbonation to the clear amber red body.

For the aromas we got a bouquet of peach, nutty, toffee, grapefruit, dough, vanilla and what we could only call a general melon smell. The peach smell dominates, almost overpowers, the beer. There’s also a bitter tinge reminiscent of a pecan not quite shelled all the way. Not that this is bad by any means, it is an interestingly nice smelling beer.

For the tastes we got peach, nutty (specifically pecan), toffee, grapefruit and again with the general melon. There is a nice pecan action to the taste that we dig. The initial flavor notes are moderately sweet, light bitter and a light to moderate tart. The finish flavor notes are a light sweet, moderate bitter and light tart.

The finish length is average, the mouthfeel is oily and the tongue hit is in the middle. There’s really no body lacing to speak of. It comes in perfectly balanced on our patented malt to hop scale.

For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance, harmony and buy again. No to memorable and wow factor.

We feel like this one is positioned all wrong. It would be a good late summer beer, in the same vain as the Dogfish Head Aprihop, but it isn’t a great “Christmas” beer for us. It would be great for when it’s cool to warm out, not when it’s 30 degrees. It’s a good seasonal stuck in the wrong season.

Of course, in Shiner, TX it may be 65 degrees at Christmas, so touche.

The Sam Adams seasonal lineup looks like this, starting in the spring: Sam Adams White Ale, Sam Adams Summer Ale, Sam Adams Octoberfest and Sam Adams Winter Lager. We’re hitting all the Sam Adams seasonals and this is stop three of four on our incredible journey. Sam Adams of course, is brewed by the Boston Beer Company, which makes lots of fine beers – probably 10 to 20 different beers total – that cover a broad range of styles, alcohol contents and price points.

Our Sam Adams Winter Lager registered an initial temperature of 47.5 F and our 12 oz bottle sported a nice 5.8% ABV. We used an English pint glass for our review.

The initial pour gave us a large 2 1/4″ foamy off-white head that dissipated slowly and left us some good head lacing en route. There were no discernible carbonation bubbles to speak of. The body was clear with a textbook amber color.

For the aromas we were able to pull our a very light caramel, nutty, floral, orange, resin, cinnamon, ginger and some miscellaneous spices. It’s really a great sniffer of a beer. For the tastes there were fewer notes, which gave us biscuit, light caramel, floral, ginger and some more miscellaneous spices.

The initial flavor notes were a moderate to heavy sweet and a very light bitter. The finish flavor notes were a light sweet and light to moderate bitter. The moderation in the hops and bitterness in this and other Sam Adams Seasonals is one of the biggest selling points for us.

The finish length is short, the mouthfeel is nice and creamy (not like a Guinness, but still creamy nonetheless), and the tongue hit is in the middle of the tongue. There’s no body lacing as we lower the beer levels in the glass.

On The BeerFathers patented malt to hop scale it comes in one click to the right of balanced on the hoppy side (a 6 for those keeping score at home, and we know you are). For our bottom line notes we get a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance and buy again. We get a no to harmony, memorable and wow factor.

This is a good beer, a fine beer really. There is a nice malt sweetness that hits you immediately and makes you take notice, along with the wonderfully smooth mouthfeel. It really shows you what Sam Adams can do when they put a restraining order on the hops.

This is a beer that really fits the time of year that it’s available – winter. It matches up beautifully with what the body craves during the cold winter months. The Winter Lager could also go well with dessert – the spices would play beautifully with just about any final course.

The price is good and it’s a good value at the price. This is a great beer for repeatability – you could and should do more than one. It’s terrific on tap (Son Beer Love had a lot of this on tap during the winter months) and it’s a nice introduction to winter/Christmas style beers for the craft beer newbie. It’s also a perfect conversion beer for those wanting to get into craft beers or for those you want to get into good beer.

As a test I gave this out at a Panthers tailgate party to a pure Bud Light drinker (who had told me not to bring any fancy stuff) and he wound up having 3 of them. Then he called me the next week to tell me he bought a six pack to have that weekend. Mission accomplished and you’re welcome.

We strategically made Michelob Amber Bock our 100th beer rating because for both Father and Son Beer Love, and a large number of our Beer Love friends, this was our breakout beer. By breakout beer we mean the one that got us over the rank domestic hump and into the realm of beers that actually have taste. We feel like Amber Bock is the perfect beer to introduce to friends who are wanting to (or who you want to) break out into craft beers for several reasons:

• It’s available everywhere.
• It doesn’t feature the sticker shock of some of our beloved high end craft brews.
• It’s dark – there’s a stigma around dark beers for those not in the know, and a lot of the good craft beers are a bit darker than your normal American lagers.
• It’s balanced – you can easily scare a newbie away with something too malty or too hoppy when their palate isn’t yet “beer sophisticated.”
• It works with and without food.
• Though it’s dark, it’s still a lager, which helps ease people over to “the dark side.” Lagers don’t tend to pack the punch of flavors that ales do, so we feel it bridges the gap well between light and refreshing lagers and rich and satisfying ales.

