So… Michelob. You think Ultra, yes? And Light. Fair enough. While my natural inclination is to scoff out of hand this thinly veiled offshoot of Zie Anheuser Busch family, well… a lot of Michelob beers are pretty good. Take its stalwart Amber Bock and its new forays into the world of Pale Ale. And then take me in the refrigerated beer aisle seeing a mixed wheat beer 12 pack on sale for $9.99 and we have ourselves a review of Michelob’s Dunkel Weiss.*

I’ll start with my principal criticism: there is almost no hop presence to this beer. Now I know, I know… you’re saying “But Captain Beer! It’s a wheat brew! There’s never a strong hop presence LMFAO! ROFL! BBQ! SOS!” Well… I should cut you. Granted that hops and wheat are usually distant cousins, but here we’re dealing with once-removed third cousin voodoo madness. I need more spice! That’s what I’m getting at.

Overall, though, this is a pleasing beer and a decent example of the style. Its active carbonation keeps the rich, nut brown beery flavors moving. Sweet but not saccharine and with a nice unfiltered mouthfeel, the head diminishes after a few minutes and the Dunkel’s highly drinkable nature means that the rest of the brew soon follows.

*the others will follow… if I don’t consume them all tonight.

http://www.sloshspot.com/blog/12-22-2008/How-to-Know-If-You-Are-a-Beer-Snob-92

Friends, it’s a happy time when a Sam Adams mix pack comes out. As you all know, darker, winter beers are this Captain’s favorite, but summer/spring beers are wondrous too. The most recent mixed 12er I picked up has 2 of each of the following: Boston Lager, Sam Light, Blackberry Wit (finally!), Hefewiezen, Summer Ale and Pale Ale.

I’ve chosen to review that Pale Ale today because I have about three minutes. And the review will be simple, as this beer is basically exactly what you’d expect from a good American Pale Ale.

It’s hop forward but without any sharpness. There is no specific note of pine, grapefruit, etc—now, at times this sort of “general bitterness” would be less, say, intriguing than I like out of a beer. But if you’re eating a good meal, cooling down after exercise, starting off your morning, etc, sometimes you just want a good, balanced pale ale. Not a Pliny the Elder that you’ll taste for hours. Not a Ruinator that will, well, ruin your taste buds for the rest of the day. You just want a drinkable beer. That’s what this is. It’s a pleasantly bitter, refreshing beer with subtle, bready malt and firm but not overbearing hops. Serve it cold when the weather’s hot and then get me three to five more and a sandwich. Turkey club. Mustard, yeah. But no mayo. That stuff’s wack, man.

Fellow Beer-ers and Beer-ettes,

It seems we have been focusing recently on a ‘back to basics’ for beers, and thus I shant disappoint. From New Belgium, a company which in spite of relative youth delivers fine and innovative beers consistently, comes Mighty Arrow Pale Ale. It’s a medium-bodied, medium-hopped pale ale, and it’s just an even-keeled representation of the BJCP guideline. That’s not to say it’s mediocre by any means.

With a perfect copper hue and a rich complement of hops, this is the one that’s the Great Equalizer: Aroma is not too bitter, not too sweet. The blend of Cascade and Amarillo hops makes the mouth water a little before tasting. Nice body, doesn’t stick around too long, and finish isn’t perfect but fairly even, ending with the sweet and bitter notes ping-ponging back and forth.  Bit of a citrus flavor at the end.

It’s a shame I’ve heard there’s a short run of this beer. It’s not the biggest, baddest beer to come from New Belgium, but there’s something to be said for a nice drinkable pale ale.

It’s been a busy 2009 so far, beer readers. I’ve had time to sample some new brews, but I haven’t been able to tell you folks about them. My humble whatevah. Anyway, here’s a review for you. Enjoy with a side of beer.

Mission Street’s beers are very good. You may recall earlier this month when I discussed their Pale Ale. Well, what’s the logical progression? Yeh… India Pale Ale. These beers run you$5.99 a 6-pack. Good recession brew.

This IPA is a good kind of “standard bearer” brau.* Nice amber body and a dissipating white head in top. It’s very hop heavy, as is to be expected. Pine and floral hops dominate the aroma and initial flavor. The body has enough malt to stand up to the hoppy invasion** but this beer is not for those who don’t like hops. In the finish the character grows slightly more citrus in taste and the sip ends rather dry. The 6.1% ABV is surely adding a bit of taste to the beer but it’s subtle enough to remain anonymous. The active carbonation keeps the flavor movin’—serve it cold when it’s hot. Awwwwww yeah.