Flying Dog - Amber Lager "Old Scratch"

Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery http://www.flyingdogales.com/

Style: "Old Scratch" Amber Lager

ABV: 5.5%

Container: Half Liter Stiegl Mug

Location Bought: Crestview Publix

Location/Situation Enjoyed Under: After a long day with some Pasta Salad

Appearance: Nice Amber hue with deep red tint, thick tight head of a almond color.

First Reaction: Not too shabby.

This is a nice attempt an Amber I'll give it that.  It starts out promising with a nice mellow malted mix of flavors but it hollows out in the back half and while it has a little Hop kick, it doesn't have a solid finishing note or a long satisfying flavor tail. Now while that sounds harsh don't get me wrong I like this beer.  It is refreshing and crisp and that makes up for it lack of overall complexity. This beer is good, its just not exactly my cup of tea. If you like lighter beers with nice malt and, really hate heavy hop kicks this will be perfect for you.

Brewery's Description:

"Some itches can't be scratched. Like your fantasy involving latex and flavored lotions.  So it's best to concentrate on the ones you can scratch. Like your itch for this Amber Lager with a Malty Mellow flavor. As for your other fantasies you'll probably need to find a chat room for those. This dog enjoys his days in the sun... Old Scratch Amber Lager is a malty, mellow beer that is fermented at medium temperatures to develop both ale and lager characteristics. "Gold Scratch" raises the standard in the amber lager category."

Sierra Nevada - Porter

Brewery: Sierra Nevada http://www.sierranevada.com/

Style: Porter

ABV: 5.6%

Container: .5 liters of Quality German Beerware

Location Bought: Crestview Florida Publix

Location/Situation Enjoyed Under: Saturday Night In a big empty house watching Super Troopers With a Steak and Corn on the Cob.

Appearance: Deep color with a light tan head that comes on heavy but quickly settles back into the beer.

First Reaction: God I miss the West Coast.

You taste that? Yeah that. You know what that is? That my friends is the wonderful, beautiful, like no other taste of: Willamette Hops. Now it is my duty to poke fun at California so I must say its surprising to find something good from that state. After all this is only the second good thing I know of to come from there. The other knows who she is.

This really is a great Porter its full and rich with just the right bitter touches. It doesn't have the deep swirling flavors you get with some other porters and I know exactly what you're going  to get when you crack open a bottle as I have found batch control to be right on the mark with every one of these I have drank, all for the sake of the readers of course. This has the tingle of coffee that I like in a porter but its hard to pick out from around the basic malted flavors. The use of Hops in this beer is what makes it worth drinking. The Willamette hops used in this Porter give it a nice crisp clean closing salvo of flavor that leaves you satisfied and feeling good about every drink you take from opening till the last tip of the bottle on the way to the fridge to get another.

Breweries'  Description:

"Sierra Nevada Porter is a completely natural beer, full of roasted malts, which give it a ritch, bittersweet and roasted toffee flavor. This medium bodied ale is perfectly balanced, with a smooth malty flavor and crisp American hops. "

Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Golden Lager "Dortmunder Gold "

Brewery:  Great Lakes Brewing Co. 

http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/ 

Style:  Golden Lager "Dortmunder Gold "

ABV:  5.8%

Container: Straight From the Bottle

Location Bought: WPAFB Class Six, Ohio, August 2010

Location/Situation Enjoyed Under: Sitting in the setting evening sun next to a pool.

Appearance: nice deep golden color, tight white head

First Reaction: Oh now that is good!

This beer just blows all my expectations of a Golden Lager out of the water. The beer starts out with a nice lager front, and instead of petering out like many lagers do it only grows form there. After the initial taste you get a king of sweet malty taste that transforms into a mild peachy flavor. The end is a nice mellowed roasted hop taste that lingers on your tongue for quite a while after the sip is gone. It's a nice reminder of what you just had, and an excellent use of hops to accent and close out a brilliant brew.

At first I kind of want to describe this beer as sweet, but then you realize it's not. It has an exceptionally complex flavor overall and it's hard to even capture all of the tastes as they fly by your tongue. Not only that but each sip is a different experience, its almost like the speed and volume of the drink you take has a huge impact on how the beer tastes. I recommend at least 3 to 4 bottles to get a decent handle on it haha.

This is the second beer form Great Lakes that I have tried and I must say I am just as impressed, if not more so, with this option as I was with their excellent Porter.

A smooth lager that strikes a delicate balance between sweet malt and dry hop flavors. Our Dortmunder Gold is a consistent Gold Medalist and a balanced golden lager (do you see a pattern forming?). In the Middle Ages, this style brewed in Germany was so popular ir required armed escorts when exported to surrounding towns. As you can see, this beer was and still is as good as gold!

Back in the Groove.

Well now that my housing situation is slightly settled, at least for a couple months I can get back to business.

To come:
-A couple reviews of GOOD beers to be found in Florida.
-Time to brew our own?
-and who knows what else!