June 10, 2009: Harnas

Tonight's beer Harnas is another to come out of the land of Kielbasa. I've always felt that Polish beers got a bit of a bad rap because they don't have the same pedigree as their German neighbors to the west. Some Polish beers that such as Okocim have done a lot to refute these notions, but tonight's beer Harnas only reinforces them. Simply stated, there's not much to separate Harnas from the rest of the European style lagers which for the most part are more well renowned and cheaper to get here in the states. I was drawn to Harnas at first because it is a Polish beer that sports a man wearing full native American regalia on the label, but the beer itself proved to be far less intesting. There's nothing terribly wrong with this beer. It pours a light golden straw color which is typical of most pilsners, has a thin off white head and a pretty forgettable palate of wheat, corn and fruit. Don't waste your time on Harnas; you'll only wish you's done the sensible thing and reached for a Heineken or a Stella Artois.

Na zdrowie!
Ian

http://www.okocim.pl/

June 9, 2009: Hofbrau

As a self confessed lover of most things alcoholic, I often find myself feel envious of citizens of nations with a more relaxed attitude toward drinking. Sometimes I think it would be great to live in a place where you could find four generations of the same family getting shit faced drunk together at the local bar. Hell, some countries even have breweries that are owned and operated by the state. Hofbrau, for example, is a hefeweizen that is owned and brewed by the state government. That's how I'd like to see my tax dollars being spent! Hofbrau is a great example of you're typical Hefeweizen; cloudy golden color, creamy white head, strong and rich wheat flavor and a full body that makes it feel like a full square meal in a glass. For a beer that is brewed by the government rather than by the careful hand of a meticulous brewmaster, Hofbrau isn't half bad. The only real blight that plagues Hofbrau is the brewery's history as a sort of headquarters for the thinktank behind Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime. However, as this brewery is owned by the German government and the Nazi's were the party in power at the time, one can hardly blame Hofbrau for wetting the third reich's whistles. Still, it is a bit unsettling to think that Adolph Hitler, one of the most dispicable human beings to ever set foot on this earth, was known to enjoy the very same beer that you hold in your hand today.

Prost!
Ian

http://www.hofbraeu-muenchen.de

June 7, 2009: Steigl Lemon Beer

Have you ever had one of those morning where you wake up and feel like you've just been run over by a semi-truck, dragged naked through a fetid pile of cow manure and had bit of sand and finely crushed glass run into your eyes? .... No? Just me then I guess. When I opened my eyes this morning, I cursed God for not letting me sleep any longer to avoid my inevitable hangover. I'm not quite sure what happened last night. All I can truly remember was a keg filled with cheap beer, several attempts at dethroning the beer pong champions of the party, and wandering through the streets of Laguna Beach at three A.M. trying to hail a cab that wasn't there. The laws handed down by the alcohol Gods long ago state clearly that whatever a man reaps the night before, he must sow the next. Yea my brothers, I have indeed sinned and today I must suffer the merciless wrath of the alcohol Gods.

Needless to say, cracking open a cold one doesn't exactly sound like the best idea in the world, but as I've said many times in the past, the 365brews project must roll onward, hangover or not. To soften the inevitable that another beer will surely deliver to my stomach, liver and brain cells, I've decided to try a hybrid called Stiegl's Lemon Beer. Stiegl's Lemon Beer is a strange concept; half beer and hald lemon soda. Although I wouldn't technically consider this to be a true beer, I was too intrigued by the idea of mixing beer and soda to pass Stiegl's Lemon Beer up. Unfortunately, the combination of soda and beer tasted just about as unappetizing as it probably sounds in your mind. I'm not quite sure why the brewers at Steigl ever dreamed up the concept of lemon beer. I can only assume that it was meant to be a fun, light alternative to the tradional lagers that Stiegl is known for, but it's pretty clear to me that they missed the mark. If you're the kind of person who doesn't really care for the taste of beer, Stiegl Lemon Beer might be a nice alternative, but in my personal opinion, Steigl's only found a way to ruin perfectly good beer by mixing it with soda.

Prost!
Ian

http://www.stiegl.at/

June 7, 2009: Coor's Light

Tonight I've decided to attend a party with a couple of friends and roll the dice, hoping that someone will have brought a new beer that I haven't used for the 365brews project. The good news is that my gamble paid off; there's a keg in the backyard full of a brand new beer. The bad news: the beer in the keg is Coor's Light.Under normal circumstances, Coor's Light is the one beer that I would absolutely refuse under almost any conditions. Put quite simply, Coor's Light is just about the worst beer that I have ever tasted, and we all know that I've had my fair share of many different beers. Coor's Light is so bland, flavorless and downright unappetizing that I consider it to be a beer in name only. Sure, Coor's Light is probably made with hops, yeast, barley and water like all other beers, but the end result is something less than true beer in my opinion. Coor's Light's latest advertising gimmick boasts this beer as being the most refreshing beer in the world, which
I can't really argue with since Coor's Light is essentially carbonated water that has fermented somehow in my opinion. I gave this beer an honest effort and finished a full cup (in addition to the many cups I was forced to drink in a few games of beer pong that I played, which I can only assume were filled with Coor's Light), but I can promise you that this will probably be the last time that I ever willing drink a Coor's Light.

www.coors.com