RATING:
4/5
These flavor notes are getting regoddamndiculous. The label on this beer says it tastes like "gooseberry pie, passionfruit, meringue, and tea leaf" leaving me to ask: what in holy hell is gooseberry pie? I can envision a group of hipster "connoisseurs" sitting around a distressed rustic Pottery Barn table, nodding enthusiastically as Brent spits beer into a pail and exclaims, "It's like drinking my grandma's gooseberry pie!"
I like this beer despite the ridiculousness on the label. It's a bit more tart than the current West Coast IPA style, but goes down smooth. The next time I'm invited to a hipster picnic, I'll definitely bring some along.
RATING:
4/5
To be honest, I had never heard of wheatwine before this beer. I found it to be similar to barleywine, but with less of the offensive malty sweetness. This beer is only for the unfaint? of heart. At 12% ABV, it will put hair on your chest (don't worry, your breath will burn the hair right back off). This wheatwine would pair well with sharp cheddar cheese or toffee candy.
RATING:
2.5/5
Floral, a little sour. Save your money--there are way too many choices out there to waste your money on this below average beer.
RATING:
3/5
Session beer has style, but it's not a session style beer (Session was Session before sessions got popular). Session is okay, but I found it kind of stale and a little bitter. I have to give a shout-out to the label though. The logo looks like it could be for a surf company. Also, I remember back in the day that Session bottle caps had word games on them, and I believe they now have rock-paper-scissors pictures to play with friends. So that's pretty cool.
RATING:
2/5
Apparently back in "simpler times," beer tasted pretty shitty. Simpler Times is cheap, and in this case you get what you pay for. It starts out okay, but the aftertaste is fairly terrible. In addition, this beer has the unique characteristic of actually getting worse the longer you drink it.
RATING:
5/5 –
4.5/5
Fantastic. The standard by which all IPAs should be judged. I know it's super popular and widely distributed, but it wouldn't be right to deduct points for that. While the bottle version is a solid 5/5, the canned variety loses a half point for loss of carbonation.
RATING:
4/5
Smooth. This beer is a nice change-up from all the lagers and IPAs out there. Would pair well with an olive plate, an antipasto dish, or a meat and cheese tray. I don't love the sour aftertaste, but I appreciate this beer for its unique and refreshing taste.
RATING:
4/5
If Stone Brewing Company made a Stone IPA Light, I'd expect it to taste pretty much like this. I like the flavor, but it's not a standout.
RATING:
4/5
The title of this beer is a lot, but thankfully so is its flavor. I mean its flavor is a lot. Does that make sense? I don't know, I'm tired. Anyway, I tasted the cinnamon and raisin. All this bad-boy needs is some oatmeal flavor and it'd be like drinking a cookie. The only downside is that it leaves a kind of a stinging aftertaste on the tongue.
RATING:
3/5
Good, but not as good as your basic non-alcoholic apple cider. It starts strong with a genuine cider flavor, but the follow up is all cheap wine. This drink would be good if you hate beer, or if you like to drink really fast (so you'd stay ahead of the aftertaste).
RATING:
2/5
Yikes. Tasted a tiny bit of pumpkin and lots of habanero. If anyone drank an entire 6 pack they'd end up looking like the dude on the label. I love spicy food and hot sauce, but this is way too much pepper for a beer.
RATING:
4.5/5
I realized that I've been rating a lot of new and random beer, but I haven't covered some of my favorites. Racer 5 is an IPA lover's IPA (whatever that means). I visited this brewery way back in the 20th century and I remember being blown away by Racer 5's balanced, complex, floral berry flavor. The only thing lacking is the bold bitter aftertaste that many modern IPAs bring to the table.
RATING:
3.5/5
I'm going to say something that will send the heads of hipsters around the world spinning: Natty Ice is better than PBR.
Pabst Blue Ribbon has gotten a reputation for being the best "cheap" beer money can buy, which has resulted in it no longer being that cheap. In addition to costing less than PBR, Natural Ice is stronger, and it tastes better. Wake up sheeple!
*Note: When you buy this beer everyone will judge you for being kind of a dirtbag (including me).
RATING:
3/5
Nice basic lager with a bit of a grapefruit bite at the end. I like that it's brewed locally in Los Angeles and I appreciate its reference to our awesome weather, but at twice the price of other domestics, I'm picking Bud Light every time.
RATING:
4.5/5
The aptly named Pace Car, is a "session" beer, meant to be enjoyed over a long period of time without getting you too tipsy. I applaud the idea of this type of beer, but have a hard time getting around the fact that it costs the same as other beers that have a fuller flavor and contain twice as much alcohol.
I have been a fan of this brewery's Racer 5 IPA for almost two decades, and their new offering does not disappoint. Pace Car Racer starts with a smooth, almost candy like taste, and finishes with a classic IPA bite.
RATING:
4/5
Nice basic IPA with a hint of chocolate on the finish. A solid offering, but nothing to write home about.
RATING:
4/5
Watered down wheat flavor with a shot of citrus at the end. Not bad, but I definitely didn’t taste that much guava. I detected more of an orange rind flavor. While traveling years ago in South America I came across a place that served beer mixed 50/50 with orange soda. This tastes a lot like that, except this is about 3 times as strong.
RATING:
4.5/5
A very solid offering from Stone. It has a surprisingly fruity taste, like a beer fruit punch. Okay it's not that crazy, but it was definitely not what I expected. It'd be great if Stone started selling half IPA, half Ghost Hammer twelve packs. It'd be nice to go back and forth between the two brews, switching between the bold and bitter IPA and the lighter sweeter Ghost Hammer.
RATING:
4/5
A good summertime beer that pairs well with summertime food. Light malty-sweet flavor. I can't help feeling that if this beer wasn't in such a cool bottle, it'd be "just okay." But aesthetics count, and the whole presentation is cool, including but not limited to the Hawaiian islands raised in the glass.
RATING:
3/5
Smooth like carbonated water. A weak beer with a weak flavor. Nothing to make it stand out. This could be the most average beer I've ever drank.
