Pabst Blue Ribbon Review

Name: Pabst Blue Ribbon
Brewed By: Miller Brewing Company
Style: Adjunct Lager
ABV: 4.74%

Where do I even begin with this?

Pabst Blue Ribbon or PBR, has seen a resurgence in recent years thanks to a previously untapped market, Hipsters. Say what you want about Hipsters, but you have to give them credit for bringing back a brand to the forefront of our culture.

But we're here to talk about PBR itself. It was originally brewed in Milwaukee, WI in the 1800's and reached it's peak in sales in the late 1970's. Even though the Pabst Brewing Company technically no longer exists, it is contact brewed out of Los Angeles, CA under a different company. As you may already know, they usually come in their trademark "tallboy" cans; I have yet to see an actual bottle of PBR. You can also find it in pretty much any liquor store and bar in America sitting next to the Schlitz and Old Style.

PBR pours a clear pale yellow color with a high amount of carbonation activity. The head starts out fluffy and soapy but quickly vanishes in just a couple of minutes.

The nose has a pale malts, cooked corn, cereal grains and barley scent. So far it smell pretty much like any typical Adjunct Lager but nowhere near as offensive. Flavor-wise you have your cooked corn, pale malts, lemon zest and some mild grassy notes. The aftertaste is also pretty dry as well.

The body is light and the carbonation is moderate and nowhere near as intense as Budweiser's carbonation, so it does have a crispness to it.

I'll put it to you straight: It is by no means a good beer at all, but if you're short on cash and want something that isn't cheap malt liquor, PBR does the job as long as you don't have high expectations. This beer also tastes better straight from the can and there is a reason for this; Because by pouring it into a glass, you're also getting a whiff of the odors which some would consider to be unpleasant and it ends up distorting your sense of taste. 

Pabst Blue Ribbon -  5/10

Flat Earth Winter Warlock Review

Finally, my last review of a winter seasonal until next winter, which will be in about 5 months if the weather here in Minnesota holds up the way it is. I decided after letting this age for 6 months, it was finally time to crack it open. I give you Winter Warlock from Flat Earth Brewing, which is an English Barleywine.

This is my first time aging a Barleywine and an English one at that. From what I gathered, English Barleywines tend to be maltier in character and sweeter, whereas American Barleywines tend to be more focused on the hops.

Winter Warlock pours a dark and mildly hazy orange color with a filmy head that has a surprisingly long lived retention rate. The carbonation activity inside the glass is also pretty high as well and I have never seen this in a Barleywine quite like this, whether it's due to the aging or not I do not know.

It has a rich & strong citrus hop, caramelized malt and grapefruit/fruity aroma, which reminds me of having a glass of Rosé wine.

The flavor is pretty consistant with the nose, with strong citrus hops, caramel, toffee, malts, barley and grapefruits. The aftertaste is fairly resiny and somewhat hoppy. Best of all, no booziness!

Despite the rather strong looking carbonation, in reality it's actually quite mild and smooth. The body is also moderate in weight and you're left with a surprisingly easy-to-drink Barleywine.

Winter Warlock is an excellent example as to how to do Barleywine correct and I can tell by the flavor it ages very well! The flavor is great and it's pretty smooth and easy on the palate. It also goes well with a good cheeseburger, not the McDonalds kind but a really good homemade one! Pick this up and age it for a few months, you won't be disappointed!

Flat Earth Winter Warlock - 9.25/10

Flat Earth Livid Planet Review

Name: Flat Earth Livid Planet
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6%

About a month and a half ago, I reviewed Flat Earth Brewing's Angry Planet Pale Ale, which is considered by some to be the brewery's own flagship beer though this is subject to debate amongst people I know. In the time since my review, Flat Earth just released a slightly hoppier, dry hopped version of Angry Planet called Livid Planet. From what I understand, it will be a year-round offering.

The label is fairly identical to Angry Planet, except it has an even more pissed off Earth getting messed up by hop-meteors and is retaliating by throwing hops back at the unfortunate soul who happens to be nearby. Planetary justice at it's absolute finest!

To start out, it pours a dark clear Amber color with a fairly frothy head and high amount of carbonation activity in the glass. It also leaves behind a good amount of lacing inside of the glass.

The nose had a pretty strong Citrus and Floral Hop notes upfront, with yeasts and toffee in the background. The flavor has some fairly strong floral and citrus hop notes upfront, supplemented by a malty-caramel sweetness. The finish is mainly a resin bitterness and barley-like. Aside from the higher hop levels, it tastes pretty much as the same as Angry Planet. In both the nose and the flavor, you can feel the dry hops at work.

Body wise, it's moderate in weight just like Angry Planet. The main difference here is that the carbonation is stronger here whereas it was more moderate in Angry Planet.

Although it's a good beer, Livid Planet suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Angry Planet reminded me of an English IPA because of it's sweetness and balanced flavor, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it. Livid Planet doesn't quite reach what some would consider to be an American IPA but I can't help but feel that the flavor is off-balance; It's like they took Angry Planet, threw more hops on top of it and didn't change anything else which I feels affects the overall quality of the flavor. It's a decent offering from Flat Earth Brewing, but if you want a better and more balanced beer, go with Angry Planet instead.

