Week 5: Red Hook "Winter Hook Winter Ale"

The week we "hooked" up with Red Hook's "Winter Hook Winter Ale." It was a great pour - nice reddish color and good aroma. Pretty cool label if your into that.

Yvonne was impressed - " it looks & tastes like a Sam Adams." It was a little bitter but overall she loved it with a rating of 4-.

I also thought this was a damn good beer. Awesome taste and really wanted to drink another one after I finished it. It was really, really good - I give it a 4.

Week 4: Michelob "Bavarian Style Wheat"

This week we tried Michelob's "Bavarian Style Wheat." What a disappointment.

It started out OK. It did have some positives including a nice label, a good looking bottle, and it had a nice pour. After that it went downhill. There wasn't much for taste - you could say it was a bit fruity but that's an insult to fruit. It was actually a chore for me to finish it. I rated it a 1.

Yvonne thought it tasted weird and "just was not good." She vows to never drink again and left 3/4 of the beer for me to drink. I hate to waste beer but I couldn't drink it. Yvonne's rating is also a 1.

Week 3: Red Hook Blonde Ale

This week we tried a beer that for all pratical purposes looks and tastes like any old mass produced domestic beer. It's Red Hook's "Blonde Ale" and except for the price (about $1 / beer) was pretty decent.

Blonde Ale reminds me of your typical summer beer - it's light, easy to drink, and has a bit more taste than your average beer . It reminded Yvonne & I of one of our favorites - Premium. Drinking this beer on the coldest weekend of the year definetely got me in the mood for summer - if only for a moment. I gave it a 2+.

Yvonne thought the beer was decent but wouldn't go out of her way to drink again. I ended up drinking about 1/2 of her beer. She still scored it pretty decent - 2.

Week 2: Michelob Porter

This week's beer - Michelob "Porter" - was a disappointment to both Yvonne & I. It started out good - nice dark pour with a chocolaty smell. First taste was very thick - something you'd expect from a dark beer. But the aftertaste was a bit vinegary which wiped out everything good about this beer. Neither one of us could think of any food we'd eat with this beer...

Yvonne would not drink this beer again (I guess I'm stuck with the 3 remaining bottles). She rated it a 2-.

To me - this beer was not as heavy as most dark beers. It was almost like an ale trying to be a dark beer. I like dark beer's so I was not as harsh as Yvonne - I rated it a 2+.

Week 1: Red Hook India Pale Ale "Long Hammer"

Our first beer was Red Hook's "Long Hammer" IPA. We both felt it had a clean crisp taste and was not too heavy. It has a light golden color and a good aroma (it smelled like a decent beer!) It would be a good beer to drink with appetizers.

Yvonne felt the beer made her "Happy" and would definetely drink it again. She'd drink another one down with no problem. Grade: 3 out of 4.

I thought the beer was pretty decent but lost interest half way through. I would admit I'd try it again and love the name "Long Hammer". I give it a 3- out of 4.

It's a new year - let's drink some beer.

Yvonne had this great idea she got from another site. Basically you try a different beer each week for a year and write about it. Since there is not really anything else going on right now we thought we'd give it a shot.

This is how it will work. Yvonne and I will sample a beer each week and write a review about it on this blog. We'll also grade each beer on a scale of 1 - 4:

Score: 1. This is the bottom of the barrel - you normally wouldn't drink it unless it's free or you're finances are in shambles. Categorized by little or no taste, no color, and the remarkable ability to give monster hangovers if consumed in large quantities. Surprisingly these beers taste better after drinking 12 -14 in one sitting. Some good examples are Olympia, Schaefer, and Black Label.

Score: 2. This is a decent beer with some color and decent taste. You shouldn't be ashamed to be seen drinking this beer. This is also a beer you could drink more than 3 of in one sitting - think Tuesdays or a drive to the lake. Most of your mass produced beers would fall under this score - Miller Genuine Draft, Bud Light, and Coors.

Score: 3. Now we are getting into your better beers. These beers are typically categorized with strong flavors and deep color. You'll typically find these beers in your relatives frig during the holidays. While they are mighty tasty, you can't drink more than 1 or 2 without feeling full. Typical beers would be Sam Adams, Beck's, and Summit.

Score: 4. This is the holy grail - a great tasting beer that you could slam all day long. I really have my doubts that we can find a beer with this score but we'll try. The closest beer for me personally is Michelob (not Michelob Golden Draft which I score a 1-.) We'll see if we can find any other beers in our quest that can reach this height.

We'll also add +/- to further differentiate between beers along with some hard hitting commentary. Check back in the near future for our first review!