Rogue: Kells Irish Style Lager

As promised here is another Rogue beer for review. This time I went with Rogue's Irish Style Lager. This is a pale lager that has a distinct taste. Generally, for reviewing purposes I find it helpful to think of what the beer tastes like and find a mental comparison to a similar beer that I've had in the past to help hone in on flavors. The problem with that method of detection is that some beers don't compare to any others of like kind. I find that Rogue's lager is one of those unique beers. The only thing this brew reminds me of, is the other times that I've drank Kells Irish Style Lager. Most American lagers are pretty thin and flavorless and thus finding a richer lager defies comparison.

Luckily, one of the cool features that Rogue implements on its packaging is imprinting the ingredients and characteristics. For example, this lager contains "great western pale, crystal-15, wheat and acidulated malts; sterling hops, free range coastal waters & czech pils yeast." In addition this beer exhibits "12° plato (gravity), 28 ibu (international bitter units), 75 AA (attenuation), 9.80 L (Lovibond). While all of that doesn't necessarily give you a whole lot besides knowing that this lager isn't that bitter, Rogue also gives you a description "smooth mellow flavor with an apple crisp finish." And not surprisingly, Rogue is spot on. I would say that this lager is surprisingly tart. Hints of sour apple tart are present and complement the honey malt flavors. With the touch of bitterness the lager has a full flavor.

Even though this is a full bodied lager, it's still a lighter brew. That being said, this beer is not tasteless as many American style lagers. Maybe that's why Rogue adds the 'Irish style tag' to this beer's name. While I've never been to Ireland, I hope to go someday. And maybe if I grab a lager across the pond it'll remind me of Rogue's brew. Cheers.

Kona Brewing Co: Longboard Island Lager

It's hot right now. Yes I live in California. Yes it's mid-May. No kidding, right? I promise not to start every post this summer with "it's hot out". But for now, I'm not quite use to the heat. While I was lounging poolside today, I wanted some cold beers to cool me down. Considering I am on a substantial break from my work at the moment I picked up a ton of beers from the store to join me in the shallow end. Going with the classic 'cool me down', I first reached for an island style lager. Cliche? Yes. But tasty and refreshing, also yes and yes.

Kona's craftbrews are inspired by the island lifestyle and are made to enjoy on the beach and by the water. And I see why. This is a nicely malted lager with a clean crisp lemon flavored hop bite. It's quite refreshing, and if kept cold, a nice way to compliment a sunny day. As the brew warms even more lemon flavors emerge. So much so, I began to wonder if anyone slipped a piece of fruit in my brew. I was surprised that strong flavors emerged because it a pretty thin lager that goes down easy. While not ideal for a winter night or an air conditioned apartment it's perfect for the outdoors. This beer is also a nice upgrade from a American style macro lager and not too expensive even though it's being imported from Hawaii. So while you can't go wrong bringing cold beer to a pool party, this summer feel free to dive into a sixer of Longboard lager for a cool treat . Cheers.

Moylan's: White Christmas Spiced Lager

I reviewed a Christmas themed brew in November, so I see no reason why I can't continue with the holiday spirit into January. Moylan's Brewery taps into the season's festivities by evoking images of 'white Christmases'. This marketing strategy is kinda humorous because of my twenty four December 25ths in Marin County, I've never seen any snow.

Moving past the label, Moylan's tries to match the hearty foods of the winter holidays by releasing a spiced lager. Normally breweries create winter warmers or spiced ales to combat the cold months and rich foods of winter. I was excited to try something different.

This lager is not as spicy as you would expect. There definitely is an orange flavor at the start. And after the beer warmed up a little, malty tastes and peppery flavors begin to emerge. Finally there is an apple juice flavor. That all sounds like a lot, but most of these sensations were quite subdued. If served separate from the bottle, you might be able to convince a drinker that this beer was a traditional lager. That all being said, it's not a bad lager. The malt flavors are light and sweet. Despite the fact the spices were subtle, it's a pretty good beer. I don't know if I'd pair this lager with a Christmas ham on a cold December night, but I'd definitely drink it again. Cheers

D&G: Red Stripe Jamaican Lager

Now we tend to post on crafts here at 801 on Tap. But of course, once in a while, we're tempted by a sale and take advantage of the situation. My corner bodega is usually a rip off, but when I heard $15 for a 12 pack of Red Stripe, I was sold.

With a light body, soft malty smell, and little flavor, Red Stripe reminds you of American macrobrews but with a with a Caribbean flavor. But I can't quite tell what that is. It's definitely not as crappy as a Bud Light, but it's not quite there next to a Tecate or Caguama. Or maybe it's just that it has a really cool bottle, which despite its small size, still holds 12 ounces.

