Belhaven Scottish Ale

It was a request from one of the viewers from IRC, LewisCooper, that I review a beer from the Belhaven line.  I wasn't able to find Belhaven Best, but I got a hold of their flagship beer- Belhaven Scottish Ale.  Belhaven is out of Scotland, and was established in 1719.  I wasn't blown away by this beer.

The beer poured a rich copper color with a nice off white head.  The appearance was quite inviting.  However, I didn't get much out of the nose at all.  The aromas I did get were of florals, a small hint of malt, and an even smaller hint of vanilla.  The mouth feel on this beer would probably be a solid medium.  It wasn't watery or syrupy but rested right in the middle.

My first impression of this beer was that it was an imitation of Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, but it didn't give me much nut flavor.  I did get caramel, some vanilla, a wood like taste and a hint of vanilla, but everything was so undistinguished that I was left with the impression of a semi bland beer.  This is definitely a better beer than macro beers, and it is a decent ale, but it didn't impress me that much.

The beer was well built and it had some semblance of the style, but it wasn't robust enough for my impression of an ale.  I didn't encounter any tastes or smells that turned me off, but I also wasn't very turned on.  For that reason, I decided to go against the other reviews I've seen of this beer and score this a 6 out of 10.  It isn't horrible by any means, but it just isn't spectacular.  It isn't much of anything, really.

People who like ales may want to give this a try, and it might even make a great starter ale for people wanting to cross into the ale side of the beer world if they never had an ale.  Other than that, I really don't have many merits to bestow on this beer.  Thanks for reading and watching and please tell a friend.  Keep drinking good beer!

I will add the video review when it is done rendering.

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale has gotten many great reviews from other places, including a mention in Michael Jackson's Beer Companion.  So, I decided that I would put this English Brown Ale to my own test.  I have to say that at the end of the day, I didn't have many disagreements with prior assessments of this beer.

The pour is a deep amber brown with a light tan head.  The head is glorious and it sticks around through the entire experience.  The aromas that I got from this beer where of toffee, caramel, and walnut.  It was a very inviting smell and the taste wasn't that different from the smell.  There were subtle hints of sweetness along with the strong presence of malt and walnuts with a bitter finish.

Bittersweet is the best way to describe this beer.  This is a wekk made beer that I believe would satisfy a wide range of tastes.  The sweetness will appeal to those who like sweeter beers while the bitterness and rich flavors of caramel, toffee, and walnuts will appease the beer drinker that desires a rich and full flavor.  I have to say that this was well done.  I don't think that it impressed me enough to warrant a 10 out of 10 however.

I felt that the aftertaste lingered on for longer than desired, and that detracted from the experience.  And although the flavor was quite rich, no particular flavor among the many I was tasting really stood above the crowd.  I was expecting the walnut tastes to be dominant, but they only appeared toward the finish.  Overall, this was a great beer though.  I score it a 9 out of 10.

Thanks to those of you who continue to watch and read.  Please tell a friend so the site can continue to grow.  And last but not least- keep drinking good beer!

Budweiser Beer Review

Ok, so I was egged on by a few people to do a Budweiser beer review, even though it is pretty obvious that Budweiser is not my cup of tea.  I'm really not into any of the cheaper beers either though, really, unless I'm just drinking it to finish off my night or it is what is available at a barbecue or something.  My opinion on Budweiser is not a very high one.

The beer gives a good head, but it goes away immediately.  The aroma I get from it is very chemical and I can't even describe it as hoppy.  It doesn't smell right to me at all.  I would say that the body on this beer is light, but it was so thin and watery, that is even a stretch.  The only advantage I've found up to this point is the low price, which isn't even low enough for this kind of quality.

The taste was extremely chemical for me.  It left a bleachy aftertaste and I found it absolutely disgusting.  Whenever I am stupid enough to drink a Budweiser, it also has made me very sick afterward.  Not so much that I'm throwing up like in the video review, but more of a really bad reaction in my head.  I rated this beer a 1 out of 10.  I wanted to rate it a 0, but you get what you pay for and this beer is very cheap.  It is highly drinkable- it goes down like water, but it is pretty unpleasant in every other way.

To any Budweiser fans out there, understand that I just don't like this beer.  I understand that many people are turned onto this beer when they are young and just trying to get drunk and have two bucks to spend.  However, I am quite certain that most Budweiser fans that have a better beer will change their minds.  By better beer, I do not mean a Miller, or a Coors, or anything of that manner.  I mean a better made beer- and a higher quality beer.  As you try new beers, you begin to find beers that are much better than this, and I do mean much better.

Thanks for reading and watching, and please tell a friend.  Keep drinking good beer!

Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale Review

A friend from a game that I used to play asked me to review a local beer produced where he lives.  This beer is called Burning River Pale Ale, and it comes from Great Lakes Brewing Company.  I had high expectations for this beer from the get go, not only due to the fact that my friend was so excited about it, but also because this beer is a World Champion Gold Medal winner.

This Pale Ale wasn't so Pale- it was a nice deep copper color.  The aromas I got were both floral and fruity- mainly with the smell of grapefruit being the dominating of the two.  The beer poured a nice head, but the head didn't retain itself very well.  There was a little lacing that hung on the glass, but not much.  I didn't taste the grapefruit when I went in for the taste test.

Instead, I tasted a very biting beer- with malts, caramel and hops to finish it off.  This beer definitely matches the style, and it gave me a rich flavorful experience.  I felt the aftertaste lingered on for too long though, and the beer didn't live up to the fruity assertiveness that the packaging claimed.  Overall, this was a good beer, and I would have it again given the opportunity.  I give this an overall rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Thanks again for reading and watching.  Please tell a friend.  And last but not least, keep drinking good beer!

Franziskaner Hefe-Weiss Beer Review

This review was actually requested by one of my readers.  I enjoy the history that revolves around the Franziskaner name- the brewery that was known as "that brewery on Franciscan corner".  This is one of the oldest beer brewers in the world, and so I knew that I would be in for a treat when I reviewed this beer.

Unlike witbiers, this hefeweizen had a very deep color.  I would describe it as a deep orange, with a bright white head.  I was a little disappointed by the head on this beer, however.  Although the head retained itself well, it wasn't the huge snowball head that I expected from a German hefeweizen.  The smell was inviting, with very subtle hints of banana and clove, but the wheat was dominant.

This beer was a little more filling than most wheat beers I've had.  The body was medium, but it went down smooth.  The clove was very subtle in the front, but jumped out at me in the finish.  The banana was subtle the entire way through.  The dominant taste was that of the wheat malts and yeast.  Although it tasted good to me, I was left wanting something else out of this beer that wasn't present.

I rate this beer an 8 out of 10.  I would definitely suggest this beer to a wheat beer lover, and I would drink it again myself.  I just don't think that it delivered enough to warrant a 9 or a 10.

Thanks to all of you who have been reading and showing your support.  Keep drinking good beer!

Hoegaarden Witbier-biér blanche Review

A lot of people asked me to review Hoegaarden, and I always enjoy this beer.  This is becoming a very popular beer.  In fact, I had to delay this review because the store I purchase my beer from had run out of it.  This is a Belgian Import, owned by InBev, and despite my hatred for anything that has to do with Anheuser-Busch, I have to give this beer some points.

Many of the American wheat beers use Hoegaarden as the standard to try to reach, and this is definitely a tasty beer.  It had a great pour with a great head, and great lacing all the way through.  The color was, as I describe, a "wheat yellow" and the head was snow white and very frothy.  The aromas were mainly of citrus, with a slight hint of lemon in my nose.

This is a very refreshing beer.  If you are thirsty, this is for you.  The body was medium, and the beer is on the lighter side, with an alcohol content of 4.9%.  It was very smooth, and the taste really highlighted the wheat and had a lemony taste with a bit of hops taking the far back seat.  Drinkability was extremely high on this beer.  I drank another two of them immediately after filming the review and had finished them faster than the video could publish.

I definitely give this beer a 10 out of 10, but I warn ale and stout drinkers, that this beer may not be for you.  In fact, all wheat beers are pretty much not for those who really desire full, rich ales and stouts.  If you are like me and enjoy a wide range, this will be great for you, and it is also great for people who like more tame beers with a hint of citrus in them.

So, if you haven't tried Hoegaarden yet, give it a shot.  I think you will enjoy it.  Thanks for reading and for all the support.  If any of the sponsors you see on this blog appeal to you, check them out too.  I actually wish I could visit some of the beer related ones myself, but it is against the rules for me to visit any of them from my own page.  I completely want one of those "Das Boot" mugs I have seen floating around on here though!

So that is all for today.  Tell a friend please, leave my lots of comments, tell me how I'm doing, and keep drinking good beer!

The History of Wheat Beers

As you may have noticed, I have had the tendency to review quite a few wheat beers.  In the poll I placed on this blog, wheat beer is also showing itself as the steadfast favorite of the readers, and many people request reviews of wheat beers on a consistent basis.  However, wheat beer has not been as popular as it is today for quite some time, despite being one of the oldest styles of beer in our history, as well as being the beer most similar to the original beer that I mention in my article, The Origin of Beer.  So, today I am going to go back in history and detail the rollercoaster ride that wheat beer has gone through, and all of the obstacles that had almost wiped this style off of the face of the Earth.

