Modelo Especial

Why I tried this: Ok, don't laugh. I was pretty drunk and was out with Jon at WOB UCF, and thought it would be a good idea to get the rest of my Mexican beers out of the way on my way to 500. Modelo Especial was the next on the list. I originally wasn't planning on writing a review of it, but while I was drinking and commenting on how it was less bad than the other Mexican beers I had that night, he demanded I post a review.

Smell: I honestly couldn't detect anything. There may have been a very slight hop aroma, but it was probably my imagination. The rest was a weak, garbled mess.

Taste: Ugh. Not much better than the smell. There was a trace of sweet malts, and again a trace of lightly bitter hops. Other than that, it was very watery and light, with no real other flavor to speak of. This beer was meant to be slammed, not enjoyed. The only positive part, I suppose, is the lack of the taste. It could have tasted awful, but instead tasted like next to nothing. I guess that's a positive?

I'm just going to go ahead and give this beer a quarter empty glass. There's just no two ways around it: this beer sucks. It's a Mexican beer, and by default that already makes it suck pretty hard. It doesn't do much to improve from that base status. The only time I'd ever drink this again was if I was at a college party playing a drinking game, and it was offered to me as the beer we were going to drink. I would never order this or willingly buy it on my own. But, I guess it could be worse. It could be a Corona.

--Jeff

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Why I tried this: As per Paul's recommendations at the UCF World of Beer I have continued to try Sierra Nevada beers and they continue to be great. When I saw that they had an IPA I knew that I had to try it.

Smell: subtle scent of citrus and piney hops.

Taste: Well Sierra Nevada pretty much impressed me again with their IPA, the Torpedo Extra IPA. This beer was pretty hoppy tasting but it was balanced very well with the citrus and sweet flavors. The hop flavor is definitely at the forefront of the flavor but it's nothing that makes the beer too bitter or un-enjoyable. The sweet malt flavor is present yet barely noticeable, pretty much exactly as I prefer it to be in an IPA. The hops and beer as a whole are very crisp and enjoyable.

This is a very good beer and between this and the others I have pretty much decided I love the Sierra Nevada Brewery. This is probably one of the breweries that I really look forward to hopefully one day having a brewery night at World of Beer. This beer receives an empty glass since it is an IPA I will drink again and again. I played pool with my little brother on Monday at Surfers Pub in Cocoa Beach while drinking this beer.



--Jon

Terrapin Hopsecutioner

Why I tried this: DID YOU SEE THE NAME OF THIS BEER?!??!!?!? By now you should know I love IPAs!  That being said how could I pass on a beer called Hopsecutioner.  Especially a "Hopsecutioner" that has some hops laid out on the guillotine.  Pretty much enough said, no point going into any more detail.

Smell: citrus scent with some floral in the scent.  Slight malt in the scent that seems to round it out and make the hops less pungent.

Taste: Well not quite as hoppy in flavor as I would expect a beer called "hopsecutioner" to be.  The hops are there and noticeable but not nearly as strong as I had been hoping for or planning.   A bit more of syrupy malty flavor then I would of expected.  I didnt detect much of the citrus scent at all in the flavor.  The caramel malt flavor blending with the hops rounded this beer out a bit more then I would of wanted.  Dont get me wrong I liked this beer, in fact I have a 6 pack of it in my fridge right now, but I would definitely consider it a much more mild IPA.

Overall I would give this beer a rating of a quarter glass left.  It is a beer I will enjoy time to time when I go out.  This beer had a very good flavor and is enjoyable however I wish the hops were a bit stronger in the flavor and make themselves more pronounced.  I would suggest this beer to someone that is interested in trying IPAs before I brought out the big guns of delicious hop tea IPAs.



--Jon

Cigar City Big Sound

Why I tried this: Lately I've been finding myself drinking quite a few beers from Cigar City, and minus the Jai Alai (IPA), I've really enjoyed the brews from this company. I had no idea what to get and asked Kyle to surprise me. Happily, he brought back a new Cigar City brew I hadn't tried yet, a scotch ale at that.

