Tales & Trails of a Traveling Wiseguy

Recently I picked up a beer I wasn't expecting. When I went beer-shopping last week I had a number of items on my list. One of them was Sudwerk Amber Ale, which I wrote about yesterday. Finally the store had it after being sold out on numerous visits! But this time there were other items on my list they didn't have in stock. As I was scanning the shelves I spotted DAB (Dortmunder Actien Brauerei) German lager. It was in a package similar to another DAB variety I like but it was even cheaper: $6 for a 4-pack of 500mL cans. That made it practically the cheapest beer in the whole store! I figured I'd try it.

Ordinarily the designation "the cheapest beer in the store" would scare me off. Except this is a German beer. Germany has strict laws regulating brewing. There are definitely German beers I don't particularly care for, but none of them are objectively bad. I mean, not unless you let them get skunked or something. Fresh from the tap or can they're going to be at least okay. Thus I was willing to take a flyer on this beer, even as is it's in a style (German lager) I don't particularly care for. I figured for $1.50 per half-liter can it was worth a try. 😅

A Little DAB'll Do Ya?

DAB lager is very much a beer that's... a beer. It pours in a light gold color, just like a classic lager beer. It has a light, beer-scented aroma. And it has a light, beer-y flavor. It's just a smidge bready, a smidge sour, a smidge sweet, and very... beer-y.

Imagine there's a beer that does nothing wrong. The color's not weird. It's neither too dark nor too light. Nothing's offensive or off-putting in the aroma. Nothing's surprising in the flavors. It's not too strong, it's not too light. There's no surprising flavor element to it. No fruit flavor, no spice, no sweetness. It tastes just like... generic beer.

Now, that's not a very interesting beer, is it? I mean, while there's nothing wrong with it, there's also nothing that recommends it, no notable characteristic that differentiates it from the rest. In matters of taste, a thing has to do more than do nothing wrong to be appealing.

So that's what DAB lager is: probably the most boring beer I've had. If it were a color it'd be beige. Or maybe off-white.

As I planned, this has been a taking-it-easy weekend. I started (kinda) with a soak in the hot tub Friday afternoon before finishing up work for the day. And I finished it up Sunday (kinda) with another soak in the hot tub.



Lest you think all I did this weekend was visit the hot tub, know that I also ran a few errands... including shopping for beer! 😂 Yes, I've been wanting to try Kona Big Wave, the beer shown in the hot tub photo above, for quite some time now. It's the third beer in the Summer Beer Showdown I started writing about almost two months ago. Yeah, I don't shop for booze as often as I used to.

How was Kona Big Wave compared to the other summer-style beers I tried? Possibly my least favorite of the three. Understand that some of that is down to beer style. Big Wave is an American Pale Ale. I tend not to like Pale Ales, especially the India Pale Ale (IPA) style that's been all the rage the past several years. It's too tart. Imagine feeling a pucker factor like eating a lemon. Except instead of lemon flavor it's Pine Sol. 🤢 Well, APAs are less of that than IPAs, but they still fall somewhere short of refreshing.

I made the mistake of buying a whole case (24) of this beer, though, so I figured I should give it a second chance. BTW, why buy a whole case? Because it's economical! The best way to save money is to buy MORE beer at the same time! Seriously, a 6-pack prices out to almost $2 a can or bottle, while this 24-pack came in at just $1.

The second chance I gave this beer was with dinner. I had a light dinner, a roast beef cold-cut sandwich, and figured this otherwise lightly flavored beer would go well with it. It did! The piney flavor of the APA drops quickly into the background when paired with food. I gave it not just a second chance but a third chance, too (i.e., I opened a third can 😅), when I had a bit of dessert after dinner. Surprisingly this beer goes well with small, sweet desserts.

Would I buy Kona Big Wave again? Uh... no. From my previous taste test I like Maui Bikini Blonde Lager way better. But at least this one's good enough that I'm no longer considering pouring it out.

