Some brews I picked up at the store

Commercial Beer Reviews
1

heres the thing i live in a dry county in KY where the sale of pakaged liquor became legal in july, of course everyone here drinks BMC and thats bout it, so unless i go to paducah or louisville i cant get good store bought beer, thus i make my own. here recently my wife and i made the journey to louisville, needless to say i bought a lot of differant stuff. before I get started let me make it known that i am not a judge and all my reviews are what i think tastes good or bad, i dont know anything about BJCP guidelines or styles really, so here we go.

Sam Adams- Noble Pils- Good but nothing great, probably wouldnt buy a six pack of it but good stuff, more hoppy than i expected. first craft pilsner i have ever tasted overall gives me promise for the style but must say it is slightly overrated. 6 out of 10

Lienenkugels (misspelled I know)- Oktoberfest-second oktoberfest I have had and it is way better than the sam adams i sampled. slight caramel flavor, decent, would only buy one six pack a year and that would be in october, but that would be it at most. 7.5 out of 10 but growing on me

Bluegrass Brewing Company- Siason- very little malt flavor, pretty nice hop flavor. reminds me of oktoberfest only less complicated, more crisp, and less caramelly flavored. overall like it better than the oktoberfest. dark crisp and clear yum, good lawnmower beer if it was a hair chilly out. if I was feeling wild i might buy a six pack of it. overall like it a lot 8 out 10

Kentuck Ale- Kentucky common ale- first sip made me want to barf, so i decided to go for a second,overall the flavor is growing on me, i knew that this style beer is supposed to be kind of sour but it seems very malt sweet to me and a hair of hops flavor through out the taste. pretty good but probably wouldnt buy a six pack of it, but still worth a try if you have never had a kentucky common. 6.5 out of 10

Anchor Steam- California common- this is my first try of any style of california common, and it is darker than i expected, and also doesnt taste as good as i expected either this is not a beer i would ever buy again, the flavor is growing a little more on me as i sip, but over all this beer has been a letdown, considering all the hype i have heard of both the style and the company. Getting a hint of caramel flavor as i go on but still not that great beer, maybe just not used to the flavor of the beer. 4 out of 10

Well thats it for tonight, more to come in the future

2

Nice notes. I’m not a huge fan of Anchor Steam either. I’m not sure I really like Northern Brewer hops though so that would explain it. Anyways, I brewed a Common earlier this year that was basically the same grainbill as Anchor Steam except I bittered with NB and added Cascade for flavor and aroma and I thought it was great. I know, citrusy is out of the “style” guidelines for a Common but what the hell, I liked it.

3

amen i dont generally care about style guidelines as a whole just whatever tastes good,

castle rock brewery?- Frambiose- first try of a frambiose, must say amazing, even my wife liked it. goes good with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. i have only ever tried one other lambic esk brew and it was a kriek, got another i will reveiw later, but so far the few samples of lambics has got me thinking about getting into brewing the style. I would/will definantly buy more these in the future. so far this one gets 8.5-9 out of 10. I am real particular

4

IME, Anchor Steam suffers a lot as it travels. I had it fresh on tap in the Bay Area last summer and it was much better than the last bottles I’d had.

5

flying dog- imperial porter- been scared to try imperials, not a hop head, but wow amazing, might have to try my hand at this one too

6

What’s ‘Kentucky Common’?

7

I’ve got a clone recipe for Gonzo somewhere. I think it was in BYO.

8

a kentucky common is just a beer style that originated in kentucky, very similar in grain profile as whiskey. pretty odd style but has decent taste. bottle said it is a mix of irish read and british bitter or some such a thing, (already peeled label for brewing)

Also ed teach can you send that recipe to me if’n you have it readily available and would not mind

9

[quote=“muktuk31”]
Also ed teach can you send that recipe to me if’n you have it readily available and would not mind[/quote]
you want the extract or all grain version?

10

all grain preferably, thanks didnt know there was a choice lol

11

Gonzo Porter Clone
5 gallon AG

OG-1.088
FG-1.025
IBU-75
ABV-8.2%

15 lbs. 2 row pale malt
2.5 lbs. crystal malt 120L
1 lb. black malt
0.5 lb. chocolate malt
5.5 AAU Warrior hops (90 minutes)
9.4 AAU Norther Brewer hops (60 minutes)
9.4 AAU Northern Brewer hops (30 minutes)
3 oz Cascade hops (0 minutes)
4 oz Cascade hops ( dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 or White Labs WLP001 (3 qt. starter)
0.75 cup corn sugar for priming

“Mash @ 152 F. Lauter slowly to allow maximum sugar collection. Two hour boil. Ferment @ 70 F.”

12

thanks ed teach, i will have to brew this in the future

13

castle rock brewery?- Frambiose- first try of a frambiose, must say amazing, even my wife liked it. goes good with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. i have only ever tried one other lambic esk brew and it was a kriek, got another i will reveiw later, but so far the few samples of lambics has got me thinking about getting into brewing the style. I would/will definantly buy more these in the future. so far this one gets 8.5-9 out of 10. I am real particular[/quote]

tried there cherry kriek tonight way better than the frambiose but I favor cherries, very very good

14

Anchor Steam isn’t a quick mover, so most of the time you’re getting an old bottle. You need to try it fresh in San Francisco. Preferably at a nice place overlooking the bay. Great, simple beer.

15

Seconded on the Steam. Out here in Wisconsin its quality is variable at best. It’s definitely worth checking out if you can find it on tap, though.

16

Most of the time, daft moves faster than bottles at a shop making draft a good option to try fresh Anchor Steam.

17

What dry county? I’m headed to Vine Grove for Christmas at my in-laws. Always a struggle to find good beer that is not out of date. I try to stop at the Liquor Barn when our flight (or drive) in permits. I’m hoping to pack an extra suitcase of homebrew to share with my brother in laws.

I heard that some of the liquor stores that were on the county line near Vine Grove closed since the passage of the new laws. Dry counties are a funny thing.

18

Calloway County quit a ways west and south of vine grove, my mom lives near louisville closer to you than me

19

usually go through there getting home, also if you all go to paducah for some odd reason give me a holler i got the hook up in this area. bluegrass brewing company in louisville is also a good place to stop if your in louisville

20

Save the cost of a trip to S F, brew your own.
:cheers: