Mike Loves Beer

Name – Satsuma Harvest Wit
Country – United States
Type – Witbier

Appearance – Pour a pretty hazy straw yellow color with a big white head.

Smell – Wheat and orange rind seem to be the main things I get.

Taste – Wheat, bitter orange, coriander and some other spices to it.  Has a pretty dry finish.

With the summer coming to a close I figure I would have a few of the left over summer beers I had picked up.  I had the Abita Strawberry wit when that was out and found it very unique so I picked this up.  Nothing really unique here though.  It is a pretty straight forward witbier, not that there’s anything wrong with that.  There is probably a bit more orange presence than normal but orange is pretty typical in this style.  I thought it was good for what it was but there are some other wits that I would rather have for the summer.

Overall Grade – C+

Posted September 2nd, 2010 by Mike | Tags: Abita Brewing Company | Category: Wheat, White Ale |  Email This Post | Comments (1)

Name – Prickly Pear Braggot (Brothers’ Reserve Series)
Country – United States
Type – Braggot

Appearance – Poured an absolutely clear orange color.  There was a super thin white head but it was gone before I could even snap a picture.

Smell – Honey and booze is pretty much all I get in the nose.  Kind of smells like rubbing alcohol.

Taste – Super sweet honey flavor with a really strong alcohol backing through out.  The booze gets even more intense as it warms up.

I’ll admit I was hooked into buying this because of the box it came in (no pic sorry) and now kind of regret it.  I’ve only had one other braggot before and that was Brooklyn Buzz Bomb.  That beer wasn’t nearly as intense as this one.  This was just honey and alcohol.  It was rough to drink cold and close to undrinkable when it warmed up.  I don’t know which one I got a more classic braggot out of but if this is what the style is like I might pass on future braggots.  I’m sorry Widmer Brothers.  I like your Drifter Pale Ale and the Hefe is solid but this just wasn’t good at all to me.

Overall Grade – D-

Posted September 1st, 2010 by Mike | Tags: Widmer Brothers Brewing | Category: Braggot, Grade D |  Email This Post | Comments (3)

Name – He’Brew Rejewvenator 2010
Country – United States
Type – Doppelbock

Appearance – Pours a mostly clear dark red color with a thin off white head.

Smell – Dark fruit really is the main scent.  There is some faint malt character too.

Taste – You most certainly get the grapes in this but there are other dark fruit flavors in there as well.  A malty bready presence comes out as well.  There is a Belgian like yeast characteristic to it that really makes this seem more like the Dubbel half of the beer over the Doppelbock.  As it warms up you get the alcohol as well.

This is He’Brew’s 2010 Rejewvenator and it is called the Year of the Grape.  It also says it is part Doppelbock and part Dubbel.  I definitely get more Dubbel character out of this thanks to the grape.  I wasn’t sure what to think of this going in.  I didn’t know if it was going to just taste like an alcoholic grape juice or what.  But I was very happy when it tasted a lot like a traditional Belgian Dubbel.  Who woulda thunk it?  But I really enjoyed this effort at something different.

Overall Grade – B+

Posted August 31st, 2010 by Mike | Tags: He'brew Beers | Category: Doppelbock, Grade B |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Some of you may recall the Coffee District as the location of the MikeLovesBeer.com 2 Year Anniversary party back in June.  Well now it’s time for the Coffee District to celebrate their own birthday.

This whole upcoming weekend CD will be having their birthday in style and it all kicks off this Thursday, September 2nd.  Chung was one of only two bars in South Florida to get a keg of Coton from the Bruery, which is the Bruery’s 2nd Anniversary brew.  And it will be getting tapped Thursday night and will be on all weekend while it lasts.  This is an incredible beer that I believe all beer geeks need to try.  And this is an extremely rare keg that you won’t find really anywhere else.  I don’t see it lasting the entire weekend so you better get out and try it while you can.

Also Thursday will include musical entertainment from Soup and Richard King along with the comedy stylings of Furious Rod.  There is also the potential for much more guest appearances.  Who knows maybe yours truly will give a quick little set.  Hmmmm.

Friday and Saturday nights will be your typical karaoke and open mic nights and all those regulars will be happy to continue celebrating throughout the weekend.

So you better get yourself out this weekend to the Coffee District one of these days.  I say you should go Thursday so you don’t miss out on getting to try Coton off tap.

Posted August 30th, 2010 by Mike | Tags: Coffee District, The Bruery | Category: Beer Events |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name – Mischief
Country – United States
Type – Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Appearance – Poured a cloudy orangish color with a big fluffy white head.  It leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass.

Smell – The Belgian yeast stands out to me along with citrus and fruity hops.  Some pineapple I get in there.