Smell: A big whiff of roasted and sweet malts pretty much overwhelm the nostrils. There is also a hint of cherry, which was quite pleasant.

Taste: The roasted malts come through here in full force, but fade to allow a complex sweetness to arise. This sweetness seems to be a mix of malts, toffee, and cherry. On top of this, I also got a bit of yeasty breadiness, which affirmed its ale status. Pretty complex, thick, and damn tasty.

I think this ale deserves an empty glass award. Cigar City has made a scotch ale with all the right ale ingredients, providing a powerfully complex but ultimately delicious blend. The malt and toffee sweetness mix very well with the cherry hints, and the whole brew just screams quality at me. It was a pleasure to drink the entire glass. I can only imagine how much better this must be on tap. Highly recommended if you like ales or just malty beers in general.

--Jeff

Anderson Valley Hop Ottin IPA

Why I tried this: Well, if you look at my last 6 or so reviews they are pretty much all IPAs. I really don't know what else to explain here as for why I got another IPA. In this specific instance I thought I hadn't had this one yet, but I had, so maybe that will make the review twice as amazing.

Smell: Hops and a nice outside pine scent. A nice walk in a forest.

Taste: A very smooth IPA, not amazing but it's pretty good. I usually look for a more crisp, strong flavor in an IPA and that's pretty much what this beer was lacking. It still tasted very good and went down really easy. The hop flavor of this beer, like the scent, is more of a floral flavor. There is a slight sweet malt flavor in the background but not anything that sticks out too strongly.

Overall I'd give this beer about a quarter of a glass left. I would probably get this beer again, not just on accident, lol. Though there were some characteristics missing that I look for in an IPA, the Anderson Valley IPA was still very enjoyable. I would probably suggest this beer to someone that was looking for another IPA to try.





--Jon

St. Peters India Pale Ale

Why I tried this: Continuing along my IPA run I saw an interestingly shaped bottle by St. Peters on the shelf. I noticed they had an IPA so I figured I could use another good IPA. I decided to give the St. Peters IPA a shot to see if I could keep what has been a great run going.

Smell: Not the hoppy scent I had hoped for, but malty.

Taste: Well this is officially the worst IPA I think that I have had to date, and I really really like IPAs. I probably will never drink or recommend this beer in my lifetime, wait...... not probably, definitely will not. It had a distinct flavor I can't describe that took over the whole flavor for me and I can't even really define it. It was a mostly stale cidery flavor or something. I really dont know how else to describe the flavor of this beer other then I did not like it at all.

I would give this beer a rating of a full glass. I never want a sip of this beer ever again. If it wasnt for the Old Speckled Hen and the Eerie Smokebender I would say this is the worse beer I have had at World of Beer since going.





--Jon

Paulaner Premium Pils

Why I tried this: First off, before I want to get to why I grabbed this beer, I want to say welcome back to our viewers. Blogger was down for a couple days and we sadly could not post any updates. With that said, I was naturally sitting at the bar at World of Beer, and I wanted something light. However, not just any light style beer would do. I wanted a solid pilsner. I came across Paulaner's Premium Pils in the menu, and having had enjoyed other beers from them such as the Hefeweizen, this was a pretty easy choice.

Smell: Had a yeasty, bready aroma to it, combined with a mild floral hoppiness. It's how I would expect a good pilsner to smell.

Taste: First you get a pretty strong taste of yeasty bread and malts. The initial sip is moderately carbonated, and has a spice bite to it. As the malts fade, a mildly bitter hoppiness breaks out, which lingers on the back of the tongue as you finish your sip. It's crisp, that's for sure. For a pilsner, this is pretty top notch.

Overall, I'd give Paulaner Premium Pils an empty glass award. While a pilsner is not my favorite beer style, and admittedly its capacity for flavor is limited compared to, say, a belgian or stout, I found this particular pils to be excellent. Now that it's starting to get pretty warm out, these kind of beers really start to shine, because they are easy to drink, refreshing, and if brewed properly, can be fairly tasty. This Paulaner falls into that category, and thus deserves my recommendation.

