Week 4: Four Plus Brewing

So the entire reason we chose these beers (yes I admit to this) is due to packaging!  So thank you for whoever came up with this marketing technique since you convinced us to drink these beers!  I think overall that everyone liked these beers and that they were well worth the buy.  Alright so back to the beer itself and not the marketing!  We thought these were definitely an interesting buy.  All three of these were fruity in one way or another, Punk'n being obviously pumpkin, Monkshire being some sort of mild fruit and Wyld being somewhat of a tangerine beer.  These were very interesting beers that I would gladly consider more and I believe the other beers of this brand will be (if we can find 'em) considered in our next weeks of the (might I say awesome?) beer blog.

This week we chose a micro brew from Salt Lake City, Utah.

for more info:

http://www.uintabrewing.com/FourBeersHome.aspx

MONKSHINE:     (belgian style pale ale)   alcohol content: 6.8%


Nick:  I'm really not sure what to think about this, it's definitely good. But I really like the fact that it's almost 7% alc.  Bitter, yet satisfying.


Alex: I love the taste of a well balanced pale ale beer. Monkshine has a smooth taste with the right amount of hops to execute an overall good beer. 

Lyle: This beer was delicious, I would drink this every week if I could.  It isn't really a pale ale if you ask me.  I would say this beer is quite satisfying, even though it is bitter, the taste is delicious.


PUNK'N:       (harvest pumpkin ale)   alcohol content: 4%


Nick: Not a fan, I couldn't finish it. I mean, I really don't like pumpkin, so I was skeptical at the least to try it. But to me it was just plain gross.


Alex:  First impression; pumpkin pie at thanksgiving! From the first sip, I have fallen in love with this beer. You can smell the pumpkin spice as soon as you pop open the bottle. Great beer!


Lyle:  Hell ya pumpkin beer that actually tastes like pumpkin!  Now when you drink this beer you will be tasting pumpkins all the way through Thanksgiving.  It is delicious and I would say anyone who likes a pumpkin pie to drink this avidly. 


WYLD:  (organic extra pale ale)    alcohol content: 4%


Nick:  I really enjoy this, initially it has a  sweet and citrusy overtone with a background of spices, and a nice bitter after taste. My favorite of the 3. It's interesting because it's an organic beer, which is something that I haven't heard of before. 


Alex:  I do not like this beer very much, this is due to its overbearing fruity taste. It is bearable, none the less, my least favorite of the trio. 


Lyle:  I enjoyed the beer, with my first impression being the smell is that of fruit.  I really enjoyed this beer, along with the other two that I've tried of this brand.  I would probably say, if only due to the fact that I really really enjoyed the others, that this is my least favorite of the three, but that isn't saying much since I also enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Week 3: München

Alright everyone, this is Lyle once again writing the blog and am honored to do so.  This week we are trying German Beers, I believe all of them to be Munich but that could be wrong, I know at least two of the three are.  We tried Spaten, Bitburger and Franziskaner.  These three beers were chosen due to our inability to choose three from the British Isles (our first choice before we went to Munich) and we were surprisingly fine with this since Munich is known for its awesome beers!  So, since we couldn't make it to Oktoberfest.  Now as we sit in this here humble abode that is a dorm room, we try the Legendary German Beers! (sorry if we as Americans don't appreciate all these beers as much as we should!) 

Until next week oh loyal followers of our blog, I hope you enjoyed this insightful view into the minds of a few fraternity boys views on alcohol.  Also.... DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW US!

for more info:

http://www.spatenusa.com

http://www.bitburger.com/

http://www.franziskaner.com

Spaten:       founded 1397      alcohol content: 5.2%

Nick: I really enjoyed this, its a very strong but pleasant hoppy taste. This beer isn't for everyone, it has a strong bitter after taste.

Lyle: I did not enjoy the Spaten, it was too hoppy for my tastes (probably goes along with the fact that I don't like Sam Adams either)  I would not recommend this beer to many people, and it does have a very strong aftertaste, it is quite bitter in nature and I just would not buy this at any other point. 

Alex: Very hoppy beer with a bitter aftertaste. I do not recommend this, it was hard to get through the beer.

Bitburger:     Pilsner       founded 1817    alcohol content: 4.8%

Nick: I didn't like this beer, I guess that it grew it on me at the end. But overall I really wouldnt buy this beer again.

