Mike Loves Beer -

Festina Pêche

June 18, 2010

Name – Festina Pêche
Country – United States
Type – Berliner Weisse

Appearance – Poured a cloudy pale yellow color with a white head that was gone pretty quickly.

Smell – Light lemony smell and an ever so slight smell of peaches.

Taste – Tart, sour lemon right up front. Good carbonation. Light in body and easy to drink. No peach presence in the taste that I get.

Let me say that I love this style and wish there were more that I could readily get my hands on. Not beats this 90+ degree heat and 5000% humidity in South Florida much like a nice Berliner Weisse. I had been waiting for this to come out for awhile and have gone through 2 four packs since I have been back in Florida (about 5 days) and plan on many more. Plus it will be on tap this Saturday for the MikeLovesBeer.com 2nd Anniversary Party at the Coffee District.

Overall Grade – A

Damnation

June 17, 2010

/ Beer Review /

2 Comments

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

Appearance – Pours a very cloudy straw yellow color with a big fluffy white head.

Smell – Sweet malts and yeast with some peppery like spices. Slightly boozy in the nose.

Taste – Sweet fruit, I get some banana in it. Some lemony characteristics. Yeasty like a typical Belgian. Slight alcohol burn.

This is a much talked about one from Russian River. Well a lot of their beers are talked about a lot. But I saw it and decided to pick up a bottle when in PA. I’m starting to realize I’m not that big of a fan of the golden Belgian styled beers. It’s not that I think they are bad. It’s just that a lot of them taste the same to me. I prefer the darker Belgians and the funky ones. This one is slightly different but still kind falls there. I think for the style it is better than others I have had but I probably won’t go out of my way to get it again.

Sorry about the pictures. I just couldn’t get any good ones to come out right.

Overall Grade – B-

Flying Fish Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA

June 16, 2010

/ Beer Review /

5 Comments

Name – Flying Fish Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA
Country – United States
Type – American Double IPA

Appearance – Poured a pretty cloudy orange color with a big white head that left some lacing on the glass.

Smell – The citrusy hops are dry in nature and pretty much all I get in the nose.

Taste – More citrus hops again with grapefruit and lemon being there. There is a floral presence as well that leaves the mouth a little dry.

I made it a point to try one of Flying Fish’s Exit Series while I was on vacation and I came across this one in the Wegmans in Warrington. I remember when this came out and was interested by the name saying wild rice but there is no real smell or taste of rice in this. A pretty standard double IPA here. It was worth the try.

Overall Grade – B-