--Jeff

World of Beer UCF outing number 10 million

I had a lot of fun on this particular outing .....I think.  I dont really recall anyones name.  Off to a great start...  The girl in the white dress had just graduated...  The guy to her left is her boyfriend.  The guy all the way to her right is her dad.  I remember stealing their pizza(hahaha) and suggesting good beers to her dad.  He enjoyed them as I recall so that makes him pretty awesome in my book.

All in all it was fun and they did a great job of putting up with me and enjoying my beer recommendations so what more could one ask for.  Her mom came in for a later picture but those came out really really blurry, since Im in the picture I know its not my fault...

The girl all the way on the left is supposedly the graduated girls sister but they might of been messing with me Im not too sure.  If they were props are due for such an excellent troll.  If not, I am a genius.



--Jon

Victory St. Boisterous

Why I tried this: It was Victory brewery night, so of course I had to have a Victory beer. I had recently had their Whirlwind Witbier as well as a few others, so the St. Boisterous was just a natural progression to the night. It was described to me as a bock style beer, and at 7.4% alcohol. Right on.

Smell: Has a scent of bready yeast and malts. There was a slight sweetness to the smell, as all good bocks should have. Didn't smell the alcohol at all.

Taste: Not too much different than the taste. You have your bready yeast type flavor plus some sweet, earthy malts. It all finishes with a crisp and slightly bitter hop, which was unexpected but not unwelcome at all. Pretty smooth and good flavor through and through.

Overall, I'd give Victory's St. Boisterous bock a quarter full glass. It was a pretty solid effort for a bock, but ultimately it falls short by not doing enough. Its medium body flavor is solid, but not outstanding. The smell pretty much mimics the taste and leaves little up to the imagination. I'm not typically a bock person, so I probably wouldn't get this beer again, but it was definitely a decent beer. I think bock fans out there would definitely be happy adding this beer to their weekly repertoire.

--Jeff

Hitachino Lacto Sweet Stout

Why I tried this: Interesting story. I was at World of Beer UCF (no kidding right?) and talking with Kyle for a bit. He informed me that their machines were down, so we couldn't access my account or print out my list. I told him we'll figure it out, and asked for a recommendation. He came back with a 22oz highly alcoholic scotch ale, to which I told him that I needed to make it home. So, he came back with choice #2, the Hitachino Lacto Sweet Stout. I know Jon is a big fan of Hitachino, and I've tried their Classic Ale and Espresso Stout, so I took it.

Smell: Not a lot there, actually. There's a faint smokiness, on top of a malty sweetness. It didn't smell particularly roasty, and I didn't detect the usual coffee. It was weird.

Taste: The first thing I got when taking my initial sip was sweet malts. I detected some caramel in there, as well as a smoky flavor. As the sip fades, it turned from sweet to slightly sour, with a definite smoked flavor to it. Not bad.

I have to admit, that this was not what I was expecting from a stout. To be fair, the beer came from Japan, and I tend to notice beers from there are pretty unique. The smoky flavor was an interesting twist, and the milk sugar and caramel malts made a nice sweet mixture that faded out into a mild sourness that wasn't unpleasing at all. If anything, this beer will stick out in my mind as more being unique than it was delicious, but overall it was still pretty decent. With that said, I'd give it a quarter full glass award.

--Jeff

Boulder Mojo IPA

Why I tried this: Continuing on my IPA journey since it has been the beer style I have been in the mood for lately, I stumbled across the Boulder Beer Company Mojo IPA. The beer sounded and looked great so I decided to give it a try, plus my waitress also recommended it to me. My waitress's name was Marielle (sp?) and she also loved IPAs, so in addition to this IPA she made a few other suggestions that also turned out good.

Smell: Smelt like a more floral, citrusy, IPA. Hops present in the scent but this beer's scent was more notably citrus

Taste: This is probably one of the best IPAs that I have ever had. The blend of the floral tasting hops with the citrus flavors was fantastic. It made for a very smooth tasting IPA. I know smooth and crisp somewhat contradict each other but this beer had characteristics that made the flavor stand out in all the right areas. After the initial strong flavor of hops and citrus is in your mouth and you swallow the sip, it isn't an overly bitter hop flavor that remains. The remaining flavor is a pleasant blend of slight citrus hops that makes you want to sit for a second before you take your next sip.