Flat Earth Livid Planet - 7.5/10

Lakefront 25th Anniversary Imperial Stout

Lakefront Brewing just recently celebrated their 25th year of operations and to celebrate, they will be releasing 4 Limited Edition beers in commemoration. The first one, which I will be reviewing today, is an Imperial Stout. The other beers planned are a Bourbon Doppelbock, Saison, and Brandy Barrel-Aged Pumpkin Ale, according to BeerPulse.

It pours a pitch black color with a brown-red colored head. It doesn't really leave behind any lacing and it finishes rather clean.

The nose has a nice aroma of Vanilla, Rum Raisin, Chocolate and Cocoa. Reminds me a bit of Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, but with more Vanilla. Flavor wise, it's very vanilla and chocolate heavy upfront, followed by a rum raisin and cherry notes and has a boozy aftertaste.

The body and carbonation are both fairly light and doesn't really feel like something you'd expect from an Imperial Stout. How one interprets this is a matter of opinion.

So how do I feel about this beer? It's got good, unique and somewhat robust flavor, thanks to the vanilla and cherry flavors but the booziness does hurt the flavor. The body also is a bit watery for this style of beer and feels out of place but that does make it easy to drink. I have had much worse Imperial Stouts than this, but for this particular style of beer it's very in the middle of the road

Lakefront 25th Anniversary Imperial Stout - 7.5/10

Founders Curmudgeon Review

Founders Brewing is a pretty well known brewery based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan (which was also named Beer City USA by Travel & Leisure.) They are also known for their KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout), Regular Breakfast Stout and a variety of other beers.

Curmudgeon (Kur-mud-gee-un) is an interesting beer. Aside from the old man leering back at you on the label, it is also classified as an Old Ale; Which is, as the name suggests, an old style of brewing from hundreds of years ago.

It pours a dark hazy orange color with a minute filmy head and leaves some lacing along the sides.

My first impression of the nose is a strong oak scent followed by some chocolate, caramel and citrus hops. It reminds me of an Oaked Arrogant Bastard from Stone Brewing. The flavor has some strong oak, caramel chocolate, raisin and citrus hop notes with a fairly strong malty backbone.

Thanks to the molasses used in the brewing process, the body is very very thick but it goes down incredibly easy because of it's light carbonation and smooth palate. There were a couple of lines of molasses floating around in the glass, which is probably left over from the brewing process; Not a deal breaker, but worth mentioning. The alcohol is very well masked here, impressive considering it's 9.8% ABV.

It may be hard to say, but Curmudgeon is a very good beer. The molasses could be a turn-off to some as this beer has it in spades and it's pretty evident in the palate. Aside from that you have an excellent beer!

Founders Curmudgeon - 9.25/10

Grand Teton Pursuit of Hoppiness Review

Grand Teton Brewing is a brewery based out of Idaho. Typically when I think of Idaho, the first thing that pops into my head is Napoleon Dynamite, not craft brewing. Nonetheless, I have had their Bitch Creek ESB and found it to be very good so we'll see how this is. This beer is called the "Pursuit of Hoppiness" and calls itself an Imperial Red Ale.

Pursuit of Hoppiness pours a dark hazy crimson color with some sticky lacing. The nose has some sweet malty, toffee & caramel notes backed up by some piney hops and yeasts. Flavor-wise, it has a pretty strong caramel flavor with a balanced mixture of piney hops, grapefruit, and yeast; The aftertaste is surprisingly dry considering how active the flavor itself is. The body is pretty heavy and the carbonation is pretty strong so you have to take your time with this one.

While I think that "Hoppiness" in it's name is a bit misleading, I still enjoyed this quite a bit! It strikes a good balance between it's malt and hop profile and the end result is a solid beer.

Grand Teton Pursuit of Hoppiness - 8/10

Schell's Goosetown Gose Review

Name: Schell's Goosetown Gose
Style: Gose
ABV: 5.2%

Schell's Goosetown is named after the Goosetown area of New Ulm, the city in which Schell Brewing is located. To honor this neighborhood, they have brewed a Gose style beer in their honor.

One thing I wanted to say before starting this review is that I am very unfamiliar with the Gose Style, so please forgive me if my opinion is somewhat off. From what I gathered it's a unfiltered wheat beer which is has coriander and salt added in. It's also a fairly old German style beer, but if this is inaccurate, please let me know

Goosetown pours a clear yellow color with a filmy head and a moderate amount of carbonation. Pretty clean and filtered look.

Nose has some cereal grains, yeasts, light honey & coriander notes. Pretty subdued scent, but it smells suspiciously like a Budweiser. The flavor is pretty consistant with that flavor with grains, light honey, and cooked corn. Again, it tastes like an adjunct lager and is pretty bland. The body is pretty lightweight but the carbonation is rather sharp.

As a Gose, I really can't make a determination if it's good or bad as I'm not familiar with a style. As a beer, I found the flavor to be quite plain; In other words, I wouldn't really recommend this beer. It could've been worse, but the shear blandness of the flavor makes it hard to really recommend

Schell's Goosetown Gose - 5/10