January09 Tasting Notes And Ratings

Stella Artois
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Rating: decent
Overall score 3.4/5
Appearance 3/ Smell 3/ Taste 3.5/ Mouthfeel 3.5/ Drinkability 4


Appearance: Light maze color, frothy white head, spotty lacing.

Smell: Reminds me of a German pilsner, a grassy hop aroma.

Taste: Light malt flavor, some hop bitterness with a dry finish.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and crisp.

Drinkability: Refreshing and easy to drink.

Notes: Not worth the price they charge around here, but never less a surprisingly pleasant and easy to drink beer. I think I would enjoy this beer even more in the hot summer months.


[Serving type: bottle]



Michelob Hop Hound Amber Wheat
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Rating: fair
Overall score 3.0/5
Appearance 2.5/ Smell 2.5/ Taste 3/ Mouthfeel 3.5/ Drinkability 3.5

Appearance: Pours to a very hazy amber color that forms into a nice white head. Not very much lacing.

Smell: Faint hop scent, with an yeasty edge.

Taste: Not much wheat flavor. Detectable hop presents, mostly has a citrus and yeasty taste.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied.

Drinkability: Not difficult to drink but 5.3 ABV can sneak up on you.

Note: This beer leaves no doubt it is unfiltered. Not a hop bomb but definitely a yeast bomb!

[Serving type: bottle]


Leinenkugel 1888 Bock
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Rating: good
Overall score 3.6/5
Appearance 4/ Smell 3/ Taste 3.5/ Mouthfeel 3/ Drinkability 4.5


Appearance: Pours a dark amber color. Decent tan head, leaves very little lacing.

Smell: I detect toasted caramel malts and molasses.

Taste: Much the same as the smell, some nuttiness in the taste along with caramel malt and molasses. Finishes with a faint smokiness after taste.

Mouthfeel: Somewhat thin and mild for a bock.

Drinkability: Really good session beer.

Notes: Despite being a light flavored bock I found myself liking this beer. Reminded me of Leinenkugel's Creamy dark. Like many of the Leinie's this was toned down a bit but never less a flavorful session beer.


[Serving type: bottle]


Mild Winter
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Rating: excellent
Overall score 4.2/5
Appearance 4/ Smell 4/ Taste 4.5/ Mouthfeel 4.5/ Drinkability 4


Appearance: Pours a dark reddish, quite clear and clean looking. A two finger creamy tan head forms to leave a liberal amount of lacing.

Smell: A robust smell of roasted malts and a hint of rye.

Taste: Caramel malt, touch of chocolate and toasted nuttiness and mild spice.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, significant amount of carbonation.

Drinkability: Very smooth, the alcohol from being 5.6% ABV is hardly noticeable.

Notes: This is just one of a long list of excellent beers from Goose Island.


[Serving type: bottle]



Rating Scale
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4.8 world class
4.5 outstanding
4.2 excellent
3.9 very good
3.6 good
3.3 decent
3.0 fair
2.7 mediocre
2.4 poor
2.1 bad

Governor of Bavaria

Gov. Guenther Beckstein of Bavaria in an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk radio, said "If one drinks two liters of beer over six or seven hours at Oktoberfest , it is still possible to drive". Though he also added that "of course not if you drink the two liters in two hours". He later retracted the statement but the political fallout had already been done. His political adversary Franz Maget of the Social Democrats and the head of Bavaria's police union Harald Schneider accused him of playing down driving under the influence of alcohol. Mr Schneider is afraid people will use Beckstein's remarks as an excuse if found driving under the influence.

Ironically Beckstein's ultra-conservative Christian Social Union of Bavaria has a drug czar who advocates a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0 percent when driving---the current national BAC is 0.050 percent which is 0.030 percent lower than what is allowed in the United States.


My first thoughts on this report was that Gov. Beckstein was thinking logically because 2 liters equals about 64 ounces, which is the equivalent of 5 twelve ounce bottles of beer. I have always been of the belief that if you keep your beer drinking to one beer per hour you would avoid drunkenness and also be safe to drive.

After testing this hypothesised at the Blood Alcohol Calculator, I have discovered perhaps the controversy over Beckstein's statement was much to do over nothing. This is assuming the Blood Alcohol Calculator is fairly close to what an actual BAC would be.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics the average weight for a man is 189 pounds. For a woman that average is 162 pounds. If a average weight man drank two liters of beer at Oktoberfest in 6 hours as Beckstein said, that man's BAC would be 0.006 well below Germany's 0.05. For a woman it would be substantially higher, but still in a safe range of 0.038.

If you would keep the same amount of hours (6) but added to your intake one 12 oz beer for both men and women you would be at a safe BAC in the United States, but would be getting dangerously close towards the illegal BAC in Germany and other places that have a 0.05 BAC standard for driving.

I'm not advocating drinking and driving. It is always better not to drive at all if you plan to drink. But the reality is there are times you will want to have a social drink or two away from home but have no other alternative if you want to get home. This information I think is helpful in those situations. After all it is not like you can carry a designated driver in your back pocket everywhere you go. Using this knowledge and our common sense will ensure our drinking does not harm us and more importantly the lives of others.

