Blast from the Past

Beer #701 Jever Pilsener / Friesisches Brauhaus zu Jever, Jever, Germany
Previously from this brewery: another Jever Pils

I have buried in a folder draft notes on beers I drank last year.  I had some extras stashed away as we raced to the finish line of the 366 challenge, and then moved to a review every other day model, so I never needed to dip into my supply.  I'll go ahead and break one out now, a bottle of Jever Pilsner that I drank in November.  That's November of 2012, for those keeping score at home.

It poured a crystal clear pale gold, with aromas of grain and barley.  The taste is simple and clean, with notes of grass, grain, and barley.  It's an easy drinking beer, really.  But not much there....

Pics from the past

Thing to Think About Today:
With a picture of a beer from 2012, I thought of Mitch Hedberg, a deceased comedian (unfortunately!) who one had a joke, and I'm paraphrasing, "Someone showed me a picture and said, 'here's a picture of me when I was younger.'  Isn't every picture a picture of you from when you were younger?"

And that about sums up Mitch Hedberg's sense of humor.  Watch some more, if you will.... laugh, please.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6xaj2fC1jI

Day 402: Texas Forever and Austin Beerworks

Texas Beer Week soldiers on but not before an update on a post I wrote on January 4, 2013. Somehow that absurdity continues with another discovery of HUMAN HEADS AT AN AIRPORT!!!

Today's email exchange

Me: Why are there so many human heads without bodies in airports?  http://now.msn.com/human-heads-17-of-them-discovered-at-ohare-international-airport-are-being-investigated-by-officials-and-are-believed-to-be-medical-specimens?ocid=ansnow11

Beth: Well, you’re not just gonna DRIVE them around, are you?  Don’t you think they’d at least need to be on ice or something?

Me: These still had skin on them. (barf) Wouldn't that smell?

Beth:  We need more details, msn!

Sorry for the lip prints on the glass.
Clearly I liked this one. It took me this much
beer to remember to take a photograph!

And so it continues...where will the heads turn up next?

Now back to Texas Beer Week. Texas forever, y'all!

Today's installment features Austin Beerworks's Pearl Snap pilsner.  

Sidebar: I've recently discovered a new joy in life. When visiting brewery websites, occasionally answer no to the "Are you 21?" question. Do it on Austin Beerwork's site. I dare you. You will be rewarded.  Black Acre Brewing also has a fun under 21 reward. What's going on, indeed!

Pearl Snap poured a golden color ale with a minimal white head.  It had a pretty strong smell of hops for a pilsner or at least compared to the pilsners I remember drinking. It's very smooth with a slightly caramel hop profile. It finishes with a strong but not overwhelming bitterness. 

Beer stats

Style: German pilsner

ABV: 5.3%

IBUs:  45

Rating:  Good

Previously reviewed from Austin Beerworks

First beer!!!

Beer 346: Jever Pilsener and Scattered Pre-holiday Thoughts

I just registered for next year's bicycle trip through northern Belgium with BeerCycling. I. Am. Going. To. Belgium. IamgoingtoBelgium!!! I'm going to take a little break from writing to do the running man since 1. I know how to do it now and 2. I have some excess excitement to burn off! I've traveled overseas once in my life -- to Egypt. I'm pretty sure I'm more excited for this trip!

Other things rattling around my head...

Pitbull is a funny and articulate guy. I may have judged him too harshly after that awful Dr Pepper commercial Let's Have a Real Good Time.

I inadvertently demanded a promotion at work today. Lucky for me, they already know I'm crazy so this came as no surprise when I hit the ceiling over some nonsense.

I've also come to realize I don't care for pilsners. I like lagers, but for some reason the light lager isn't doing it for me. This is a confusing time for me because I just declared my love of Victory Brewing's Prima Pils. Odd.

Tonight's beer is the Jever Pilsener from Friesisches Brauhaus zu Jever in Germany. Jever is the original Friesland pilsner (ABV 4.9%) -- brewed in northern Germany with pure Friesian spring water and fresh Hallertau hops.


It pours a golden color with a wispy white head. It smells like skunky weed and Shredded Wheat. Seriously. Shredded Wheat. The taste is grassy and very sharp. There's something medicinal and sweet in there as well. Yeah. I think I've outgrown pilsners. I'd rate this one average.

Cheers!

Beer 266: Shadow's Wild Black and Then Stiegl

For whatever reason, as I sit down to write something profound about the first Penn State game under Coach O'Brien, I managed to get The Second Week of Deer Camp stuck in my head. So there's that.

What are my hopes for today's game? Honestly to make the haters stop hating, but I realize the lofty nature of that wish. I want everyone wishing for the old days to stop it. Those days are over. Over. We have got to move on as an alumni group, as a student body, as human beings. This should have, could have, would have is not healthy.

It's a new day in Happy Valley. Let's all enjoy it and celebrate it. Let's have a real good time.

You know what's also a real good time? This crazy ass premium blackberry lager from Blue Dog Brewing called Shadow's Wild Black. The problem is that it's made by Anheuser Busch InBev. Oops. So I guess it's a 2 for 1 today.

