Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown

Being a fan of good beers from Wisconsin and liking the other Leinenkugel's products, I gave the Fireside Nut Brown a try. The ale has a nice dark amber color body, that upon first sniff give off a strong roasted aroma. Hopefully a sign of good things to come. After the first taste, there was a slight nutty taste that quickly gave way to a caramel flavor that resembled eating either a caramel candy apple or a sundae with caramel and peanuts. I would consider this a perfect compliment to either apple pie or pecan pie to be enjoyed in a nice relaxing dinner or sitting in front of the fire.

Great Lakes-Christmas Ale

Continuing the holiday spirit, we travel up to Cleveland for the Great Lakes Christmas Ale. From the first sniff it does not have that strong of a odor, which to me is a good sign. It is a nice amber colored ale, that has a little caramel foam head. Upon first taste, it has a nice slight hop taste followed by an aftertaste of cinnamon and a bit of ginger. I would consider this a nice beer to sit and relax with in front of a Christmas tree.

Weyerbacher Winter Ale

Out of lovely Easton, Pa, we have the Weyerbacher Winter Ale. It has a nice dark body and a caramel colored foam head, like the Shiner Holiday Cheer. you can taste the richness of the ale. After a couple of snips, there is no apparent taste, just that it has a coffee like after taste after a few minutes. It is not one of my favorites.

Shiner Holiday Cheer

Being in the Holiday Spirit, we have Shiner Holiday Cheer, which is a nice dark German style wheat beer. Upon opening the bottle, it has a nice fruity aroma with a hint of peaches. When poured into a glass, it has a nice dark body and caramel covered foamy head. It has a strong peach taste that is surprisingly refreshing. In the after taste you can detect a little bit of pecans. This beer is nice for social gatherings or lounging around and watching the snowfall.

Long Trail-Hibernator

Long Trail - Hibernator is a winter seasonal ale. It has a nice rich amber color and has a pleasant malty aroma. It lacks bitterness and has a strong wheat and hoppy after taste. Hibernator reminds me of Sam Adams, of which I am not a big fan. It is rather bland with no flavor other than the hoppy after taste.

Church Brew Works-Celestial Gold

The Celestial Gold is a German style pilsner brewed at the Church Brew Works. With its nice golden color, there is a pleasant hoppy aroma, that welcomes you at first taste. It also has a nice malt flavor that makes a nice addition to the beer. This beer is brewed at the Church Brew Works and can be found in several distributors around the Pittsburgh Area.

Church Brew Works

Situated in an old Catholic Church in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, lies the Church Brew Works. Upon entering the church through its heavy wooden doors, patrons are greeted with the site of the brewing tanks located at the Alter, with a small pizza oven next to the alter. On one half of the church you have the bar or pub section and on the other side of the aisle you have the restaurant section with tables and booths throughout the section. The food is fantastic as I opted for the Pierogies appetizer and the Crab Cake dinner. I was tempted to get the Kobe Beef, but decided on the Crab Cakes that day. I will definitely go to church more often.

Beer of the Season/Month- Anchor Christmas Ale

I apologize for not updating much, I haven't been drinking that much beer lately, other than beers you find at any bar, Coors Light and Yuengling. So I asked one of my good friends to share a review of what he would recommend for the season and previous month.

"Although I am a firm believer that seasonal beers can be enjoyed well outside of their designated season, there is none more suited towards the Winter season than the 2009 incantation of Anchor’s Christmas Ale. Very malty with a sweet hint of molasses stands out against the subtle spice of nutmeg and cinnamon. What makes this beer for me is the slight bit of pine you taste. It reminds me of cutting down the perfect Christmas tree and the smell of the snow as it falls through the pine trees around you. Without a doubt this is the beer I will be drinking the most this winter."

Mr. KAP

Beer of the Month-October

In looking back at the beers, that I have drank, the beer of the month goes to Wittekerke Witbier.

In-Heat Wheat

In-Heat Wheat by Flying Dog Brewery, definitely surprised me. Since it is a hefewiezen, I was expected it to be like other unfiltered wheat beers. No, I could not taste any hints of wheat or fruitiness. It a nice orange color, but the taste and smell appeared off. The beer was very bitter and really it is a beer for the most experience of craft beer drinkers.

Bud Light Golden Wheat

I know this blog is manly to focus on micro brews and selected imports, but being a fan of wheat beer, I had to give Bud Light Golden Wheat a shot. When poured in a glass it resembles a cheaper version of Shock Top Belgian Wheat and it has a similar taste and color to it. It doesn't have a strong fruity taste, it tastes more like wheat than citrus fruit. It is a decent product and has a low enough cost that I would consider purchasing it as a party beer.