My first run in with Amber Bock came in the late 90s. I was living with my best friend Rusty at the time and one day I open the fridge to find Amber Bocks that he brought home. Several sessions of Mario Kart, Amber Bock and Chewy Chips Ahoy later it was official.

Fast forward to Son Beer Love’s wedding over 4 years ago, where we had a full keg of Amber Bock (as well as a keg of some other light beer, though we couldn’t tell you what it was). Best man Rusty never let the groom’s glass get anywhere close to empty all night. I don’t remember a lot from the latter part of the wedding, but I can tell you I woke up the next day and felt fantastic.

Little did I know that once I had left the reception the party continued. Father Beer Love and Father Beer Love In Law decided to fully enforce the “No Good Beer Left Behind” act of 2004 and decided that they had in fact prepared their whole lives for this moment – to float the keg of Amber Bock. Only the keg will know how many glasses they drank in an attempt to empty it (10? 15? 20?) because they sure don’t remember. A very patient and loving Mother Beer Love and Mother Beer Love In Law let them back into their homes in some instances as soon as the next day.

Now on to the rating.

Michelob Amber Bock sports a 5.2% ABV and each 12 oz bottle has 155 calories. We poured ours into an American pint glass and got a temperature of 42.6 F. The pour gave us an average 1 1/4″ fizzy off-white head that left virtually no lacing as it dissipated quickly. There was little carbonation and though the body is a deep amber, it is relatively clear and you can see through it.

The aromas are mostly malts – caramel, nutty, roasted malts – but there are traces of grass as well in the smell. The tastes echo the smells but add pine, brown sugar and a slight soy sauce to the fray. The initial flavor is a light sweet and light bitter. The finish flavor is a light to moderate bitter and a light saltiness. The finish is average in duration and the mouthfeel is dry. There’s no body lacing to speak of and on our patented malt to hop scale it comes in just about perfectly balanced.

For our bottom line we say yes to drinkable, repeatable and balanced. We say no to harmony and memorable. But we do give an emphatic yes to buy again.

It’s got more depth to it than other lagers, and we appreciate that. It is an Anheuser-Busch beer, but it’s really pretty great for an American lager. It doesn’t wow us like it first did so many years ago, but it’s still good and of course it’s a sentimental favorite. Mind you the beer hasn’t changed, our palates have.

This is a perfect example of a session beer – that is a beer you can drink many of in one sitting. Don’t let it get too warm while you’re drinking it and don’t store it too long before you drink it. Though it would be better as an ale, which could give it some more complexity and depth with maybe some dark fruits, it’s a perfectly satisfying beer. If you’re going to buy a 12 pack of something, this would have to be high on the list. It’s great cold and though we’re not big on frosty mugs, it might be well suited for this one. Smooth and drinkable, this will be an old friend you can call on at any time. Keep at least a 6 pack on hand for guests in an attempt to convert them into craft beer newbies. And then explain to them that though you had bought a 6 pack for them, you drank it. Then direct them to this web page and let them read why they should go buy their own 6 pack.

Happy 100 reviews beer lovers! Cheers and good beers to you and here’s to 100 more!

Before we jump into the meat of the review here are a few quick stats you need to know. Use these at your next party to make people think you’re a beer guru. Shiner Bock accounts for 80% of the beer made at the Spoetzl Brewery and it’s been brewed since 1913. It currently ships to 41 of the United States. Shiner Bock is the number one selling craft beer in Texas and is the number 6 selling craft beer in the US. To give you a feel for how a relatively large craft brewery runs, Spoetzl Brewery has about 50 to 60 employees and makes 5 beers years round along with 3 seasonals. Beer fact session over and out – on to the review.

We served up our Shiner Bock in an American pint glass and got a temperature of 41.9 F. The 12 ounce bottle comes in at a 4.4% ABV and we paid $7.79 for the six pack. The pour gave us an average 1 1/2″ fizzy off-white head that dissipated quickly and left virtually no head lacing in the process. There is a soft carbonation to the clear amber colored beer.

