Sam Adams Light

I cannot believe it is December already. Where did 2010 go? The hardest months are usually the ones where everything is rushed but at the same time there is just is not enough time to fit everything in one day. I could go on in length about the time aspect, being a commuter and dealing with transit delays and working on professional and personal projects that soak up every free block of time. I have to say, I have been pretty good this year with random beer purchases, stuck to my guns and did not buy anything that I knew I would just not like for the sake of trying it. I am, however, still a sucker for seasonal beers that are uninteresting but worth trying. The seasons have officially changed, the news reports snow in some areas, and the temperature has dropped considerably to warrant full winter clothing - all this leads to another seasonal beer run.

I am not a huge fan of Sam Adams brews, nothing against them but they are not local to me like how Brooklyn Lager is the standard local brewery in my eyes. When I first saw this, I knew I had to get some to try them because it is pretty uncommon to find an amber colored beer that isn't heavy or a light beer that doesn't have a ton of carbonation. Sam Adams Light accomplishes being a lighter ale with just enough carbonation for a refreshing beer. This could easily be a good replacement for a burger and fries beer instead of a regular lager.

Hue Beer

I'm normally not to crazy about Asian beers because they're almost the same to me, they're light lagers with a fair amount of carbonation. Lagers are really refreshing and goes well with the types of food served in Asian kitchens. The fun part of trying these different beers is collecting the images of the bottles. Hue Beer is nothing more than a regular lager from Vietnam that I would classify as a middle of the road type of lager, it's not quite a light beer.

Roscoe's Hop House Pale Ale

I checked the site for this brewery and found that they're very limited and only select stores carry these beers. I have never seen this beer before and like all beers I have never seen, I'm always curious where it comes from, domestic or imported, or limited editions. I have a soft spot for anything limited from a good brewery but most of all, I'm a fan of pale ales. Roscoe's pale ale is very refreshing as I drank them in the summer and was pretty bummed that I would need to take special trips to specialty stores to find this again. The balance of carbonation and weight was great and it did not leave a gritty aftertaste. They also make an amber ale I have never seen but would like to try.

Sierra Nevada Summerfest 2010 Lager

I couldn't let the summer go by without picking some of these up. I'm biased. I like the Sierra Nevada brand and I personally feel that anything coming out of that brewery will be pretty good. Summer beers from Sierra Nevada are guaranteed to be good, refreshing and light. There's not much to not like about this lager, there isn't too much carbonation, the taste is light but still flavorful unlike generic light beers that taste mostly like water. Since these are seasonal it is really a race to get some and enjoy them before they're no longer fresh. My favorite seasons for beer are mainly Spring and Summer since the heavier brews end up in Fall and Winter. I do enjoy darker beers but there's really nothing like having a refreshing Summer brew.

Speakeasy Untouchable Pale Ale

One of the things that obviously drew me to this beer was the label design. I've always liked the style of that era, from clothing, to cars, and the music. I even recall the time when the Dick Tracy movie came out in 1990 and there were all these toys and promo items related to it. I'm thinking back to the details when trading cards were huge in the 90's, with special cards tucked into packs randomly and when toys were ripe with jagged edges and not rounded like the ones today. Those were some seriously good times for toys where action figures ruled and comic books were found in newstands all over. I really do miss 90's, long before the internet, the vast amount of misinformation and the mobs of anonymous internet banter.

The one thing the beer bottle reminded me of was this No Fear logo from the 90's:



This American pale ale is heavy without a bitter bite, and is not overly carbonated. There is less of a bite than Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but there is no less flavor to it. It is a bit on the sweeter side without leaving too much of an aftertaste. This is the type of beer to drink one or two of at once and that is it, it's carbonated and on the heavy side and doesn't leave room for much else.

Saranac India Pale Ale

This India pale ale came in the Saranac variety sampler that I picked up. Keeping with the promise this new year that I wouldn't buy an India pale ale or anything too acidic unless it was super light, I wasn't against trying one if it came in a set. Saranac is consistent with its brews, there seems to be a weight to most of its regular brews, where there is just enough carbonation in each one and no beer feels light but they're not overpowering, either. This India pale ale wasn't acidic nor had the taste of rust in the water, it was mild, almost like a regular pale ale but there were hints of citrus and very hints of bitterness. I thought this was a good one but not the type of beer I would normally buy since I've discovered the American style pale ale. This beer is very much drinkable and was a great addition to the sampler, it really shows that a brewing company can cater to all tastes.

Saranac Black and Tan

More than half the year is over already and it's officially Summer, which means the Fall brews are just around the corner. Normally, I would focus more on summer brews but I have had this post half written for a while. One of the nicest things about warm weather in New York City is that this place is really meant for walking. Most of the fun stuff is really discovering new places to hang out and new places to try new foods. As always, any place that serves a bit of good food usually has a good list of beers to go with it.

The first time I had one of these, I was in a very crowded restaurant that was known for its greasy greasy burgers. I lacked a camera on me and my hands were pretty grimey to get a cellphone picture of this. I remembered this beer and remembered the brewing company that I ended up buying the Saranac variety sampler to try their regular offerings. I'm a big fan of lightweight stouts like Guinness because the dark color and the weight fools you into thinking that it would this heavy bitter mess, but it's not. I've tried other stouts that were heavy, bitter, and some were downright foul tasting. This one is not any of those things, it's got the perfect balance of weight, bitterness, and carbonation to make it easily one of my favorites for the category. This is something I'd pick up regularly if I could find it near home without making a trek to specialty shops to pick it up.