Back From Paris!

The brotha is back from Paris, and it is good to be home in the US of A. Paris was a gorgeous city, and I throughly enjoyed it's beautiful architecture, and excellent wine scene. The place is truly a Wine area, as pretty much all the beers I tried there were not very good. Some were clones of Budweiser or Heineken, and one did a nobble attempt of mimicking the finish of a Leffe, but otherwise it was not a good experience. I didn't even beer bar it like I could had, it got so frustrating. There were plenty of belgians available, and I tried to stay with the French, but couldn't resist. In the meantime, I'm back in the States and will give periodic posts on my Paris beering adventures. In the meantime, we have some stuff at the house I haven't tried yet, including some of my homebrewed lager. Here we go...

Beer Log: April 13, 2008
State: Tongue Slightly burnt, but otherwise okay

Shiner Helles Lager
Good to be home, and I managed to pick up the Shiner 99 (or Helles Lager). I tried it one time before reviewing, and I didn't want to review it as it was a bit too warm. It being a lager and all. Now after a day or so of fridge time, I feel good to go for it in a pilsner glass. Smells of regular lager beer smell with a bit more maltiness. Strawish orange color, and rather clear. White head that does not sustain with a vigorous pour. Subtle maltiness on the tongue. Medium to high carbonation with a low hopness. Actually kind of reminds me of the stuff in Paris. But not as bad. Medium body with a very quick finish. A good session beer. More of the maltiness comes out as it warms up, and I think it was actually better warmer. I was hoping Spoetzl would bring more with it for the beer leading up to their 100th year anniversary. Maybe they are setting us up for something grand next year. We shall see.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
After the Parisian boycott of hoppy beers, I had to pick up some Pale Ale from the Kroger. I keep seeing Sierra Nevada all around, so I figured to try it just to see what all the hubbub was about. Fantastic pale ale bitterness. Yes yes yes. A good amount of maltiness in there to balance it out. Flowery hops aroma as well. I think I like this one better than Broken Halo IPA. Very well done. Deep straw color with a light light tan head. I'm glad I bought 6 of these. I may put this one in my list of 8 Tailgating beers for 2008. Oh it's real. Good to be home.