Recently I got to try two Mexican dark beers head-to-head. Modelo Negra has been one of my mainstays for years and is widely distributed in the US. The challenger this round, Bohemia Oscura, is, well, pretty obscure in the US. Its more common sister, Bohemia Original, is available in most stores though not as widely in restaurants as Modelo. I have a few bottles of Bohemia Oscura that I bought in Mexico a few weeks ago and hand-carried home via Phoenix Let's see how they compare!



These two beers represent the same style. They are both dark lagers. The style is also known as Munich lager (based on where the style is popular) or Vienna lager (based on the one of the varieties of hops used in their brewing).

The beers look virtually identical in the glass. The Bohemia, on the left in the photo above, looks a touch lighter than the Modelo, but that's more an artifact of the lighting than the beers themselves.

The beers taste nearly the same, too. Tasting them forward and back without food, I was hard pressed to find a difference between them. They both have the rich, sweet taste, but not overpoweringly so, that's made Modelo Negra one of my go-tos for years. I'd say the Bohemia had a slightly sweeter flavor, but the difference was barely there. I'm not sure I could tell one from the other in a blind test.

Enjoying these beers with food, their similarity continued. It was hard to tell them apart. That also means it was hard to call one better than the other. As much as I've like Modelo Negra for many years, I think the Bohemia is a hair better because of its ever-so slightly sweeter taste. Though because they are so close I wouldn't go out of my way to find Bohemia Oscura when Modelo Negra is available. ...Which means I'll be sticking with Modelo once I finish my last few bottles of Bohemia Oscura because Oscura isn't sold anywhere around here.

I'm still working on my beer tasting project. Yes, this is the one I originally called my 2022 beer tasting project. I didn't think I'd be at it this long when I started. The 43 beers I've tasted spread across 40 blogs— 41 as of this entry— in addition to stretching 24 months across 3 years on the calendar. And this is the first time in 6 months I've posted on the topic.

Why so slow? Well, aside from being sick for several weeks and not really wanting to drink, I've gotten older. I'm not in my early 20s anymore. I remember my senior year in college I made an effort to try lots of beers. In just 9 months I think I'd tried about 43 beers at home. I remember that visually because I kept one bottle (empty and washed) from every variety I drank that year. I lined those bottles up on a shelf in my bedroom, sorted from left to right in order of preference. I looked at that shelf several times a day and generally added at least one bottle to it every week.

I can't do anything about not being 20 anymore, but at least now I'm over those darn colds— well, not over-over them, but feeling well enough to try a drink or two with dinner again. So, what's on the table this time? I decided to go "red" with red lager and a red ale, both newcomers to this competition.



Abita Amber Lager comes from Abita Brewing in Louisiana. I've had several of their varieties before, dating back years to shortly after they first distributed out of state. I've actually had their amber lager before. It was on tap at various restaurants in New Orleans when I visited last spring. I figured I'd give it a try again here in the bottle.

Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale is from a small, independent brewery in San Diego, California. I've been meaning to pick up a six pack of this one for years but never got around to it. There was always something else I was interested in more or was on sale. Similarly, I've wanted to visit their brewpub on my many trips to San Diego (10-20 years ago I was there at least once a month on business) but there was always something else to do instead. Finally the Red Trolley's time came.

Pouring them into glasses you can see there's a slight color difference. The amber lager looks... well, amber, while the red also is... red. 😂 The lager pours with more of a head. Neither of these make a difference to me, though I know some beer afficionados seem to put a lot of significance on them.

Tasting them alone, without food, the Abita drinks more easily than the Red Trolley. Abita Amber Lager has a rich flavor with an easy drinking character. That said, it's a touch too sweet. The Red Trolley has a rich, deep flavor, but it's almost buried under an overpowering strength. If Red Trolley were a wine I'd quip, "I can taste more wood than fruit." On the drinking-without-food test the Abita wins hands-down.

