Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Aventinus

I'm really loving all the different Schneider Weisse beers I've had and Aventinus is no different. It's a wheat doppelbock which to me just sounds delicious since I love wheat beers. There's also the 8.2% wallop this beer is packing, and it doesn't TASTE like many other 8% beers I've had since it's so smooth.
It definitely has some fruit in it, I wanna say bananas and maybe grapes? It's also semi wheaty but not as much as the Brooklyner I had a few weeks ago. I also like the not quite Newcastle dark brown color of this beer and the spices that are there but not overpowering, and are a nice compliment for this beer more than its character in itself. I love this beer and I'd drink it again anytime, and for me that says a lot since I don't usually like the taste of higher ABV beers.

Battle of the Ambers, Arcade Edition!

I've never had either one of these beers before, or if I have I don't remember. I like amber lagers, Yuengling being one of my favorites. I've seen this Third Shift stuff around for a little while, and I picked up this Point Amber in a sixer the other day so why not put them to the test?

Here's the pour. You'll probably notice the Point beer is a little darker, but what are the other differences?
Well, Third Shift is made by Coors despite being tagged on the bottle "Band of Brewers," is 5.3% ABV and is extremely carbonated. Conversely, the Point beer is not as carbonated, is made by the Stevens Point Brewery in Wisconsin, and is 4.7% ABV. The Point beer also costs more (duh).
The taste is very similar between the two. I had my girlfriend blind taste test them and she came to the same conclusions I did about these.
They both taste somewhat similar to Yuengling to me, my girlfriend says they taste somewhat like Magic Hat 9.
The Point beer tastes a little smoother and has a better overall feel.
I don't usually like super carbonated beer, so I personally like the Point beer better, despite the somewhat lower ABV. So what's the verdict?
Point is the winner in this case, though personally I'll stick to my $10 Yuengling twelve pack over either one of these any day.

Beers I've had before: Franziskaner Weissbier

The title is just a disclosure. I've drank Franziskaner many many times before and it's one of my favorite beers. For a long time you could only get it in bars here but it's recently become available in bottles which made me very happy indeed.
What makes it so good, you ask? It's smooth as glass, with a somewhat milkshake-esque feel and a taste of wheat and oranges that is so satisfying I could drink this stuff all day. I know it's hard to tell from the picture but it pours a kind of hazy orange color and the head goes away very quickly... I think it has a near perfect level of carbonation as well. I think I'm just gonna go have another.

Chipotle Cheddar Pringles!

Whenever they come out with a new flavor I just about always have to try it. These are very good and seem to taste better when you're drinking a beer with them. But then again, doesn't everything? Cheesy but not too cheesy, spicy but not overly spicy. Kinda taste like pepper jack cheese. Definitely worth a try.

Kronenbourg 1664

I've never had French beer before, but I imagine a European country with such great food and wine and cheese and Eiffel Towers would make pretty good beer. Kronenbourg is France's #1 selling beer and ranks somewhere around #2 or #3 in the UK. I gotta say I really like the bottle and logo. It just looks so... European.
Anyway, this beer has a almost pilsner-ish taste that is very crisp. I'd call this one an excellent hot day beer, but other than that it's kind of average to me. Not bad by any means, I like it better than Budweiser for sure. Has a similar taste and finish to Pilsner Urquell and Czechvar.

By the way, I have to give props to my girlfriend for coming up with the awesome idea to use some kind of background when I take my pictures. Thanks, baby!

Midterms...

I've got two midterms tomorrow and another one on Friday. I'm trying to study but I feel like I have ADD and just can't focus on it. Hopefully all will go ok.
My school like a lot of other schools recently started requiring students to either get vaccinated (or prove you already have been) for a lot of diseases, kind of like when you were in elementary school. I had to freaking get re-vaccinated with TWO MMR shots, a TDAP shot, and I had to have a blood test done to prove I've had the chicken pox. Fucking chicken pox! I also had to have a TB test which I understand, but the others are a little ridiculous. I'm not in school to become a doctor or nurse. I feel like it's a conspiracy to suck more money out of students. I sincerely doubt all the great medical minds at UAB are fearing a horrible diphtheria outbreak.

Stiegl Pils

Stiegl has been brewing beer in Austria since 1492 and they have a wide variety of different German style beers. This one is just "beer," or pilsner. When I first had a taste of Stiegl my tongue was physically assaulted by extreme bitterness, which gets a little less slap-in-the-face-ish the more you drink it, but is still very strong. There's not much else in the way of flavor or smell or anything that stands out about this beer to me. It still has that crisp pilsner feel that I would expect, but I'm just not sure about the taste. Maybe it's just me?
Oh and by the way, the bottle says Salzburger....

Am I doing it right?

Centenario Pilsener 100

Continuing into Latin America we have Centenario Pilsener 100 from El Salvador. A Salvadoran pilsner? Cool. It's an extremely easy to drink beer with some of that crisp taste I would expect from a beer called a pilsner. Clean finish, good taste. Seems like it would be a really good summer beer, like something you'd grab after doing some yardwork or something outside. I'd definitely drink it again.

Cerveza de los Muertos Pay the Ferryman Porter

Ah, Mexican beer. How I love thee. And my girlfriend is a big fan of dark beers like porters and stouts, so I got her this one to try. Los Muertos Brewing is a brewpub in Mexico with a variety of different beers to choose from. I really like the Dia de los Muertos motif of the bottles! So how is the beer?
We agree that the beer has a very strong coffee taste (and aftertaste). Other than that it's a pretty standard tasting porter, maybe a little strong tasting for a 5% ABV beer. It's definitely not bad, and I'd drink it again, but it doesn't really stand out from the crowd, though it is cool to have some craft beer from Mexico.

