Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy
Style: Radler
ABV: 4.2%
IBUs: 13.5

Well it's been a long time coming that I review this beer and seeing as how it's my Summertime Series, I figured now would be a most opportune time to take a look at this beer. For this review, I've got Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, a name which my readers in the Midwest will instantly recognize.  Summer Shandy is a Radler, which is a German word that means "Cyclist." Radlers are basically beer mixed with lemonade or juice and was originally meant to be a thirst-quencher for bikers during their long bike treks across the German countryside.

Summer Shandy is one of those beers that you'll find at virtually every Bar-B-Que, 4th of July Celebration, Picnic or any outdoor related event in the Midwest. I also consider this beer to be the brewery's flagship beer. In any case, I've had this many times before at various outdoor events since I've started drinking beer. For this review, we're also bringing back the mason jar!

Appearance - Maybe it's because it's in can form but the head is quite foamy and voluminous initially before becoming a mildly foamy film. The beer itself an extremely hazy yellow color with no visible carbonation.

Aroma - Lemonade and barley on the front of the nose with some pale maltiness and maybe just a hint of lemon twist. There's nothing more to it then that, so bottoms up!

Taste - Lemonade, sparkling water, light pale malts and a hint of barley on the tail end of it all. There isn't much in terms of an aftertaste so it's really quite dry.

Speaking as someone who bikes almost every day, a beer like Summer Shandy after a 20 mile bike ride would taste pretty amazing and would be an adequate thirst quencher; Or if you're out on a hot July evening at a Bar-B-Que. However if you're just chilling at home and you so happen to drink this, then it'll probably be some more left to be desired. That's my way of saying it's a good summer beer for the great outdoors, but less-than-ideal if you're just staying in for the evening.

Still, I don't mind this beer. It serves it's intended purpose and that's all that really matters.

Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - 7.5/10

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Cherry Doppelschwarz Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Cherry Doppelschwarz
Style: Schwarzbier
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 27

While getting everything ready for this review, I decided to find out when was the last time I had reviewed anything from Leinenkugel's Big Eddy series. After all, it is a series that has yet to disappoint me and there's always something new coming out of it. So imagine my shock when I discovered that the last time I had actually did a review from the Big Eddy series was back in September 2013 with their Uber-Oktoberfest, an Imperialized version of an Oktoberfest beer.

Well today, I'm back with their Cherry Doppelschwarz. Judging by the name, you'd guess that it's a cross between a Doppelbock and a Schwarzbier, right? Wrong! The word Doppel means......say it with me......Double in German; So it's actually an Imperial Schwarzbier that just so happens to be brewed with cherries. I've also received word that the newest entry in the Big Eddy Series is a Braggot brewed with rye so expect to see a review for that in the not-too-distant future.

Appearance - Very dark brown/black color that becomes a dark shade of crimson when held up to a light with little in terms of visible carbonation. The head is quite thin and filmy with some decent lacing to boot.

Aroma - Potent caramel malt and black licorice notes with some mild cherry & toffee sweetness. I'm also picking up on moderate smokiness and some mild roastiness here as well.

Taste - Moderate smokiness paired with chocolate-covered cherries along with some toffee sweetness. I'm also getting that mild roastiness and light black licorice notes. The aftertaste is made up light smokiness, toffee malts and some roastiness.

Though I didn't find anything particularly earth-shattering about this beer, the concept is definitely executed quite well and the end result is a nice, flavorful beer. After having this, I'm convinced that I really should start paying closer attention to the Big Eddy Series again.

Leinenkugel's Cherry Doppelschwarz - 8.5/10

Leinenkugel's India Pale Lager Review

Name: Leinenkugel's India Pale Lager
Style: India Pale Lager
ABV: 6%

Leinenkugel's recently released a brand new beer and it's a style that has been gaining popularity in the past couple of years. It's an India Pale Lager (IPL) that carries the name of the style, with no fancy name to go along with it. I saw this at the Keyport Growler Station and just had to try it out; Plus it's been a long while since I've had a good IPL.