The wheat didn't fall far from the beer tree

There are a number of different kinds of wheat beer, but they pretty much all fall into two categories (with a couple exceptions).  These categories are mainly separated by region; the historical witbier comes from the Brussels area in Belgium and the historical weissbier comes from Germany.  The most renowned of the weissbiers is the hefeweizen, which is a term for wheat beer in its natural, unfiltered form.  The origin of wheat beer itself, however, comes from Babylon, around the year 2000 BC.  The Babylonian god, Marduk, was the beer brewing god and wielded a pickaxe, which became the earliest known brewer's emblem.  This god brewed and drank a beer that combined wheat mash with barley mash in the brewing process.  If you would note, Babylon occupied the same area that the Mesopotamians occupied, which could be why this wheat beer was so similar to the first beer ever created.

Germanic Tribes helped the spread of weissbier

As I highlighted in the Origin of Beer, beer existed in Egypt at this point as well, with the first recorded evidence of a brewery being written on a clay tablet that dated back to 1600 BC.  It is believed that the Egyptians also brewed wheat beer during this time period.  By 800 BC, wheat beer had begun to be brewed on German soil.  Evidence shows that the style survived and continued to thrive during the time of Christ, with the Romans referring to the weissbier as a "drink of savages".  Weissbier would continue to be a choice of refreshment among the Germanic tribes for a long time to come, with several famines causing the beer to fade away as wheat was deemed needed for bread instead of beer, followed by the beer returning to relevance once wheat became more available.

The first beer brewery in Munich arrived in 815.  However, food shortages and other political events made it extremely hard for many of the brewers to establish themselves, and wheat beer almost died away.  In 1363 we find the first evidence of the "brewery near the Franciscans", which was on the opposite corner of a Franciscan monastery.  This is where the name "Franziskaner" comes from.  Franziskaner is the oldest privately owned brewery in Munich, still brewing wheat beer to this day.

The Bavarian Purity Law

Meanwhile, wheat beer is not documented in Belgium until 1445, east of Brussels.  The witbier became extremely popular throughout the 1500s, and separated itself from the flock with the use of coriander and orange peel in the brewing process.  However, while the witbier was flourishing in the 1500s, the weissbier ran into some troubles.  In 1516, Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria issued the Bavarian Purity Law, which outlaws any beers brewed with anything other than malt, hops, and water.  Although wheat can be used in malt form, the new law severely limits weissbier by not allowing the use of yeast.  With weissbier already struggling, a near fatal blow is dealt in 1567 when Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria declares that weissbier is unhealthy and outlaws it entirely.

During the struggles that weissbier endured in the 1500s, witbier continued to remain popular in other areas.  Almost as if on opposite sides of a swinging pendulum, the two styles of beer continued to flourish and flounder while the other style was doing the opposite.  In 1602, Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria placed all of the weissbier breweries under state ownership after determining that not only is weissbier safe, but it is refreshing.  This is actually a move that was performed to balance the budget, and due to violation of the Bavarian Purity Law, Duke Maximillion I agreed to pay a fine to the chamber of representatives.  As weissbier made its return, witbier began to fade away once again, this time fading almost into extinction through famines, wars, and the great movement toward lagers in the 1900s.

The town of Hoegaarden now holds a piece of beer history

Weissbier suffered a similar decline as people in the area began to move to brown ale and other dark beers.  In 1798, Prince-Elector Theodore of Bavaria suspended the state ownership of weissbier breweries, as they were no longer profitable to the state.  Although weissbier had a much longer heritage than witbier and more periods of prosperity, it would be the witbier style that would eventually allow wheat beers to flourish once again.  In 1966, a man by the name of Pierre Celis established the De Kluis Brewery next to his home in a small Belgian town called Hoegaarden.  This man would later be known as one of the greatest and most influential minds in modern brewing, and his product would set the industry standard for Belgian Style witbiers.

Wheat beer is yummy!

The resurgance of witbier on the world scale brought attention back to the German weissbier as well, allowing breweries such as Franziskaner to begin to flourish once again.  Since then, the Belgian and German recipes have been imitated or replicated in many other countries, including the United States with the most notable names being Blue Moon, Leinenkugel's and Sam Adams.  Mainstream macrobreweries have also presented their own renditions of wheat beer as well, such as the new Bud Light Golden Wheat.  Despite the rough patches in the history of wheat beers, we all can be thankful that this style of beer has pulled through to remain with us today.  The sweet, spiced, and crisp qualities of a witbier and the clean, smooth, sweet taste in a weissbier will forever remain a refreshment on a sunny summer day.

