Erie Presque Isle Pilsner

Why I tried this: It was just another day at the office...err, World of Beer. I was just looking for something new on tap that wouldn't kill me. I'd had a few beers from Erie before, and having been unimpressed with what I've tried thus far, I initially skipped over this beer. However, my choices on the draft list were getting slim, and a pilsner sounded like just the thing for me, so I went with this beer.

Smell: I didn't really get much from this beer. Had a slight earthy hop, but only very slightly. Perhaps a bit of a bready, yeasty smell.

Taste: Not much here either. You get a slight bitterness from hops, and a certain dryness that is probably one of the few pleasing qualities of this beer. There is a slight spic

e towards the end, but overall not a strong flavor, and what's there doesn't hold when it all finally goes down.

I think it's pretty fair to say this beer will only get a half glass award from me. It's a pretty forgettable beer that lacks a good scent and doesn't have much going on in the taste department either. It's not a very crisp or clean pilsner, and was honestly just too hard to figure out what they were trying to do with this beer. I did like the dryness of the beer, and that it was fairly easy to drink, but that's about it. A good pilsner should be clean, crisp, and have lots of good flavors blended together. This does not. I won't be trying this beer again, and don't recommend it.

--Jeff

Erie Smokebender

Why I tried this: Erie Smokebender just recently came up on the draft menu, and it was described as a unique beer with a smoked flavor. I had figured smoked would be similar to roasted, so I just thought I was in for a very malty beer. It was worth a try.

Smell: Smoked. Like this somehow just came off the grill. It was very strong.

Taste: Smoked. Unbelievably smoked. I felt like I was drinking charcoal. It was the most awful thing short of Steel Reserve or Colt 45 that I had ever put in my mouth. It was so strong, and there was nothing else I could discern from the taste.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this beer a 2. The only reason I gave it a 2 is because I was able to finish it. But, that took a long time, and my stomach felt awful afterwards. I give it a point for personality, but the only people who might even be able to stomach this beer would be heavy scotch whiskey drinkers. Other than that, simply awful. Stay away.

--Jeff