William Penn Lager

The William Penn Lager from Commonwealth Brewery is probably the least favorite of all the beers I have drank in my life. I consider this the "beast" of lagers. While it has a pleasant aroma, a nice amber color, but it has an extreme bitterness and a hoppy after taste, which remained after a few seconds of not drinking the beer. I would not purchase this beer again if I could avoid it.

Saratoga Lager

I beer I recently dragged out of my fridge, that I have had for a while is the Saratoga Lager from Olde Saratoga Brewing Company, Saratoga Springs, New York, I picked up a six pack of this beer while on vacation in Saratoga Springs and haven't had it since then. It nice strong bitter and hoppy Lager that reminds me of Sam Adams Boston Lager. It is a nice rich amber color and the foam is a cloudy white with a hue of amber to it. Next time up to SPAC I will definitely purchase a six pack or a case if I can.

Sharp Edge Creekhouse

Several Weeks ago, I met up with friends at the Sharp Edge Creekhouse in Crafton, Pa. From the outside, it appears to be a local tavern. From the inside, it looks like a typical bar, however it is far from typical. The beer served at the Creekhouse is mostly imported or micro brews, which offered a nice variety. There were roughly 40 different beers on tap, which made for some difficulty in choosing what draft to choose from. The food is also very good. I opted for the Flemish Onion Soup which was one of the best French Onion soups I have tasted. I had the Rachel Panini sandwich which is a reuben minus the saurkraut. I also shared a potato pancake with those at my table off of the Octoberfest specialty menu. The only downfall was that the prices were a little high.

Pumpkin Ale

During the Halloween season, I sampled the America's Original Pumpkin Ale by Buffalo Bill's Brewery. The Ale is a little bit better than the Kennebunkport Ale. When poured from the glass it had a slight head and had a orange color similar to a Heffe-Weisse. It had a nice Pumpkin taste to it and was rather refreshing. However, it made my teeth feel weird and I was told that patrons have complained of a chemical taste. I did not have a chemical taste, but it did feel weird later on.

Paulaner Hefe-Weisse

The Paulaner Hefe-Weisse is an unfiltered wheat beer, that I compare to Harpoon's UFO. The hefe-weisse, had a nice taste that is brought open by the lemon added to the beer. It has a nice wheat-orange color and it had a moderately strong kick to it after the bottle was finished. Like the other unfiltered beers, it had a nice foamy head that settled after being poured from the bottle.

Wittekerke Witbier

The Wittekerke Witbier is a white beer, wheat beer. It is pleasantly refreshing. It has a light pale yellow with little foam when poured from a tap. The taste is of a lemony-citrus and is served with a lemon slice. Enjoyed with garlic-hot wings was a very good idea!

Benny's Red Ale

In a visit to Philadelphia a few weekends ago, I had a Benny's Red Ale. At 5 dollars a pint, I was expecting something good. Instead, it tasted like a Yuengling lager. The ale had a dark red color to it and no foamy head. It was rather smooth, with a hoppy after taste, towards the end of the pint.

The Love

Now, you could probably take a guest in the direction that this blog is taking; these beers are found nowhere in Western PA, which is true for the Love. The Love is a wheat beer by Starr Hill Brewery out of Charlottesville, Va. The Love is a wheat beer very reminiscent to Blue Moon or Shock Top with the orange color of the beer and a slight head except it has a little taste of banana that mixes nicely with the traditional citrus taste. It does have a slightly bitter after taste, but it is a nice beer to drink while outside at a concert or festival. I had my first taste at the Virgin Mobile Free Fest in Columbia, Maryland and enjoyed several throughout the concert. Looks like I'll be making several trips across the state-line to get some good beer.

Spotted Cow

Possibly one of my favorite beers that I have had the pleasure to enjoy is the Spotted Cow Ale from New Glarus Brewery in Wisconsin. It is a cream style ale that also has a pleasant fruity aroma and taste to it. It is a nice light Amber color with a nice foamy head, but not too much. Towards the end of the beer, there is some bitterness but it is not as pronounce compared to other ales. I had my first taste of Spotted Cow at the Wisconsin State Fair and consider it to be one of my favorite beers to date. Unfortunately, I only have a few bottles remaining until my next trip to Wisconsin :(

Introduction

Greetings,
Welcome to my blog, the Tour of Beers (and the occasional brewpub), where each post will focus on a different craft beer or a micro brew that typically is not available at every bar, restaurant, or beer distributor. There will be a beer of the week feature and a beer of the month that will be the favorite of the beer of the week. I will also visit several brewpubs during the course of the next two months to get an idea on the type of beer they serve, the environment of the venue, and of course the food. I encourage you to follow along as I bring to light several beers that many may never enjoy and I welcome feed back on the beer that I sample and would like recommendations on new beers to try.

Ganbei,

Tiny Uncle Buck