Our initial aromas came in with caramel, hay, honey, toasted malts, grass, yeast and brown sugar. Our initial flavors came in with just a light caramel, honey and toasted malts. The initial flavor notes are a light to moderate sweet and the finish moves to a light sweet, light bitter and light tart. The finish is short in duration, the mouthfeel is dry and the tongue hit is at the front of the tongue. There’s no body lacing to speak of and on our patented malt to hop scale it comes in about 1.5 clicks to the left of balanced on the malty side.

Bottom line notes give us 4 yeses and 3 nos – yes to drinkable, repeatable, balanced and buy again, no to harmony, memorable and wow factor.

Is it the greatest beer in the world? Not by a long shot. Is it a good middle of the pack beer? Yes. It’s not heavy, it’s got a nice amount of sweet to it (a little sweeter than an Amber Bock) and it’s very much a textbook session beer – that is a beer you can drink many of in one sitting without fear of waking up with marker drawings on your face.

Bonus – if you have a Saltgrass Steak House near you they make a Shiner Bock Beer Bread that you’ve got to try. It’s fantastic.

Don’t over think this beer people, just know that it’s a good beer to have during a football game (or any sporting event) and it’s eminently better than any of the usual rank domestics your friends might try to push on you. It’s good to go and it’s worth a 6 pack. Bring this to the next party and help some of your friends start to transition to better beer.

For the Kerberos we decided to use a tulip glass and this 12 ounce bottle conditioned puppy came in with a temperature of 50.5 F and an ABV of 8.5%. Our initial pour gave us a small 3/4″ fizzy white head that dissipated so quickly we almost didn’t have time to figure out how it looked (we maybe should have used a different glass). There wasn’t any head lacing to speak of and the body clarity was a sparkling clear golden color, thanks to the lively carbonation. Towards the end when we got to the yeast we got a bit of haze on the pour.

The initial aromas came in with honey, straw, floral, grass, citrus (lemon mostly), alcohol, spices and some mild fruits – pear and a few other light ones we couldn’t put our finger on. It’s a really nice bouquet of smells – like a hefeweizen on steroids. The flavors come in with honey, straw, citrus (again mostly lemon), spices and pear, but also add a peach flavor to the fray. You get a slight alcohol in the taste as it warms up. You also get some nice fruit notes and a peach tartness is in the taste. They use some candy sugar in the brewing process from what we’ve read to give you some of the sweetness.

The initial flavor notes are a moderate sweet and a light bitter, which move in the finish to a light sweet, moderate bitter and a light saltiness. The finish is about average in duration and there’s no body lacing as we drink it down. The mouthfeel is a bit hard to discern – a bit oily but a bit dry on the finish. The tongue hit is on the back of the tongue. On our malt to hop scale it comes in 2 clicks to the right of balanced on the hoppy side.

For our bottom line notes we get a yes for drinkable and repeatable, a so-so on the balance and a no to harmony, memorable, wow factor and buy again. It’s really kind of light as trippels go. It’s definitely not as good as some of the other trippels we’ve done (forget the obvious ones from Belgium which are great, it’s not even as good as the New Belgium Trippel made in Fort Collins, Colorado). It’s a little too hoppy for our taste (even though the IBUs rate in at 27) and just doesn’t have the balance and harmony that we like in a trippel.

Our overall take – it’s an American imitation of a good Belgian trippel ale. It’s a bit off though and doesn’t quite pull it off. There’s better trippels on the market for both price and taste. Flying Dog puts out a lot of great beers, this one just misses the mark a bit. Maybe it’s the extra “P” they left out of Trippel? Who knows?

First off, I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of Irish red ales. Secondly, I’ll admit my only experience with Irish reds is Killian’s, which I’ve tried several times. And yes I know this probably isn’t the best sample size and that there’s even some debate as to whether that’s really an “Irish Red” so my point is I’ve formed an opinion without much empirical data to support it. Plus Killian’s is made by Coors so that really clouds up the issue, as claiming craft beer experience based on a mass market beer isn’t really grounds for anything, other than getting thrown out of the finer things beer club.

Back to the beer – Brian Boru Old Irish Red Ale. I did, somewhat appropriately, drink this on St. Patrick’s Day for an added kick of properness. The bottle was 1 pint 6 oz and I poured it into an American pint glass and registered a temperature of 53.6 F. ABV came in at 5.9%. The pour yielded an average 1 inch frothy off-white head that left virtually no lacing as it dissipated quickly. There was a soft carbonation to the beer and the body was ruby brown in color and fairly clear in the body clarity department.

