Bohemia Especial

Bohemia Especial - Dominican Republic

Caribbean style Pilsner. Light golden color with a small amount of white head. Very skunky smell from the beginning, but not overpowering in the taste though. Malty with a bread flavor and a very light beer with a slight bitter finish. They were stocked in the mini bar of our room every day when the maid came, so it was pretty easy to start the afternoon with one of these. Honestly it really was a typical beer from the Caribbean, no real significant difference from all of the others in Latin America/Caribbean (Corona, Caribe, Tecate, etc.)

Of the Dominican beers, I preferred this over Presidente for sure. It is worth a try if you are ever in the D.R., but not something I will be buying if I see it here.

Who: Cathy
Where: Dominican Republic
Price: Free
Score: 2 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Dos Equis - Amber

Another Mexican beer has made its way back into our refrigerator this week -- Dos Equis coming to us from Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma Brewery in Mexico. Mostly because it was on sale for Cinco De Mayo. Cathy and I thought we would give it another go. Previously I really enjoyed this Amber lager, not so much anymore.

I just don't find the taste that good. Even if you shove a lime into the beer it still doesn't help. The beer is a dark amber color and smells of sweet malts. It has a slight malty and carmel taste. I also think that there is another flavor in there, I just can't get my finger on. All in all it is a pretty average beer, which is probably why the 6 pack was only $5.99.

I would much rather have Pacifico or even a Corona over this beer again.

Who: Cathy
Where: Home
Price: $
Score: 2 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Pacifico

Pacifico

One of my favorite summer time beers. Best enjoyed with friends on the deck or lounging on the beach.

Mexican pilsner first brewed in the early 1900's and aptly named Beer of the Pacific because the brewery is based in Mazatlan on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Currently brewed by Mexican beer giant Grupo Modelo (mostly owned by Anheuser-Busch).

This beer is what it is, a Mexican Lager. It is in the same boat with Corona, Tecate, Sol. Except in my opinion has a much better flavor and taste. Goes down very easy and doesn't have that skunky after taste of a Corona. I think it outdoes even some of the American lagers like Coors and even Miller Lite (gasp!).

Recommended for anyone. Always better enjoyed with friends!

Who: Cathy
Where: the deck!
Price: $
Score: 4 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Guinness

Guinness Draught

Much better in a pub and actually from the tap instead of the bottle with their fancy nitrogen widget/rocket thing. One of my all time favorite beers, I've been known to kick back a handful of these in one sitting. A lot of my friends think it is very filling and can only have 1. I personally can drink these all night long.

Beautiful black color with an extreme amount of head. Very nice toasted and chocolate smells. Such a smooth drink, even Cathy enjoys them every once and awhile. I can still remember my first one. It was back at home and on my 21st birthday I had this as my "free" beer from the West End Tavern. Very good choice and I haven't stopped drinking them yet.

I would recommend this beer to anyone and strongly suggest having one in an Irish pub where the pour the beer correctly with a sliver spoon. I am waiting on that trip to Ireland someday to have the beer the way it was intended to be served.

Who: Many different people
Where: Many different pubs
Price: $$$
Score: 5 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Santa's Butt - Winter Porter

Santa's Butt Winter Porter.

I had been waiting for the right time to try the last of my Christmas/Winter seasonal beers. Santa's Butt was a Christmas present from Thad and ended up being a pretty nice present.

One very noticeable thing right away is the fun name and label for the brew. Santa's Butt has a double meaning, the first is obvious, the second is that "butt" is also for the 126-gallon beer barrel Santa is sitting on.

I rather enjoyed this porter (one of my favorite styles of beer). First things I noticed with the pour was the beautiful dark brown color and the sweet chocolate aroma. The sweet chocolaty flavor was in the forefront and reminded me a little of getting a chocolate soda at the local ice cream shoppe. What surprised me was it didn't have that typical "spice" that is in the winter ales. I was dissapointed in the head on top, it wasn't that soft creamy head that I expected. But overall I will rate this beer very highly and can't wait until next Winter when it will be available again.

Who: Cathy
Where: Home
Price: Gift
Score: 4 / 5

Carlsberg

Coming to us from Copenhagen, Denmark is Carlsberg Beer.

As I stated in the Stella Artois post, this European Green Bottled Lager is not my favorite type of beer. The first (and last) time before this 6-pack that I had Carlsberg was when I was in San Fransisco my Senior year with Luke (2004). It was St. Patrick's day and the last bar we went into was selling these for around $2 and we really couldn't pass that up as poor college kids visiting a big city.

There is a nice smoothness to the beer which makes it go down pretty easy. My problem is with the smell of these types of beers. I really can't get past the skunky smell and it really hinders my experience with the beer. That is probably why it takes me about 4 years in between buying Carlsberg. The reason I bought it this time was to probably take me back to that trip to SF and remember all of the great times we had that week.

Who: Luke
Where: Some bar in San Fransisco
Price: $$
Score: 3 / 5

Stella Artois

Stella Artois Premium Lager.

Coming to us from Belgium, Stella Artois is a very typical North and Western European Lager. It has many similarities to Heineken, Becks, Carlsberg etc. I have this feeling that all Lagers that come in a green bottle have the same sort of skunkiness to its taste.

I'm not saying that I dislike the beer, I just don't perfer this style of beer. A couple of things that I did enjoy: the smoothness of the beer itself, and the crisp clean flavor. Before I knew it I had already downed 2 of them (not bad for a beer that I didn't think that I liked all that much). This style beer is probably best enjoyed in a small beer glass (which I didn't do).

All of this being said, you still probably won't find Stella in my refrigerator anytime soon. 1. Because I currently am working on a 6-pack of Carlsberg (which tastes very similar) and 2. Their are so many more beers out there that I still need to try.

Who: Cathy, Bautista, Angela, Jacob
Where: CB's place
Price: FREE
Score: 3 or 4 /5

Paulaner Salvator

Paulaner Salvator Double Bock German beer. Another beer I had at Allyn's Cafe in my around the world trip of beers. I remember it having a very smooth chocolate taste (as most bocks do). I don't think I have ever seen this beer at the store. I probably wouldn't buy it all that often, but for a change it can be nice (probably more of a fall/winter brew to me).

Who: Luke and Cathy
Where: Allyn's Cafe
Price: $$$
Score: 3 / 5

Bass

I used to like this beer a lot more than I do now. I drank it first in college when I was trying to get away from the regular American light beers. I really wouldn't recommend this beer to anyone if you asked me for a Pale Ale. I just don't think that England has figured out the Pale Ales like the Americans have.

Who: Unsure
Where: Allyn's Cafe
Price: $$
Score: 2 / 5

Schneider Weisse

Honestly, I really don't remember what it tastes like. We are doing the beers around the world at Allyn's Cafe and you have to drink them all. I would bet that I didn't care for it all that much, since I don't usually like the German Hefeweisen's.

Who: Luke
Where: The Comet (Northside - Cincinnati, OH)
Price: $$$
Score: N/A