Spoiled sourdough swill and acrid malt inadequacy ruin sharply astringent malt liquor-ish spew. Makes Schlitz seem appetizing. Appallingly abhorrent.
All posts by John Fortunato
MICHELOB CENTENNIAL SPECIAL BREW
Typical easy pounding domestic premium beer sweeter and more yeast-infested than macrobrewed Michelob premium, but nothing ‘special.’
MICHELOB BLACK & TAN
Burnt sienna-hued b & t with soft stout bitterness and easygoing grain fluctuation creating crisp lager flow. Cheap on mocha spicing though barley-roasted caramel creaminess picks up the slack. Neither as rich nor as creamy as better Black & Tans, yet fairly suited to amateurs.
MICHELOB BAVARIAN STYLE WHEAT ALE
Amiable gold-hazed moderate-bodied cereal-grained honeyed wheat ale embraces bittersweet banana-clove convoy and vanilla-marshmallow escort. Prickly peppered hop bitterness counters candied butterscotch sweetness, biscuit-y follow-up, and citrus reminder.
MICHELOB AMBER BOCK DARK LAGER
Scant toasted barleymalts and subdued cereal grains combine with sweetened cola nuts for caramelized soda-like effect. Too light for serious bock; lacking sturdy mocha fix to be considered decent dark lager.
MICHAEL SHEA’S IRISH AMBER LAGER
Roasted grain sweetness caresses honeyed whiskey center, but watery follow-through flattens fruited hops substantially. Too bland and understated to draw attention of serious drinkers.
(MEXICANA) RED PIG MEXICAN ALE
Unlike typical moderate-bodied Mexican lagers, richer raw-honeyed grain-embedded ruddy-hued ale maintains bitterer backbone, plying earthen barley-hopped parch to profuse pumpernickel-rye toasting. But vegetal off-taste depletes leftover Graham Cracker sweetness as harshly oxidized ethanol finish unfolds.
MEXICALI LAGER
Brewed in Texas as well as Mexico, this lawnmowing pale lager has a long history and its bottled and canned versions have featured many different, but similar, labels. Obvious Tex-Mex tequila-agave assertion goes fine with lemon twist. But too delicate and unassuming, lacking distinction from fizzed pilsner mouthfeel to light grained finish.
METEOR PILS
Skunked malt pungency relinquished by orange-candied sweetness and mild lemony souring to wheat biscuit spine. Off-dry diacetyl finish ravages irretrievably light pale body.
(METEOR) MORTIMER PURE MALT BIERE
Durable sweet Scotch malt essence, strong alcohol luster and buttery nut flow weakened by muted peat graining. Though ancillary fruit tang and Belgian-like candi-sugaring add creamy cognac depth to lilting sherry warmth, understated soft-bodied appeal dampens resolve.
MESSINA PILSENER
Musty smelling Italian punctually carbolic, bitterly hopped, and delicately complex. Soft barleymalt tongue and lime-y Seltzer fizz perk up mild lemony grapefruit finish, giving moderate-bodied subtlety the edge over Italy’s lesser pils.
MENDOCINO WINTER ALE SPECIAL EDITION 2004-05
Full-bodied mahogany-hued winter warmer creases thrifty dry bourbon opening with piney ash, burnt cedar, and cigarette notes as roasted coffee bean theme develops beneath. Thick maple-molasses midst and chocolate-caramel subtext further enrich syrupy malt alleviation.