Beer Review – Mahr’s Bräu Leicht

The other day, I hit the import wall at Kress Liquors. Among my selections was a bottle of Mahr’s Bräu Leicht. Mahr’s Bräu is a brewery in Bamberg, Germany that has been around since at least 1670 and owned by the same family since 1895. They produce a variety of beers: Hell, Pils, Light (Leicht), White, Gig (coachman’s beer) and two kinds of Bock beer (Bock and White Bock). Bamberg, a city of about 70,000 people has seven other breweries besides Mahr’s Brau and is known for their smoked Rauchbier. The Leicht has received mixed reviews, with Beer Advocate giving it a solid 82, and Rate Beer giving it a pitiful 27.

Here is my take on the Mahr’s Bräu Leicht…

Beer Review – Erdinger Pikantus Weizen Bock

Previously, I had ventured to Kress Liquors’ wall of imports and picked up a mixed six. The Erdinger Hefe Weizen was the first that I had reviewed. I enjoyed that beer so much that I selected the Erdinger Pikantus Weizen Bock as the second beer. Erdinger has been brewing quality beer for over 125 years most of that time under the watchful eye of the Bromabach family. Today, the brewer calls itself the world’s largest wheat beer brewery and distributes to five continents.

Here is what Erdinger has to say about the Pikantus:

Beer Review – Westmalle Trappist Ale Tripel

Looking for something new, I ventured to Kress Liquors’ wall of imports and looked for something from Merchant du Vin that I hadn’t tried yet. I picked up a Westmalle Tripel as a part of a mixed six. Usually, I would have picked up a heavier bottle from Samuel

Beer Review – Erdinger Hefe Weizen

Looking for something new, I ventured to Kress Liquors’ wall of imports and picked up a mixed six. One of the six was the Erdinger Hefe Weizen (aka Erdinger Weissbier). I have had about two dozen beers in this style this summer and while it is not one of my favorites, it is a perfect summer beer. From the Erdinger site:

Sheer Candemonium!

My better half opted for a party at the local swimming pool for my youngest son’s third birthday. While she did the yeoman’s work, I was left in charge of two pivotal ingredients, ice and beer. Now, the ice was a challenge since we were in the midst of a heat wave and I needed to fill two coolers, a large beverage tub, and a buffet raft (she who must be obeyed finds the coolest things!). After a feeble attempt with 32 pounds of ice, I had to step up my game and go for nearly 100 pounds all in. The reason for what may seem like a massive amount of ice was the need to keep all of the beverages (beer, water, juice pouches, soda, ice tea, etc.) at an optimum temperature.

Now the beer turned out to be an even bigger challenge as the pool does not allow glass, and based on the crowd, I couldn’t get a single mini keg to satisfy everyone. This led to a search

Beer Review – Harviestoun Old Engine Oil

Photo courtesy of http://www.tastingbeers.com

I had stopped in to Kress Liquors to check out their assortment of canned beer for an upcoming pool party. Always a sucker for proper merchandising, I wandered over to the import wall and immediately was struck by the Old Engine Oil. I put together a couple of chocolate stouts (incl. Rogue Chocolate and  Young’s Double Chocolate) and added a bottle in for tasting. From the Harviestoun site:

“Old Engine Oil is strong and dark but wickedly smooth. Chocolate dominates the palate but is nicely balanced with a hoppy bitterness. Old Engine Oil is a delicious post-prandial beer with a bittersweet aftertaste.

Harviestoun’s founder Ken Brooker spent much of his life crafting wooden design prototypes for Ford. The viscous nature of this