It's an interesting choice when it comes to style choice, especially from a brewery like Leinenkugel's but then again they also have just released a Braggot that's brewed with raspberries and rye as part of their Big Eddy series, so I'll give credit where it is due.

Appearance - A very clear dark golden color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is fairly foamy and takes on an off-white color with decent retention, while the lacing is quite sparse.

Aroma - Strong citra and piney hops on the front of the nose with a healthy pale maltiness to back it. There's even a hint of caramel sweetness and even a bit of yeastiness in here as well while still retaining that lager scent.

Taste - Strong piney hop bitterness with the citra hops taking a secondary role. On the back end of the palate is where the pale malts and lager yeasts starts to shine through, while the piney hop bitterness & citra hops linger throughout. The aftertaste is light hop bitterness with light lager yeasts and is otherwise on the drier side.

The last couple of offerings I've had from Leinenkugel's were okay, but not something I would necessarily go out of my way to have again and frankly, I was expecting the same when I got this. Needless to say, this beer is much better than I expected and it's definitely one of the better offerings I've had from Leinenkugel's. The hop profile is quite nice and the rest of the flavor is nice, crisp and balanced. I believe it's a draft only beer right now, but if I were to see this in bottles, I would definitely pick it up again!

Leinenkugel's India Pale Lager - 8.5/10

Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler
Style: Kolsch
ABV: 5%

Leinenkugel's has become synonymous with Spring and Summer beers here in the Midwest. Between their numerous shandies, and light seasonal beers, chances are you can't go to any picnic or camping trip in the Midwest without coming across at least one beer from Leinenkugel's.

Which brings us to Canoe Paddler, a Kolsch that is brewed with, of all things, Rye. It's interesting because whenever I see rye used in the brewing process, it's usually with heavier styles like IPAs & Barleywines. For some people, it seems like an unlikely combination but it really isn't for me seeing as how there's a beer that has goat brains in it, which yes, is totally a thing. In short, I've become desensitized.

Appearance - Bright and clear yellow color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is quite thin and there isn't any lacing to speak of.

Aroma - Pale malts and cereal grain on the front of the nose, followed by some bitter hops and a touch of rye spiciness. The white grape scent I'm used to in Kolsch is mysteriously absent in the nose.

Taste - Pale malts and cereal grains once again dominate the palate like they did with the nose. The second half of the flavor is where you get the bitter hops and light white grape sweetness. It isn't until the aftertaste the the rye spiciness starts to make an appearance and it lingers for a bit before fading away.

After having this, I honestly say that I really like the idea of a Kolsch brewed with rye.....but I can't really say I'm a big fan of this. The cereal grains are way too dominant, which makes it come off more as a glorified adjunct lager than an actual Kolsch. It's kind of sad when you think about it because this was a Gold Medal Winner at the World Beer Championship.

At the same time, the palate does feel nice and crisp thanks in part to the rye used in the brewing process and I could see why someone could drink this on a nice spring or summer day. Given my options though, this wouldn't be my first choice as far as Kolschs go.

Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler - 7.25/10

Leinenkugel's Big Butt Doppelbock Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Big Butt Doppelbock
Style: Doppelbock
ABV: 5.8%

So apparently I had no idea Leinenkugel's made a beer with this amusing of a name. I give to you Big Butt Doppelbock, which I'll admit is fun to say. Doppelbocks are usually in the 7-10% range in terms of ABV but this one only clocks in at 5.8% so I'd be more tempted to call this a Bock beer. Also contrary to what some of you may be thinking (you know what I'm talking about....), this beer is reference to the two goats butting heads in the background since Bock is German for goat. Speaking of which....

Before I start this review, I'm going to pose a question to my readers: Why on earth is there NO Sir Mix-a-Lot references in the label description? All it talks about is the five different types of malted barley and it doesn't do so much as make a lyrical reference to Mix-a-Lot's classic. I'm kind of disappointed here.

Big Butt Doppelbock pours a dark but clear brown color with a relatively foamy khaki colored head. Not really getting anything in terms of lacing or carbonation.