I got some fairly unique aromas – caramel, citrus, grapefruit and pineapple were the ones that jumped out at me along with some roasted malts. Quite a sharp smell to it – something “red” does stand out, maybe it’s just me thinking back to the Killian’s experience.

The tastes echoed all of the aromas except for the citrus and grapefruit. It also added several new notes – a slightly burnt edge, honey, toffee and vegetables. Initial flavor was a moderate sweet and a light bitter that turned to a light sweet and moderate bitter on the finish. The finish duration was average, the mouthfeel was oily and there was a fair amount of body lacing.

The pineapple aromas and taste are an interesting edge to the malt flavors. Though it’s a bit hoppy, the taste is actually very good and balanced. The finish is where the hoppiness comes through, especially as it warms. I wouldn’t call it repeatable because I wouldn’t want to drink another one right away, but it is drinkable and the extra six ounces round off the pint nicely. It was slightly memorable with what they did with pineapple, but didn’t sport the undefinable wow factor of some of our other beers. Ultimately I’d probably not seek it out to buy again, but this would suit lots of people just fine. It would be better with food – probably beef and a stew or a roast. Overall it’s nothing special but it’s not bad. Obviously not the best of what 3F has to offer, but a solid beer nonetheless and the best Irish Red I’ve ever had.

Beer temp. 47.6F – 9.4C at 8% ABV. It poured a magenta-purple body with an 1 1/2 inch frothy head that I can only say was the color of a strawberry milkshake that dissipated quickly with fair head lacing. There was little carbonation and the body clarity had a dark, sparkling to normal look. The aromas were blueberry, cream, vanilla and (this one is kind of a stretch) pie (more on this later). The taste were the same all the way through. The initial flavors were moderate sweet and a light tart. The finish flavors were a harsh sweetness and a light tart. I could not find any bitterness from hops so must guess that there was little to none in it or were overpowered by the sweet. The mouthfeel was creamy, finish was short to medium and had a fair body lacing. On our malt to hop scale I gave it a 1 as I couldn’t find any hop bitterness. Repeatable yes, drinkable yes, balance no, harmony so-so, memorable yes (more later) wow factor no, buy again yes.

I must admit I liked it. The lovely Mrs. Beer Love did too. This bad boy needs to be drunk pretty cold though. The sweet part gets a little annoying as it warms. This is more like a wine cooler than a beer which is right up Sister Beer Love’s alley. In the Beer Love family about half of the birthday cakes were blueberry pie with Blue Bell (their motto: “We eat all we can and sell the rest”) vanilla ice cream on top. How many blueberry pies ala mode have an 8% ABV? Huh! I must admit I gave it a bonus point for nostalgia and maybe a half for ABV.

With the Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager we didn’t know what to expect going in – our experience with fruited beers in the past hasn’t always been remarkable (see Sam Adams Cherry Wheat), but this one seemed too good to pass up. We do know one thing from the Abita Purple Haze – Abita knows how to fruit their beers.

Father Beer Love was the first to buy it, having seen it in an ad for Albertson’s, and quickly called to say that a 6 pack was in order. Needless to say in that time son Beer Love has been through two 6 packs and as he writes this may be making plans for his third.

For our official review we used a weizen glass and on the pour got a huge 3″ white foamy head that gave a good amount of head lacing as it dissipated slowly. The beer temperature came in at 45.1 F from the 12 oz bottle. The body clarity was clear and almost sparkling, with a soft carbonation and a yellow to golden color.

The aromas, though not great in number, were scintillating – strawberry, vanilla, sweet biscuit, heavy cream, dough, batter and white cake. It smells very much like a strawberry shortcake or a white cake with strawberry icing.

The tastes were in line with the aromas, and we got an additional barley note in the flavor. The initial flavor gave us light sweet, light bitter and light tart and the finish stayed true to the initial flavor. The finish duration was average, the body lacing was fair and the mouthfeel was a little dry. On the malt to hop scale it was slightly skewed towards the hop side, just a little off of perfectly balanced.

All said it tastes like dessert! Beer for dessert – and that suits us just fine. Memories of childhood – a sweet warm biscuit split and buttered with real butter, covered with strawberries the size of your thumb that had real flavor sliced and macerated with real sugar until the juice came out and cold heavy cream poured on top and and let set for a few minutes to let the flavors blend (what we didn’t know then about cholesterol and saturated fat). You can tell these are real, great Louisiana strawberries in it, and they are understated enough to be enjoyable – it has a definite beer taste to it and the strawberries don’t overwhelm. The bitterness, sweetness and tartness all work together to make it quite enjoyable and refreshing. It’s not very complex, but it is quite satisfying. Worthy of a 12 pack and a great session beer – it’s a gulper. It’s a shame to drink just one though. It’s repeatable and quite drinkable. It’s memorable and even has that wow factor we look for. The harmony is so-so but would we buy it again? Yes and we have.

