1001 Beers

Beer No: 104
Page No: 400
Category: Blonde

Yeah, so maybe that's not the proper way to pour a beer, but hell, it's a pilsener, and a poor one at that.  Tasting of skunky beer, there's not much that can help this brew rise from the depths.  I still can't fathom why breweries continue to use green bottles.  Perhaps they're just trying to emulate Heineken skunk flavors?

In unrealted news, it appears that Stone may be heading to England.  I knew they were looking for a European base of operations, so where better than in an old, closed-up brewery?  The Birmingham Post reports that Stone might be interested in bidding on the old Highgate Brewery.  Seems like a perfect fit to me.  The only place that would fit them better I think is Estonia - get it? E-STONE-IA...haha.

The Stone Brewing Company, based in Escondido, California, is thought to be lining up a bid for the listed building and the brewing equipment from the 112-year-old Black Country brewery, which has been up for sale since the previous brewers collapsed earlier in the summer.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Jever Pilsener by Jever (Oetker Group)

Aroma: 2/10
Appearance: 2/5
Taste: 4/10
Palate: 2/5
Overall: 5/20

Rating: 1.5 / 5.0

11.2oz. green bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours clear golden yellow with heavy carbonation and good head. Aroma is skunky - can’t really get any malts or hops. Taste is standard pils with skunky grains and grass. Not my cup o’ tea. Why do breweries still insist on using green bottles?

Beer No: 98
Page No: 418
Category: Blond

It's always tough to review a pilsner.  Most of the time, they're watered down, lack any real flavor, and are hard to objectively rate from one to another.  Every once in a while though, you come across a pilsner that has more flavor then all the others and is actually able to be differentiated from all the other so-called "pilsners" out there like Bud, Coors, and Miller (technically they're American Lagers, but they derive directly from the classic pilsners).

So it's nice to come across the Lagunitas Pils, which as Lagunitas founder Tony Magee states, "This is our best beer."  Now, I'd disagree on that, but I do think that the Lagunitas Pils is a damn fine beer, able to hold itself against other imported pilsners, like Pilsner Urquell and other "true" pilsners from the region.  The Lagunitas Pils is pretty much your standard pilsner with a clear yellow appearance and a nice white head and good carbonation.  It features a slight bit of hops on the nose and a slight bitterness on the end.  It's easy to drink like almost any pilsner and really quenches a thirst.  But complex it is not.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Lagunitas Pils by Lagunitas Brewing Company

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 12/20

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

12 oz. bottle. Pours clear, golden yellow with good white head and slight lacing. Aroma is of slight hops and a bit of bread with malts. Body is light like most pilsners with a clean, crisp flavor of malts with a slightly bitter hop finish. A nice, drinkable pilsner.

Beer No: 78
Page No: 327
Category: Blond

I think I've done it.  I've found a way to have a beer from a team playing each day during the World Cup round robin.  After that, I'll have to see who advances.  If England, Germany, and the U.S. advance, that makes it easy on me, but any South American team will present a challenge - especially when you see what my Day #5 pick has to be.

Day 1: Mexico - Cucapa Barleywine Ale

Day 2: An English or American stout (my stout party is that day)

Day 3: Australia - Coopers Best Extra Stout

Day 4: Denmark - Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

Day 5: Brazil - Xingu (I have to take Brazil early due to New Zealand, Slovakia, Ivory Coast, Portugal, and North Korea being the other teams playing that day - all of which I could find no beers for).

Day 6: Switzerland - L'Abbaye St. Bon-Chien (my find of the day, a $25 bottle of beer)

Day 7: France - 3 Monts

Day 8: Germany - TBD (I picked up about 10 German beers today)

Day 9: Japan - Hitachino White

Day 10: Italy - TBD (I have a couple Italian beers around)

Day 11: Spain - Estrella Damm

Day 12: France - La Goudale (unfortunately, this ends my French beers, so if they advance, I will have to hunt down more)

Day 13: England - TBD

Day 14: Japan - Angry Boy Brown

Day 15: Spain - Alhambra Negra

And that ends the round robin round.  Starting the day after, June 26th is bracket play, so I'll just have to wait and see how the brackets will fill out before I can start to plan the next round of drinking.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Bitburger Premium Pils from Bitburger Brauerei Th. Simon

Aroma: 3/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 4/10
Palate: 2/5
Overall: 8/20

Rating: 2.0 / 5.0

12 oz. bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours clear yellow with good fizz, no head, no lacing. Aroma is non-existent, a little sweet, a little lager-ish. Taste is bland, watery, devoid of flavor. Easy to drink, maybe a bit better than the Buds and Coors of the world, but still, that’s nothing to be proud of. Finishes with a slight hop bitterness, but nothing special.