The Beer
While many of you possess superior beer knowledge, there are a few out there that are new to real beer. So here’s a primer on the matter and my contribution to the education of mankind on the topic of beer.
Lagers: Lagers are made from with a bottom- or cold-fermenting yeast that sinks to the bottom of the brew mixture during fermentation. A lager traditionally needs to age for a period of up to several months to complete the fermentation. Because of the long fermentation process, lagers are generally smooth, crisper, and more subtle in taste than ales.
Dos Esquis Lager Especial, Mexico: Mid-bodied, pale gold, pleasant beer with a light rice taste.
Brooklyn Lager, New York: Mid-bodied, pale golden. A classic American lager.
Dundee’s Honey Brown, New York: Medium-bodied, deep golden brown, pilsner-style with a hint of honey.
Michelob Ultra, Missouri: Bud product. Low Carbohydrate beer. A bit thin, but serves a purpose.
Harp, Ireland: Lighter-bodied, pale gold. Sharp, crisp, well-balanced lager beer.
Miller High-Life, Milwaukee, WI: Pale yellow, lighter body. 1999 bronze medal winner at GABF for American style lager.
Corona Extra, Mexico: Pale gold, lighter body, Mexican lager.
Carlsberg Lager, Denmark: Clean, crisp lager with smooth maltiness.
Lowenbrau, Germany: Made under German purity laws, again, this is a great pick. Mid-body, golden lager.
Amstel Light, Netherlands: Light-bodied, pale yellow, highly drinkable with a crisp, clean finish.
Stella Artois, Belgium: Light-bodied, pale yellow, crisp and clean. Slight hops and rice notes.
Heineken, Holland: Mid-bodied, light golden yellow, a popular pilsner. Clean and a bit thin, with a slight bitter finish.
Narragansett, New York: American lager, light, mild, crisp and refreshing. Hello again Neighbor!
Heineken Light, Holland: A lighter, less tasty version of Heineken.
Peroni, Italy: The most popular beer in Italy, golden yellow lager with a good balance of hops and malt.
Red Stripe, Jamaica: Lighter bodied, pale yellow, light hops taste with bread aroma.
Rolling Rock, Pennsylvania: A great American lager. Golden yellow, lighter body and a smooth finish.
Michelob Light, Missouri: A longer name for Bud Light!
Budweiser, Missouri: Extremely mass-produced, light-bodied, pale yellow. Flavor? It’s a Bud.
Bud Light, Missouri: A lighter version of Bud. Yummy.
Sam Adams Light, Massachusetts: A popular, light-bodied version, although doesn’t quite provide original flavor.
Coors Light, Colorado: Take a Bud Light and remove what little flavor exists in that and you have a Coors Light.
Fruit/Lambic:
Lambic: Lambics are a type of wheat beer that is fermented with wild yeast.
Fruit: Fruit beers can be made from wheat beer, ales or lagers. Long a tradition in American brewing, they are gaining popularity around the world.
Lindeman’s Frambois, Belgium: Lambic beer made from barley and unmalted wheat. Full bodied, blood red, made with real raspberries.
Ithaca Apricot Wheat, New York: Wheat beer, light in color with a hint of apricot for a fruity finish.
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, Massachusetts: Brewed with Michigan cherries and a touch of honey and malted wheat. Subtle citrus flavor.
Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde: Light golden lager with a nice bite. Hint of fresh strawberries abound.
Smirnoff Ice, Somewhere in the US: Mid-bodied, Fresca-looking. Malt beverage, thickly sweet, citrus flavored.
St. John’s Mango, Virgin Islands: Light pale ale brewed with mango fruit, subtle malt notes.
Pilsner |ˈpilznər| a lager beer with a strong hop flavor, originally brewed at Pilsen (Plzeň) in the Czech Republic, and traditionally served in a tall glass tapered at the bottom. Made using “bottom-fermenting yeasts” which grow well at low temperatures and lie at the bottom of the brewing vessel, they ferment more sugars, leaving a crisper, cleaner taste, and remarkable clarity.
Labatt Blue, Canada: Full-bodied, cloudy, malty pilsner.
Warsteiner, Germany: Mid-bodied, with excellent hops and malt balance. Very complementary to all foods.
Grolsch, Netherlands: Fresh, hoppy pilsner brewed using only malt, hops, yeast and water. Lighter-bodied.