This is just about the perfect spring beer. Ideal for 60 to 80 F weather. We don’t think it would work in the summer, fall or winter. Spring is just about right. If you want to label it with a season call it a good Easter beer, which coincides well with the strawberry season. A great way to cut the yellow dust (pollen) that covers everything, especially after mowing. Drink it fast though, it probably won’t keep well for months on end. Buy it young, drink it quick and enjoy spring and its new rebirth of flavors. Everyone we’ve shared it with has loved it. The overall rating is a solid 4, plus one point for nostalgia and tasting like our youth – strawberry shortcakes with real cream, not Cool Whip. Don’t get too critical and don’t over think this, just take it for what it is – a good, enjoyable treat of a beer, not a top beer in the world by any means – and you’ll love it. Get it soon though because it’s a seasonal and won’t be around all year. And though we didn’t use it for the review – a frosty glass or mug would be perfect for this one.

Tangent: In typing up this review I kept mistyping strawberry as strawbeery, perhaps because of my poor grammar skills, but perhaps because the marketing switch in me is always turned to “on”. In retrospect this might be an even better name for the beer. Or at least a good descriptive phrase. Who knew? Strawbeery!

We served this 5.3% ABV stout up in an American pint glass and registered an initial beer temperature of 49.8 F. The initial pour gave us an average 1″ frothy medium brown head that yielded a fair amount of lacing as it dissipated slowly. There is very little carbonation to the beer, perhaps masked by its absolutely opaque black color.

Initial aromas were of chocolate, mild coffee (possibly espresso), roasted malts and black licorice. It’s a great smell, very strong. The taste echoed the aromas, but wasn’t nearly as strong as we thought it would be – it’s not too sweet at all. The initial flavor was only lightly sweet and actually slightly bitter. The aftertaste was unchanged in terms of flavor and had a short to average duration. It’s a subtle aftertaste with some very mild hops that dulled as we drank it. The mouthfeel was terrific – a rich creamy mouthfeel – one of the better ones.

We were really surprised by this one – it’s not a sweet stout, but it has a sweetness to it. It’s obviously malt heavy but there are some hops to balance it out. It’s not overly complex. It might work well with various cheeses if you wanted to pair it up with some food. Though it’s drinkable, it’s not repeatable and isn’t really memorable. You’re kind of put off on it by the time you finish it.

Overall it just doesn’t really make a statement. You don’t make a statement with undertones in a stout, you need overtones. Go all in. I see on their site that Fort Collins also makes a Double Chocolate Stout as a seasonal beer. That may be worth trying to see if they get it a bit more “right”. As an alternative I’d recommend trying the Young’s Double Chocolate Stout or even better (if you can find it) the Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout.

The initial pour yielded a large 1 1/2″ frothy off-white head that didn’t sport any lacing and dissipated quickly. The body is a beautiful amber/orange that’s slightly hazy in appearance. There was very little carbonation to the body.

The aromas were solid – caramel and honey, citrus, banana and maybe a hint of mint. The initial flavor was a moderate sweet and the finish was a light sweet. The finish is about average in duration and the mouthfeel is somewhat dry. The aftertaste is a bit awkward – you brace yourself for sweet but it doesn’t really hit you like that.

Overall there’s not a lot to the beer – it’s good, not great – it’s right in the middle. It’s not very complex but it’s a good balance between the malts and the hops. It wouldn’t be a bad beer with burgers. I’d say it’s worth a shot – repeatable and drinkable, but not really memorable. You won’t be crazy about it but it could make for a good session beer.

I must admit that I was taken and wish I had stored it better. I could drink several in a row. This could be a way to introduce lager drinkers to ales, porters and stouts without scaring them off (ooh I won’t drink that it’s toooo dark).

Nothing terribly remarkable about it. I must admit I’m a little prejudiced as it’s brewed in LA. So I probably gave it a bonus point or two it may not deserve.

Son Beer Love wanted to offer some food pairings and I must admit I’m no gourmet – in the words of the late Great Grandma Beer Love “I like food I don’t care what you call it,” I’ll offer this: Outdoors on a 90 degree day with a bucket full of this beer on ice, a shrimp po boy with remoulade and a big bag of Zapp’s cajun crawtator chips and for beserk a tiny piece of praline cheesecake.

“Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez “.