¶ Episode Introduction
Grab a beer and pull up a chair . Welcome to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast . Hey , ladies and gentlemen , welcome back to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast . This is Mike , the Northwoods Beer Guy , and I don't know if you can hear in the background , but we are back in the Northwoods , so you know what that means .
That means I am here with BK , Absolutely so dude . This is our first episode from the Northwoods this season .
This season , absolutely . It's more like it's not even summer . I think we're back to spring .
It's been out of order the entire year now , so we're sitting outside , as you can probably hear , but we're in sweatshirts and pants because it's like 50 degrees 55 degrees out . Something like that and it's , which is good for beer , but not for us , yeah , yeah .
So I hope everybody out there , all you guys , had a happy Father's Day last Sunday , and I know we did , so hopefully it'll be a good summer the rest of the time and have some more beers Absolutely so awesome . Well , you brought an interesting selection of beers here , so I'm going to let you kind of give the background on what .
What we have where they came from , how they got here , Uh , and , and we'll kind of go from there , if that's all right , Absolutely so . So Wes , my son , who's been on a few podcasts , uh , is in the Navy and he's stationed out in Virginia .
So for his birthday his mother went out and visited him and probably made him clean his apartment and all that kind of stuff that moms do , and he decided to send back five different beers from Virginia . One of them is his go-to , that he likes . But I think there are what ? Three different breweries . I believe One , two , three , four different breweries .
Four yeah .
And just a selection . Now he's a little more on the . He likes the fruited sours and he likes the fruited beers more than you and I typically do . But yeah , it's an interesting selection . I was impressed with what he did . Now I know also that he's right beside a Kroger . He can walk to this Kroger .
And his mother was a little disappointed that they didn't shop at Kroger . They went to Walmart . First of all , walmart's cheaper , but second , she didn't know that you could drink while you shop in Kroger . They have a little bar there .
Hold on a second . You can drink and shop while you Kroger is like a grocery store , right , correct , correct .
So their carts actually have cup holders on them .
So kudos to Kroger for the love of everything that's only we need to get a Kroger close to us , then we need it several right yeah , or you know it doesn't have be a .
I would be okay as long as it's not a Target or Walmart or if they just put craft beer on tap .
You know , it's always funny , because when I go to the grocery store I'm sure you have done this before but you eat that one grape to see if it's , and then I'm paranoid , thinking that they thought I stole it .
They're following you .
I can't believe what they'd do if I cracked open a six pack .
No , no kidding , and have the evidence . Yeah , have a glass while you're wandering through the store . So , uh , so yeah , she was a little disappointed . They didn't shop there , they went to walmart , but uh , he has a really nice .
They have aisles of craft beer in that particular kroger interesting and the few times I've been in kroger's down towards the south , um , they've always had a pretty good beer selection , so , uh , this would be interesting .
Yep , yep , for sure . And , ladies and gentlemen , if you remember , when we were in Florida , wes was on , I think , three podcasts .
Two or three for sure . Two or three for sure .
So yeah , we were down there last year with him and went to some places in Florida that I had never heard of or been to . I know you had been to them before , but here again . He moved to Virginia , Virginia and now we get to
¶ Virginia Beer Selection Background
try beers that , like I said , I don't think I've ever heard any of these breweries .
So it's going to really be interesting . We know the state that's about it , yeah .
Yeah , now we do . We also talked earlier that if we like these , we'll be like hey , you know , our palates are it shows how our palates are changing , and developing and how we like any kind of beer . If we don't like them , then we're going to ask Wes , how can you drink this ?
stuff . It's entirely his fault . That's exactly how it's going to be so .
yeah , you know best of both worlds for us Absolutely .
We're going to win either way , exactly .
Well , hey , we might as well get going . So I guess the first one we have is from , is it Ballad ? I think it's called rainbow sherbet or sherbet , however you want to say it . It's a sour , it says fruited sour and it says a classic treat with a little tartness .
We took our house sour and added rainbow sherbet and a touch of lactose for a creamy , fruit-forward dessert sour . This should be interesting . Like you said , I know Wes kind of likes the fruited beers and such .
So we'll see , this is an absolute rainbow of a can .
Oh yeah , it's pretty crazy .
We'll have to pull this one off and stick it on the bar . For those that don't know , we pull the labels off and stick them on the bar at Mike's place . Yeah , if they're a cool label . Now I'm curious is it going to be orange ? Is it going to be pink ?
Yeah , is it going to be green ? Is it going to be ? Yeah , that should be interesting . I don't of muddled color , it's hard to say . That's kind of just turns out , it's just beer , beer color what man ?
we had our hopes up and just beer . If we wait long enough , maybe it'll change .
It might change , yeah it definitely cannot see through it . It is cloudy it is cloudy and there's floaters boy . The aroma is tart . That's very smart . Uh , I smelled it and my mouth started to water from like the tart reaction you know , yeah , it's not sour , that's .
We've talked a lot about that .
but I thought it would be a little sweeter .
You know what I mean .
Listening to that description and kind of the trend in sours nowadays . They're real sweet , but this is like you said , it's tart , it's not sour .
No , there's a difference . Sour beers I don't like necessarily , but yeah , I'm starting to get hints of other stuff . It's pretty cold yet .
Yeah , I don't know what the it's probably not going to warm up a whole lot yeah probably not .
We're almost ambient , I'm sure yeah .
Boy . I wish it would have said a little bit more . Well , if it's rainbow , then typically that rainbow sherbet is .
