MillerCoors Owns Leinenkugel

So I went to a distributor last evening for a 30-pack of Genesee Cream Ale (I'm going on a cheap binge to drive me toward splurging on something delicious), and there were Miller girls offering tastings. I immediately was offered a tasting outside of the cooler by the Miller girls and I asked what they had. "Miller Chill, MGD 64, and Sunset Wheat." I said that I had all of those except for MGD 64, but that I wasn't interested in MGD 64 because it is too light. I then went to pay for my 30 pack. The lady at the counter said to get another case because the one I brought up was ripped. I did, and as I walked out of the cooler for the second time it struck me. I asked one of the girls, "Does Miller own Leinenkugel now?" She responded "Yes, it's a Miller product."

!!!! How long has this been a fact? It makes me wonder now about whether or not back in 2006--when I first had Sunset Wheat and first had anything from Leinenkugel--the brewery was self standing. All in all, I wanted to vomit right there on the tasting table.

I don't want to give the wrong idea - I'm not just out to boycott anything put out by Miller - I'm not that insane. I just don't want to see more and more of good to great craft breweries get bought out by the BMC vacuum. I want to see real competition on the market. I don't want to see brands that one giant corporation owns competing amongst each other. I'm a competitionist, not a capitalist. That's all I'm saying...

Stoudt's Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout

This brew is black as night with a brownish-beige nougat head. Good lacing.

Offers a milk stout smell: strawberries, oatmeal, brown sugar & toasted raisin bread. I love it!

The taste is outstanding! Alcohol presence much like a heavy winter warmer. Toasted malts and, as a result, indistinguishable hops. A sweet-bitter finish. The alcohol makes it hard to distinguish much more, but there are sweet qualities very similar to an english style barleywine.

A good bite in the feel. A little bit of acidity; a tiny bit of aggression. Can't complain! This is a Class-A oatmeal stout - my first Imperial.

Guiness Draught

I poured the bottle into a nonic pint glass, appropriately.



Looks black with the typical nougat head.

Smells like a mild stout: coffee, roasted malts, far, far away.

Tastes like it's been intentionally watered down to make a MGD 64 drinker feel like they are branching out.

It literally feels like a glass of water.

This is a truly disappointing stout. I watched the "Historic Pubs of Dublin" PBS special today (again) and was inspired to have a good stout or a Guinness. A sad, sad, night.

Schlitz

Up until about a week ago, I never thought I'd be drinking this beer, let alone reviewing it.



It has a yellow-golden look with a short head, but enough lacing to keep me happy.

It smells of hops and a little bit of sweet corn. Don't let the latter element to the description of the smell fool you; it's actually pretty pleasant.

It has a nice hoppy bite to it, and an extremely clean finish. It tastes like its macro counterparts, only Schlitz is cleaner and better overall.

This is by far the best macro American Adjunct Lager available, and at around $12 bucks a case, one simply cannot go wrong.

The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout

I almost had an accident.  No, not that kind of accident.  This beer drilled its way to the top of my glass before I could say "oh, shit!" and forced me to swallow up some of the nice soda-beige head that was willing to barrel out of the glass if I didn't do something about it.



The brew is black as night, save a few dark brown mahogany spots down below when I hold the glass in front of my lamp.  It smells sweet: blackberries, brown sugar, concord grapes, maybe even some brown raisins. As it warms up I smell some coffee mixed in with the rest of the aromas.

The taste is far more gritty.  Black malts, spent coffee.  Still, this being a milk stout, it's gritty on a sugar high. Almost makes my mouth pucker.

The mouthfeel is very appealing; a sweet kiss, and a citric quality follows through like I sucked a lime.

I found this brew to be a pretty tasty milk stout from The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery.

Arcadia IPA

I've never before had an IPA that smelled quite like this...sour apple (much like a cider), brown sugar, and a faint note of toffee, far, far away.



The taste is fairly malty, suggesting that this is the kind of IPA that pushes for malt flavors, rather than an all out blast of hops.  No doubt, the hops are definitely there as there is a lot of bitterness to this brew.  Clean grains match up to the IBU's, culminating into a very balanced taste.

The color is honey-amber, coupled with a quality off-white head. A nice level of lacing acts as if it is stitched to the body of the beer. An excellent medium body, and an extremely clean finish makes this a highly enjoyable beer for me.

Southern Tier's IPA

I bought a single of this brew for $1.73, generally the average price I head to for one bottle of beer.



From the 12 oz bottle it smells of amarillo/cascade hops. Poured into a nonic pint glass, the brew looks light-amber, desperately trying to show an orange hue, or maybe my lighting is fooling me. The brew is pretty clear; crisp. A grimy, spotty white head (hues, not quality). Healthy 1/4 inch head or a little less. Stormy lacing.

Smells of citrus, amarillo/cascade hops, grapefruit. Tastes of fresh grapefruit, carrying a bitter-sweet malt-hops ratio, alcohol, & a flavorless corn cob. Feels soft, with a creamy/minced grain quality, and a medium body in well enough shape to throw it down with you several times over.  A clean finish overall, coupled with the hops resin that comes with the territory.  A brew worth buying.