Decabeer: A Gauntlet of Ten Disparate Brews

On a balmy May night, Javier, Hayley, Shoenberger, Jenny, and I got together to slog through a pile of beers for the website. What followed were ten short and sweet reviews for ten completely unrelated brews. Enjoy!

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefewiezen

We all love a good Hefewiezen, and most anything from Sierra Nevada, so this was almost a guaranteed hit. Upon opening the bottle, and taking a big whiff, we all stepped back. How can I say this tactfully…? Kellerweis Hefewiezen smells a bit like farts. The beer pours a cloudy gold with a white head that dissipates to a persistent lacing. The flavor redeemed this brew from the smell for certain; bright and lemony up front with a light mild bready body and a mellow buttery finish. This is one tasty beer!

Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Every spring, Boston liquor stores are flooded with the latest batch of Samuel Adams Summer Ale, and we are better off for it. This beer is perfect for hot summer days by the bucketful. The smells sour, like bad breath with a hint of lemon, but the flavor is what keeps us coming back to this brew. Sam Summer is very bright and citrusy with just a hint of hops up front and a kiss of lemon oil with a warm and wheaty finish.

Stella Artois

Stella is generally unremarkable from the bottle and has gained the nickname of “The 50/50 beer” among our group because you never know when the green glass bottle will turn your beer into a skunked wasteland. This beer pours a light yellow with a moderate white head. The smell is like that of mineral water, and the taste is very light and refreshing, if a bit watery. There is a slight wheatiness to the finish and a dry overall body similar to many Asian lagers such as Asahi. It is worth noting that Stella opens up a lot more when served from the tap.

Samuel Smith Organically Produced Lager Beer

Samuel Smith is one of Connoisseur Javier’s go-to breweries about which he is constantly bragging. None of us had, however had this Organic Lager before. The smell is virtually nonexistent, the beer pours pale gold with small bubbles and very little head to speak of. The flavor is lot lighter than I expected; really mild and lacking in character. We had all previously enjoyed various organically produced beers with a lot more to offer. All in all, this beer was supremely disappointing considering how delicious we know Samuel Smith can be.

Allagash White

This white beer is brewed in my home state of Maine, but I have only had it once before, from the tap, and I found it to be lacking character and flavor. That kept me away from this beer for years, but I was determined to give it another go and I’m glad I did. Allagash White pours a cloudy golden straw color with small bubbles and a slight white head. The smell is lovely, like oranges and cloves, and the taste is rich, with flavors of wheat, citrus, and a hint of mango. I take back all the bad things I said about my fellow Mainer.

Hoegaarden

One the more mass-produced end of the witbier spectrum, we have the ever-popular Hoegaarden. It may have been unfair to Hoegaarden to be consumed directly after such a stunning beer as Allagash White, but so it goes. This beer pours a cloudy brownish white color like dirty water from the Charles River. There is not much smell, but we did detect a little kiss of citrus on the nose. The flavor is slightly sour, lacking the warm spice notes of other beers of this family, but there was a pleasant bready body and a clean finish.

Victory Prima Pils

Emblazoned with a graphic of a hop bud, we could guess pretty easily what the main characteristic of this offering by Shoenberger’s favorite brewery would be. This pilsner pours golden yellow with a bright white head. There is not a strong smell, but the taste brings surprisingly balanced hops characteristics, strong, but not too bitter. The IBU of this pilsner was a lot lower than we were expecting, truly refreshing accented by an aftertaste, oddly enough, of fresh mint.

Left Hand Milk Stout

Having had this stout the prior day, I was eager to share it with the gang. Left Hand’s Milk Stout pours a dark chocolate brown, with virtually no head. The smell is caramelly and rich and weirdly a little meaty. The taste is superb, with a slight soy sauce flavor right up front that is almost immediately overtaken by a well blended taste of chocolate and coffee, rich and so good. The flavor ends with a creamy and yummy milk caramel finish.

Corona Extra

We’ve reviewed this garbage before, so here’s a picture encapsulating our feelings towards this beer.

Ipswich IPA

Javier kindly brought us a growler of Ipswich IPA, which by the end of the night seemed like a brilliant idea to finish in rapid succession, our tasters by this point having dwindled to three. Brewed in Ipswich, MA, this IPA is a fixture in local package stores. The beer pours with a foamy head, big bubbles, and loads of protein-rich lacing. Like one would imagine, this IPA packs a hoppy punch, very bright and citric, but the flavors are balanced. Connoisseur Javier compared this ale favorably to another of his favorites, Stone IPA.

- Connoisseur Tom