Beer Sip of Knowledge: Beer and Health

Beer contains valuable B vitamins, such as B12, folic acid and niacin, as well as antioxidants, such as polyphenols and ferulic acid. Further more beer contains soluble fibre, which is good for digestion. Even the active ingredient in alcohol, whether from beer or wine helps keep arteries clear of blockage.

Beer is actually the healthier choice over wine contrary to popular opinion. This is according to Charles Bamforth, chairman of the food science department at the University of California at Davis.

Stroh's My Retro Beer

Lately there has been much talk about Pabst Blue Ribbon, once mocked and despised, close to the verge of extinction after 23 years of declining sales. But today with 6 consecutive years of hitting double-digit annual growth without any advertisement campaign, this beer has become a symbol of anti establishment with a blue collar spirit. Starting with bike messengers, indie rock fans, sound techs, snow boarders---they weren't just drinking PBR they were loving it.

But the truth must be told, PBR now that its back to being chic is not any better than all other American adjunct lagers. After all it is an American adjunct lager which is a style of beer that a prominent craft beer website describes as: Light bodied, fizzy lagers made popular by the macro-breweries (large breweries) of America after prohibition. Low bitterness, thin malts and moderate alcohol. Focus is less on flavor and more on mass-production and consumption. Cutting flavor and sometimes with adjunct cereal grains, like rice and corn.

When I first started to drink beer I thought that beer all tasted the same. Now that I have discovered craft beer and have tasted over 50 different styles I have come to realize there is more variations in beer taste than there is in soda pop. But back then like most Americans I only knew of this one style which makeup 96.2 percent of the beer market. Today I'm able to detect even the slightest variation within this light bodied, fizzy lager. Even though the malts are thin and they all use adjunct grains, the amount of these grains can vary to give distinction in flavor and determine quality. All adjunct lagers taste similar but don't taste the same and are not created equal.

In 1985 Stroh's Brewing Company reached its zenith. After the acquisition of several other labels Stroh's moved from 15th place in the national beer market to 3rd behind Anheuser-Busch and Miller. Back in 1908 Julius Stroh after a tour of famous European breweries, introduced the European fire-brewing method in the Stroh brewery. Stroh's was the only American brewery to use this method. The 1990's with increase competition found Stroh's struggling and their market share cut nearly in half. Finally after going $500 million in debt on February 8, 1999 the 149 year-old brewing company sold its labels to Pabst Brewing Company and Miller Brewing Company.

In 2005 I had drank my first Stroh's in 23 years. I was a little bit disappointed because I had remembered Stroh's having more flavor. This prompted me to write Pabst Brewing Company a letter asking them if they brewed Stroh's exactly the same as before they acquired the beer. I did get a reply back from my inquiry and was very sadden by their response. Here is the reply letter from the Pabst Brewing Company:


"Before Stroh's beer became part of the Pabst family, Stroh's beer was brewed at five or six of the Stroh breweries around the country. But it was no longer brewed in Detroit after the original Stroh brewery was shut down due to age and inefficiency. It was about this time (and even before) that most breweries included the use of corn adjunct or corn syrup in their formulas. I do not know exactly at what point the Stroh's brewery made the switch, but by the time the Pabst Brewing Company bought the Stroh's label (1999) Stroh's beer had already been brewed with corn adjunct for many years. But Stroh did continue to "fire-brew" its brand at great expense. Several gas-fired kettles were installed in each of the Stroh breweries to continue the tradition, and indeed marketing image, of fired-brewed beer".

"When the Pabst Brewing Company bought the Stroh labels, a decision had to be made whether to endure the extra cost necessary to continue fire-brewed Stroh's. In order to evaluate the effect of fire-brewed on the taste of the beer, special blind taste test sessions were conducted with trained panelist to see if a difference could be perceived by anyone. The result of these sessions revealed that less than half of the panelist could detect a difference. Statistically, that means that any one whether trained or not, could simply toss a coin to answer the question. Since all Stroh's breweries were shut down except one, and since almost all production was contracted out to Miller Brewing Company, the decision was made that the extra expense of installing gas-fired kettles at all of Miller plants simply was not justifiable. An old marketing position long enjoyed by Stroh's alone was abandoned in favor of being able to offer the brand to the public at reduced cost. The move was difficult choice to make but has turned out to be the right choice. The Stroh's brand is now enjoyed by both old and new customers alike."


I have put away my beer snobbery. I have come to realise there is a time and place for every style including American adjunct lagers. In the words of the Alstrom brothers of BA "Beer is meant to be fun and complement life and taste is subjective and everyone has a different palate. The beer snob is stuck in a cycle, taking their passion too seriously and to a level that actually counterproductive to spreading the good word about beer".

Even in early days of beer making in American they made a lighter, less flavorful, low alcohol beer called "Small Beer". This was used for their everyday beverage.

I'm not ashamed to admit when I want something inexpensive, light bodied, refreshing, simple, non-complex, and easy to drink, Stroh's hits the spot. My palate tells me that this beer don't even comes close to the taste and quality of a craft brewed beer, but as for an American adjunct beer it is one of the better tasting. I grew up with Stroh's being a Michigan brewed beer back then. My older brothers drank this stuff. This is why Stroh's is my retro beer.