Berries . There's berries in there of some sort of you know , something like that . It doesn't have a bad flavor , no , and the tartness goes away .
Yeah it doesn't make your jaws clench too bad . Right , you have that initial kind of tart on the swallow and then it kind of goes away real quick . So it's not not bad , no , it's interesting .
It's , um , it's kind of basic . I don't want to say it's bad , it's basic , it's tart . I get some fruit , I get some citrus and then that's about it . Like I don , I don't the lactose , I'm lacking . Like I don't , I don't believe I get the sweetness from the lactose , and maybe they just have a little bit in there .
Yeah , and typically like a milk stout or things like that , it makes it kind of a smoother mouthfeel . I don't really pick that up on this one either .
This one's tart enough that it still it might eat it away . It still eats away at it a little bit yeah .
I guess I can see how Wes could drink it . You know , it's not , it's not terrible at all . Um , I don't know if I could drink a full pint . Can I might start , or , dan , you might get a little . This is liquid heartburn . Heartburn , right , if it were hot out .
Wes and and Noel and Wes both said he had not had any of these except for the for one of his go-to . One of these is his go-to beer . We'll talk about it in a minute . But they tried all of them cause they came in four packs or six packs , but he yeah , he hadn't had any of these except for one , uh , previously .
Okay .
He was doing kind of , he was doing a tasting as well . Well , there you go .
Yeah , it's . I guess I could have saw if they had maybe had a little bit more of a fruit flavor , I think . Just my personal opinion . It's almost like they . I'm not going to say they missed the boat , but I think there was a definite potential for a little bit more fruity flavor to it . Yep , it's basic .
Yeah , I will bet their basic sour is pretty tart , pretty tart .
I bet you're right , because if they , you know , added lactose to this and and fruit . And fruit , yeah , and whatever else they put in there , it'd be really tart , Really tart .
Yeah , that would make your jaws clench right and honestly it gets . I get a little bit of an IPA or a citra hops , Like there's almost an IPA smell to it .
Yeah , like I said , like the grapefruity smell . Yeah , see , the first thing I noticed , just that tart smell . So you knew it was going to be tart but , like you said perfectly , it goes away instantly .
Yeah , I mean it lingers a little , very little . Some of those were . Some of those that are super , super tart , Like when you were a kid and had too many sweet tarts in the movies and you like the Diet Coke won't make it go away . Yeah .
There you go . That's a good representation or a good comparison .
And it is cloudy as can be , as cloudy as our skies are right now . It is cloudy . It's not a filtered beer at all .
Boy that is that is interesting . It's interesting , like I said . I just I think it would be liquid heartburn eventually you know , yeah , if you had four of these four pack or whatever I'd be like . Oh yeah , no , I don't . You'd be right in the I have two beers and two Mephrizol . Where's ?
the Tums at . I'm going to pour just a little more and see if I get more . Yeah , I'll take a little bit more too , if you would , and see if .
It's like I said , it's not bad , but I just I wish they had a little bit more .
Yeah , I did turn the can several times to .
I just think that part they might've missed it just a little bit , I think so .
They had a lot of potential there , Cause I know you've had it and I've had rainbow sherbet , yeah , sherbet , Uh before and there's so many different flavors in it and it's just like I said I , I I feel like the , the sourness or tartness I should say I'm sorry , the tartness kind of overpowers or overshines everything , you , everything , you know you don't get
like a flavor like I was expecting there's no defining flavor to it .
It's it's very citrusy yeah um , which is not disappointing , but it's I . I expected more sweetness if it's going to be , if it's going to be , the sherbet yeah and those of you that think we're being silly , if you actually look at the word that you've pronounced sherbert , your whole life there's .
no , it's not a silent , it's an invisible one , exactly .
I would say on this one , if we're going to start talking numbers , I can't go with three on it . I'm thinking probably around a two , seven , two , eight . It's not bad Right .
Yeah , oh , I'm sorry , keep going .
I expected a little more . When I'm looking on the can and there's ice cream on it and I'm thinking lactose and a little sweetness . I didn't get any of that . So it's not a bad sour . It's more tart than sour , which I'm happy about , but I felt like they oversold , underdelivered , right .
Yep , I agree 100% with you because , like I said earlier , I think they had a real opportunity where they could have really had some flavors , kind of brought that sherbet flavor to the forefront a little bit and still had the tartness , um .
But like you had said , brian it's I get the tartness , but I just I really don't get anything that reminds me of a of that flavor .
No , it's all citrus , maybe they they , they uh lacked in the lactose department .
That or they didn't actually try the rainbow one , they just did like the lemon one or whatever it is .
There is , like I said , it's all citrus in there . It just lacked a little . They had a palette and they didn't use it .
Yep , I agree , so you went a 2.7? .
I went 2.7 .
¶ Rainbow Sherbet Fruited Sour Tasting
I think I'm going to go like a 2.5 , to be honest , it's not bad , but I really wish it had more flavor . Yeah , so I agree it's cool .
This is the first beer from Ballad Brewing I've ever had , so it's not a bad one , and we looked at their website . They had a bunch of other ones too , so hopefully I'll get out to visit my son at some point .
So now where ? What part of Virginia is he in ? So Wesley's in Suffolk , virginia , suffolk . Okay , yep .
And again , they spent some time in Norfolk and they spent some time they went to Virginia Beach . They did not a carrier tour , but they were on a . I'm not sure he gave me the designation , but it's a helicopter , boat , basically . Oh , okay , so they do search and rescue .
From that it goes with the carrier battle group out and it's actually it's not as big as the hospital ship , but they also take wounded and stuff . So Noel got to geek out medically on on the ship too . So they had a lot of fun while we were there .
So how does he like it compared to Florida ? Cause I know when we were down there he said he really kind of didn't like the heat .
He said he bleeping hates Florida . He , he enjoys . I think he enjoys it now . He , you know he's got a job now he's not in training , the stress of that is not there . Just got promoted , Congratulations .
Congratulations , Wes and he's E5 now .
He golfs , he goes climbing . I think he's just kind of turning into a human . He doesn't have a job on a ship , right , so he works in an office or he does cybersecurity and that kind of stuff . So a little different scenario than a lot of people . But you know what ? He's still serving his country , oh yeah .
And whether you're behind a keyboard or behind a monitor , and or if you're on a ship . God bless all those men and women that do that , and especially in today's climate right , there's some nasty stuff going on , and my nephew is also . He's in Germany in the army and and I worry about him more for sure than my son .
But God bless you all that are out there doing it . It's it's it's great that people are still signing up to do that , because in the in today's climate right , it's kind of a it's kind of a mess , and that's just the way to yeah , you got that right . On that note .
I think we should look at another beer that we sent back .
I think we probably should , as I'm looking , there's a bottle of water here and I'm like you know what ?
We should probably maybe try to get rid of the sherbet .
The sherbet needs to get out of there .
I guess that's the one good thing about sitting outside we can just kind of a cool looking can too . This is Pineapple Grenade . It's a pineapple wheat beer and there's kind of a funny looking army , a pineapple dressed up like an army guy . And this is from Young Veterans Brewing Company and they're out of Virginia Beach , yep .
So this is a Weedale brewed with pineapple puree .
Yep , and on untapped . Here's what they said . It said this is our refreshing take on a classic German style . This pineapple Hefeweizen explodes with sweet and tangy fruit flavors , backed by fragments of spicy clove and banana . Go ahead , pull the pin .
Well , I didn't see banana on here .
Yeah .
It says a rich mouthfeel . Well , we'll find out . This is a little different . On the can here yeah , this one says Frag out our fruited wheat ale boasts a rich mouthfeel , full body and shards I don't know about shards , shards of juicy pineapple , pull the pin and toss one back .
Experience the explosive wheat character , tangy fruit flavors and notes of tropical , tropical bliss so shards and bliss we're getting , I guess , okay , perfect , I'm in what could go wrong .
I'm gonna guess that this is gonna be maybe pineapple color , so I'm wondering , because now they have another one in here , so I may have read the wrong one , brian , because that one said it was till through 2020 . Oh , so now this one new 2023 recipe , this might , this , could . This is now okay .
Now , with quadruple the amount of pineapple , frag out our fruited wheat ale boasts a rich mouthfeel , full body and shards of juicy pineapple . Pull the pin and toss one back , experience the explosive wheat character , tangy fruit flavors and notes of tropical bliss . So this is the one we have . Yeah , this is the one we've got .
So they just updated it , but quadruple the amount of pineapple it is definitely a wheat beer colored yes , it's , definitely it's . It's not quite as cloudy as that first one no , but it's still cloudy .
You can't see through it .
I smell the pineapple the aroma is . To me it's kind of fairly faint . It's not real in your face . Okay , that's different . I don't know , I'm not getting a whole lot of pineapple .
No , but there's a weird mouthfeel , yeah .
Yes , I don't know .
I don't know how to say it there , Cause it says there's a . Is it a different mouthfeel ? A rich mouthfeel ? There's something kind of odd . Maybe it's the clove . It's gotta be , it has to be .
I'm sitting here going okay , I faintly get the Hefeweizen .
Yeah , I get a little wheat .
I think it's the clove , that , and it's not overpowering because we've had other clove beers that are overpowering . It's a weird . It's a weird , weird mouthfeel . But considering they said that there's four times the pineapple , I'm not getting the pineapple .
I just I'm not getting it and I was hoping .
well , remember we were talking earlier . I'm like it's either going to be like we're drinking the juice out of a can of sliced pineapple . That's not really it .
No , it's pretty . It's laid back in that regard , it's not . It's not very in your face , pineapple-y Compared to the I mean the can . Right , those of you who look at the picture you should like . It may be a pina colada with wheat in it , right ?
yeah , I mean it's not bad and I know I like hefeweizen , if you like hefeweizen , but it's like you said , it's that it's it's got to be the clove it has got to be .
It's got to be .
It's not the shards , yeah no , or the bliss , or the bliss . Yeah , I think we've tasted bliss before . Yeah , well , that's not it . That's not it at all .
Yeah that's different , said I've been both of these .
Because it talks about so much fruit in it , I went ahead and rolled the cans good to make sure We'll have to find out from Wes what he thought of this one , because , like I said , I was expecting pineapple , you know .
He might be your friend on Untappable . He might have rated them . We'll have to see .
We'll have to look , let me look . Oh , a friend did . Nope , it wasn't him , it was another guy , somebody else .
Somebody else rated it I don't even know how to pronounce things now the mouthfeel , which is the first time I think I've ever seen that on a label . There's just a weird , again a weird feeling when you first sip it . And I think it's the clove I really do . The good thing is the clove isn't super powerful , but it's mixed in with the wheat .
Yeah , I'm not flashing back to days in the dentist chair and getting my wisdom teeth pulled right .
Right .
I think anybody who , as old as we , are , right and had their wisdom teeth out probably all of us hate clove . Oh yeah , Because that was what all those things tasted , like that packing , or whatever they used . Yeah , yeah , there's a subtle something up front front and I don't get much pineapple at all .
I can smell it . I know we've said this before , jim has said it , you know a hundred thousand times . But when in my thing is when that is the first word on your label , it should be prominent . If it's on the label , it should be in the can Yep and label . It should be prominent . If it's on the label , it should be in the can Yep .
And when it's the number one word in big letters pineapple you should be able to taste pineapple and not immediately .
And myself I don't get any . Thankfully we're not tasting grenade .
Correct , correct , yeah , yeah , that would be a whole different thing .
The weed is there . The other thing that I just , that was the other one 2015 to 2020 .
Right , this one does not say anything about banana .
Because that can give you your mouth feel different .
Oh yeah .
Like it's a different smoothness right .
Yep and see , we've had a few banana beers and they're always . It's almost like they're I don't want to say slicker , you know what I mean . It sort of feels like when you drink it Right . It's like whoa . It's weird . I'm kind of bummed on it , just because I was expecting a lot of pineapple , especially when it said quadruple the amount of pineapple .
Well , again there's a pineapple marching with a military hat on right . You expect it to be bursting with pineapple . It should be very .
My thought was very pineapple forward .
No , it's not , it smells . You can get the aroma . Yeah , a pineapple yeah , but it's very faint but it's faint , but it's .
It's more pronounced than the flavor .
Yeah , I'm I . It tastes more like a half wise , and then it does a pineapple or a fruited .
I agree 100 with you uh , score wise I'm honestly I'm going like a 2.3 , yeah on this , just because that is the , the , the focus and the , the big push is the pineapple . Right you said the character on there , the huge pineapple word and I I just get a very faint aroma and no taste .
It's lacking the pineapple , for sure I'm . I'm with you . Two , three , two , four somewhere right in there . It's not even I'm disappointed by it . I was kind of excited about that and we talked about it before we got the mics out . Which ones are you kind of interested in ?
And this was one of them , because I like pineapple beers , I like pineapple in general . Right but yeah , that's a little disappointing . Actually , the Heffwisen portion of it tastes really good . It's a well-blended Heffwisen Yep . It doesn't taste gritty or grainy and maybe some of the pineapple mellowed that out .
I'm not sure , but I , I like I always told you , you know , growing up in kansas , wheat all around us and wheat harvest time it , it tastes . It tastes , uh , dusty yeah right ? Yeah , this one does not , so I'd I'd be interested just to have their hefeweizen .
Right , that was actually the wheat portion of that's really good . I agree , because you know any wheat beer has that flavor . Once you , if you hand you or myself a beer and it's blind taste test if you , you can tell it's a wheat beer , just like that Immediately .
This one isn't quite as noticeable , you know , and , like you said , I'd love to try just the regular Hefeweizen , and maybe that's you're right . It could be that the pineapple kind of balances that out maybe .
Yeah , I don't know , man . I just , if you blind tasted this , we'd know it was a hefeweizen , but we couldn't have guessed any of the other ingredients . I wouldn't have guessed a pineapple at all . All right .
Well , west picked that one out so far .
He's not bad . He's not bad the greatest he's .
No , it's like I said before . It's not terrible by any means , but it's just . I wish there was more yeah , you know . So the next one , and this is one I think we both are really kind of interested in . This is by Commonwealth Brewing and they are out of Virginia Beach as well , and this is they have their description .
It is Kooks Orange Creamsicle India Pale Ale . Their description is IPA with orange and vanilla .
Well , obviously they're people of few words . This
¶ Pineapple Grenade Wheat Beer Review
is actually 6.5% , so this one's getting up there .
Oh yeah , what was the ? The first one was 4.4 and this was the Pineapple Wheat Bears 5.5 .
5.5 . So this is 6 . 6.5 .
6.5 . Coming up .
Yeah , okay , which for an IPA is fairly yeah .
Now , I don't know if you listened to last week's episode I have not yet but Jim and Julie were on there and we did an entire episode on the different levels of IPA . So we started off the first beer we had was a pale ale , just a pale ale , right . Then it went to an APA American Pale Ale , an IPA , a double , a triple and a quadruple .
Well , now they have West Coast IPAs too .
Oh yeah , we didn't go to West Coast or Hazy , because we've done other episodes where we had a lot of those on there too , but I know they had never had a whole lot of the different levels , so to speak . And it was kind of crazy because , honestly , jim and Julie both kind of liked them and the only thing that really went up was the abv .
I mean the none of them were . I see I figured every step we went up higher it was going to get hoppier and hoppier . Were they all the same brand ? I didn't again the same same company .
So boulevard boulevard makes them all yes , um , and I remember the first time I ever had a pale ale . I think it was probably Boulevard Pale Ale .
Or it was .
Boulevard . I'm trying to remember Boulevard is .
Sierra Nevada has the all-day IPA . Kansas City , though Boulevard's out of Kansas City yes .
It was the first one and Boulevard Pale Ale . That was a good beer . It still is a good beer , it's still a good one . It's kind of an everyday all- .
Exactly so .
This is their Creamsicle , so I have to expect this to be a little bit orange . We'll find out . We'll find out it's a little foamy .
I know we've had a couple other beers that are orange Creamsicle and actually they've been one of them tasted just like a Creamsicle , so I'm kind of hoping we get at least somewhat of that . It actually looks like orange juice . Yeah , it's definitely a more orange color than what your normal pale ale is . And again , you can't see through it .
You can't see through it . Nope , so we're getting some actual nutrients with it . Smells like an IPA . Yep , smells like an IPA . There's a little sweetness to it in the smell .
Ooh , that's there's a little bit that's smooth . There's a little bit of a weirdness on the finish , but other than that that's good .
But that's a real orange . Oh yeah , Taste right , Right . You know , it's like a rind , almost like they're making some peel in there .
That's actually pretty damn good . That's pretty good . I don't mind that . It's a good thing we picked that one .
That's right . Yeah , that's . I don't get a whole lot of vanilla , but I think , no , the end is the vanilla hanging on . It could be no , and that's again . That is . It looks like if you've ever been to a diner and or no , not a diner .
If you've ever been to a hotel and you go down and get orange juice off the um , the complimentary breakfast , yeah , that's the color of the orange juice that usually comes out of the machine that's a good yeah , good , a good comparison , because it looks like , yeah , where it's that it's orange juice , but it's kind of on the verge of not Of tainted water .
Yeah , yeah , there's something they mixed in there .
That's just the color , not the taste .
No , no , this is actually a pretty good beer . Of the three , this is my favorite so far .
It's not hoppy . This is not bad , it's not hoppy at all .
No , the aroma is more hop , and that's got to be the vanilla .
At the end , I would sure think there is . For sure you can taste the raw orange , yes , which I enjoy oranges , just you know , I usually throw one in my bag before I go to work . What's the one ? We had Kentucky . The Kentucky one that has a tangerine .
That's super , super orangey tart Like tangerine cream ale or whatever it was . Yeah , the tangerine cream in the barrel .
In the barrel , yeah , and that one was too much In Lexington yeah , this is a well-balanced yeah . I don't get any IPA , except for smell .
Yeah , I say the aroma is the only thing I get that really tells you it's an IPA . The aroma smells like an IPA , but boy , the flavor is definitely orange .
And , like you said , it's got to be that vanilla on the end . This is actually more sour than the sour we had to me because oranges get a little bit sour .
Yeah , yeah , yeah , I would agree they're not . It's not tart , right ? Yeah ?
um , no , that's a . That's an interesting one .
I like that yeah , so commonwealth brewing commonwealth brewing .
Which kind of I'm . When I first thought of it , he told me it was commonwealth brewing on the . The next one is is the one that is go-to , that he always has a few in the fridge .
I was thinking penn , thinking Pennsylvania , because I used to manage telecommunications equipment and it was always the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania right , oh sure , so I was thinking I go . Is it a Pennsylvania ? No , it's Virginia , dad .
Why would I have Pennsylvania ? That's exactly what he said .
Well , I didn't know I go . It's still Virginia's a Commonwealth dad . Oh , that's right .
Yeah .
And eighth grade social studies had to come back , you know your mind is full of other stuff . That's , yeah , I got stuff going on .
I don't mind this at all . No , you know , and , like I said , we you and I all drink IPAs . I know there's a like we talked about on the last episode , jim and Julian and myself , that you know IPAs are really . They're kind of one of those styles that you love them or hate them . Yeah , they're polarizing , they're very polarizing , and this is a good .
I think a person that has never had an IPA could drink this and not be offended at all , other than the aroma . The aroma . They're going to instantly think , oh , this is going to be super hoppy . Not at all . No , it's not , you know .
And if you were ever going to try to branch into a fruited beer Right , this would another one . Wouldn't be a bad one to start with . It's not overpowering . It tastes like actual fruit it's not the fake like weed , doesn't taste like Tang Right , and vanilla .
Um , it tastes like oranges and and I get a little bit of bitterness , like like , maybe there's some orange peel in it too .
It could very well be Um no , that's a well-balanced beer .
That's that . It's blended well , it tastes what it says .
Yeah , exactly .
Truth in advertising . What it says on the can is in the can . Now we can't say that about the next one coming up , because that would put us in a weird situation . This is a really good beer If I was going to go .
Wow .
If I were going to go numbers on this , this is right up about a 3.2 , 3.3 for me , I think .
Yep , I was going to say this is for sure a 3.1 . I'd go 3.1 . Yeah , I'd go 3.1 . Yeah , I agree with you . I knew this was definitely it was over a 3 . Because this is what it says it tastes like and again , like I had said before , I got the aroma of the IPA , but you didn't get the bite or the hop type flavor , you know .
And there was zero hop . Yeah , I really enjoyed it and again , I do think that kind of weirdness at the end is the vanilla wearing itself off right , it's got to be , but .
I'm sure that helped kill some of the hop flavor too . Yeah , it has to be , because , like I said , the vanilla wasn't super pronounced , but I guarantee that's what it was . Yeah , no doubt , because after you said it it's like I can see that that's the vanilla .
That's another ingredient that can be overpowering . It can be wonderful , it can be weird . Vanilla is one of those , those oddities that , depending on what it's with , can really change the character and the the smoothness .
it can affect everything on a beer and we've had some really bad ones , um , and we've had some really good ones and they I think they used a lot more in dark beers and high abv to kind of hide that alcohol right yep , I would agree with you 100 , because we've had some that are super vanilla forward , you know , and you're like oh , that first flavor , the
first taste , is pretty good , and then after that you're like I'm kind of getting vanilla doubt a little bit , you know .
That's right . No , it's , it's . Uh , that was . That was a good beer , for sure , All right . So this next one is is my son's go-to and the one , the one that we're going to do next , the one we're doing next , okay , so this again truth in advertising . The name of this beer is Pool Noodle , so I hope it doesn't taste like a pool noodle .
Is it going to be the green one or the blue one ? Not that I've had a pool noodle before .
I'm pretty sure we've all been hit with a pool noodle before and I have zero .
this is just an American lager .
Well , here I'll look up on untapped . I shirked my duty , Brian . I apologize , I was too busy spacing off there , I think .
I was worried you were looking up questions . You're going to quiz me about something , no , no .
Okay , this one is by Commonwealth , as well , this is Commonwealth Boring as well . And this is 5.3% Yep , and they have absolutely no description on Untapped .
It's an American Merca .
It's an .
American lager and he says this is his go-to so let's give it a whirl , let's give it a shot . I expect this to be a little darker than our last three beers . It's a lager and it is lighter than all of them .
I was going to say the color is . I expect it to be a little darker than that , that I expected it to be a little darker than that . That is kind of crazy , dude . I thought it was going to be because you know your classic lager is almost . It's not amber , but it's closer to that than like a clear pilsner yellow .
This is pilsner or wheat colored .
Or wheat , yeah , or like a lemon shandy color almost that smells like a lager , oh yeah .
That smells good . Oh yeah , that's a good beer , boy , that's almost got a , he's not wrong .
Almost a little bit of a fruit hint , almost , I mean , it's a little bit of a sweetness there .
Way up front . And then it's got that I've talked about before . That brood taste Like iced tea , like sun tea . It's got that kind of tartness at the end . It's not bitterness . That's interesting . That is a really good beer . Kudos , son , for picking that one . I'll give you credit on that one . That one is a I could drink way too many .
I could drink too many of those . Yeah , yeah , at 5.3, . Yeah , but I mean flavor-wise , it's one of those that , oh yeah , you could drink three four , five of them . You know what I mean . And yeah , you wouldn't get burned out from the flavor . Yeah that's a good one .
That is as far as just a basic lager that is really well blended and and , like you said , a little bit of sweetness up front . Yep , no bitterness in the head at all , no weird aftertaste . That is just . That is a fantastic beer .
It says on the label too , it's family owned and operated the brewery . So that's cool , that is awesome . I give them credit . Their labels are are . They're kind of out there I mean , it's not like like the some of the sours and ips , where you got the wizards and dragons and stuff , but this is just like kind of a design .
Whatever you'll see the pictures , um , but I give them credit , this is pretty good . And then they got the band with the here's the beer , you know no , that is a , that is a fantastic I still can't believe the color though . I can't either . You know what I mean .
I'm really , you know , I was thinking well , Budweiser . That was a darker beer when I was growing up right Sure it was a darker color . This is absolutely a Pilsner , like a light colored Pilsner .
Yes , a light Pilsner almost . Yes , a Hefeweizen kind of color . That is wild , you , that's that is . Yeah , that's a good flavor .
I do enjoy that , that is uh , yeah , and that's an again an everyday drinker . Yep , you wouldn't , you wouldn't seek that out to have a special beer after a big dinner or something .
But you could have three of them while you're making dinner . Yep , exactly maybe not so much at 5.3 , but that is for a beer
¶ Kooks Orange Creamsicle IPA Analysis
, where you you come home after work you're like I'm just gonna get a , grab a beer .
This would be easy drinking . Plop in the lawn chair and relax Sit there and , yeah , this would be totally good .
That is a really good beer . So , score-wise , what do you think ?
I'm really impressed with this one . I was given , I mean my son , and he told me this is his go-to beer . So I was really wanting to try this one and now I'm glad he sent one . This is a really really well blended and smooth lager .
Sometimes lagers can get a little bit up front in your face , right a little a little too malty , or , you know , barley or whatever it is up front they get a little grainy . This one is not . Uh , it's got a . It's a sweet start , it's got a smooth finish . There's no aftertaste . Oh man , this is a tough one .
This is , I gotta go , probably a three , two , two , three , one , three , two on this . It is a really good lager . I don't know that I've ever had a lager of this type better , honestly .
Right , yeah , I was going to say I , I'm going to go with 3.0 , just for the simple fact that I think I like that IPA just one notch better for just I hate to say it for a plain lager , you know you know , I hate to say it that way , but this is really good . It is and it's really good .
I don't know the difference between uh well , I'm sure it's all hops and whatever a german lager , an american lager ? I'm sure , I don't know , that canada has one , but I'm sure there's other loggers out there . Yep , whatever they did with this one , it is really good .
Oh , I agree and , like I said , I am not knocking this one at all because I would . This is one , like I said before , you could come home on a hot day . Just grab one , go sit outside and have a nice cold beer .
And not even think about mowing the grass . Exactly , just stare at the grass .
Yep , so I really like it . Like I said , the only reason I put it one notch down is I really did like that creamsicle . I did too that flavor was really good .
That's the only reason . Well , but they're two different beers , right .
One's a pale , ale one's a blogger .
So you're not really . It's apples , good beer . So , wes , when you come home you should probably bring some more of that . Hint , hint , hint , hint , nudge , nudge .
Okay , there , I found the next one already , so boy , yeah , that's good , I was impressed , man .
That one impressed me so far .
The last two have been very good .
So Commonwealth Brewing they seem like they're . I mean both of their beers that we had . That's a top two right now . Yeah for sure , and it's a toss-up Some days I would like the lager , and some days I'd probably like to have the creamsicle . Yep , exactly .
