Abita Turbodog

Abita is a brewery out of Louisiana. Turbodog is their brow ale. It reminds me of a more bitter New Castle. The bitterness hits you right in the face. It has a nice nutty quality to it. It's not the smoothest beer I have ever tried. Something I would maybe drink one of in a drinking session. All in all though a decent brew. 7 out of 10.

Unibroue Éphémère Apple

Unibroue, a brewery out of Chambly, Quebec, Canada, brews a good beer. Éphémère Apple is the 5th brew I have had by them and first I will blog about. Éphémère Apple is a white ale. It has the flavor of a Belgium white ale, but with a finish of apples, it's not like a hard cider at all though. It tastes like it has more alcohol in it than it does. It's got that alcohol burn though very slight. The apple flavor is a nice addition. All in all I'd say go for it if you don't mind dropping the green for it. 8 out of 10.

Rogue Chipotle Ale

My next entry is another Rogue brew. Rogue Chipotle Ale is an amber ale brewed with chipotle peppers. I know it sounds weird, but it's actually pretty good. It has strong bit of bitterness that explodes on your tongue and as you swallow it down you get the spice from the peppers. This is probably not the best beer to drink on a hot day, but a chilly night would be perfect. Rogue continues to impress me. Rogue Chipotle Ale gets a 7.5 out of 10. I honestly would have like more spice and more chipotle flavor.

Buffalo Bill's Orange Blossom Cream Ale.

Buffalo Bill's Brewery is based out of Hayward California. Orange Blossom Cream Ale taste like it sounds like it would. It tastes like an orange soda with a bit of beer. It's really good, if you are looking for something fruity. If you want to be hit over the head with the taste of beer, then this isn't for you. However it would be a nice beer to drink on a hot summer day. Very drinkable, very flavorful, light bitterness. I really enjoyed it. 7 out of 10, more soda like than beer, but still good.

Zipfer Original

Zipfer is a Euro Pale Larger from Austria. It is the first Austrian beer I have ever had, and I wasn't really impressed. I have always felt the European beers have been flavorful, but with Zifer, the flavor was really lacking. To me it almost tasted like PBR. Not that that necessarily a bad thing, just not for me. If I want a PBR, I'll get a PBR for cheap and not pay for a European beer. Overall not that bad but not great. 4 out of 5.

Budweiser Select 55

What can I say about Budweiser Select 55, bad, not good, flavorless. Though it does have more flavor then Michelob Ultra, which is surprising. I guess for a low calorie beer is ok. But still just bad. That's all I can really say. 2.5 out of 10, one and a half steps up from piss.

Michelob Ultra

Another not good beer. Michelob Ultra was another beer at the beer tasting I went to. And I have to say, not good, not good at all. Part of my problem with this does stem from the beer tasting, the 3 beer that were sampled are all very popular and accessible, and the girls running it didn't know anything about beer. When asked what they think about it they were just like it's my favorite, which doesn't tell me anything. So I tried it and it tasted like water. Now I get if you want to get drunk but don't like the taste of beer why you would drink this, but if all you care about is getting drunk then drink liquor. It was just bad. 2 out of 10, again at least it wasn't piss.

Bud Light Lime

Thought it pains me to do, the next 3 reviews are all, well, less than great. The first up in Bud Light Lime. I'm sure most of you have had Bud Light, with it flavor of... water. And I'm sure most of you have had Diet Coke with Lime, with it's artificial horrible lime flavor. Now imagine Bud Light with that horrible lime flavor. The girls that was running the tasting where I sampled this at both said that it was a great summer beer. And I'm sure it is, if you don't have taste buds and have a vagina. Stay away from this. 2 out of 10, it may be bad, but at least it's not piss.

Three Floyds Gumballhead

Three Floyds is a brewery out of Munster, IN. Gumballhead is an American Wheat Ale style beer. This beer is very bizarre. It is crisp, with a slight bitterness almost equal to a pale ale and a fruitiness that has, to me, hints of apple. All this together makes for an exceptional brew. I may just be a bit partial due to it being a Hoosier brew, but I am giving this an 8 out of 10. Excellent quality, amazing drinkability, if you haven't tried this, do it and do it soon.

Cheers

Upland Wheat Ale

Alright, time for the local beer blog to blog some local beer. Upland Wheat Ale is as the name suggests a wheat ale. And I have to say, it's very good. It has a very nice flavor, with a bit of sweetness and a bit of bitterness. I have had it at many locations around Bloomington. I've had it bottled, I've had it on tap at The Vid, Chilies, and Cheese Burger In Paradise, but hands down the best time I have ever had it, not surprisingly, was at Upland's tap room itself. One of my favorite things to do is go there and eat fish and chips and drink a wheat. It is very drinkable, and goes down very smooth. I highly recommend it. I give it a 8 out of 10.

Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock

I have never really been impressed with Sierra Nevada's offerings. The brewery based out of Chico, CA is probably best know for their pale ale. Glissade Golden Bock is their spring seasonal release, and is most defiantly the best entry of theirs I have had. It is, as the name suggests, golden in color. It has a nice mellow flavor balanced with a nice bit of bitterness. I found it to be very drinkable, something I could have easily slugged down had I not intended to savor the flavor. Though I do give it praises for being Sierra Nevada's best beer, it still was overly impressive. I do recommend Glissade if you are a fan of bocks, and the price range isn't bad when you can find it on sale. Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock comes in at a 6.4 abv. I give it 6 out of 10, drinkable but doesn't overly impress.

Cheers!

Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat

Sam Adams has never really disappointed me. With their newest Brewmaster's Collection entry Coastal Wheat, they continue with exceptional taste. Coastal Wheat is a hefeweizen (German wheat beer). It is a little clearer than most wheat beers I am use to, which typically are cloudy. It is brewed with lemon peel, a departure from the traditional orange peel, which is not by any means a bad thing. The lemon give it a nice sweet and sour citrus flavor. It is very smooth, and easy to drink. There is a low hop content, so if you are a fan of really bitter beer this probably isn't for you. It has a abv of 5.3 which is pretty standard. I give is a 7 out of 10, nice flavor, very drinkable.

Cheers

Rogue Juniper Pale Ale

The first beer to be reviewed is Rogue Juniper Pale Ale. Rouge is a brewery out of Ashland, OR. My take on Rogue Juniper Pale Ale: pretty damn good. It's got the bitterness expected from a pale ale, with a nice bit of sweetness. The juniper berries add a bit of spice. The head is pretty good, not the best, but stays frothy for a while. The color is something of a yellowish orange, saffron if you will, which I have never really seen in a beer. All in all a pretty solid beer. The price for a 22 oz bottle is about $7, which is not bad. I give it a 7 out of 10, nice flavor, decent head. You can find this beer at the new Big Red on College Mall Road here in Bloomington, and probably many other places, wherever you are from.

Cheers