On Tap: A Dream Within A Dream

Well, it’s Monday again and you know what that means.  It’s time for another segment of On Tap.  As far as beer goes, this past week was filled with several interesting new brews, both good and bad.  However, before we get into that, I wanted to share something I came across several weeks ago when I was first beginning my foray into the world of beer.  Below is a link to another blog I came across when trying to learn about the different kinds of beer.  The post breaks down the differences between the two types of beer (lager and ale) and the most common subcategories (IPA, porter, stout, etc.).  I hope you find it as helpful as I did

Lager vs. Ale

Now, onto my beer escapades, or beerscapades as I like to call them.  Last Monday night I tried Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat for the first time and I must say, despite my previous run-in with Troegs (HopBack wasn’t for me), I very much enjoyed this one.  It had a smooth, almost bready flavor that I found very refreshing, and just the right amount of carbonation. 

After the Troegs I was feeling nostalgic for a beer that I had never had before: Lionshead.  Now this may seem funny seeing as I went to college in Wilkes-Barre, PA , just minutes from the Lionshead Brewery, but back then I just wasn’t into beer.  Anyway, after solving countless numbers of their cap puzzles I thought it time to try my first one.  I was very wary at first, I mean Lionshead is a fairly cheap beer AND it’s a pilsner which I thought, after reading the blog post above, I wouldn’t like to begin with.  Well it just goes to show you that you can’t always judge a book by its cover.  I actually thought the Lionshead wasn’t half bad; it had a good beer flavor and the bite wasn’t as bad as anticipated. 

Well, those were the winners for the week, now onto the losers.  Last week was a somber one, it marked the first time I tried a Leinenkugel beer that I didn’t like.  The beer I’m referring to is Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss.  It was just too much; it was sickeningly sweet and tasted like fruit punch, not beer.  I guess if you don’t really like the taste of beer you might enjoy this one, but it definitely wasn’t for me.   Last week also marked my first experience with a porter.  The brew was Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter and I must say, they hit the nail on the head with the name.  The beer was fairly thick with little carbonation, which I expected, but the taste is what really turned me off.  It had a bitter, smoky flavor that was not appealing at all; I couldn’t even finish the whole thing.

That concludes this week’s edition of On Tap.  Join me next week when I hope to discuss, among others, the following beers:

Yuengling Bock Beer

Victory Moonglow Weizenbock