Viru

      Viru is an Estonian beer that comes in a very cool bottle.  I mean a really cool bottle.  But, we are mainly concerned by how it tastes.  It pours out a light gold with a very citrus nose with a hint of hop.  Viru is very clean and crisp with light hops, caramel and citrus notes.  This is a really nice beer that I could drink any time.  Refreshing, but with enough flavor and character to really enjoy.  Combined with the sexy, sexy bottle, Estonia could take over the world.  Seriously, you need to give this stuff a try.

Negra Modelo

      After the Landshark fail I thought I would try some real Mexican beer.  Negra Modelo is a Mexican dark beer which usually means a lighter refreshing dark, not very heavy.  Negra pours out a medium brown and has a honey, light mocha and fresh mild hop nose.  Nice flavor as well. There's a consistent hop all the way through with light mocha, and toffee flavors.  there's some body to this beer, but it's refreshing and easy drinking.  this is a nice summer beach beer.  The perfect dark companion to Sol, my favorite beach beer.  A couple of cases should get you through the rest of the summer  Cheers, drink up my friends.

Landshark Lager

      Landshark Lager is a Mexican style lager like Sol or corona.  But should we ditch these traditional favorites for this newcomer?  We shall see.  Landshark is light gold with a mild hop and moldy caramel nose.  Well that's a bad sign.  The taste is better than I thought it would be, with nice caramels and some perky hop.  There's a touch off that moldy taste on the finish.  Next we shall try it with the lime.  It's decent with lime, which eliminates the funky nose.  Still there is no way I would pick this over a Sol or Corona.  Not impressed.

Heavy Seas Prosit! Imperial Octoberfest

      A pirate themed beer will kick off my series of posts from the Outer Banks.  I like Heavy Seas because they make beer with much yummy alcohol and don't overcharge for it.  Imperial Octoberfest is such a stunning concept.  Take one of my favorite styles and kick it up a notch.  Up to 8% ABV.  But have they succeeded or failed?  This beer pours out a dark amber and you can see the body in it.  Prosit is sweet and thick.  Heavy on the smoky toffee, rich caramels and yummy strong.  There's strong hop in here, but is well balanced by the other powerful flavors.  After a few of these I would gladly clamp a cutlass in my teeth and swing aboard enemy vessels.  Can't wait to have my next Prosit, it.s fantastic.

Lagunitas Lucky 13

      For my 100th post I was looking for something interesting to try.  Lucky 13 seemed to fit the bill.  My first child was born on the 13th and I've always seen it as a lucky number.  It also has 8.3% ABV which I also consider lucky.  Lucky pours out a very orange clear amber and has a pleasant strong herbal hop nose.  There's some caramel and citrus under there as well.  There be some monster hop here.  There's a strong hop presence forward, getting stronger, than opening up a bit to reveal the malts, herb and citrus.  The hop on the finish builds as well, and gets really strong.  Wow, that dumps a lot of bitter in the back of the mouth.  However, the high alcohol really comes through giving it a nice mouth feel.  I like this despite it's massive hops and it does tone down a bit as you drink it.  This one is rescued by the big alcohol and nice body which offset the hops.  Leaving you with a good overall drinking experience.                                                                                      

Jumping Cow Amber Ale

      Jumping Cow is from the Steinhaus Brewery which has no web site.  However, this stuff is available at Trader Joe's and they appear to have a connection.  The Cow pours a classic amber and has an herbal nose with some background caramels.It comes off as O.K. with decent balance, but something is a little off here.  The body is alright.  Maybe the hop is a bit off putting.  Not the amount, but a strange herbal note that I find unpleasant.  As I continue to quaff it I find it quite drinkable.  But this is way down my list of the amber's I've had.  There is just way better out there, no need to go here again.

Trader Jose Dark

      This is Trader Joe's version of a Mexican dark like Negra Modelo.  TJ's usually has good stuff, so here it goes.  It's a medium brown with rich caramel, mocha and a hint of crisp hop on the nose.  In this case the nose is correct as there is a rich caramel mocha flavor. The hops are with you throughout with a strong tingle on the tongue.  This is very similar to Negra Modelo, which is a good thing.  This is a nice lighter dark beer that goes well with the warm weather.  It' nice and refreshing, balanced and flavorful but drinkable.  I would get this again, it's very nice, I like it.