The Wild Black is made with natural flavor and color from juice and has an ABV of 8%. Somehow InBev claims this one is brewed in Baldwinsville, New York. Honestly I did not have high hopes for a fruit lager. The color is a clear ruby with a thin ring of white head.


The smell is all blackberry - nothing else. It has a very strong aroma of fruit. The flavor is very boozy. There's a noticeable alcohol burn and it's almost schnapps like. But all that fruit flavor tastes natural...nothing artificial about it, which is great. The fruit and carbonation overpowers any hints of malt or hops. I will admit this one is unusual and I probably couldn't drink two in a row. That being said I did enjoy it. I shall rate it good.

Ugh. InBev. You kill me.

Now I'll tell you about the real beer for opening day. The Stiegl Pils is brewed in Austria. It pours a golden color with an off white head. I think it was leaving lacing but I couldn't really tell in the goofy plastic cup I was drinking out of. It smells rich and of grains. The taste reminds me slightly of melon with some hop bite. This is a nice beer. I'll rate it good.


Now I'm off to cheer on the white and blue because I've never stopped believing. Cheers!

Beer 251: A Song and a Kissmeyer

I sat at my desk this morning typing away and fantasizing about tomorrow's Sourfest at Devil's Den when I heard someone shout, "Say cheese!"  A chorus of tiny voices yelled cheese but it escalated quickly into screaming at which point I thought, "Seriously. There is no need for that much screaming when taking a photo." What will their angelic little faces look like? (Screaming devils would be my best guess.)

But as quickly as the cheese screaming began, it subsided into a lovely rendition of I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee.  Some lyrics if you will: 

     I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee,
     Won't my mommy be so proud of me,
     I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee,
     Won't my mommy be so proud of me!
     Ouch! It stung me! (Spoken)

     I'm squishing up the baby bumblebee,
     Won't my mommy be so proud of me,
     I'm squishing up the baby bumblebee,
     Won't my mommy be so proud of me!
     Ooh! It's yucky! (Spoken)

     I'm wiping off the baby bumblebee,
     Won't my mommy be so proud of me,
     I'm wiping off the baby bumblebee,
     Now my mommy won't be mad at me!

What I didn't realize is that the lyrics go on for a few more verses ending with this child bringing home a baby dinosaur (where does this kid live???), who ends up eating him. Violent, no?

In case you were wondering, yes I did sing that damn song all day.  I may have even reenacted some of the dance moves that go with it.  And on that note, I really wish I had a honey based beer for tonight's review.

Instead I give you the Kissmeyer Pilnzer from Denmark.  It's very easy to drink at 5.%5 ABV.  It poured a light straw color with a thin wispy head.  It smells like an undetermined preserved fruit. The flavor is fig, honey and coins. Both Gary and I thought there was some metallic notes in the flavor.  He claimed general metal but I thought coins was a more apt description.  As it warmed, I noticed more and more lemon tartness. All in all, a very unusual pilsner but quite tasty.

That's all for now. I'm off to squish up a baby bumblebee!

Cheers!

Beer 227: Little White Lies, Scrimshaw and Beer

You know that point during your doctor's appointment where they ask how much you drink? You say three to five drinks per week and the doctor multiplies it by a number that adds back what you took out because you didn't want to sound like a booze hound. Well today I told my doctor I drink every night and then volunteered that it's only really good craft beer because that makes it better and that it's also for my blog about beer. At least I didn't get a list of the local AA meetings.

And as if I needed to provide more evidence, this photo is of today's beer and my pregame snack.


What game am I pregaming for? Tuesday night dinner at Teresa's Next Door for their Russian River tap takeover. And you know how I feel about Russian River's beer!

So here I sit with my North Coast Scrimshaw pilsner biding my time until I can head over to Teresa's.

The Scrimshaw poured a deep golden color...a lot darker than a typical pilsner. It had a thick white head that stuck around and lots of carbonation. It smells grainy. I'm guessing that's the barley. The flavor is well rounded -- barley, hops, very clean and crisp. Some biscuit in the flavor as well.

I'm usually not a big fan of pilsners but this one is awesome. Since I don't think I have any others in my top 25, this one makes that list. And my wait for dinner got much, much better Cheers!

Beer 175: Troegs Sunshine Pils

I have a photo of my beer. It's just trapped in my dead Blackberry for now.


Instead you get a photo of Sal. He likes to sit with me when I blog. I swear I'm not his ghostwriter.

Today we hit the Main Line Food and Jazz Festival. It's a cute little festival that affords one the chance to sit in the street and drink beer (or margaritas or wine if that's your thing). Since it's basically held in front of one of our favorite beer bars, of course, we got a table at Teresa's Next Door and ordered some beer and lunch.

The Troegs Sunshine Pils poured a golden color with a white head. It smelled like fresh outdoors...grass, hops and some citrus. The flavor was kind of hoppy and nutty. It was light and refreshing but very flavorful. Very good.

And with this review, my adventures at Philadelphia Beer Week are officially underway! Cheers!