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.*

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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.

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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.

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A  fine young beer, friends! And a Trader Joe's-available (in fact, it may be an exclusive... someone research that and get back to me*) beer at that, so we're talking $5.99 a six pack. Most affordable! But let's not muddle around over who paid what for who when and why and where and let's focus on this very decent brew. Mission Street's Pale Ale defines its category: it has a nice golden-amber color beneath a white, medium-thickness head. The body is light and full of active carbonation. The aroma of hops defines its scent---pine and mildly grapefruit hops, to be precise---and its flavor is a lovely interplay of hops bracing a mildly sweet bready malt. It finishes hop-dry and refreshing.

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Friends, let me be frank. I don't much care for Becks. It is a prosaic beer in the German style. OK, a prosaic German beer (it is imported... it can have that much from me). As most of you know, good ol' Captain Beer isn't one for light beers. If you want to cut calories, put down the pastrami sandwich. If you want to drink beer, drink beer! I'll get off my soapbox now. OK... so... Beck's Premier Light:

Meh. Not so hot. Very light malt flavor, the littlest bit of floral-bitter hops in the finish. I mean, the beer has 64 calories---where is the flavor going to hide? It's refreshing, it's extremely "drinkable"* meaning... refreshing. That's about it. But... when you add..

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This is one of the best stouts I have tried in months. It hangs right up there with some of Rogue and New Belgium and other such top-tier brewery's offerings. It's... delicious. Go... go get some. Don't bother reading this post, just go---hey get back here! OK. That's better. Have a seat... relax...

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New year, new beers! We're back and much the same as ever, beervolk! New Year's Eve was an extravaganza of wonderful beers and I shall try to get to many of them in time. But I begin 2009 with a review of a good old brew from Yuengling. As I was on the east coast, finally my longing thirst for said brewery was slaked. Today we discuss their Lord Chesterfield Ale. Or rather I dogmatically drone; you read receptively.

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And... yet another deep doff of the cap. What... a... beer. I finally spotted a Sam Adams Holiday Pack the other day and leapt onto it, shattering every bottle and injuring a small Navajo boy. I wept at the lost beer for several hours and then, assured the young lad was resting soundly, went out for another Holiday Pack. And this baby packs a punch. Of great beer. We're talking 2 Boston Lagers, 2 Winter Ales (oh man), 2 Cranberry Lambics (aw yeah), 2 Old Fezziwig Ales (ooh spelling... I really should check that...), 2 Holiday Porters (hell yeah) and 2 of these babies. Or, in latin effin beerum bliss, man. Um.

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Hello fellow Beer-ers. During an inebriated trip to Cost Plus World Market upon a winter's eve (last Monday, yes I walked), I stumbled through the aisles seeking to add to the dwindling beer supplies in my fridge. Before me I saw the usual seasonal samplers, the 'Winter Pack' which looked promising, and then a newer, more specific 'Holiday Pack!' Intrigued, I looked at the contents. They all seemed to be from a tiny Brewery in the UK called 'Shelton Brothers', I didn't know it, and they seemed to have goofy holiday-related titles, most of them reasonably imaginative- then one caught my eye.

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All I can think of at the moment is that scene in Dances With Wolves where Kevin Costner is yelling "Tatonka!" and making little horns with his fingers. Always good for a larf. Watch that movie and see how many times he flops onto his back in a comical manner... I believe the count is 4 which may not seem high but when you focus on it, it... is. OK... on to the beer! BJ's, a limited California chain, has some great food and some damn good beer, not to mention excellent prices on their 5 and 7 glass five ounce beer sampler flights. A great way to have a lot of great beer. I could (and likely will eventually) write at some length on each of their 6 standard beers and rotating seasonals, but I'm going to focus on their Tatonka Stout this time. Thus the heading of this review. Yeh...

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