Sam Adam's Pale Ale

      Another Pale Ale to look at while I'm on the subject.  It pours out a nice medium gold, very different from the Kirkland's.  There is a lot of lovely caramel here with a whiff of hop.  This is actually pretty crisp with a fair amount of hop up front.  However that quickly subsides and the nice caramels come out.  Again, on the finish you get a bit more  hop.  This is a bit hop heavy, but I like it, you can at least discern the other flavors.  This is a decent Pale Ale that I might drink again, but I would not seek it out.

Kirkland Pale Ale

      Kirkland is the house brand for Costco, and their stuff tends to be pretty decent.  There's strong caramels and crisp hop on the nose and it pours a surprisingly dark amber.  This has a lot of hop up front.  There are some caramels and herbal flavors but the hop overwhelms a bit.  It's crisp and somewhat drinkable, however I wish there was some more sweetness to balance out the bitter.  This is not a winner in my book.  If you forced me at gun point to drink ten I could probably do it. But I'm not going out to buy any.

The Raven

      I just went to Otakon so I thought I,d look at one of the beers I found up there in Baltimore.  The Raven is a  Special Lager made by the Baltimore-Washington Beer Works.  To me associating Washington and Baltimore is like associating gold bars and cow pies.  Actually, Baltimore is a nice city to visit.  And if you stick to the Inner Harbor you might not get robbed or murdered.  Anyway, It pours out a light amber and has some crisp fragrant hop and rich caramels on the nose.  The flavor is lush with caramel, as well as a touch of herb and citrus.  The hop is very strong throughout in a very good way.  There's a very refreshing crispness and overall balance of flavors.  This is a very good beer for any occasion,  I would try and track some down Quickly.  Next time I'm in B-more I will get some of this on tap.  That would be even better.  A nice beer.

Super Bock

      Super Bock is from Portugal, and I could not resist the name.  Things that are SUPER must be better.  Super Bock pours out golden with a very white head.  It's got a peppery hop, and caramel thing going on with nose.  Wow this has a lot of hop up front but it fades to very little on the finish. This is the definition of crisp. The caramels really come out and shine after the initial rush.  This is similar to San Miguel, but better, a good summer beer.  Crisp, refreshing and very drinkable, I could have many more.  Don't mind if I do.  Portugal wins.

Full Sail Session Black Ale

      Full Sail from Oregon made an amber I liked so I thought I'd check some of their other products out.  The Black Ale pours out a dark brown with a fresh mocha and mild hop nose.  This is one of those lighter dark beers.  It has a nice smoky mocha flavor with mild hop bite.  The malts are in their full glory here.  This is a flavorful, but highly drinkable dark beer.  I will enjoy more of these to be sure. Good any time of year.  And I love the little stubby bottles.

Pike Heirloom Amber Ale

      Once again I'm grabbing a big bottle of Pike.  Their stuff has been so good I have a hard time resisting.  Heirloom pours out a classic amber and has scents of rich caramel and herbal bitter hop.  This stuff has lots of rich caramels up front, than the hops come up very strong.  However they don't overwhelm the other flavors.  This is an excellent example of a very hop heavy beer that still has balance of flavors.  This is crisp, refreshing and flavorful.  I could drink this stuff all day.  Pike once again has produced a real winner, and if it wasn't for their undrinkable stout they would have a perfect record. Go get it.

Wacko vs Summer Solstice

Of all the summer beers I tried only two stood out to me as interesting or even any good. Wacko, a beet beer, from Magic Hat and Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice. These are both beers you should go out and try, but there can be only one. Wacko still pours out pink and has heavy caramels, a hint of beet and some sweet hop on the nose. Solstice is copper to light brown and has some mocha and citrus with its caramels. But how does it taste you ask? The Wacko is strong on the lush caramels, with a hint of mocha and honeyed beet. There is something here that just works. Balance between sweet and bitter, etc. What about the Solstice. Wow, chocolate, caramel, and a milky, creamy flavor. There's also a nice hop bite that lingers, but is not at all bitter. This beer is full of yum and really different in a very good way. Same can be said of the Wacko. I'm gonna start hitting these sip for sip. Both these beers stand up well to one another, but the Solstice is so good and really unique. I think the Solstice is the clear winner for me. However, I could tip either of these back all day long. Of the other summer beer, the Blackberry Witt and Odd Notion #10 were pretty decent and the Summerfest was O.K. The rest sucked.I hate you summer beers.