The aroma is a mix of strong caramelized malts and roasted barley. I'm picking up on some chocolate notes and some very light adjunct grains.

Flavor-wise it starts out with some roastiness, caramel malts and even a hint of chocolate. This does, however, give way relatively quickly to moderate adjunct grains, some mild lingering hop bitterness and a touch of roastiness on the back end of the palate. The aftertaste is on the drier side with some adjunct grains and light caramel maltiness.

I should clarify one point: Just because a beer uses adjuncts in the brewing process does not mean I am ready to write it off and that is the case with this beer. In fact, I'd say my biggest gripe with this beer is that they're calling it a Doppelbock whereas I'd classify this more as a Bock based on the overall flavor. All and all, Big Butt Doppelbock is by no means the best (Doppel)Bock beer out there but I would gladly accept this again should someone offer this to me.

Leinenkugel's Big Butt Doppelbock - 7.5/10

Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat Review

Name: Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat
Style: Witbier
ABV: 4.9%

Tonight I've decided I'm going to review something that is a staple to beer drinkers here in the Midwest: Sunset Wheat by the Leinenkugel Brewing Company. If memory serves me correctly, this used to be a summer seasonal release only but it was since been added as a year-round release according to what Beer Advocate tells me.

I also had this beer for the first time a few years ago and thought it tasted rather fruity and thought it was pretty good. Although some would argue that would stem from my underdeveloped palate at the time, but let’s find out for ourselves, shall we?

Sunset Wheat pours a hazy orange color with a very thin head that quickly fade away after a few moments. There is no lacing left behind in the glass and the visible carbonation is pretty high

The nose consists mainly of malted wheat, light hops and a rather strong berry/fruity fruitness that encompasses the overall aroma. It still smells just like I remember it from a couple years ago.

The flavor is also very fruity-forward with some mixed berry notes along with some pale malts, light hops and wheat. The body is considerably light but heavily carbonated which gives it a very particular crispiness when you factor in the flavor.

Even though other beer reviewers are going to disagree with what I'm about to say, I still think this is a pretty good tasting beer. Even after all of the beers that I've had over these past couple years, I still can't find anything wrong with how it tastes. I mean, it doesn't taste amazing or anything of that sort but I just can't bring it upon myself to rip on this beer. I say give this beer a chance and let it speak for itself, and who knows, maybe you'll actually like it.

Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat – 8/10

Leinenkugel's Hoppin' Helles Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Hoppin' Helles
Style: Munich Helles
ABV: 5.5%

Leinenkugel's just added a new beer to their year round line-up called Hoppin' Helles. While it's nice to see that Leinenkugels is diversifying it's portfolio, I do find it rather odd; Especially when you consider Leinenkugels other year round offerings and let alone a large brewery adding a Helles-style beer to it's permanent line-up.

With that being said, I'm not really one to judge.....Ok, that doesn't really make a whole bunch of sense because I AM one to judge because we WILL be reviewing this beer.

Hoppin' Helles pours a pale yellow color with some mild looking carbonation. The head on this is filmy but has some foamy volume to it. As for lacing, there isn't a whole lot here.

The aroma starts out with a pale malt scent with some strong lemon zest, mild citrus hop notes, and grains/barley.

The flavor is very earthy and starts with some strong grassiness, lemon zest, citrus hops, barley, and a light malty backbone. Aftertaste is bitter yeasty/mild citrus hoppiness with a dry finish. For a beer that claims to be brewed with 5 types of hops, I didn't really get much of a hoppiness here.

The body is thankfully lightly carbonated and the overall weight of the beer is pretty light. It goes without saying that this is easy to drink.

I know Munich Helles aren't supposed to be overtly hoppy or malty, but Hoppin' Helles seems to be lacking those in both departments. Despite these complaints, this is actually not a bad beer but one that is very easy to drink and enjoyable as long as you don't expect too much.