So basically it tastes like your standard American lager, and is entertaining to drink because of the bottle. I guess that's really it about this beer. For shame. I guess at least it's 4.7% ABV, which makes it stronger than a normal macro. I guess that's one other redeeming thing.

And I guess they have great commercials. What can I say, I'm a sucker for entertaining marketing. It's beer! You're beautiful!



So bust out a Red Stripe when you're not feeling a Bud or a Coors, but want a slight step up in front of your friends without going the whole 9 yards. Your uncultured friends will think you're cool for bringing JAMAICAN BEER, but you'll still have your dignity in that you bought something somewhat unique, though ultimately not as awesome as a Caguama or other American style lagers that just are way more satisfying.

But hey, not a bad advertisement. Hooray, beer!

Anchor Brewing Co.: Steam Beer

As mentioned I took a tour of Anchor Brewing in Potrero Hill at the end of 2007. Since it was the heart of winter the brewers did not have the spring and summer release on tap for free sampling. Thus, when Anchor's spring seasonal hit shelves last week I had to pick up the beer because the staff treated me so well. But before I get to the spring offering (this is a back to back post) I had to give you Achor's flagship; the steam beer.

For those of you who haven't read any of Anchor's literature, the brewery has been around forever in San Francisco. To brew a solid lager in the strange San Francisco temperatures and before refrigeration was common place, new techniques had to be invented. With a new strain of lager yeast, Anchor created the Steam beer, which has subsequently been trademarked and thus referred to in the industry as the 'California common' beer. No one now knows why the beer was called steam beer; even the staff at the brewery. The beer label gives a plausible solution, but the tour guide gave a more likley explination: since the brewery use to place their vats of beer on the roof to ferment, the steam coming off the beer was seen by all local San Franciscans.

Anchor steam is a lager anomaly. It is a heartier lager and the hops are quite pronounced for this normally lighter beer. As you can see from the color, it is darker than most lagers and the taste is far more bitter. It can be best described as a hybrid between a pale ale and a traditional lager taking qualities from both.

On tap at pretty much every San Francisco watering hole, Steam beer is easy to find. It's a great local brew enjoyed by all due to its varying traits. If you haven't given it a shot yet, it's worth a try. I think you'll find something you'll like. Cheers

‘Super Tuesday’ Special Report: Caguama vs. Caguama Special Export

A review of Caguama is easy: it's light like Corona but has more flavor (and it's much cheaper!). Just beware of the Caguama Effect.

Those who have visited Southern California over the last couple years might be familiar with the Caguama Effect. This phenomenon occurs when one drinks the eponymous beer from El Salvador. Picture the scene. You settle in for a mellow evening of drinking beers with some buddies. It's a random Monday or Tuesday—work looms, preventing more elaborate festivities. Sipping your first beer, you're enjoying Caguama's crisply nutty flavor. Beer two: wow, this is surprising light for the amount of flavor. Beer three: this is absurd, I can drink this water all night. Beer four: no one remembers beer four. Caguama strikes like a ninja—a black ninja at midnight in the darkest of nights. Game over.

But as the title promises, this is a dual review. The standard brew's misfit brother, Caguama "Special Export" waylaid me with its remarkably vapid offerings.

You can clearly feel the carbonation on your tongue. And that's about it. After a long drag, your mouth tingles with the cold sensation of holding what you can only assume will be delicious beer. But the delicious got arrested at the California- Mexico border and deported back to whatever Salvadoran hamlet it called home.

I held the beer in my mouth longer than any man in his right mind contemplates a $3.99/six-pack beer. My first thought: tastes like…hangover. This beer reminds me of every drop of beer I consumed over that I'm Gonna Regret This threshold (IGRT). We all know it. It's that third 40 of Steel Reserve. It's that 12^th game of Beirut. It's that beverage you vaguely remember sipping while the baritone conductor in your head announces "Proxima Estacion: Vomitville."

Gentlemen and ladies, this beer presents a lacunae of taste that will inevitably be filled by memories of over consumption and times you were too cheap to pay $3.00 more for something darker.

I've been told that Central American drinking water flows brown with bacteria the size of fleas. To prevent ingesting the bacteria—I believe named La Guardia after the NY airport—many people drink only bottled beverages. This fact brings me to the strongest endorsement I can make for Caguama Special Export: my grandmother could bush her teeth with this stuff. Hell, I wouldn't think twice about washing my face with it.

We've all embraced the IGRT with open arms. We've heard her Germanic bark from the edges of sobriety.

And we've all ignored it.

Just as we kept drinking, I will continue to buy original Caguama. It is perfect for long nights of heavy consumption. The price point wont break the bank, the flavor won't deter women, the taste won't leave a cloying film, the alcohol wont leave memories.

