Mute Dog American Wheat
Home-Brew
Mute Dog, as most of my regular readers will know, is the label under which I bottle all of my homebrew beer and wine. We have recently released our first beer, an American Wheat which turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.
This weekend, according to the calendar, my beer was officially ready to drink. It turned out really well. It's a wheat beer with a distinctive hoppy character to it. It reminds me of another beer I've had recently but the name eludes me.
The beer itself is fairly clear and a nice golden brown color the head isn't especially resilient but then this isn't a stout. I think it could use a little more carbonation which may come with additional conditioning. As we all know it's cold in my house so this ale yeast is struggling to perform even though the beer is stacked in front of a heat vent with a blanket over it. I'm hoping another week will help it, but it's still good even if the yeast has given out on me. It did finish fermenting in the freezing house so I can't ask much more of it can I?
I labeled a number of the bottles that are going to be given to various folks. Funny story; because I'm too lazy to measure the circumference of a standard ISB long neck beer bottle (of which I have plenty) and the internet knows everything I searched online for standard beer bottle dimensions. This info is actually a bit harder to find that you would think, however I eventually found that which I sought, or so I thought (hey that rhymes!).
I found some college kids paper about doing some experiments with beer bottles and their pressure resistance or something? anyway they had the bottle measurements in there and they said the ISB bottle's circumference was 11 inches. Had I been thinking clearly I should have realized that this was exceptionally wrong, but I didn't. Long story short, my labels were way too long. I ended up cutting off the little story I wrote about the brewery that should have wrapped around to the back and then they fit pretty well, though they do need to be redesigned for future brews.
Dumb college kids can't measure their beer properly...
Posted 1250 days ago by Matt | Comments [1]
Leinenkugels' Summer Shandy
Weiss
I saw this at World Market the other day. I had never heard of it and figured it either must be something new or something that had never taken off. In either case, I obviously had to get it. Turns out it is something new, and available only for the summer.
A real Shandy is lemonade mixed with beer, apparently a childrens drink. Leinie’s Summer Shandy is a full strength beer at 4.2% alcohol, I’m not sure I’d recommend it for kids, but they would probably enjoy it. It has a nice aroma of lemons, goes down smooth with a cool lemon aftertaste that isn’t overpowering. It still tastes like beer, unlike Berry Weiss, which is one step away from a wine cooler. This beer has a slight bite that is enhanced by the lemon flavor. It’s almost as if Leinie’s captured the flavor of the first sip of their Honey Weiss after you jammed a lemon wedge down into the bottle neck.
I really enjoyed this beer and will be buying more of it this summer as it’s great for sipping in the hot afternoons of the Wisconsin summer.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Posted 1798 days ago by Matt | Comments [13]
Honey Brown
Lager
I’ve long been a fan of J.W. Dundee’s Original Honey Brown beer. It’s a nice beer and almost always available at a low price. This beer is brewed by High Falls Brewery and their website has this to say about Honey Brown:
JW Dundee’s Honey Brown is the Original Honey Brown lager. First brewed in 1994, Honey Brown satisfies consumers looking for a fuller flavored but easy to drink beer with a crisp clean finish.
In brewing Honey Brown, we use a dark pilsner style lager and add just the right amount of Manitoba Wildflower Honey. This creates a smooth Honey flavor that fades to a crisp dry finish. We use just enough hops to dry out the honey’s sweetness without lending any unpleasant bitterness to the finish.
I’d have to say I pretty much agree with their description. The beer is extremely easy to drink, not that this is a beer made for chugging, on the contrary. There are a plethora of flavors in this beer worth savoring. It is very smooth and not very bitter; so if you’re a big fan of uber-bitter IPA’s this isn’t the beer for you, Dan. There are, however, enough hops to keep this beer from becoming a girly beer (aka Berry Weiss).
Overall this is a great beer and I’d recommend it to anyone. It’s enjoyable to drink. This is the kind of beer one desires after a long day of working hard out in the heat. Then, when you’ve got it in your tired fist it more than lives up to your expectations.