Leinenkugel's Hoppin' Helles - 7/10

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
ABV: 8.5%

After a couple of weeks of waiting and searching, I've finally been able to snag a bottle of Leinenkugel's other Oktoberfest called "Uber-Oktoberfest" as part of their Big Eddy Series. I mentioned in an earlier review that the Big Eddy Series is the line-up of stronger beers to appeal to the craft beer drinking crowd which, in my opinion, has been fairly successful in making some good beers.

The other thing you'll probably notice about this beer is it's 8.5% ABV, which is very strong for this style of beer considering that most beers in this category fall in-between the 5-<6.5% range.

Uber-Oktoberfest pours a clear dark amber color with a foamy yet fizzy head that fades away after a few minutes. The lacing left behind is pretty good and rather sticky.

The nose kicks things off with a pretty strong citrus hoppiness and caramel malt notes up front. This is followed up by roasted barley & malts, yeasts and some mild nutty notes.

The flavor has some strong floral hop notes up front with  strong roasted barley, nuts, yeasty and citrus/grapefruit notes. Quite hoppy even for an Oktoberfest beer.

The body is fairly moderate in weight but it feels thick at the same time. The carbonation is actually quite mild compared to Leinie's other Oktoberfest beer.

Well the term "Uber" was properly utilized in the name because this is a strong tasting Oktoberfest. I thought this was rather good. It has some really strong flavors in it's profile, particularly with it's hops and is also bit boozy at the same time. If this were available in 6-packs (as opposed to 4) and a couple dollars cheaper this would be my go to Oktoberfest beer.

It's hard to describe how a stronger Oktoberfest beer tastes after having so many of them, so my advice to you is to try it out and make the call for yourself.

Leienkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest - 8/10


P.S. Keep your eyes open for a special review tomorrow night as I'm going to be looking at something completely different (and awesome!)

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Ryewine Ale Review

Up until I believe a couple years ago, the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company or Leinenkugel's (or Leinie's as it's known around here) was only really known for their Summer Shandy, Sunset Wheat and Original Lager. Last year I started noticing a special line of beers from Leinenkugel's called the "Big Eddy" series. It's a line-up of stronger ales meant to target the craft beer crowd; It's sort of ironic considering Leinenkugel's isn't even a craft brewer since they are owned by Miller Brewing and therefore don't qualify as a craft brewer.

I've had both the Big Eddy Wee Heavy Scotch Ale & Imperial IPA and while the Wee Heavy wasn't really anything to write home about and a bit boozy, the Imperial IPA was surprisingly good, very hoppy and pairs very well with a Spicy Jalapeno Pepperjack Cheeseburger.

This is the Big Eddy Ryewine Ale, it's a barleywine style ale with an ABV of 9.5%. As the name suggests, it's brewed with rye. Something which I wasn't a big fan of after my bad experience with Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye but it has since started to grow on me once again.

It pours a clear crimson color with a khaki-colored head and carbonation along the sides of the glass, The lacing along the sides of the glass are spotty here and there but there is some here.

The nose has a strong rye & citrus hop scent upfront and some caramel malts and yeasts. It's starting to remind me of Ruthless Rye IPA, I'm having flashbacks already from last year about one of the few drain pours I had to do because I couldn't handle it. I remember that cold February evening, trying it out for the first time in my kitchen. But alas, the rye was too much for me to handle and the hop balance was all wrong for me. I did a drain pour; I had to do it, it was the only way I could get rid of it. Why Sierra Nevada, why?! What did I do to you......?

Never again...................*sigh*..............

Anyway.....The flavor has a spicy rye and caramelized malts upfront followed by citrus hops, yeasts, ginger spices, and barley. The rye is a bit stronger here but flavor is very well balanced as a whole. The body is rather heavy in weight but with only some mild carbonation, so it allows you to enjoy the flavor.

Rye is still growing on me as a whole, but I found this to be quite tasty and well balanced. It doesn't blow me away by any means, but the other flavors help keep the rye in check which creates just the right amount of flavor variety, much like Surly SeVIIn. I'd say definitely give this a chance; It's not going to be for everyone but anyone looking for a different take on the Barleywine style that is done right should try this one out.

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Ryewine Ale - 8.5/10