This beer receives a rating of an empty glass. If I am in the mood for an IPA and I see this beer out somewhere I would most definitely order this beer. The flavors complimented each other very well and it made for a great tasting beer. I would absolutely recommend this beer to any friend that enjoys IPAs. This beer makes me excited to see what else Boulder Beer Company offers in beer selection.



--Jon

Great Divide Hades Ale

Why I tried this: This beer was recommended to me by one of the bartenders. I don't really remember which, as I was under the influence of Great Divide and several other breweries. I have had a few beers by these guys and the only winner for me so far was their IPA, the Titan IPA.(clicky click for review) Lets hope this will be a repeat of the mighty Titan.

Smell: Earthy, grassy scent, sweet smelling. It becomes apparent this is going to be belgianish, tasty..

Taste: The first flavor on your tongue with this beer will be the strong malts and sweetness. Not too overpowering but very pleasant. The earthy and citrusy flavors that follow are much more mild then the up front strong malt flavor. This beer is a bit more sweet then most other Belgian beers but not unpleasant. You would absolutely not think this beer was 8%.


Overall I would give this beer a rating of a quarter glass left. It was a good beer and I did enjoy it but I don't think I would get it again. There are many other beers of this style I would prefer, there are probably only a few situations that I would be in where I would get this beer. This and the Titan have made me pretty happy with this brewery, though, since the first few I had by Great Divide I did not like at all.




--Jon

Ridin' Dirrrty @ World of Beer UCF

250 we are coming for YOU!  Jeff and I continue to keep ridin dirty up the World of Beer list.  

"When they see us ride by they can see the glean, my shine on the deck and the tv screen.  Ridin' with a new chick, she like hold up.. Next to the playstation controlla is a full clip and my pistola."

--Jon

screen shot taken 5/5/11

Samuel Smith India Ale

Why I tried this: This was the same day that I had the Hitachino Nest Classic Ale, and I was in the mood for an IPA among the others I had that day so I decided to give Samuel Smiths a try. I have had a few Samuel Smith beers before and they were pretty good, nothing amazing but they were pretty enjoyable, notably the stouts. With the arrival of this beer I was looking forward to being in sweet sweet hop heaven.

Smell: subtle earthy caramel scent. Not a strong smell at all.

Taste: The hop flavor does not expand into what I had hoped for at all. It was a surprise that was neither good or bad, just unexpected. The mild hop flavor made room for the sweet malt flavor that had notes of caramel and butterscotch. There was another flavor that came into this beer that was not too pleasant at all and I can't really define it, I just didn't really like it when it made itself apparent. This beer was mediocre and extremely mild for an IPA in my opinion.

I would give this beer a rating of a half full glass. This beer was mediocre and not real enjoyable but it didnt taste bad either. I would of liked to get more hops from the flavor or something else that would have given it a more full flavor. The flavor that lingers in the background that I can't define really dragged this beer down and took away from how smooth it could have been.




--Jon

Hitachino Nest Classic Ale

Why I tried this: After enjoying the Hitachino Stout so much I decided it was time to try another beer from Japan's Hitachino. I was in an Ale kinda mood so when I came across the classic ale on the menu my mind was almost made up. I asked Greg about this beer and he said it was great so what more convincing would I have needed?

Smell: Less hoppy then expected. There was a stong malt scent that covered most of the hop scent. Caramel scented.

Taste: Not what I expected at all but still good. I went into this beer expecting a lighter mostly floral hop flavor and thats not what you get at all. This beer has a deep dark malt flavor that reminds you of a woody flavor and caramel. The flavor is pleasant and enjoyable. There is a slight hop flavor but it absolutely is not the defining characteristic of the beer, it's just a backup support actor to the malts.

I would give this beer a rating of a quarter glass left. This beer was great tasting but it did not taste anything at all like what I expected going into it which is not a bad thing. The malt flavor of this beer is smooth and delicious and this is probably a beer I would order again if I saw it out somewhere.

