Beer Review: Rogue Shakespeare Stout

Beer: Shakespeare Stout
Brewer: Rogue Brewery
Source: 22 oz. bottle
Rating: **** (8.9 of 10)
Comments: Rogue Brewery is one of the most creative and competent craft breweries out there, one which I had the delight of visiting way back in 1997.  I hadn’t had a Shakespeare Stout in a while and decided it would be worth revisiting.  Oh, is it worth revisiting.  This is a dark, dark stout with a foamy tan head.  It’s tastes like bitter chocolate with hints of stone fruits and licorice.  The beer is smooth and velvety on the tongue.  Good stuff! Yum!

This is as a good a place as any to link to a great blog post about Beers Named After Books and Authors.

Beer Review: Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy

Beer: Summer Shandy
Brewer: Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company
Source: On-tap
Rating: ** (6.8 of 10)
Comments:  I’ve reviewed a couple of Leinenkugel beers before and found them a bit too sweet for my tastes.  Yet on a sunny summer Sunday afternoon I was drawn to the Summer Shandy.  Shandy is basically lemonade mixed with beer so I expected it to be sweet as well, which it is, but surprisingly it’s more balanced than the other Leinie’s brands.  It was just the thing to refresh a dry throat and keep my sweet tooth happy too.

Previously:

• Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat
• Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown

Beer Review: Redhook Long Hammer IPA

Beer: Long Hammer IPA
Brewer: Redhook
Source: On-tap
Rating: ** (6.5 of 10)
Comments: I always think Redhook beers should come from Brooklyn, but in reality they are brewed in Seattle.  I don’t generally like IPA’s but the Grand Canal was out of pretty much everything on tap, so I gave it a try.  Luckily, this IPA was not overly bitter and had a nice balance of flavors.  A decent but not great beer.