Salzburger Stiegl Goldbrau

11.2 oz bottle poured into a Stella Artois chalice glass. A rich golden appearance with a bubbly white head.

In the nose I catch spicy hops, fresh cut grass & bread crust. Stale apple juice. A touch of sweet caramel hits me also.

The taste is mildly sweet up front with bittering hops balancing it all out. Light and caramel malts seems to be the malt bill combo. An odd acidic astringency at times lingers.

Light-medium bodied. Reminds me of a kolsch. Worth a shot.

New Holland Brewing Co's Golden Cap Saison Ale

Golden appearance; fairly opaque for the color. Champagne-like carbonation rises to the top. Fluffy white head slims down.

The nose is beautiful. I can smell the floral aroma more than a foot away from the glass. Up close there's a pronounced grape note and phenolic yeast. Wood tones. A rainbow of aroma. Very fruity (subtle pineapple), but sophisticated.

A wild taste. Bright & fresh up front with floral hops flavor & spicy yeast, with a finish that is crisp and dry. Grape juice in the middle. More phenols.

Notes: my first saison/farmhouse ale (French). Forgive me for my lack of clarity, and for my brevity. Time to enjoy this one alone.

Augustiner-Bräu Münchner Bier Edelstoff

A very active brew...had to pop the cap in the sink (started to spill out after the first tug of the cap with a bottle opener). Dark yellow in appearance. Bubbly carbonation. White head slims down but remains full and true. Near-cloudy.

Grassy, pilsner-like smell. Bright lemon peel. Lime and salt in the nose. Almost burns the nostrils. Sour. Bread crust.

Clean in the mouth. Grainy up front with balancing bittering hops. Washes away smoothly. Hardly astringent. Feigns lemon-like harshness, but never makes it that far. Mild citrus. Smooth, non-lingering hops quality.

There's a friendly dryness to this brew, with the tartness of fruit. I can imagine lemon pepper chicken and rice accompanying this one with style and finesse.

Marten's Pilsener

Heavily carbonated, glowing golden appearance with decent head retention and sticky lacing.

Smells of wet grass, a bit of booze and sweet grapes. Grainy.

Just enough bittering hops. Mild on the malt, light-medium bodied. Chalky. A touch of metallic tang. Process (pasteurization, etc) seems to have hurt the taste a little. Hop flavor delivers some spiciness.

For a $1.80/pint can, not a bad brew. I'll try it again if I see it on-tap.

Hofbrau Original

Hofbrau Original appears golden-yellow, heavily carbonated, with a fluffy, bubbly white head.

Smells of fresh cut grass. Bright; lime zest; salt. Warm yeast; hay; grapes.

Clean, round, light malt flavor up front (taste). Crisp hoppiness; yeast notes.

Finishes with a metallic tang (pasteurization - educated guess). Smooth...(balance between malts and hops is remarkable).

Notes: pretty good, pretty drinkable. As always, better on-tap (unpasteurized).

Stoudt's Gold

Yeah, first off, that's the brewery name, Stoudt's. Sounds like I'm talking about stouts, but it's spelled different and I'm not. When I try selling Stoudt's at the beer store I always have to explain that I'm talking about the brewery in Adamstown, PA and not the style of brew usually associated with Guinness. Such is beer life...

Stoudt's Gold. The name says it all in appearance. Poured into a Stella Artois chalice glass, the egg white head slides down to a steady rim. Fairly translucent body. Both floral and fruity hops up front. Clean light grains in the middle; biscuity. A bit of booze. Bright notes in the nose.

The Nutty/roasted malts melody is both tasty and non-lingering. Flash of bittering hops is well received. Spicy/peppery hops flavor is very subtle, but a nice touch.

This brew is an excellent example of a light style of beer, not to be confused with America's incessant deference to diet beer. Flavor, character, aroma and ceaseless drinkability is exemplified by this one! Top notch.