Lyle: I would not recommend this beer either, but it did indeed get better as I drank it.  I think this one grew on me a bit but I wouldn't buy it again if only because I don't want to have to get used to my beer, I just want to enjoy it immediately.

Alex: My favorite out of the three we tasted. You have to get used to it before you enjoy strong taste.

Franziskaner:  Hefeweizen    alcohol content: 5.0%

Nick: Tastes and smells just like corn, its just plain weird.

Lyle: So, this beer does smell like corn, I agree with Carson on that one, and it is quite an odd beer to drink, but overall this is the one that I enjoy drinking.  I couldn't drink more than a few of these though so I would say this beer would go well with a heavy dinner of steak or some other sort of red meat.

Alex: Smells like corn, and very odd taste. It was defintely a beer for a heavy dinner. 

Week 2 : Shiner

If you couldn't tell from the photo, this week we chose to try three different types Shiner.

Shiner is brewed in Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Tx. They've been brewing since 1909 and claim to be the oldest independent brewery in Texas. Founded by German immigrants, they aim to create traditional Bavarian beers. 

  We had all had Shiner Bock and Black Lager previously so we decided to go with Blonde, a light beer,   101, a traditional dark beer crafted for their 101st anniversary,  & Heffeweizen, a citrusy wheat beer.

for more info go to www.shiner.com 

Shiner Blonde      alcohol content: 4.4%

Alex: Very smooth taste, easy to take down, kinda smoky buy not as smoky as smokehaus

Lyle: Very light for a shiner but that is expected with a blonde. Nonetheless it is heavier and stouter than the average light beer. Overall good beer, I would say it could be drank at a party.

Nick: Certainly not your typical shiner, it's a nice change from shiner bock. I really enjoy this and will definitely buy this again.

Shiner 101       alcohol content: 5.5%

Alex: bold taste yet very smooth, stronger than blonde. My favorite of the three

Lyle: strong beer, I would put it on par with a heavier beer, but not a hoppy one, very much a good taste. I would say it is also a party beer but only for a six pack

Nick: while I do enjoy and appreciate a heavy beer every now and then, this beer just isn't quite to my personal taste. This is my least favorite of the three, but then again I'm not the biggest fan dark beer.


Heffeweizen     alcohol content: 5.4% 

Alex: initial thought after first taste; thanksgiving. It has a peculiar taste that is distinguished with a lemon. Stronger taste than blonde, but not more than 101. My second favorite.
Lyle: easily my third favorite beer this week. It reminds me of a Sam Adams due to the hops in this beer. I do think if you added some fruit it would taste better (as they recommend) but with this initial taste I would give it a negative feedback compared to the other two.
Nick: I'm actually not quite sure how to feel about this beer. i enjoyed it, but it's really not a truly memorable beer. That being said, I'm sure it would taste significantly different if we were to follow the directions for proper consumption technique instead of drinking straight from the bottle.

Inaugural Post : Asia

Today:  Asian Beers
As the first post I would like to give this more pomp and circumstance than I can afford at the moment.  Sooooo.... Let's kick this off Sigma Pi style.  We drink, we get fucked up, but also, we have class, and as classy men we have officially started the Sigma Pi Six Pack Club.  In our little alcoholic club we (Alex, Nick, and Lyle)  buy three different six packs and then everyone has two of each three different types of beer.  We find this is the easiest way to spread our knowledge in the classiest (and Fratiest) of beers from around the world.  So without further ado, I present the Sigma Pi Six Pack Club, the Fratiest of all organizations.

SO! As I was saying, today is our first day and we decided to start with Asian beers as our theme.  We tried Asahi, TsingTao and Kirin Ichiban.  Our notes and comments are as follows (put into awesome little anecdotes that are put under the beers info)

Asahi   5.2% alc.    Japanese
Lyle -"this beer will kick you in the face, then you get used to it."
Nick -"Pretty dry and bitter, but it's GREAT.  Not a party beer."
Alex -"Very dry with cotton mouth, a beer with short taste."

TsingTao 4.8% alc. Chinese
Lyle -"It has an aftertaste of rice... gotta love those stereotypes."
Alex -"Very strong smell, flavor is plentiful, goes down smooth."
Nick -"Strong, better than Asahi, good beer."

Kirin Ichiban 4.9% alc.  Japanese
Nick -"The best of the three, bitter upon impact, but delicious."
Alex -"Agreed with above. Best of the three with great lasting taste."
Lyle -"No question the most smooth of the three, easily the closest to a party beer. Overall great beer."