9 out of 10
Posted 1875 days ago by Matt | Comments [14]
Frugal Joe's Ordinary Beer
beer
This beer came from Trader Joe’s and I had to buy it simply for the name. I’m really not quite sure what kind (pilsner, ale, lager, etc.) of beer this is. It doesn’t say anywhere on the packaging and it basically tases like any of the large macro brews (Coors, Miller, Bud, etc..). Not that that is a bad thing. The beer tastes fine for a cheap beer, I think it was like $4 something for the six pack of bottles.
I don’t think I’d buy this beer again since if I ever have a hankering for a cheap macro brew I can get High Life for less than this. But overall it was a decent ordinary beer.
5 out of 10
Posted 1930 days ago by Matt | Comments
New Glarus Fat Squirrel
Ale
I’ve been meaning to write about this beer for a little while now. Luckily I still have one left and am drinking it as I write. This is a Nut-Brown Ale with a complex flavour and a slight bite. It’s very malty with a smooth finish despite the bite. The label has this to say about the flavour:
100% Wisconsin malt of six different varieties impart the natural toasted color to this bottle conditioned unfiltered ale. Clean hazelnut notes result from these carefully chosen barley malts. Hops from Slovenia, Bavaria and the Pacific Northwest give Fat Squirrel its backbone.
I thought this beer was okay. I’m not a huge fan of brown ales, in fact I dislike Newcastle, which I think tastes like nasty coffee. This was far better than Newcastle, thankfully.
4 out of 10
Posted 2014 days ago by Matt | Comments [2]
New Glarus Spotted Cow
Ale
This is one of my all-time favourite beers and I’ve been meaning to review it on this site for a while now. This is what beer should be; if you were to go into a tavern and simply order ‘a beer’ this is what you should expect to get. It has a full body and a slightly fruity hint to it. New Glarus describes it thus:
Cask conditioned ale has been the popular choice among brews since long before prohibition. We continue this pioneer spirit with our Wisconsin farmhouse ale. Brewed with flaked barley and the finest Wisconsin malts. We even give a nod to our farmers with a little hint of corn.
Naturally cloudy we allow the yeast to remain in the bottle to enhance fullness of flavors, which can not be duplicated otherwise.
Expect this Ale to be fun, fruity and satisfying. You know you’re in Wisconsin when you see the Spotted Cow.
I give it a 10 out of 10
Posted 2068 days ago by Matt | Comments [8]
Beamish Genuine Irish Stout
Stout
I got this beer on sale. It was a four pack (of pints) for 3.99. How could I pass it up? I’m glad I didn’t because this is a very good stout. This is a beer in the same style as Guinness. You could say it is a Guinness knock off but according to their website they’ve been a brewery for at least as long as Guinness, if not longer. Anne says she thinks it’s a bit more bitter than Guinness. In any case it has a nice dark color and is nice and creamy. I highly recommend it, especially at this price.
8 out of 10
Posted 2092 days ago by Matt | Comments
Coors Light
Lager
This was the beer that was in the keg at Nick’s bachelor party in the Dells. I’ve got to say, I didn’t care much for this beer. Of course you can’t expect it to be especially tasty since the point of this kind of beer is to be able to drink a lot of it and get wasted. But I’d have to say I like this less than Miller Lite, which is okay. My choice of beers in the cheap and light category is probably High Life Light.
I give Coors Light a 4 out of 10.
Posted 2115 days ago by Matt | Comment Spam
BluCreek Blueberry Ale
Ale
I picked this up because it looked kinda interesting. I was expecting a blueberry version of Leinie’s Berry Weiss but that’s not what this turned out to be. It’s much more beer tasting. It certainly has a strong aroma of blueberries and you can taste their influence in the beer but nowhere near as stong as the scent.
This is a decent beer and I’d probably buy it again. Blueberries are supposed to be great anti-oxidants or something too right?
6 out of 10
Posted 2160 days ago by Matt | Comment Spam
New Glarus Totally Naked
Lager
I picked this up the other day and have been meaning to write about it. This beer has a very light flavour. It’s not bitter at all. It’s quite crisp and refreshing, which is very nice for the hot weather. Overall it’s pretty nice, though maybe laking somewhat in body. I like a slightly thinker beer.
6 out of 10
Posted 2178 days ago by Matt | Comment Spam [1]
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