In case you needed more reason to pursue Caguama I have reproduced in its entirety the following marketing literature: "Legend has it the fishermen of Central America sought the Great Loggerhead Turtle in warm tropical waters. It was tribal belief that this powerful turtle, also known as the 'Caguama', symbolized good fortune for the fisherman's village."

There you have it, go do your village proud!

S.A. Damm: Estrella Damm

Spain is not known for their beers. In fact, I'd bet that diez personas in this country couldn't name one brand. And why should Spain be known for its beer? Spaniards have been making incredible red wines for centuries. Every nation can't be like the great Republic of California and excel at both winemaking and brewing. And that's ok.

So I went to Spain and drank a ton of vino and sangria. And it was wonderful. I highly recommend the trip. On top of their tastiness, the wine is remarkably affordable without the added importing costs. If you scour a city enough, a decent wine can be procured for 1 Euro. I kid you not. Thus why drink anything else but wine? That is an excellent question. When traveling through France for a week I drank only wine and I still stick by that decision. However, for some reason or another beers are consumed rather frequently by locals in bars. Probably cause it's muy caliente in the summer. And since I was there for 60 days I decided to imbibe my share as well. (This can be evidenced by a picture of 19 year old Mattie sharing a brew with friends outside a local bar -->)

Spanish beer is mediocre at best. There are three major brands. Mahou, Cruzcampo, and Damm. Each brewery's flagship beer is the traditional European macro lager. My favorite was definitely Cruzcampo and thus I selected it as often as possible when deciding on a beer. However, as European travelers know, many bars in Europe are 'sponsored' by a single brewery where they only sell one type of beer. Thus I had my fair share of Mahou and Damm at certain bars as well. So when I saw Estrella Damm at BevMo, I had to take a trip down memory lane.

Honestly the trip was fun. The smell alone brought back memories. And it smells pretty good. But I'd never purchase a sixer again. I forgot that Estrella Damm is not that delicious. Despite the bottling, the beer has a metallic taste. The metal taste mixes with a corn flavor giving the beer the typical big brew sensation on the pallate.

So if you are off to Spain drown yourself in reds. And if you are going to try a brew, go with Cruzcampo. But if you are going Spain, congrats, because you've already made the right decision. Salud. Cheers.

Tsingtao: Lager Beer

We tend to not post as many standard lagers around here, so I'll take another stab at it with China's major alcoholic export to the US, Tsingtao Lager Beer. Yes, let's thank the Chinese for clearing up the long-standing war over whether Lagers are beers. Put down the weapons folks, for it is now the 21st Century, and China has taken its rightful place as the arbiter of consumer labels.

Founded originally in 1903 as a British-German brewing company to produce German beer in China for Westerners along the colonial coast, Tsingtao Breweries became a state enterprise after the glorious people's revolution. It was privatized in the early 90s, and around the same time ran into major quality control issues due to pesticides, pollution, and God knows what else the people unleashed into the fields to fill their production quotas. The brewery's name also changed to one of those redundant Chinese company names, so now it's something like Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd. X-treme Capitalist Enterprise, which would make Chairman Mao very double-plus proud.

As a response to this contamination, Tsingtao now imports all its barley from France, Canada and Australia, while growing its hops in the rural western Chinese region of Xinjiang. Well, I guess those Uyghurs are good for something besides being dominated and oppressed by Han China.

The first thing you'll notice about this beer is its green bottle. As any beer fanatic knows, you're supposed to stay away from the green due to its ability to skunk beers rather quickly. My only guess is that the brewers were trying to mimic Heineken's success in America, and thought green = good! Whatever, guys.

Probably the first couple bottles of this stuff that I've had have been skunked. This is probably because I bought them at shady Chinese restaurants that made me sick afterwards. Until recently, I've stayed away from it. This was, of course, until I went to a damn good Chinese restaurant in LA (Yang Chow in Chinatown). It was the only beer on the menu, so ordered a glass bottle.

I turned out to be pleasantly surprised. For once, it wasn't skunked. It poured as a standard yellow lager, similar to an American macrobrew beer. But it was crisp and palatable, with a sweet aftertaste that pleasantly sticks to your mouth. As long as it's not skunked, I could drink this all day.

SUPERHAPPYFUNKITTENBONUS: Like most Chinese products, this stuff a cheap import. I picked up a 12 pack for $10.99 at Marty's Liquors here in Allston, and I'm sure it's even cheaper at Bevmo back on the West Coast. It's also 4.8% ABV. Nice!

BEWAREBOURGEIOUSDEFECTS: Like most Chinese products, you'll probably get a defective one eventually. Don't be surprised if you get a skunked beer, so I recommend you buy in bulk so you can quickly pound a bottle and open another.