My grading scale

It is subjective, but I think you'll be able to understand where I'm coming from:

1-3 "Horrible" : NEVER BUY THIS!!!! (Or buy it just to see what crappy beer tastes like.)

4-5 "Ok" : These beers need a little work. Usually from a company known for another type of brew.

6-7 "Good": It's ok, for now.

8-9 "Great" : Try this at least once, you'll be happy you did :D

10!!!!! "Godly" = This is attainable, but the most subjective of all grades. If I ever give a beer a 10 it'll be because it blows your mind.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Blue Moon Grand Cru Special Edition


How do you like the pic?

So Blue Moon was my first "non-massed produced American beer."

Great wheatey, orange smell.  Softer head that falls a little faster.

This beer is what I first tasted when I had regular Blue Moon.  It's what got me away from American Pilsners.

Great wheat taste, great orange.  Like Blue Moon X2.  The taste you really want.

Rating = 7  I won't give it an 8 because I only wish this was the taste of regular Blue Moon, but great flavor, great beer.

Lagunitas Imperial RED Ale


Amazing amber-red color, great hoppy smell with strong, lasting head.

Even though I prefer unfiltered, hazy beers this one is a great crispy clear beer.

Strong, thin mouth feel;  Great piny hop, but not too too much.  Just enough to get you thinken.

Rating = 8  Lagunitas impresses me again with this.  (6 for those who don't like hoppy so much)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The Vodka Improvement-Method Test

So I know this is a blog about beer, but I wanted to expand for a minute on an article I read about making cheap vodka taste more expensive.  The plan goes something like this:

1) Buy cheap vodka
2) Filter through a charcoal water filter 3-5 times
3) Enjoy your better tasting vodka

As the control I tasted a double shot of the $9 Taaka Vodka w/ a 1/8 cup of OJ.  1-10 scale = 3

Because the filtering doesn't take long I went straight to five filtering.

2nd filtering done like first w/ a verdict of:  7

NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE...first smell had a much less "metallic" odor, and while the first taste left me with a minor hiccup/gag the second tasting after filtering was very smooth, much less vodka taste.  The vodka became more watery.

Pros:
1)  Wow, you take a $9 bottle and get a $20-40 bottle.  I would bet you money if you switched this into another bottle after filtering no one would be able to notice.  (As a good gauge of your friends put in cheap, unfiltered vodka first anyway and see if they notice.)
2)  Fast way to make your night much more enjoyable.
3)  The water purifier was ready to be used after a quick rinse.  First batch of water was perfect.

Cons:
1)  If you're lazy this might be too much for you, lol.
2) My vodka taste buds might not be as keen as others, so if you enjoy your expensive vodka then that is fine.
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