--Jon

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen

Why I tried this: I had one Sierra Nevada a while ago (I don't remember which) and I was not a big fan so I decided not to try another one. Recently, one of the managers at World of Beer UCF, Paul, told me I need to give them another shot. The first I tried was the Torpedo and I really liked it, review on that to come. When I saw the Kellerweis at WoB UCF I decided to give it a try.

Smell: Scent of grains and slight spice. There is also some yeast in the scent.

Taste: Strong wheat is what I noticed first. Not overpowering though, smooth and delicious. After that this beer faded into a nice fresh hoppy flavor with small amounts of lemon flavor. About this time the spice flavor of the beer begins to make itself noticed. The finish of this beer was slightly bitter but still quite refreshing.

I would give this beer a ranking of an empty glass for sure. This beer was very, very enjoyable. I had a rough start with Sierra Nevada back in the day but Im glad Paul pushed me into getting another beer by them. Their beers are pretty easily working their way into my top favorites and this beer is no exception to that rule.





--Jon

Great Divide Titan IPA

Why I tried this: IPA's are one of my favorite beer types, IPAs are just one of the couple differences Jeff and I have in beer preferences.  While Jeff doesnt enjoy IPAs much I love them, especially when Im not in the mood for a heavier beer.  Great Divide has been a brewery I havent had much of an opinion on.  Ive had a few of their beers before and they were OK not good but not bad either.  While looking at the list I saw Titan IPA by them thought it was a cool name so I decided to give another Great Divide a chance.

Smell: This beer had a great scent to it.  The hops had a floral citrusy scent.  Had a sweeter scent to it as well that Ive found pretty typical of Great Divide.

Taste: This beer overall had a pretty good taste to it.  The hop flavor was not as strong as I would typically expect from an IPA.  The flavors of the sweet malts played a pretty big part in balancing out the hops a bit.  The beer gives you a great hop flavor then you start to sense the sweetness of the malts and as you arrive at the end of your sip you get a finish of some dry hops, but not really overly dry at all.  At 7.8% I really didn't taste much of the alcohol at all which is always a plus.

This beer will receive a rating of 1/4 of a glass left.  I haven't liked much of Great Divide too much but I really did enjoy their Titan IPA.  This beer had a good fresh hop flavor blended nicely with the sweet malt flavor.  If you are into either Great Divide as a brewery or IPAs in general this would probably be a good beer to try.



--Jon

Orlando Loyalty List top 10 @ World of Beer UCF

Another update to the world of beer website shows that as you can see Jeff M and I (Jon R) are climbing our way up the list.  Hitting 250 is just around the corner.

here is the link to the online list I took this screenshot from http://ucf.wobusa.com/Promos/TheLoyaltyCard.aspx

--Jon

Samuel Adams Summer Ale

My Canon DSLR put to good use...

Why I tried this: I have loved my good friend Samuel and most of his beers for a pretty long time now. I love picking up the samplers at each season from the store and I am always excited when I see a new Samuel Adams that I haven't had yet. Whenever I go out to a bar with a potential customer or boss I always order a Sam Adams so I look legit like in the commercial.

Smell: Summer. Scents of citrus, earthy hop scent, a relaxing refreshing scent.

Taste: The flavor starts out as a citrusy flavor that seems composed mostly of lemon and grapefruit ..mostly. There is a very good wheat flavor that is pretty subtle and very enjoyable. After you get past the citrus it has the typical hop flavor finish that I enjoy and expect with each of the Samuel Adams beers. The flavor is blended nicely and all of the flavors complement each other nicely.


This beer receives the quarter pint left rating. It is a good beer but there are plenty of other Samuel Adams beers that I enjoy much more then this one. I love trying all of the Samuel Adams beers and there are certain seasonals I always cant wait for when it gets close and unfortunately this is not one of the ones I will impatiently be waiting for. This beer is still very good but, Ive had better from Mr. Adams, and there are plenty of others I cant wait for.


--Jon

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