San Miguel Red Horse Beer

San Miguel Red Horse Beer seems to have a slightly different target market here in the Philippines based on their website, but that is all good… still don’t know the real ABV of this one as I get reports from the locals that it is 6.5 or 7.2 or 9.3… it says strong, doesn’t it?   More likely high 6 if i were to guess, but could be wrong there. 

The word stallion on the neck was speaking to me that night… telling me sweet nothings… “you… stallion…” I looked around… no one there… you talking to me?  “yeah… you… stud…”  I checked over each shoulder… realized I was the target of the beer’s affection and began to blush… you shouldn’t say such things you devil… and it went places I can’t type from there…

Overall, not a bad brew.  It is kind of a dirty beer… meaning it is a little dodgy in its intentions… pretty sure that if I did have several of these, I would feel like a real stallion and act accordingly.  Need to be careful.

Weak aroma, strong body with some ABV.  Hops are more present than the other San Miguels I have tasted.  Finish isn’t in your face but pleasant.  Overall one that isn’t a bad brew but San Miguel makes some more well crafted brews to enjoy… the drunk on this one would be interesting, though…

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

San Miguel Cerveza Negra

My second brew on the trip, San Miguel Cerveza Negra comes at us from the black lager category.  Enjoyed this brew with some peanut mix at the bar in the Shang and will definitely be going back for more.  Very well balanced between light and dark, this dark lager is refreshing, easy to drink, and goes down smooth, morning or night.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Port Brewing Hot Rocks Lager

Port Brewing Hot Rocks Lager lives up to its name in going old school for heating the wort with hot racks vs a burner.  This dark lager was made the old way, so it some responct.  Regardless, though, at the end of the day was it any good???

I say yes!!  This Dark lager has a strong and typical nose, nice head, leading into a dark amber color. Malt aroma is definitely there but not harsh.  Overall a smooth and solid finish.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Full Sail Session Black

Brought to you from the folks at Full Sail in commemoration of their 10th anniversary as an employee-owned brewery, Full Sail Session Blackfollows in the footsteps of the original Session Lager (which we actually don’t have on the blog yet).  This time around, they were going for more of a dark malt/chocolate spin, but keeping it light and easy to drink (Session… duh…) in lager style.

I have to say… I brought this one out to the ’sac last night and received a ration of shit from around the fire.  “Drinking some cough medicine, Dug?”  “You need a nipple for your little baby bottle?”  and so on and so forth… at the end of it, I didn’t really care, though, because I would be proud to call this little bottle ‘mine’ any day.

As far as the taste goes, this really is a pretty solid little dark lager.  Not much of a head to go on, but nice lite aroma on the nose and dark, dark amber coloring as you hold it up to the light… almost like root beer (but don’t let the kids try it).  The body is light and easy to drink… roasted coffee and dark chocolate are evident… I can’t catch the citrus that is supposed to be there, but I will take their word for it.  Decent carbonation and the finish is well balanced. 

Overall a solid little brew that may get you made fun of a little but will be worth it in the end.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Full Sail LTD 02

Full Sail’s LTD Lager comes to us this year with Recipe 02… ooohhh… recipe 02… anyhow… not a bad little ditty, but not something I will be seeking out again. Only reason to buy is if they change the recipe… see if I like it then. Definitely not as bad as some of the American Macro lagers, but not something I really enjoyed either. Color is orange, head is short, body is lager for sure but they were able to smooth out the end of the body and into the finish so it doesn’t tasty skunky or bitter… as much… still there, though.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Redhook Slim Chance

I think I might know why I didn’t get to preview this one… Sorry Redhook, but I am definitely not a lite beer drinker and this is the reason… Slim Chance tastes like a lite beer… if this didn’t, I might like it… but it tastes like a lite beer… maybe even more like a lite beer than some of the other lite beers I have had and so… it isn’t up my alley.

Pours a pee yellow with a big bubble, frothy head… coincidence? Not sure, but the nose actually isn’t bad… a bit sweet and lite… like it is supposed to be. The body is where it gets you. Nearly driving me to that bitter beer face, this one hits you in the middle of the mouth like a tone of bricks. Finish lingers too long and leaves you doing that mouth smacking thing where you are basically trying to wipe the taste off the top of your mouth with your tongue.

I love you Redhook, I really do… you send me free beer and give me cool insight into what is going on. But I can’t, in good conscious, give this beer anything better than a Just Not Right… I am sure there are those that like it… just don’t count me in that number.

JBB6 Rating: Just Not Right

Port Brewing Midnight Sessions Lager

A sweet little diddy that fell right in line with the dark english ales we were pouring for the night.  Port Brewing Midnight Sessions Lager comes to us from our friends in California, Port Brewing Company, where we have taste a couple of fine brews.  This one comes through with roasted malt and coffee and keeps everything really clean and simple.  Pour is dark, head is light and creamy, nose is light, body is dark, finish is dark… a pretty dark beer overall…   At 5.0% ABV, this is a light weight beer but I wouldn’t turn it down if you offered me a drink…

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Pyramid Rollick Amber Lager

Ahhhh Pyramid.  One of those breweries that has so much potential but I just don’t see them taking advantage of it too much… maybe until now… I have to admit that when I saw the label on this one I was surprised… it sure didn’t follow the traditional label style, opting for an edgier version but keeping clever with they Pyramids smartly designed in.  Of courese I had to buy some and here you go… Pyramid Rollick Amber Lager (nice work on the new site!): this is a sneaky lager… a golden body (see below) with an earthy nose that drinks clean and light.  There is a slight lager aftertaste but offset by the balance of malt and hop that they used. This 6.0% ABV beauty actually isn’t bad at all.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again 

Cheese:

Of course, I have been on a pairing kick lately and so I figured we could start using the DugPo Rating System to get some of our pairings up here.  This time around it is Beecher’s Flagship Cheese.  Beecher’s comes to us from Seattle and is probably one of my favorite local cheese makers although I haven’t branched out that much yet.  Their Marco Polo and No Woman are outstanding if you get a chance to try them.  This one is a slightly sharp, creamy but dry white cheddar that crumbles just a bit as you cut through it with the knife.  It is still creamy enough to stick, though and is super smooth and easy as it heads down the gullet.  This paired really well with the Rollick and mellowed out a few of the edges without compromising the taste. 

DugPo Rating System©: For the Win (cheese)

 

Henry Weinhard’s Classic Dark

Henry Weinhard’s Classic Dark… Definitely dark, mini-head. Light on the nose with malt hitting slightly. Flavor is super mild… really nothing to it… makes it very easy to drink but not really very satisfying. Very approachable for a dark beer (but would expect that from a dark lager), especially for those that don’t normally like dark beer. For me, though, I like the rug to match the curtains and this one is just too much of a dichotomy.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Samuel Adams Black Lager

This one baffles me a bit and I don’t know what to think… on the one had I like it, but on the other it is just plain wierd.  Samuel Adams Black Lager is part of their Brewmaster’s Collection and comes at you with a dark pour and all of the appearances of a good, solid dark beer.  It has a chocolate and coffee nose, and a nice foamy little head… but the taste is where it turns on you like a rabid wildabeast, showing that it isn’t really dark at heart… it is a lager with a light body, a slight bitterness, and some smokey undertones that put icing on the cake.  I can’t quite get past the fact that this beer doesn’t quite know where to balance the lager vs. the dark characteristics, though, unfortuneately, so it has to go middle of the road.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road