Sam Adams Boston Lager
Good without being great. A bit flat. This is a very large boutique? brewery if that’s not a contradiction. They have a great website and an extensive range of beers that should keep everyone happy. They are very much into seasonal beers and release different labels throughout the year. It’s Oktoberfest time so that’s now been released but it looks a bit sweet for mine.
Bass Pale Ale
Nice drop. Website doesn’t go anywhere – it’s part of Anheuser Busch here so that’s where you get led. They have great ads in Las Vegas on the bus stops like “Making British Food tolerable since 1889” and so on.
Lagunitas Pale Ale
A bit on the sweet and chewy side with a lot of caramel. Not something I’d buy again and I still have 5 to go. The IPA and Maximus were also in the shop but not the Pilsner. I’d like to give that a try before I called stumps on the brewery itself – it’d probably be a much better offering than this. They do a Wheat Beer as well but I don’t like any wheat beers so that’s not something I’d hold against them.
Sapporo.
Large can - I don’t like things in tin (although when I was younger, we all drank ‘tinnies’?). Giving some allowance for the tin, the beer was quite good. I think the Japanese do most alcohol things well.
O.B.
(Korean) “Oriental Brewery”. Pale gold with decent head. Not a lot of flavor. Drinkable when you’re focused mostly on the food – not something I’d drink on its own but OK with a Korean feast of Kimchi and snack plates.
Coopers Sparkling Ale
– had dinner at “The Australian” tavern in NYC on 36th between 6th & 7th. Australian pies were great but the sausage rolls were awful – some kind of yuck sausage meat. Carol’s Chicken Pie was good. I’ve had Coopers in here before but it’s one of my favourite brands and I’ll put it in again if I want to. Sparkling, Pale… there’s a range of goodies there. Watch out if you go to the tavern, though - the Coopers are $7 each on the menu but $8 each on the bill. Young Australian waiter was a Curtin journalism graduate from Perth looking to make his way in NYC. Nice guy.
TsingTao
Can’t remember if this has been in before – we had two very good meals at a Chinese called “Main Noodle House” on 6th down from 39th. Great food. Tsing Tao is a bit sweet but generally goes well with Chinese food. Website is interesting, too.
Harp (On tap)
at O’Reilly’s on 35th near our hotel. Drinking it you aren’t aware that it’s actually beer. No great hops bite. After a couple you start feeling a bit light-headed and you’re reminded that it really does have alcohol in it. And quite a bit, too. Like it a lot. One of Diageo’s brands which also include Kilkenny and Red Strip and Guinness and a few others.
Brooklyn Lager
I thought this was more like an India Pale Ale. Golden, nutty, rich. It was a bit too full of hops for mine but Carol liked the intensity. The other beers look good – Brown Ale, Pilsner, Pennant Ale & Pale Ale. They have a draught offering of a wheat beer but we all know what I think of wheat beers. I would look for these in New York City and try to get one of each. If you scroll to the right through the beers, there are a few more that look interesting. A Winter Ale with a Shepherd’s Pie might be good. In the US, they always offer Shepherd’s Pie with beef mince? Shepherds herd sheep, not cattle. Should be Cottage Pie but they don’t seem bothered with the incongruity.
Leinenkugels.
Yep, straight up, that’s what it’s called. Great website. From Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers, who know a thing or two about football. They say when Green Bay is playing at home, you can shoot a cannon down mainstreet and not hit a thing. Green Bay is owned by the people of Green Bay, not by a single owner, so the whole of Wisconsin supports them.
Great beer, this. No fizz to speak of as it’s an ale, not a lager. The alcohol sneaks up on you in the second stubby. Very drinkable – 4.7%. If you ever get the chance, it’s worth picking up a carton. Don’t really go for the other beers though - wheats, berries etc.?? This is excellent, though.
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