17 July 2009

It's A Bit Nutty

Today, I'll be talking about Oak Creek Brewing Company's Nut Brown Ale. If you got the Austin Powers reference, extra super bonus points for you, but no, it doesn't resemble feces in the slightest.

I've only had a few different types of nut browns, so I don't think I can call this typical. Newcastle was the first, and is my favorite. It's a bit lighter, but still flavorful. The next was Santa Fe Brewing Company, and it was darker than the Newcastle, and richer.

Oak Creek resembles Santa Fe more closely. It's dark, rich and, well, nutty. The flavor was very robust, a little sweet, with a very slight hint of maple. All in all, very good. I'd probably give it four stars if I did that sort of thing.

While it wasn't surprisingly, eye-openingly the best nut brown I've ever had, Oak Creek Nut Brown is a very tasty microbrewed ale. I would very much suggest it, if you have the chance.

"Don't go making phony calls. Please stick to the seven-digit numbers you're used to."

09 July 2009

Here I Go Again On My Own

This is officially the second blog that will have anything to do with beer. Enjoy. As you will soon read, hopefully this will be more regular for a couple of weeks.

Ok, so my friend Travis scored me 8 exotic-ish beers, most of which I've never heard of. The one I have, Moose Drool, I've already tried. I really enjoyed it, so I'm glad to have another, and I'll give a review when I get to that one. Here are the beers I got:

Czechvar, Belhaven Scottish Ale, Kiltlifter, Warsteiner Dunkel, Black Jack Porter, Moose Drool, Oak Creek Nut Brown, and finally, something I'm very excited about, Krusovice. The first and the last are Czech beers, and the last apparently cost $3 for the bottle. I'll be saving that one for last.

Today, I'm trying the Czechvar. First, some backstory. In America, we know Budweiser. This started from some Czech immigrants that decided upon coming here, that whatever was available to them didn't meet the standards they set in Prague. Thus, Budweiser was born. The actuall beer from Prague is apparently called Budvar, but that would confuse dumb Americans, so it's Czechvar in the states.

Czechvar is, essentially, what Budweiser is trying to be.

Ok, so onto the beer itself. If you've ever had Budweiser, this won't be wholly unfamiliar to you. In fact, if you've had lagers, this will probably ring a bell. Right off the bat, this has noticeably more flavor than Bud. So far, nothing stands out to me as either "über good," or "that tastes like crap." It's slightly malty, but nothing like a Killian's. The hops are noticeable, but not overpowering. All in all, it's good, but I'm liking it less now that it's not from-the-fridge-cold, and I don't think I was in love at first sip.

All in all, I'd say, if you ever get the chance to experience Czechvar, give it a go. It's different enough to be fun, but similar enough to what you may know to not throw you for too much of a loop. Definitely better than it's bastard American successor.

"I'm in the business of misery, let's take it from the top."