Pilsner Urquell, Czechoslovakia: This is the original pilsner introduced in 1842. It is the benchmark of all others.
Miller Lite, Wisconsin: The only one of the American Big Three to win any type of awards at the GABF. Must be the water.
India Pale Ale, abbreviated IPA, is an ALE that is light amber to copper in colour, medium to medium-high ABV, with hoppy, bitter and sometimes malty flavor. Made with a “top fermenting yeast”, which ferments the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste. The term “pale ale” originally denoted an ale which had been brewed from pale malt, and the term “India” was derived from the fact the pale malt was originally sourced through the East India Trading Company way back in the day. Demand for this new pale ale, which had become known as “India Pale Ale,” developed in England around 1840 and India Pale Ale became a quite a popular product in England. Today, IPA’s have been a big go-to style for many American craft beer brewers, many winning awards all over the world.
Blue Point Hoptical Illusion, New York: Generous amounts of hops and a malty backbone create this one of a kind ale.
Dogfish Head 90 Minutes IPA, Delaware: Hops are added every minute for 90 minutes. Hoppy flavor without bitterness.
Martha’s Vineyard Offshore IPA, Massachusetts: Cloudy orange color, dry hopped with fruity and floral aromas.
Wheat: Wheat beer is a beer that is brewed with a large proportion of wheat. Wheat beers often also contain a significant proportion of malted barley. Wheat beers are usually top-fermented. The flavor of wheat beers varies considerably, depending upon the specific style. Wheat beers can contain 20 – 60% wheat, giving this type of beer a unique flavor.
Wittekerke, Belgium: Refreshing, Belgian wheat ale with a crisp clean finish and underlying hoppy flavor.
Franziskaner, Germany: Mid-bodied, cloudy, pale yellow, unfiltered wheat beer.
Hoegaarden, Belgium: Unfiltered, lighter-bodied wheat beer. Cloudy, pale yellow. Excellent choice. Served with lemon.
Old Specked Hen, England: Medium bodied, beautiful golden yellow with creamy head. Great beer.
Steam:
Anchor Steam, California: Fuller-bodied, well-rounded, with a fruity edge and distinctive bite.
Red Seal Ale, California: Malt and Hops are combined in this copper red ale giving it a long spicy finish.
Newport Storm Hurricane Amber Ale, Rhode Island: Mid-bodied, golden amber, excellent balance with a malty finish.
Otter Creek Cooper Ale, Vermont: Mid-bodied, deep brown, slight notes of molasses on finish.
Killian’s Irish Red, Colorado: Made by Coors. That should almost say enough.
Martha’s Vineyard Offshore Amber Ale, Massachusetts: Light amber, medium body, hints of caramel and citrus zest.
Pale Ale: Usually a dry-hopped ale, the term pale ale is used loosely in this grouping of beers. Pale ales range in color from light golden to amber and rusty copper. Body and color range tremendously.
Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale, Hawaii: Copper color made with a special blend of roasted malts and hops. Great compliment to any BBQ dish. Citrus aroma.
Geary’s Pale Ale, Maine: Golden amber, New England style pale ale with dry notes of grain and caramel.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, California: Golden amber, mid-bodied, citrus aroma with great hops/malt balance.
Sam Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, England: Full-bodied without being filling. Light burnt caramel with hints of oatmeal.
Whale’s Tale Pale Ale, Nantucket: Amber, English style ale. Sweet and flavorful, yet hoppy at the same time.
Gulden Draak, Belgium: 10.5 alc. Dark brown triple ale with a toffee-like sweetness and hoppy accents.
Chimay, Belgium: 7% alc. Mid-bodied, golden brown. Absolutely delicious. One of the best in the world.
Duvel, Belgium: 8.5% alc. Complex fruity wine flavors, with lighter-bodied softer feel.
Leffe Blonde Ale, Belgium: Full bodied deep golden ale, great hops with sweet flavors.
Orval Trappist Ale, Belgium: 6.9% alc. Mid-bodied, hazy golden yellow. Extremely complex and rich, champagne-like.
Ales: Ales are fermented warm and made with a top-fermenting yeast, a yeast that rises to the top of the brew mixture during fermentation. Ales are generally stronger and more assertive in taste than lagers because of their relatively fast and warm fermentation. In many pubs throughout Europe, ales are served at room temperature.
