We are coming up on the Fourth of July and if you are an American or in the USA this means fireworks, cookouts, and drinks with friends. Some of you are content with the basics, no special flare needed, however there are a few of you who are willing to go that extra mile to make this an extra patriotic celebration. At least, that is, with the alcohol. This is where Monkey Brew U., the school that has all your alcohol needs, is presenting you with a Fourth of July, summer session edition. (more…)
Ladies and Gentlemen it is time for another installment of Monkey Brew U. This time we are going a little less on science here and depending more on personal opinions and societal views. Join me as I walk through the array of drink options and what your drink may be telling us about you. Remember this is all in fun, and if you don’t like it well go fling some poo about it. (more…)
You know that guy, the one who swears by the beer he drinks so much so that he scoffs at you for drinking, “that piss.” The problem is that their piss, ahem beer, looks and taste pretty much the same as any other beer. Truth be told most of these beer are all the same, and all but one of the beers in my taste test are a product of either Anheuser-Busch or the now merged MillerCoors. In fact these two companies produce nearly 100 different beers between the names (Michelobe, Coors, Rolling Rock, etc.) and the style (Light, Ice, Dark, etc.), chances are you are drinking one of their beers.
Back to my point, I gathered up my friends and family and we had a light beer taste challenge, most of which were light lagers.
The Challenge:
We selected 6 different beers: Natural Light, Miller Light, Coors Light, Busch Light, Genny Light, and Bud Light. Each beer was placed into a specific lettered cup by my wife ( <– hehe first time I got to write that) and the rest of us wandered about to make sure we couldn’t see or cheat. When we returned we each selected a cup, A-F, and then tried to guess which letter matched which beer.
The Results:
There were 7 taste testers, when they attempted to pair up their drink with the correct brand:
2 people got 0 correct
2 people got 1 correct
2 people got 2 correct
1 person got 4 correct
Overall their were 32 incorrect guesses and 10 correct guesses, that is a 23% all in all which is not a passing grade my friend. The only person who scored 4 was my mother, who would rather drink a Natural Light over any other beer. She likes, among other things that it is cheaper. Others say that it tastes watered down, but from these results only the Natty Light drinker could taste the difference among the other beers, do you think you can?
I stand by my initial hypothesis, you can’t tell the difference. If you want a beer that tastes like anything choose a microbrew or brewpub, otherwise it’s all the same so you might as well save a few extra dollars and buy the cheaper version. Just be careful because these megabrewaries are now producing beers that look like craft beers like Shock Top, Beach Bum, Hop Hound, Jack’s Pumpkin Spice, Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale, Ziegen Bock, Skip Jack, Leinenkugel, Blue Moon, and Henry Weinhard’s. Heck they have even taken over many imports, such as Cerveza Cristal, Molson Canada, Pilsner Urquell, Cusqueña, Stella Artois, Kirin, Hoegaarden and Czechvar. Sneaky little bastards aren’t they?
Check out this great movie about microbreweries fighting against the major beer companies.
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bonchon black & tan by scaredy_kat January 29, 2010, on Flickr via creative commons
No I’m not talking about that Yuengling pre-mix version, although truth be told I’ve never tried it. I’m talking about the classic Guinness mix…the question though is mixed with what. Some say the Black and Tan is English named after the British soldiers who invaded Northern Ireland and typically uses a pale ale, likely Bass. While on the other hand, the Half and Half is referred to as the Irish version and uses a pale lager instead, typically Harp. Like any popular drink there are plenty of variations such as the Guinness and Sam Adams Cherry Wheat called a “Black and Cherry” which to me has a creamy almost ice cream taste to it. My favorite name is the “Black and Trash” which is Guinness, the black, along with the aptly named ‘Trash” which is the Budweiser. Yet truth be told this American Irish pub and St. Patrick’s Day favorite isn’t very Irish. The true Irish mix is a ‘Special’ which is a Smithwick’s topped off with a Guinness head, nothing more.
Welcome to another installment of Monkey Brew U. where we try to enlighten you our loyal readers on the technical side of drinking. I am coming from experience when I say that after a late night of ‘studying’ for your Monkey Brew U. course you can wake up with a bit of a hangover. What better way to combat your hangover than with a bit of a ‘hair of the dog’ approach. Can’t stomach another shot or beer, have no fear for there will always be the classic cocktail ready to sooth your shaky aching nerves, the Bloody Mary.
