Moosehead Lager

Beer Name: Moosehead Lager
Brewery: Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
ABV: 5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Wow, is this really my first (blogged) beer from Canada? According to the tags it is, and that's really the only official source. Well, welcome to the party, Canada. Drink up, eh!

Moosehead is probably a light golden beer, although I am just assuming this since I drank it out of a green bottle. However, I think I've had enough beers in my day to state this with confidence. The beer has a sort of strange smell, similar to a Heineken. Also, that's not a compliment.

This beer tastes like a macrobrew beer, and hopefully you know what that means. It has a stronger flavor than its American counterparts though, so it's a little... beer-ier? That should definitely be a word if it's not already. It has a nice clean finish and doesn't leave any lingering taste in your mouth. There's just the right amount of carbonation to make this beer easily drinkable.

Final thought - This is a dangerous beer to be writing about, as anything negative written here will be considered blasphemy by Alex. This beer is sort of like a Canadian equivalent to a Budweiser or MGD, except better. While there's not a whole lot of awesome beeriness going on here, it's good for an extended drinking session, and tastes better than those NASCAR beers.

-Jon

Vinyl

Beer Name: Vinyl
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 5.1%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 5/31/11

Vinyl is Magic Hat's new spring beer, although I'm not sure if there was one previously. There's not a whole lot of information on the Magic Hat website, and the Wikipedia entry for Magic Hat is just awful. It looks like a 12-year old wrote it. Oh well. Time to (hopefully) enjoy some beer!

Vinyl is a mostly copper colored beer with a little bit of redness in it. There is a little bit of head when it's poured, but it fades almost instantly. There is a nice aroma of malts and bread. It actually smells a little bit like a Saranac beer, although I'm not sure that description is going to make sense to anyone who isn't me. The beer leaves almost no lacing at all.

The maltiness of the aroma carries through into the taste here. The flavor is a little bit sweet and heavy in the malt department. This gives the beer a thick mouthfeel, and every sip feels like a major event. There is not much carbonation, so the whole glass feels very smooth as you drink it. The beer finishes without much of an aftertaste.

Final thought - This is a pretty average beer, in that there's nothing bad about it, but also nothing that makes it stands out. As a beer to sit back and relax while watching the Celtics perform barely adequately against the Wizards, it definitely gets the job done. Now to see if the C's can do the same.

-Jon

Lake Effect Lager

Beer Name: Saranac Lake Effect Lager
Brewery: The Matt Brewing Company
ABV: 5.95%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

And the dark beer streak is broken. Not that this beer is a light one, but it's not a porter or stout. Plus, with the recent weather, I figure something with the name "lake effect" is appropriate.

Lake Effect Lager is a dark amber color. It pours with a light head that starts fading quickly but doesn't completely disappear. This thin layer left behind leaves a light lacing on the glass. The aroma is very malty with a little bit of sweetness in the form of caramel.

I find that almost all the Saranac beers have a similar flavor in the background. Since there are so many varieties, I don't think that it's from them using the same malts, but I can't figure out what else it might be. I also don't know how to describe it. Other than that Saranac-ness, this beer has a little bit of caramel flavor and a little bit of creaminess. It has a slightly bitter finish, which also lingers for a little while. This beer has a medium to high level of carbonation.

Final thought - This is an ok beer, but it's not a favorite. I think that can be said for almost all the Saranac beers I've had. They're good, but they're not the best.

-Jon

Boston Lager

Beer Name: Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
ABV: 4.75%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown, best by Dec 2010

Alright, so I don't know the "professional" way to describe beers, so I'm just going to do things my way.

Everyone knows that I am pro-Samuel Adams. Not the actual guy, although I'm sure he was a real guy and not some creation like Cap'n Crunch, but the brand of beer. It's one of the 2 breweries that I've been on a tour of, and they make a lot of good stuff. I can still try to be unbiased though.

The first thing I notice about this beer is that as soon as you smell it, you know you're getting beer. There's no other scents mixed in there, like flowers or fruit or whatever. The flavor is pretty hoppy at first, then a little taste of caramel, and finally it finishes bitter. I remember they told us on the tour what they did to make that bitter finish, but I forget. Something with how they hop it or whatever. Maybe they dry-hop it.

Boston Lager has what I would call medium carbonation. It's bubbly, but not really bubbly like soda is bubbly. However, like soda, it's absolutely horrible warm. Some beers can get away with being served at a warmer temperature, but this isn't one of them. If you buy a 6-pack (or 12 or case or however much you feel like drinking) and it's not refrigerated, do yourself a favor and ice bath it before you start the festivities. You'll be sorry otherwise. And if you don't know about the ice bath, you have a lot to learn about drinking.

I think this beer is a good beer for a meal. I would enjoy a couple of these with a steak or some ribs. Maybe even some barbecued chicken. It's not the kind of beer I would sit around drinking a bunch of while I watch the Sox though. A few of them are enough for me.

Final thought - Boston Lager is a quality brew that makes a regular appearance in the fridge. It's a nice one to have if I'm out at a higher quality bar, and I am never disappointed to find it in the bottom of a cooler if I'm out at a party. Well done!

-Jon