Belhaven Scottish Ale, Scotland: Medium to full-bodied, dark brown, creamy, with hints of caramel and licorice.
Hennepin, New York: Orange toasted grain and ginger await. Champagne-like effervescence. Lighter-bodied.
Trois Pistoles, Canada: 9% alc. Deep golden brown, full-bodied, bottle fermented. Finishes like a great port wine.
La Fin Du Monde, Canada: 9% alc. Smooth, slightly tart with the balanced flavor of wild spices, malt and hops.
Maudite, Canada: 8% alc. Deep reddish-brown, has hints of coriander, light spices and hops.
Tetley’s English Ale, England: Light-bodied, served in a nitrogenized can, creamy, smooth.
Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Oregon: German mailbock style. Deep honey color, malty aroma, hearty flavor.
Boddington’s Pub Ale, England: Nitrogenized can. Pale gold lighter-bodied. Creamy head with very light carbonation. Made for drinking.
Sam Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, England: Full medium-bodied, mahogany brown, caramel and a hint of honey. Excellent!
Ayinger-Ur-Weisse, Germany: Mid-bodied, golden yellow, 40% wheat beer. Bread aroma, wheat taste.
Bass, England: Mid-bodied, mahogany brown, zesty aroma, sweet with hints of caramel.
Coopers Dark Ale, Australia: Fresh and creamy with a lingering coffee flavor.
Stout/Porter:
Stout: Stout came after porter and was originally called stout porter. It has traditionally been a stronger version of porter, often darker than porter, if that’s possible, with strong coffee or burnt caramel flavors. Stout beer is not for the beginner, it is an acquired taste for a mature palate perfect for sipping and savoring.
Porter: Porters can range from dark brown to almost black. Porters are sweeter than stout and have less alcohol by content. There should be a real sense of the grain in the taste. These are excellent for a long night of sipping.
Old Peculier, England: Deep brown, medium/full-bodied. Aroma of nuts, creamy and smooth with a warm caramel finish.
Murphy’s Irish Stout, Ireland: Nitrogenized can. Stout, lighter yet than Beamish. Great intro to stouts.
Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout, England: Full-bodied without being filling. Light burnt caramel with hints of caramel.
Sam Smith’s Taddy Porter, England: Full body, very dark, intense dry tangy flavor of roasted barley.
Seasonal/Rotating:
Magic Hat Seasonal, Vermont: Always a tasty elixir to tickle your taste-buds.
Magic Hat Fat Angel, Vermont: Mid-bodied, golden-ambered, dry-hopped, crisp finish.
Newport Storm Cyclone Series, Rhode Island: Rotating selection of the best local brews.
Rotating Seasonal Selection
Phil’s Pick of the Month
Katie’s Pick of the Month
Smithwicks, Ireland: One of the better dark ales in the world. Its rich smooth flavor and delicious aftertaste is second to none.
Newport Storm Blueberry, Rhode Island: Refreshing fruit ale flavored with Rhode Island blueberries.
Newcastle, England: Fuller-bodied, medium brown, malty aroma with flavor of nuts and molasses.
Blue Moon, Colorado: Belgian style unfiltered wheat brewed with coriander and an orange peel.
Sam Adams Seasonal, Massachusetts: Every season, always something food from Sam.
Harpoon IPA, Massachusetts: Mid-bodied, golden yellow, citrus and apricots on the finish. Yummy!
Magic Hat Circus Boy, Vermont: Hefeweizen, refreshing American style unfiltered wheat beer.
Palm, Belgium: Fruity, full beer with a fine bittersweet balance.
Guinness Stout, Ireland: Full-bodied stout, dark mahogany brown, notes of burnt hops, caramel and molasses.
Strongbow Cider, England: Mid-bodied cider with a hint of sweetness.
Miller Lite, Wisconsin: Domestic light-bodied, golden yellow. Smooth with good carbonation balance.
Longtrail Seasonal, Vermont: Always a great craft beer to satisfy everyone’s taste and keep you coming back for more.
Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat, Wisconsin: Sweet hints of citrus make this the perfect sunset.
Beer of the Month: Rotating seasonal selection. Ask server for details.
Rotating Seasonal or Craft Selection