Well , I suppose we can try this last one here , and this is from Virginia Beer Company , the , the Virginia Beer Company , and they're out of Williamsburg , and this is their Short Stack Imperial Maple Brown Ale 8% ABV . This one is one I've been really waiting to see .
We've been eyeing it .
We've been eyeing it and I'm hoping is it going to be like you're eating a stack of pancakes with maple syrup , or is it going to be just it's not like you get a lot of pancake flavor out of any beer ?
So it's going to be . How high is that maple flavor ? Well , and brown ales are typically not flavorful , Right , and the description on here says ale with maple syrup .
All right , they have more untapped here . It says brewed with in quotes pretty much all the maple syrup . Then it says a breakfast beer , if ever there was one . It says then it says a breakfast beer , if ever there was one .
This Imperial Brown Ale perfectly stacks a robust multi-backbone with gallons upon gallons of pure Vermont maple syrup , sticky , sweet , warming . So good , we made it a double order because we know you'll be back for more Interesting that they went to Vermont to get it .
Yeah .
Of course , I guess you think of vermont being more maple syrup than right virginia , but this , this is going to be interesting . I'm looking forward to this one . I'm thinking it could be . I'm hoping it's not like so , mapley , that you're like , oh yeah that can be another polarizing ingredient right yep , some sometimes it has been .
Now this one is slightly darker than all the other ones that we've had .
Pretty much like midnight and noon . Yeah , it is For a brown , ale it's actually pretty dark .
Yeah , you can definitely tell it's brown , though you know it's not like they're really dark like a stout or porters and such . So it's a brown ale , it's a light-colored porter and a dark brown ale Yep . Brown ale , yep , all at the same time the head is kind of that lighter , kind of a tannish . I don't get much in the smell , I don't get in Roma .
Unfortunately , I pour mine first and I get a little more head on it and I let it down there .
Well , let's see . Oh yeah , there's maple syrup , but it's not over the top , nope . And there's man that almost reminds me of oh , you know which one I'm talking about ? I do , because it I mean it tastes very similar , very similar . There's a lot that I'll keep thinking about .
I'll say but this isn't bad . No , it's really maple up front . And I don't mind maple . This wouldn't be one , I'd drink two or three of .
You know the aftertaste kind of a you get almost that burnt coffee taste . It's the brown ale portion of it , yeah .
If you think of uh , what's the one up here that is everywhere . It's a nut brown ale Um not Sam Smith , is it's ?
um ? It's not an anger minnow either . No , I know what you're talking about . Yeah , it's , it's the most common one . As soon as we get down Ale Smith , there you go . Ale Smith , yep .
Extra maple syrup , but at 8% .
That's pretty I wouldn't have guessed it was 8% .
No , I'd have been right at that . Five and a half , maybe six , you know .
and it's funny because I know , ladies and gentlemen , that you've heard me say that a hundred times , but there's beers that are 8% or higher , that you can tell are yeah , this is higher alcohol . And then there's the ones that they , whatever they do , some of it is flavoring , some of it is other stuff , but you can't even tell .
I mean this one this didn't taste any stronger than any of those other ones .
No , you know what was the one that we had ? That was monkey bar . Monkey bar , yep , that was like 9% or 10% or whatever . It was 9.5% or something , and you couldn't tell at all . It was fantastic .
Like on last week's episode we had the quadruple IPA was 12 and a half Right , you couldn't tell at all , and even Julie Jim's wife was like I never would have thought that it was that high .
Well , those have to get . They have to again .
You've got to feed the yeast right , right , to get it that high Yep .
So you've got to figure they're putting a lot of sugar in there .
Well , and when I talked to my brother about it , because he's working on , he's trying to get like an imperial , he's trying to get a beer that's up around that 12 , 14% and he said , man , he struggles because the vast majority of yeast will die out at like eight to nine .
So he's been trying a bunch of different things and so , yeah , it's interesting to see he had said on one of the episodes kind of what they have to do to kind of re-get it going again .
The other thing too is most of the time when you see a high abb beer almost any time anymore it's barrel age , right , right . So the barrel itself has already has a lot of sugar and char and all that stuff .
So I think when they do that and from what I was reading not too long ago , that also helps with that that yeast is is processing what's in the barrel , so you don't have to add as much to do it . But yep , this is the for a for a maple for brown ale .
It's pretty smooth yeah , it's not bad um it's .
It's a little maple heavy up front little man for my taste .
And then you do get . Like I said , you get that . At first it reminded me of like a burnt coffee , coffee ground kind flavor .
but that is the nut brown . It's the start of a porter . That's how I like to refer to it . There you go it's a watered down porter .
It's a porter .
that didn't finish , that's right , it's an underachieving porter . Yeah , there you go , yeah .
It's not bad , though I don't mind it . No , you know was in a pint can , so I mean you're pot committed when you open it .
Exactly , Thankfully we have help to drink . The rest . Yeah , I said , well , we'll finish them . We ain't going to deny that There'll be no dumping .
But I don't know . I think towards the end of the can . If you drank it all myself , I might start to kind of get burnt out of that finishing flavor .
I agree , I absolutely agree . Right , I agree , I absolutely agree . And it's almost if you were to take that flavor and go a step further . You're at a stouter porter , right .
Right .
And then we're happy . Yes , this was like when you hear a melody and you know the song , and they leave the last note Right .
You know what ?
I mean it's like uh , uh .
There's more . There's one more note , one more note one more note . Well , and it's like if , if you remember when jim and I did the non-alcoholic . Every one of those was the same way where it was like you're waiting for that finish and it's just not there . Yeah , it's just not there , you know .