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier

When I saw that Weihenstephan calls itself the world's oldest brewery, I had to do a little research. Weihenstephan brewery can trace their roots back to at least the year 1040 when their brewery was first licensed, and maybe even until the year 768 according to some other documents at the abbey where the brewery is located. I tasted this beer and I immediately saw why.
It's quite possibly the best beer of this style I've ever had, and by that I mean a German wheat beer. It has a very crisp taste with some smooth fruit undertones and is just... really good. Can't go wrong with this one!!

Leffe Blonde

Thought I'd try something a little different and give this Belgian blonde a whirl. Looks and smells pretty standard... so how is it?
There's a couple of good things about this beer those being the 6% ABV and the almost velvet smooth texture that is almost like drinking a milkshake. Other than that it's pretty average. It's not bad by any means but I probably wouldn't seek it out, partially because it has a somewhat sweet taste that I'm not sure if I like or not, partially because there's just a lot of better beers out there that are this same style.

Hazy Magi

We went to the Mellow Mushroom not long ago and my girlfriend ordered a drink called a Hazy Magi. Half Magic Hat 9 and half Abita Purple Haze. I like both of these beers on their own and together we agree that these two mixed together is damn good. Give it a shot!

Schneider Weisse Tap 5 Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfenweisse

Let me start off this review by saying a couple things. I love wheat beers. I love strong tasting beers.
This particular beer is like a punch in the face followed by a tactical nuclear strike on your taste buds. This is a thick bodied beer that definitely lives up to its name, with a very hoppy, wheaty taste with some fruit flavors and almost like... bread? taste also.
Turns out this beer is a collaboration between the brewmasters of the Schneider Weissbier Brewery and the Brooklyn Brewery to create a pale wheat doppelbock ale. The result is an 8.2% ABV ale that drinks like a meal. I literally experienced this beer a part at a time, feeling the initial shock of the hops, then once I got used to that I was able to savor the fruits and breads, kind of like eating a box of muffins. This is a beer you definitely need to take your time and enjoy as it seems to get better with every taste. Honestly at first I thought this was just too strong tasting, but as it went on I liked it more and more. This beer is really something else and definitely worth a try.
And don't give me crap about my stove not being clean, I do a lot of cooking.

Beer Time: Ayinger Bräu Weisse

Here's another Hefeweisen, one of my favorite beer styles. Ayinger is named for the Aying brewery which coincidentally is located in Aying, Germany. It has a very earthy smell and feel, and is very smooth. I was able to detect some fruit in there somewhere but it's not overpowering, which to me is a good thing. I wanna say oranges and... banana? Maybe I'm wrong but I could swear I taste a slight nanner taste in there somewhere. This is a damn good Hefeweisen. Just as good as Tap#7 if not better. Definitely one to try if you like this style of beer. Wish I had another one!

Don't Buy these Headlights

I put these headlights in my car about three months ago because I wanted to see better at night. One of them went out last week. The other one went out yesterday. I realize that they aren't made to last as long as traditional halogen headlight bulbs, but three months? Ridiculous. After the AutoZone I bought them at told me there was nothing they could do about it, not only did I buy new lights at Pep Boys, I made sure to buy Philips brand lights just so I wouldn't buy another Sylvania product. They really are substantially brighter than regular bulbs but for the extra money I expected to get at least a year or so out of them. Never again.

Beer Time: Schneider Weisse Tap 7 Unser Original Hefeweizen

As you can tell I've been on a German beer kick recently and I've been enjoying myself quite a bit. I had seen beers made by Schneider Weisse before but had never had any so thought the Hefeweizen would be a good way to get a feel for their offerings. And damn is it good.
I'm detecting a fairly strong fruit flavor, I wanna say citrus, like oranges. Along with chocolate and a malty finish. This beer is excellent and the only concern I have right now is why did I only buy one?
The store I picked this up at had a variety of other beers made by Schneider Weisse and I'll be sure to pick up some more on my next beer run. I'd drink this one again anytime.

Beer Time: Warsteiner Dunkel

This is one of my favorite beers since I first drank it at a bar years ago. I haven't had a lot of different dunkels (dark, German style beer) but I've always liked dark beers and that got me to try this one. The flavor is kind of sweet at first immediately followed up by a somewhat bitter, coffee-caramel-almost cola-like taste. Personally I think it's great and I'd drink this sexy dark brew anytime. I was pleasantly surprised to see it for sale in bottles at my favorite beer store, where previously I'd only seen the regular Warsteiner beer for sale so it is out there, even in somewhat harder to navigate beer markets like Birmingham, which is, in its own right coming into its own recently.
Suffice to say that this a great dark beer and I drink it regularly. Damn, it's good.

Fancy Beer Time: De Dochter van de Korenaar Charbon Smoked Vanilla Stout

Put on your monocle and top hat everyone! Time for some fancy beer!

First of all, the name of this beer is a hell of a mouth full. It's brewed by De Dochter van de Korenaar in Belgium. Second of all I tend to think many beers with a higher ABV (above 6%) just flat out don't taste good and since I drink beer both for the taste AND to get drunk that is sometimes a problem.
Charbon smoked vanilla stout is a definite exception to that rule. My girlfriend picked this beer out since she loves all things vanilla and she was not disappointed. Despite being a stout almost so thick you could chew it, this beer is surprisingly easy to drink and while it does taste kind of strong it's not unpleasant by any means despite having a somewhat high ABV of 7%. The color is like any other stout with a very thick head that stays on the beer the whole time you drink it. It has a pleasant... well, smoky vanilla flavor. I tried to think of another way to describe it but that really sums it up. You definitely get what is advertised, so if you like vanilla beers this is a good choice. My girlfriend loved this beer so much I was lucky just to get a taste!