So, now that you know the history of wheat beers, perhaps when you are enjoying one; perhaps you already are even as you are reading this, (if you are smart, and can read and drink wheat beer at the same time that is) now you can appreciate the great heritage and tradition that has brought that beer into your glass.  Or perhaps you don't really care about that and just want a good beer- and have found just that in your hefeweizen glass.  Either way, thanks for reading and keep drinking good beer!

Guinness Draught Review

A LOT of people asked me to review Guinness Draught, so I moved this review up in the line up.  Guinness is an import from Ireland.  The beer is made in Dublin, and the company has been around since 1759.  It wasn't written on the can, so I didn't mention the alcohol content in this beer, but it is 4.1-4.3% which is surprising for such a filling beer.  I really expected a higher alcohol content on this beer, but nonetheless, I don't drink beer for the alcohol content anyway.

What I find so great about Guinness is that it is like a chemistry experiment in a glass.  The can contains a nitrogen ball which releases from the depressurizing of the can when you pop it open.  This produces heavy smoke and also makes a surge in the beer, as the nitrogen bubbles make their way to the top of the glass.  Watching the beer turn from a really light tan coffee color to a deep ruby red makes drinking this beer a very fun experience.

The aroma that I got was of malt, chocolate, and coffee.  The head was about an inch and a half to two inches and was very thick and creamy.  When I dug into this beer, it gave me several sensations right off the bat.  The first thing that I could think of was coffee.  It was semi-sweet at the very beginning, like a dark chocolate, and then the burnt taste of roasted barley came forward followed by the bitter kick in the back of my throat that I would associate with coffee.

I am going to tell you right now that this is not a beginner's beer.  Try lagers, then move to ales.  Then when you want a real biting beer, go to Guinness.  This is also a very heavy beer, and it fills you.  I can normally chug a lager or an ale, but as you notice in the video I had to edit the video to reduce the amount of time you saw me drinking in order to make the 10 minute mark.  But this is not a bad thing.

I enjoy Guinness as it is a unique beer and it is very full of flavor, full bodied, and just a fun beer to drink.  However, I do not feel that this stout is the King of Stout any longer as others have made their way into the scene that would easily blow this one away.  Color, aroma, and body all scored well.  The taste is the most important factor to whether or not someone will come back to drink a beer, however, and although I enjoyed the flavor of this beer, it wasn't enough for me.

Therefore, I scored this beer a 8.5 out of 10.  It is a great beer for those who want something full and rich, but not for beer noobs.  Thank you guys for reading and watching, and also for the support.  The Facebook fanclub passed 300 members today, and that is amazing.  Please continue to invite your friends and a BIG, HUGE thank you to those of you who have shown your support.  It means a lot to me.  Thanks again, and keep drinking good beer.

Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat Review

There have been several requests from you guys for certain beers that you would like to see reviewed, and I am tackling the list in order of availability. This beer that I'm reviewing today is the perfect beer for spring and summertime. Today's beer is Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat.

Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat is similar to Blue Moon Belgian White Ale, which could be why I enjoyed it so much. Leinenkugel's happens to be owned by SABMiller, who owns Coors, who produce Blue Moon, so I wasn't surprised to find similarities between Leinenkugel's and Blue Moon. Leinenkugel's is produced in the United States, in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

This beer is a witbier, or "White Beer" and is unfiltered, giving it a nice cloudy appearance and a beautiful color.  The pour didn't give a magnificent head, at least not when I was filming.  I poured a second one afterward that had a much better head than the first.  In both cases, the head retained itself throughout the entire drinking experience.  The smell was a sweeter smell, and had a hint of citrus without any real hint of hops.

The beer was very smooth going down.  It wasn't crisp or dry at all, and had a wonderful sweet citrus taste followed up by the taste of the wheat and a hoppy finish.  The hops only really appear at the end of the taste and they don't linger around for too long, which is why I enjoyed this beer so much.  The body was medium- not watery and not syrupy. 

I failed to point out in the video that this beer has a 4.9% alcohol content, so it is a little on the lighter side as far as that is concerned for a wheat beer.  All things considered, I rate this beer well for its aroma, taste, texture, body, and appearance.  It is a definite 10 out of 10 beer.  You can find this beer and other Leinenkugel's varieties nationwide.  They do have some seasonal beers that are only available in the spring, summer, or fall, depending on the beer.  The price will run you about $1.25-$1.50 a bottle.

So, leave me some comments and tell me if you agree with my assessment and definitely suggest more beers that you would like to see reviewed.  If I can access the beer you request, I will do a review on it for you.  Thanks for reading and watching.  Keep drinking good beer!

