A Trip to the Outback

After a long, busy week, it was hardly on my radar that I needed to taste another lager. This can sometimes be the only little project I enjoy all week and this week was no exception. With all the stress that comes with being a fourth year college student, it is nice to have something to look forward to each week.

It is really a cool thing to be able to give something back to the world through the internet. I have gained a lot through online resources: knowledge, resources, conveniences, and even relationships. I am currently planning a trip to Ireland, where I'll head during my fall break, and websites like trip advisor and yelp have become very useful when deciding where to go and what to do. If it weren't for other people putting their own information back into these websites, I wouldn't have this type of insight.

If I think about it, I'm really doing a similar thing to these citizen journalists who are rating and reviewing their experiences. By giving my opinion and experience of each of these beverages, someone may or may not choose to purchase them.

This week I decided to try something I had only ever had once before. This summer, I went with my mom and her boyfriend to our local Outback for some steak and drinks before I returned to school. I decided to go through with the full experience and ordered a pint of Fosters. This week, I ran across Fosters and decided to give it a try again. I didn't remember it being anything special, but decided it deserved a second chance.

Foster's Lager as shown on fostersbeer.com

I will admit that when I sat down to drink it yesterday, it was a little warmer than it would generally be if you wanted an authentic experience. Fosters' lager has a light golden color and was less refreshing than I remembered it being, which may be attributed to the fact that it wasn't at optimum temperature or that I poured it out of a pint sized can instead of it coming out of the tap.

The carbonation was nice. Although many people who have reviewed Foster's (with much more expertise than I have) claim to taste a slight hoppiness to the flavor, I did not experience that as much. The taste definitely went downhill as it went from a slight chill to room temperature.

Overall, my experience was decent. It definitely would not be my first choice but I am also not opposed to it. It was an easy lager to drink that I will definitely enjoy much more when it's a bit colder. You will probably catch me drinking Foster's and eating steak at the Outback again.

Memory Lane

This week, I was thinking about what lager I should purchase, but once again, I ultimately ended up at the liquor store looking in the beer section trying to decide what sounded good that I don't have too frequently. 

In the future with this blog, I hope to plan out what I am going to be tasting a little better. Part of my problem is that I don't know exactly what is available at the liquor store until I get there, look around, and can't quite find exactly what I'm looking for and settle on something else, which is usually just as enjoyable to me. I will have to take that into consideration in the future and plan things a bit better.

When I first turned eighteen, a month later I took my first trip abroad when me and my family flew to Europe to see London, Paris, and Rome. First arriving into London, me and my family stopped into a pub. 

The first thing I said was "Hey Dad, which beer should I get?"

Remembering that the drinking age in the UK is 18, he looked through the list and picked something out that he thought I'd like. I ended up having my first legal drink in England which was "Stella Artois," from Belgium.

Me in London, England, 2016 with my first legal drink

Stella remains one of my favorite beers to order, especially and bars and restaurants where I can get it on Draught. I love the smooth flavor going down and the ease that I can drink it. Even though I notice that there is a slight aftertaste, it doesn't take away from the experience at all, it just makes me want to order another.

Although you can taste a very slight hoppiness, it is not at all overwhelming and only adds to the experience. Something interesting I noticed is that out of the bottle I seem to get a different experience than when I order it on draught, alike with some other beers.

Overall, I would probably stick to ordering this when I'm out, but it was still a good experience and I'm excited for my next Stella experience.

A Trip To The Islands

As this week has come to an end, I have been looking forward to writing this blog and all that comes with it (a well deserved beer). This week, instead of drinking a beer that I've had and enjoyed before, I decided I would go into the liquor store and pick out a lager that I have never had or heard of before, (as long as it appeared to be appealing on the outside).

There are some lagers I want to try again when it gets to be closer to winter and a bit breezier outside, but with the temperature being close to the 90s, I thought something lighter would be more appealing. 

I went into the store with a Pilsner in mind, but came out with "Longboard Island Lager" which is made by the Kona Brewing Co. in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii. The Kona Brewing Co. website describes this traditional lager as a crisp, pale-gold lager made with choice malts and aromatic hops.

With the presentation of the bottle, I was excited to try this beer, with it's colorful label depicting the ocean. I was expecting a refreshing flavor that I could imagine drinking while lounged back, enjoying the sound of the waves. What I got was something a bit different. 

                                                     Longboard Island Lager as displayed on the Kona Brewing Co. Website


I could definitely see the pale golden color as described. The website was not wrong to describe the aromatic hops in the brew either, however it was strong that I prefer for something refreshing. That may say a lot about me and my opinions on different beers because I acknowledge that in all the variety of beer in the world, Longboard is probably not a beer most would consider too hoppy, but that is just my preference. If there was any more hops added, I probably wouldn't have liked it.

Was this a bad beer? No! Not at all. I enjoyed the one I drank last night and I will certainly enjoy the other five that are in the pack, but would I buy this again? Probably not. Would other people enjoy this? Absolutely. It's just not for me.

Alike most other companies, this brewing company needs to appeal to a specific audience if it wants to be successful. The audience would be people who enjoy beer and drink it more explicitly than implicitly, as this is not a beer you would normally see at a bar on draught.

Overall, I would give the Longboard Island Lager a 5/10. I enjoyed it. I'm glad I tried it, but it probably isn't something I'd buy again.

A Laid Back Wednesday

This week, even with the benefit of having Monday off for labor day, I felt the need for a well deserved break to gather myself for the rest of the week. This is the first semester that I have been legal to drink, so it has been exciting exploring the different places in the area. On Wednesday night, I decided it was a great opportunity to head to the Ott House for the first time with one of my friends who had beat me to the 21 mark.

I was super excited to see what their selections would include, as most of my close friends resort to mixed drinks on the weekend. Many of them don't have an appreciation for beer like I do. Once I sat down at the bar, my eyes gazed over to see what was on draught. I wasn't super happy with most of their options. I am not a fan of light beers most of the time, though they can be refreshing when outside on a hot day. Many of the other options were either something I wasn't familiar with or something I had never actually tasted before. I wasn't ready to invest in something that I wasn't sure if I would like.

I ended up deciding on the Yuengling Traditional Lager. I had had it before, however it had been a while. I knew it wouldn't be too light but not to heavy either. The ABV is only about 4.5% which is less than most beers I drink. It's nice amber coloring was reassuring as the bartender poured it into the pitcher (which was only $5). I thought getting the pitcher would be a good option because it was a good price, and plenty, even if I didn't want to finish it.

A Pitcher of Yuengling Traditional Lager

The lager was ice cold and had a nice crisp flavor as soon as I began drinking it. Although most are familiar with Yuengling, I was reminded how much I enjoyed it. It had a subtle bitterness that wasn't too overwhelming and balanced out perfectly with the sweetness.

I am certainly no expert when it comes to tasting beer and identifying flavors, so I decided I would Google the Traditional Lager and see what other people had to say about it and see if I had the same experience. A reoccurring theme was the toasted caramel malt flavor which I certainly could recognize. It's an easy drink and I'm super glad I revisited this beer, which I may have only tried once or twice before.

I really enjoyed my Ott's experience and thought it was an excellent idea for them to provide van transportation. The bar gets more business, and students who are 21+ can drink safely without worrying about transportation. 

Always remember that if you are going to drink, do so responsibly and stay safe. See you next week!