Anchorsteam Humming

I discovered the supermarket by school sells individual bottles, so I've been picking up some singles. One of the first I decided to try with this Anchorsteam Humming.

At first taste, this beer is very smooth!!! It has a color that reminds me of blue moon, a golden hue. It is certainly not a yellow / greenish colored beer!



While on the label, this beer is described as being hoppy, it is certainly not anything like an IPA. It has a slight hoppy bite, but it is really not noticeable. Perhaps if you have a more sensitive mouth, unlike me, you'd find it just slightly hoppy. I really think that the best word to describe this is smooth. It goes down really easily. I've had the regular anchorsteam and the anchorsteam dark, and of these three, the Humming is definitely my favorite, because of its drinkability. I could see this being a good beer to enjoy with a bbq chicken sort of dish. I could see it going really well with pork as well. This is a good spicy food beer, since it has a nice easy flavor, it would do a nice job of soothing a hot and spicy bite. Maybe drink this with chicken wings?

Like I said in the beginning, this beer reminds me of blue moon. It doesn't have the same citrus overtone that blue moon does, but it is similar. Perhaps there is a hint of citrus flavor in this beer.

Fred, have you ever tried this? I know your parents really like Anchorsteam.

I'm going to try again!

I'm going to give this blog another try. I still think it is a good idea, hopefully, I can keep it going this time!!

This week's Drinks #1

So this is the first post in a new segment of Morty's Beer... I'm going to try to keep track of different beers I drink during the week. Mostly, these are beers that I've had out at a meal...


Rare Vos - This is from the Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown. I enjoyed this drink at Cafe du Soleil, a french place at 104th and Broadway. This is a pretty good beer. It is aromatic, complex, not to be drunk quickly. I found that the flavors in this beer really came alive after it had warmed up a little. It was still cool, but not ice cold anymore. A lot of beer is served too cool, in fact Sam Calagione, head of Dogfish Head, says that you can tell a beer is good when it tastes good at room temperature. The thing I liked best about this beer, is that unlike other complex beers, this still tasted like a beer. The natural yeasty slightly bitter flavor comes through all the other flowery and nutty tastes. I like my beer to taste like beer.


The second beer I had out this week was a Sam Adams Noble Pils. I actually had this in a TGI Fridays in Tarrytown, NY. The poor 17 year old waitress thought it was called a Pilner and I had to ask if she meant Pilsner. TGI actually has a few decent beers on their list (Blue Moon, a couple of Sam drinks, one or two others) in addition to the commercial swill. I'm new to pilsners. They are a lighter beer, appropriate for a hot day in the summer. I'm not sure how a pilsner is different from a light bodied ale or from a wheat beer. All I can say is that it is a good choice and you are starting to get tired of Sam's Summer, around August let's say, try it out. I enjoyed it.


Finally, later that same day, still in Tarrytown, eating at a Greek Restaurant called
Lefteris I had a beer called Mythos Red. I can't really think of anything special about this. Call it a better version of a bad American beer. That being said, it was better. It wasn't weak tasting, it maintained a decent flavor throughout the meal, it was fine. If you end up in a greek restaurant and they have this, give it a shot. I find it similar in concept to a Molson Canadian, or a Labatt's Blue. It is a mainstream beer, but decent.

More full reviews will come, the Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA is up next, in the IPA roundup. So check back next Sunday night (or perhaps Monday morning as you begin to avoid the pile of work on your desk...) for the next installment!

Review 1: Dogfish Head - 60 Minute IPA

For the first few reviews, I decided I'd look a few IPAs. Typically, IPAs are my favorite variety of beer. I really enjoy the extra hops as well as the slight bitter taste that comes along with it. Dogfish Head started out as a brewpub in Delaware. Actually, when they first started, it was illegal to run a brewpub in Delaware! They had to get the state to legalize it and only got approval a few days before they opened!



The 60 minute IPA is a regular fixture in delis and supermarkets around New York. Occasionally you see its big brother, the 90 minute IPA, and only once did I drink it's 2x time relative, the 120 min IPA! The 60 Minute is 6% abv.

Its hoppy taste is less than some other IPAs I can think of... Rather than a biting taste its hoppiness is smooth and easy on the palate. This is probably a good introduction to IPAs in general as it is unlikely to turn off a novice. It has a slight citrus flavor, but my taste buds are that sensitive... Lila says that it tastes bitter! This beer ranks at 60 IBU (international bitterness units) which is on the high side for beer in general but not abnormally high for an IPA.

Overall, I like this beer. It is not my favorite IPA (I prefer Dogfish's longer hopped IPAs) but since it is readily available and reasonably priced for a craft beer its a good value. Try it out! Leave a comment!

What got me started

This documentary was what motivated me to start this blog... It is really informative!

Welcome

I don't really blog unless I have a theme... When I happen upon one, I post a lot, but then, as my interest in the topic diminishes, so do the posts. But, I always drink beer. I was thinking that a blog about beer could be interesting for others and fun for me! After all, I'll have to do a bunch of drinking! I'm going to try to review a beer a week and perhaps also post regarding the microbrew industry. If anyone has comments or suggestions, let me know!