Taste – Very nice piny, citrusy hop character mixes with the yeast taste very nicely.  There is a slight, ever so slight funk to it.  You get some spices as well including a bit of a black pepper like quality.

According to the Bruery’s website they are going to be making Mischief all year round now.  That’s awesome news because when it first came down here my local store didn’t get any bottles.  Well this is from the newest shipment and I love the new bottle caps they have now instead of the plain gold ones they use to have.  This is a great beer.  An awesome hop character mixes well with the Belgian yeast on it.  I would put this up against any other Belgian IPA styles.

Overall Grade – A-

Posted August 27th, 2010 by Mike | Tags: The Bruery | Category: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Grade A |  Email This Post | Comments (2)

For a little while I have been brainstorming an idea of doing a podcast dedicated to beer.  I kind of stopped for a little bit of time until recently.  I had the site pretty much designed out.  I had the domain purchased.  Just didn’t have anyone to do it with.  Well low and behold my good friend Phil from Dos Beerigos was up to the task and with that United We Drink was born.

Phil had been doing some video blogs for a little while and I just figured he would be a perfect fit for this venture.  So we negotiated and I was able to land Phil’s vocal services for an undisclosed amount of time.  Phil was pretty much sold on the idea and name.

Last night we recorded our first episode.  Tonight I will be editing it and tomorrow I will have the episode up.  So head on over to http://www.unitedwedrink.com/ and check things out.  Subscribe to the RSS feed to stay up to date and be sure to follow @UnitedWeDrink on Twitter.

We hope you enjoy listening as much as we are going to enjoy making the podcasts.  Cheers!

Posted August 26th, 2010 by Mike | Tags: United We Drink | Category: Announcement, Beer News |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name – Lord Chesterfield Ale
Country – United States
Type – American Pale Ale

Appearance – Pours a very clear orangish/yellow color.  There was a big fluffy white head but it was gone pretty quickly and didn’t leave much lacing.

Smell – The smell is mostly grainy and malty but you do pick up a slight hop profile there.

Taste – Pretty similar to the smell.  It is grainy and malty.  I hate saying the same thing but it really was.  Very clean and crisp.  Light in body.

Another one of the recent Yuengling additions to South Florida is the Lord Chesterfield Ale.  Funny story that when I went on the brewery trip in the Summer of 2008 the tour guide mentioned this is the only ale that Yuengling brews.  Umm did they forget about their yummy porter that they make?  Anyway this is a pretty light and easy drinking beer.  I found it very sessionable like most of the Yuengling line.  Plus being from PA I have a soft spot in my heart for them.

Overall Grade – C+

Posted August 25th, 2010 by Mike | Tags: Yuengling Brewery | Category: Grade C, Pale Ale |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

I posted this a few months back when it was first announce and now the time is almost here.  Tomorrow at the Total Wine in Pembroke Pines, FL you have the chance to meet Brooklyn Brewery’s head brewmaster, author and food pairing extraordinaire Garrett Oliver.

He is making a very rare appearance here in South Florida and will be pouring samples of Brooklyn brews as well as signing bottles and books.  This is an amazing chance for anyone in South Florida (that isn’t going to Jack Johnson) to meet a legend in the craft beer community.  So if you have the time I insist that you come out.  Hell if you don’t have the time, make some.  This is a great opportunity and you won’t regret it.

The event starts at 6:30 pm and will run until 7:30 so be sure you are there.  Yours truly will be there so if you see me say hi.

Total Wine and More
15980 Pines Boulevard
Pembroke Pines, FL 33027

Posted August 23rd, 2010 by Mike | Tags: Brooklyn Brewery | Category: Beer Events |  Email This Post | Comments (2)

Name – Rogue Double Chocolate Stout
Country – United States
Type – American Imperial Stout

Appearance – Poured pitch black in color with a nice sized brown head.

Smell – Straight up smells like powdered chocolate that you would use for chocolate milk as a kid.

Taste – Obviously there is more chocolate here and it has a bitterness to it as well that interacts with the chocolate excellently.

Rogue has always been hit or miss to me but I am a fan of their regular Chocolate Stout so I leaped at the chance to try this one.  Amazing chocolate aroma and flavors in it.  I wouldn’t say that it is a perfect as Southern Tier Choklat but it’s definitely up there.  I really enjoyed sipping this all through the evening.  Yeah the bottle will be a bit expensive and I don’t by any means think it warrants that cost but it is definitely a good beer and if you have a few extra bucks to burn then I say do it on this one.

Overall Grade – A

Posted August 23rd, 2010 by Mike | Tags: Rogue Ales | Category: Grade A, Imperial Stout, Stout |  Email This Post | Leave a comment