White Street IPA: a little too sweet, actually
Red Hook IPA: Smoother, less sweet, but almost not enough hops
KCCO Gold Lager: somewhat bland though might be decent as a summertime beer
Parallel 49 Salty Scot: much smoother & more delicious than expected. Usually these “gimmicky” beers have a weird chemical flavor, but not this one
Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs Of Christmas Ale: kind of gross, actually
Molson XXX – I’m pretty sure I haven’t had one of these since the late 90’s. Now we know why. These were marked down to 49 cents each at the Davidson store & I decided to scoop some up. The first sip was, “hmm…not that bad!” though this initial reaction soon soured. I don’t know what happened. But ½ of the bottle still sits in my fridge w/ the cap reapplied.
Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau Session Sour: this is beer? I’m wondering if they misplaced it from the soft drink aisle. Sharp citrus taste but not too sweet – surprisingly enough, this is actually good. The “session” part I think means you’re supposed to sit & drink a lot of them, though, & I really don’t see that happening.
Lonerider Shotgun Betty Hefeweizen Ale: pretty durn tasty. Smooth & rich. I’m usually not crazy about hefeweizens, so this is a pleasant surprise.
Wells Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale: some of that weird chemical flavor I was alluding to. Like a quart of motor oil with some nutty extract mixed in.
Brunehaut Organic Belgian Blond Ale: not terrible. Then again, I’ll tell you what this really reminds me of – it’s like 3:30am & you’re one of the last people standing at a party. You & a friend are quite hammered but have just found these, unexpectedly, in the kitchen, when here you’d been thinking there was no alcohol left in the house. And are now high fiving, observing that these are pretty decent.
After Party Pale Ale: sucks mightily. Like, what the fuck is this? As I’ve only ever seen this brand at Walmart, I have to conjecture they must have set up this “brewery” themselves in a warehouse somewhere. But pale ale it is not.
Dog Tag Legacy Lager: Pabst decides to join the craft beer movement, with so-so results. The highlight is definitely its cool packaging. Not bad, but do yourself a favor & pour this in a frosty mug.
Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout: A trifle more bitter than you might expect from a stout, but quite delicious. It also seems to pack an unexpected wallop, if you know what I mean – but then again, I’m kind of a lightweight these days.
RJ Rockers Bell Ringer Double Pale Ale: I don’t know why I bother with this product line. Everything I’ve ever had from this company ranges from middling to terrible. Looking at the label, I see this is made in Spartanburg, SC. For some reason this calls to mind that the only other thing I know about Spartanburg, having never been there, is that it gave us the Marshall Tucker Band. Would members of the Marshall Tucker Band drink this crap? Just thinking about it makes me laugh. So maybe that’s the ultimate test, the question one should ask oneself when considering a beverage. As far as a rating goes, eh, this is the best product I’ve had from RJ Rockers…but that isn’t saying much, trust me.