So I'm like it's flavored water yeah , it's like I think I just rather drink the beer than this non-alcoholic stuff . So so , score wise , I think I'm gonna go like a 2.7 I was gonna say 2.8 , it's yeah it's better than average yeah , it's interesting it's .
I give them credit for the abv and then it's up there . The brown ale probably itself is pretty darn good , yeah , um , they could have laid off a little bit of the maple and from , just for my taste , uh , but other than that it's a good beer . I mean , it's not , it's not bad .
This reminds me of the vanilla porter by uh , kentucky no no , you know the one . Uh , it's the one that I gotta look it up , because it's the beer that they're known for . Um , hang on , not , bro , brow brothers no , no , no .
uh , let's see , I know which one you're talking about too , I know .
As soon as I say it , you're going to be like duh .
Vanilla Porter is . Anyway , ladies and gentlemen , I'm so upset A couple of old guys that can't remember stuff . I'm so upset Well , we've tried .
So many beers . It's hard to remember exactly , but it tastes like the Breckenridge Breckenridge Breckenridge Breckenridge , breckenridge , vanilla Porter .
That's what it reminds me of it , does the brown part of it anyway , yeah .
Because once the maple's gone , it has kind of that flavor to it . Yep , you know ? Yep , absolutely so . And yeah , I apologize for , like I said , I was spacing off .
As soon as you got the B out , I was with you . I was with you , yeah , 100% .
So yeah , so , boy , I guess overall , brian , what are you thinking ? How would you ? What were your two favorites or , I guess , overall , first off overall ? What did you think of Virginia beers , this little tour of Virginia ? And then what would you say were your top ?
Oh it makes me want to go to Commonwealth Brewing for sure .
Yeah , I agree .
If they can put a lager and a creamsicle pale , india pale , an IPA like that , it makes me want to go to their tap room . Right , I was really impressed with the pool noodle . It's just a lager , but I was really impressed . The ipa was good . The other the two , the pineapple and the and the fruit is sour were a little disappointing
¶ Pool Noodle American Lager Experience
. They weren't bad beers but they , to your point , they didn't taste like the advertised . And pool noodle , being with the asterisk , it doesn't taste like it advertises either . But , um , we're not going to eat any glue and we're not going to eat pool noodles , it's like styrofoam . The short stack we just had , uh , again , it's pretty good . So I would .
It's a toss up between , uh , I'm going to say whether the sun's out , I'm on a boat or sitting in a lawn chair where I'm going to have the lager , the pale ale , right , Um , those two are both really good beers . And then probably the short stack were just a little disappointing . Hopefully we didn't get a bad can , and we're not .
They weren't bad beers and I don't want to , I don't want to bad mouth anybody from from Danville or from from Virginia beach . As far as , uh , the brewing , it just weren't . They just didn't stack up to what I thought they should taste like . Um , but again , kudos to to Commonwealth brewing . Both of those beers were really good .
Yeah , I agree . Uh , the only difference I had is , I think , as of right now , my one . I put it this way my number one was the IPA , my 1A was the lager and then the next one was a short stack .
Yeah , I think overall it was really cool because , like I said , I've never even heard of these breweries and I'm almost positive , I've never had a beer from any of these .
And so almost positive . I've never had a beer from any of these , and so that's really cool , so thank you so much , wes , for sending them back , absolutely , uh .
And and again , those first two two out of three , two out of five wasn't bad . Yeah , yeah , you're learning . Yeah , uh . But those last two again , I just think they had so much potential that if they had a little bit more flavor .
And and that second one , if you're the name's a pineapple and your logo is a pineapple guy , it's's got to taste like pineapple .
It's got to taste like pineapple , or call it a half-wisened with a touch of pineapple right , then it would have been a whole different situation . Yeah , if there'd have been a head of wheat with army boots on running across the can we'd have been .
oh , this is not too bad , not bad , but the fact that we just didn't taste it and , like you said , it's up front and then at the end , the back side , it's like the , almost like breckenridge yeah , which is still a good beer , yeah , but uh you know , it's just a little on the vanilla side , yeah , yeah it could have had a touch more maple flavor , that
kind of hung on just a little bit so yeah no other than that . I think they were all good . I'm glad that we got to try them and hopefully we'll get to try some more . Maybe Wes will find some more Absolutely Hint , hint .
Yeah , hint , hint , nudge , nudge . You know , bring them back with you .
I can send you my birthday , so you can send some back .
Absolutely .
Absolutely so awesome . Well , brian , I guess we can wrap this up for the today . But yeah , this is our first episode from the up in the North woods and , like I said , it isn't going to be our last , and in fact I think we're going to go to a local little bottle shop here and just check out what they got .
So you never know , we may be coming back at some point . Could be another one this weekend , another one , you never know but we're going to go check it out , we're not scared , no , no no , we did not get burned out by these five beers , so Wes once again , like we said thank you so much , man .
And thank you for your service .
Yes , Thank you for your service , Thank everybody in the military and you know , the first responders , firefighters , police , everything I mean . Thank you so much for what you guys and gals do for all of us , so so we can sit here and drink beer and talk like we know what we're talking about Be merry . Yeah , there you go . Well , awesome .
Ladies and gentlemen . Thank you so much for listening . Like we always say , we hope your campfire is always warm and the beer is always cold . See ya . Thank you for listening to the Northwoods Beer Guy podcast . If you're on untapped , look up Northwoods Beer Guy and send a friend request .
Until next week , I hope all your campfires are warm and all your beer is cold .