There’s that word again: style. The first thing that drew me to this beer was the bottle. It looked like it was bottled and labeled in someone’s basement. The beer itself poured up a dark brown, but while pouring I noticed a dark red/brown color to it. The carbonated bubbles floated atop the sweet smelling liquid. There was something else in the aroma that I just couldn’t determine, it was almost nutty, to black licorice. The taste was not as sweet as I would have guessed. It was sweet, but there was a nutty taste to it that helped bring that taste down a bit. Overall not a wonderful beer, but one to try and make your own decision. I couldn’t find the beer on their website, and no where on the bottle did it state the ABV.

Specs: 12oz bottle
? ABV

Last one, but I had to save this for today because I started a new job! Check out the color and head on this ale; there’s a red hue to the deep color and the head poured thick and didn’t subside really until I was almost through with the glass. The taste is awesome! There’s a myriad of malts that create some rich flavors after some nut flavors. A clean hop finish rounds this out for a good ending.

Specs: 12oz bottle
5.5% Alcohol

This ‘chelada’ sytle beer comes in a unique can. You think you might be getting less beer than you should, but all 12 oz are there. The pour of this is not unlike a Miller Lite. It is a golden colored beer, with a decent amount of head. The aroma is where things change, it is sweet and has citrus to it. The taste is refreshing and light with a lime taste. I never really demanded a lime with my Corona, and this is supposed to be the Corona with lime and salt in the beer. Miller, thank you for not making it a true chelada beer, keep the clam juice out! For summer time and ease of drinking, I rate this one pretty well.

Specs: 12oz skinny tall can
4.2% ABV

What else would you have for breakfast than some chocolate and oatmeal! This is Founder’s double chocolate oatmeal stout. I thought I was in trouble when the pour was done and there was only a eighth inch of head on this beer. The black color of the beer would not scare me, but the missing head did. The aroma was full of roasted malts. The carbonation was still present in this is what came to mind as I finished my first sip. The taste begins with the harsh bitterness of coffee and then lightens up just enough for you to catch a taste of the oatmeal then it’s back to bitters, this time of the chocolate, I mean double chocolate. This is a beer that I don’t mind sitting around drinking for twenty minutes. The stronger bitters that remind me of a bad coffee is the only reason this one doesn’t get a 5/5. I really want to get my hands on a Kentucky Breakfast from Founder’s.

Specs: 12oz bottle
8.3% ABV
IBU: 25

The simplest name for this American style hefeweizen doesn’t give you a sense of its straw color, light aroma or crisp and refreshing taste. Imagine the bright aroma of a pilsner white a wheat lightness. While you might expect a very light body of this beer, there’s still some darkness provided from the malts but a quick transition to that wheat taste and a nice bouquet finish that made this really refreshing. So summers over, but the weather has been saying otherwise, so I’ve been enjoying some of my favorite wheat brews.

Specs: 12oz bottle
4.2% ABV
18 IBU

The consistant old look of Shiner’s labels is wonderful. This is the next adventure into Shiner’s cooler of beer. This one is a hefeweizen, normally what I would consider a summer time beer, but it still sort of feels like summer here. The color was darker and almost orange/yellow. The aroma was full of yeast and sweet. The head was almost non existent on this beer. The taste is what set me back on this one, set back in a bad way that is. The overwhelming sour finish to this beer makes me want to finish it in one chug so I only have to deal with the finish one last time. I really can’t recommend this beer, so move on to another Shiner.

Specs: 12oz bottle
5.6% ABV

The 3rd Shiner in my tastings. Again this one poured up with a nice head that faded quickly away during it’s short photo shoot. It is a very clear beer, it reminded me of a white with it’s white head and color going into the glass. The aroma again was sweet, but flowery. The taste had some hops to it, not too over powering. Between yesterday’s and today’s, the main difference I am getting is that it is not as sweet, and the aftertaste fades very quickly like I wasn’t drinking anything three seconds ago. So if you are into beer amnesia, this might be a good one to try. I prefer to drink something, and realize it is and was there (unless it was a Chelada)

Specs: 12oz bottle
4.4% ABV

Another Shiner from my bottom drawer. This beer pours up a nice clean yellow straw like color. The aroma was sweet, almost like cider to me. The slight head on the pour fell very quickly, which was good because I was ready to drink! The taste had a nice balance of hops and malts in it. It is what they say on the bottle, a nice summer beer. One thing to note this bottle has more information on the Kölsch style than it’s wiki page! If you can get this Texas German brew, give it a try.

Specs: 12oz bottle
4.9% ABV

Now this beer has style. Some red color, thick head, nice aroma. The taste is a combination of malts that give a full flavor and just enough bitters to finish off the brew allowing only the slightest taste to linger. This post is short and sweet because I think Dick’s Brewing found/developed a great version of a Irish red brew, with style.

Specs: 12oz bottle
5.2% ABV

I’ve already reviewed Dick’s IPA so it’s about time to go for the Pale Ale. This was the most difficult beer to pour as the head built up pretty quickly I actually knifed off a good amount from the glass’ top. The nose suggests classic pale, the taste is totally different. It had low carbonation, creamy body, sweet malts before a finish that hardly could be considered bitter. Overall this turned out to be mediocre beer, and below par for a pale.

Specs: 12oz bottle
4% ABV