Appearance – Poured a dark brown with some red hues around the edges of the glass.  A nice white head but was gone rather quickly.

Smell – The smell was really hard to pick up.  All the scents were very minimal.  There was a slight milk chocolate smell with some roasted notes but again they were really hard to get.  Some might find other smells in there.  I didn’t

Taste – Very light on the body and little sweet chocolate taste and a small roasted background to it.  Nothing intense but also not that stood out.

I had Highland’s Gaelic Ale at a pub beer and wasn’t impressed at all with it.  But I spotted this one on the shelf and thought I’d give it a try.  I was quite a deal disappointed.  I didn’t get much in the way of smell or flavor with it.  After trying it I read some reviews on how some people loved it and it has a nice bold taste.  I just didn’t get that in either bottle I had.  Unless the whole batch was bad I just can’t see it.

Overall Grade – D

Appearance – Pours a very murky straw gold color with a small white head that disappeared but not all that quickly.

Smell – Very distinguishable smells of banana, cloves, spices and some citrus notes.

Taste – The taste is pretty spot on to the smell with the banana and cloves being the dominant taste.  Some spices are tasted at the end.

This is the newest addition to the Sierra Nevada year round brews and I think it is a good one.  I think it contains all the proper elements of a good American version Hefeweizen.  Very flavorful throughout and quite refreshing.

Overall Grade – A-

Appearance – Poured a very clear golden color with a small white head that was gone very quickly.

Smell – Smells were primarily grainy with some hop and grass type notes to it.

Taste – Crisp, dry hop taste up front followed by a bitter, grainy taste that sort of lingers in your mouth afterward.

I have seen this one time and time again and just never took the time to give it a try.  I was caught a little off guard with how strong a taste it had for a pilsner.  Very grainy in my opinion but quite refreshing.

Overall Grade – B-

Appearance – Pours a really nice, clear ruby red color with a good sized white head that is gone pretty quickly.

Smell – Smell is pretty malty and sweet with smells of caramel, raisins, dark cherries, vanilla and a little bit of smoke.

Taste – A sweet maple syrup type taste up front with some smokiness to it.  It finishes with a vanilla like taste.  A little bit of an alcohol burn in there as well.

This one caught me a good deal off guard from other beers that have been characterized as the same style.  Not as big on the hops and only a slight  bit of the alcohol taste.  Not that any of those are bad things to be lacking this is just different.  I liked the vanilla taste to it.  Something I can’t think I have come across in a beer previously.  But DFH are known for their “different” brews so that really shouldn’t com across as too big a surprise.  Overall a pretty good one.

Overall Grade – B

The finished result arranged with all the fixings and the Avery White Rascal.

Due to a lot of watching the Travel Channel, I have become reinterested in cooking as of late.  And if you are going to cook why not pair it with some good beer.  So I decided to do exactly that with my first entrance back into cooking.  So a couple weeks ago to my parents’ surprise I let them know I would be making dinner for them one night.

My thought behind that pairing was mostly to match up a beer and a dinner that my dad would enjoy.  He is a pretty picky eater so finding a dish that he would like was key.  I sort of decided first that I wanted to do the beer as a white ale.  It is summer and the white ales are just so refreshing during this time of the year.  So I thought why not make a citrus marinated chicken.  I figured the citrus taste from the chicken and beer would compliment each other nicely.  I also decided to add some yellow rice and grilled veggies, the veggies of which my dad would not touch but for the rest of us.

I went shopping with my mom and picked up all the needed ingredients include zucchini, asparagus and sweet bell peppers.  Then we returned to my parents’ house and marinated the chicken thighs in salt, pepper, vegetable oil, zest from oranges, limes and lemons, juices from those as well and a little thyme and hot sauce.  I let that marinate for an hour and half before putting them on the grill.  We prepped the veggies and started cooking the rice and right before a big thunderstorm started we had everything done.

Everything came out really well as the chicken was very juicy and retained the citrus taste to it a lot better and I really anticipated.  The veggies were a nice compliment and the Avery White Rascal ale just brought it all home.  I was also pleased that everyone enjoyed it.  I had a good time making it and really feel good about starting to cook again.  I plan on doing more of these for my family and friends in the future and will try to take some pictures during the prep and cooking process as well.  But overall it was a great success, I am proud!

Appearance – Poured a clear orangish amber color with a small white head and wasn’t there for long.

Smell – Slight malty smell to it with some hints of caramel and green apple.  Some spice picked up as well.

Taste – Sweet flavor of green apples and caramel.  Yeast taste is present and a very slight floral hop backing to it.

I want to try this last summer when it was out but never got around to it so I saw it back on the shelves at the store and decided to pick it up.  It’s not a bad all around Belgian style pale ale but nothing just shot out at me.

Overall Grade – B-

So this got me thinking to what I would bring with me if I could take six beers on a desert island.  So here is my list.

1. The first choice will have to be a nice refreshing wheat type beer.  These are always good on hot summer days and being on a desert island will definitely be a hot day.  It was a tough choice but I think I am going to go with Allagash White on this one.  It was tough because I think Ommegang Witte or Avery White Rascal would do good as well I just feel the great refreshing quality of Allagash White wins this one out.

2. Next I’m going to go with a nice easy to drink lager that is also refreshing.  To me this was a no brainer as I’m going with Samuel Smith’s Pure Brewed Lager.  A lot of other people say that Victory’s Pils is great but we don’t get that down here in Florida and I have not had it yet.  So I’m going with what I have had and know.

3. The next one may be a little odd but it is just so good.  I’m going with Ommegang’s Chocolate Indulgence Stout.  Yeah you wouldn’t really think of stouts being something to take but this is a lot thinner in body than most stouts and is just wonderfully made.

4. I got to have a nice hoppy beer of course and I’m going to agree with one of the other lists and take Bell’s Two Hearted Ale.  This to me is the perfect example of an IPA and one that I recommend to people that have never had an IPA before.  It doesn’t go overboard and just does everything right.

5. I’ll take Captain Sig’s Northwestern Ale from Rogue next.  It is just a great flavored beer that is not too heavy and just very smooth.  Plus the water theme adds to it.

6. Lastly I’m going to go with Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Marzen.  Many people don’t think this compares to a lot of the other marzens out there but I just love this one.  It’s sweet and malty and just goes down easy.  It is exactly what I would want to be drinking at Oktoberfest, if my local one actually carried Spaten products.

I tried to stay away from heavy beers on this as I am on a desert island for the scenario.  I went with mostly refreshing and easy to drink beers that would make the hot days a little easier.

I want to hear what your six pack would be.  Leave a comment and let me know!

Appearance – Pours a hazy golden yellow color with bubbly white head that disappeared quickly.

Smell – Yeast with a slight floral hint.

Taste – Yeasty taste up front with some lemony citrus notes and finishes of with a floral taste that just lingers.  Almost tastes like dandelions but I assume it is the chamomeile that the label advertises in it.

This hit me very oddly.  The floral taste threw me off from what I expected out of it and that taste just sat your tongue for quite some time.  It was slightly refreshing from what you would expect from a wheat but I just can’t get paste that floral taste.

Overall Grade – C-

Appearance – Poured a deep black color with a slightly off white head that was gone real quick.

Smell – Slight coffee, roasted malts and smoke smell to it.

Taste – Slight roasted malt flavor with some slight hints of chocolate and hops in the back.  Very thin body compared to the regular draught stout.

This was to me a lot  like the regular draught stout just a lot lighter.  It didn’t have as big of a body as it’s counter part.  Not bad though overall but I would rather have the normal one in the future.

Overall Grade – C