Harp Lager Beer Review

As some of you may have noticed, I posted my YouTube Video Review of Harp Lager earlier today.  Harp Lager is an Irish Style Pale Lager produced by Guinness.  Contrary to the belief that this beer is actually made in Ireland, it is an import from Canada that is made with an Irish recipe and features the traditional bitter flavor of hops that is common in an Irish Style Lager.

When I poured the beer into my glass, it looked absolutely delicious with a nice foamy lacing that had good retention throughout the entire review.  The head was still present all the way to the last drop.  The beer was a nice golden amber color with a cream colored head, and the aromas I could smell were of the malted barley and hops, with the hops being the more prevalent of the two.

This beer is a light to medium bodied beer, and it went down smooth.  I found that it was a rather filling beer as well, which is a turn off to light beer drinkers, but a plus for me personally.  The taste was your classic bitter kick that you would expect from an Irish lager, but it lingered on the tongue for too long afterward.  I found the aftertaste to be a bit unappealing, but not to the point that I wouldn't drink this beer again.

Overall, I gave this beer a 7 out of 10, and I would recommend this beer to lager fans, and anyone who prefers the taste of hops in their beer.  I would definitely drink Harp Lager again.

Earlier in the week, I also did a review on a game called Drink Up on Facebook.  Since a great majority of this blog's readers are on Facebook, I will repost the video here for you to watch.  I really have been enjoying this game, and since the video I made, I've climbed the ranks from number 5 in the game to the top spot.  So definitely ask me for an invite so that you can be a member of my team.  Here is that review.

Thank you guys for reading and for your support.  Please visit a sponsor or two on this page before you leave, as spending 30 seconds on their pages will help pay me for the costs of running this blog.  So since you are here already, please take the time to do this.  Also check my Battle of the Beers post right below this one to participate in the tournament and have a chance to win some money.  Thanks again, and keep drinking good beer!

The Battle of the Beers

So, while I'm in between reviewing beers on YouTube, I was trying to think of an idea to get a little more crowd participation going.  What I came up with will also lead to quite a few beer reviews in the near future.  So, I give you- The Battle of the Beers!

The Battle of the Beers will be a winner take all death match for 32 chosen beers.  The contestants will be chosen by you, the readers, so I would like you all to submit as many brands of beer as possible to enter this contest.  The top 8 beers from each category will be chosen and seeded into the tournament.  Each beer will then travel through the brackets until it is eliminated by a higher quality beer.  One beer will remain the victor.

How will seeding work?

The most popular entries will be seeded higher than the less popular ones.  Some beers that are hybrid beers like a black and tan may go into the category that needs more entries.  For example, if a black and tan ale is entered in the contest and the other ales are much more popular, it may be seeded in the Stout bracket, since it is from the stout family.

Higher seeds will be pitted against lower seeds in the first round, but that does not necessarily mean that the top seeded beers will win the tournament.  Each beer will be judged on appearance, aroma, consistency with its style, body, head retention, and flavor.  Flavor is the most important factor, and will therefore contribute double points to a beer's score.

How do I enter the contest?

Entry into the contest requires a $5.00 USD donation to the Warbuck Beer Blog to help pay for the cost of the beer and the operation of the site.  For every five dollars that you contribute, you will receive another tournament sheet to fill out.  Therefore, you will be able to play different scenarios for a better chance of winning.  To donate, use the Tip Jar on the right hand side of this page, and then send the confirmation code to johnwarbuck@gmail.com with the subject- Battle of the Beers in order to be entered into the contest.

Do I have to enter the contest to suggest beer entries?

You do not need to enter the contest to contribute to the beer entries into the contest.  In fact, I encourage as many people as possible to leave comments here with suggestions for beers to compete in this tournament.  None of the beers will be chosen by me, so that there will be no bias in the tournament.

What is the prize?

The top three point earning tournament sheets will each earn a cash prize.  This prize will be determined off of the total amount of sheets entered into the contest.  The more people contribute to the contest, the higher these three prizes will pay out.  The prize amount will be announced before the tournament begins, once the 32 beers have been decided.

How are the winners decided?

Each correct guess in the first round will be worth a point, and the points will double for each round after.  If a person guessed 10 winners in the first round, 4 winners in the second round, 3 in the third round, 1 in the fourth round, and failed to guess the winner in the final round, that person's score would be 38.  The top three scores would receive prizes.

If you guys have any other questions, send me an email or ask me on Facebook.  I'll be happy to answer any and all questions on the contest and about the blog.  So let's hear some comments, and everyone tell your friends.  Thanks once again for reading and keep drinking good beer!