ROLLING ROCK EXTRA PALE (St. Louis, MO)
Todd: 1
Pale is right, as is fizzy, artificial yellow appearance, and watery blah. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This is beer-flavored water. Maybe after a long day of lawn mowing in the summer, this would quench well enough, but as a tasting beer, Rolling Rock just lacks in every sense.
Jabez: 3.5
This beer is nothing flashy but just a decent beer for the money. It has a nice mild hop aroma with a light malt taste. Good carbonation. A nice beer to drink after mowing the lawn, it’s just your average malt beverage. I just remember drinking this for the first time and thought it was suppose to be something special. It wasn’t, it’s just OK.
Tom T: 2.5
Pretty standard pale lager appearance. Clear, straw yellow with a very light, bitter, almost skunky smell. It is very thin in the mouth with heavy carbonation. Taste is light, fizzy, and a little bland – not bad, but not really good.
Dylan: 2
A workman-like American beer that delivers more taste than the average mass-produced brew. Well-known forever and a day as the beer from Latrobe, since 2006, RR has been produced in New Jersey instead. And I may be mistaken, but it tastes differently than before – better, in my opinion that it did when it was made in Arnold Palmer’s Pennsylvania hometown.
TWO BROTHERS - MONARCH WHITE BEER (Chicago, IL)
Todd: 3.5
This hazy golden Belgian-style wheat ale pours with a big frothy head and a lovely spicy citrus aroma (according to the label, it's orange peel and coriander). Tastes rich and sweet, with a nicely-balanced tartness. Quite a pleasant drink, and this one doesn't need the orange slice to give it that zesty, crisp flavor. Solid.
Jabez: 4.5
This beer had a pretty strong hop aroma but poured a cloudy orange color with good carbonation. It did have a nice wheat flavor. I could also detect some spice and some fruit flavors. It reminded me of another beer, maybe Hoegarden but I am not totally sure. I liked this beer a lot.
Tom T: 3.5
Cloudy golden color. Orange peel and a hint of coriander evident in the nose. All of the usual witbier flavors are there, but the sweetness and bitterness are better balanced than many beers of this variety. A nice warm weather beer.
Dylan: 4
A tame Belgian-style concoction – at least in terms of spice/peppery notes, Two Brothers’ efforts are subtle and lively; there is a lot happening here both in the taste and the aftertaste, none of which can I pan. A beer with backbone, one not made of steel, but of something pliable. Delicious and highly recommended.
SAMUEL ADAMS - NOBLE PILS (Boston, MA)
Todd: 4
Brewed with five different Noble hops from around the world, this pours a golden yellow, with little discernable aroma, oddly. The abundance of suds subsides to reveal a clean, floral hoppy character (not a shocker, there) that's light and smooth, with a nice "flavor roll," which is the mark of a complex, quality brew to my taste buds. Superb.
Jabez: 4
This beer had a heavy hop aroma and poured a clear amber color. This beer was very crisp and loaded with hop flavor. A lot of hop flavor. This beer was very similar to Michelob’s Hop Hound but I liked this one just a little better. I am slowly becoming a Sam Adams fan.
Tom T: 3.5
Pale gold with a thick, frothy head. Nice aroma with citrusy hops. Sweet maltiness that finishes crisp and bitter, but not overly so. I am not a big fan of pilsners, but if I have to have one, this would be the one.
Dylan: 4.5
I am a fan of many pilsners, and Jim Koch at Sam Adams has sold me again on another of the Boston-based brewery’s fine creations. For a beer with such focus on the hops, it is not bitter; rather, the floral nature of quality hops offers such a piquant counterpoint to this, a refreshing, delicious beer I’ll drink again.
MICHELOB - GINGER WHEAT (St. Louis, MO – Available in a sample pack with Shock-Top, DunkelWeisse and Hop Hound only)
Todd: 2.5
An unusual blending of citrus and spice with a zingy ginger flavor, this cloudy amber wheat ale boasts of a warm ginger aroma and a well-balanced taste. It's not harsh or complex in any way, though not offensive either. In fact, this one seems too tame and lacks personality. A promising idea, but not fully delivering.
Jabez: 3
This beer looked like the Monarch with the cloudy orange color with a little better carbonation. I could taste the ginger and the wheat but both were somewhat subtle compared to the Monarch. I applaud Michelob with the recent attempts at making different beers but I just didn’t care for this one. I am not a fan of ginger in beer but I still look to see what new beers Michelob puts out.
Tom T: 2.5
The ginger presence is unmistakable in the aroma and taste. It’s an interesting twist on a Belgian-style wheat ale. It’s a drinkable beer and would complement Japanese cuisine nicely, but I am not that interested in it otherwise.
Dylan: 2
Rather than applying the “great after mowing the lawn” set of descriptors to Rolling Rock, I’ll use it here. Only I would mix Michelob’s Ginger Wheat with 7-Up for a shanty… and I may well be the only person under the age of 60 who does such things.