Tasting them with dinner I expected the Red Trolley Ale to fare better. Its strength could help it complement the food. Alas, Red Trolley was like a bull in a china shop. It strength is so overpowering I still couldn't find much flavor to it even with a light-to-medium meal of hot dogs. The Abita Amber worked well with this meal, losing none of its own flavor. It's still too sweet, so it's not the beer I'd pick given an adequately wide selection, but the Red Trolley seems like one of the last beers I'd want. It's just too overpowering. Maybe, like a red wine with very high tannins, it would go well with a big steak dinner, but for anything short of that: no, thanks.

I've fallen a bit behind on blogging about my Beer Tasting project. Yes, I'm still trying new beers to continue exploring the range of styles and variety within them. It's just that it's (a) not fast; I only drink beer a few times a week and a lot of the time it's one of my known go-tos. And (b) I've fallen a few weeks behind in writing about news beers I've tried.

This blog isn't about strictly new beers but rather a second opinion on two I've already tried. Well, one of them is mostly new. I'm still on my first six-pack of Four Sixes. Recently I put it head-to-head with Anchor Steam in a comparison that proved surprisingly on-point.



Anchor Steam is a beer I tasted early in this beer tasting project after not having had it for probably umpteen years. It occupies an odd spot in beer varieties as being neither fish nor fowl, as it combines lager yeast with ale-style brewing. When I tried it over a year ago I dismissed it as fair but not good, let alone great. I tried it again recently because with news that Anchor Brewing is going out of business and being liquidated by its owner, I snapped up a few six-packs when I saw them at a local store. I figured it was time for a second opinion.

This head-to-head was also an opportunity for a second opinion on Four Sixes, a newcomer (to this area) I saw for the first time at a store a few weeks ago. I tried a can on its own and praised it as an amber lager, especially for reminding me of Killian's Irish Red, a college favorite I can't find in San Francisco or Los Angeles.

So I put these two together for second opinion, and something surprising happened. The Anchor Steam I'd previously damned with faint praise? It beat the Four Sixes I'd previously praised so effusively!

What happened in this second opinion? Well, Four Sixes still had all the rich taste I noted in my first opinion, but compared to Anchor Steam it tasted like it was just trying too hard. It's like the Four Sixes pumped it full of taste additives and went too far, making it taste artificially rich. Anchor Steam, meanwhile, was like, "Yo, here I am. I'm straight-up beer, same for over 100 years. No pretenses, no apologies."

Now I wish I'd snapped up more of Anchor Steam when I saw the last brewery run hit the store!

When Anchor Brewing Company's overseas corporate parent announced the brewery's liquidation a few weeks ago, I thought that was it for Anchor Steam beer and other varieties they produce. Indeed the next day I took a quick look on the apps for two big liquor store chains, TotalWine and BevMo, and both listed it as sold out at all area locations. It even came up in an online discussion forum I follow that's totally not related to beer. People reported snapping up the last few six-packs they were lucky to find.

It was a surprise, then, that I found a whole pallet of Anchor beer at a local TotalWine when I stopped by last night.



I didn't buy the whole pallet, of course; just two six-packs. Though I did wonder if maybe I should buy more since this could well be the last production run, ever. (I heard in the news late last week that the factory had completed its last production run and loaded it onto trucks.) The problem is, one, beer doesn't last forever in bottles or cans, generally less than one year; and two, I don't even super-like Anchor Steam. It's just... okay. Though along with a six-pack of Steam I also bought a sixer of their porter. I haven't had it in a long time but I do remember enjoying it. Now I've got some for a future round of my Beer Tasting project!

"I should go back to ShaKa Brewing soon," I've been saying for a year now. "Maybe this Friday." Well, Friday finally came yesterday. I put a stake in the ground when I texted a friend, "I'm heading over around 4:45/5pm". Surprisingly he offered to meet me there! (Surprising because he has standing commitments on Friday evenings.) Once it was a date I couldn't back out of going by forgetting about the time, deciding I was too tired, etc... like I've procrastinated numerous times over the past year.



Since our first visit a year ago— which I realized was actually 14 months ago when I looked up this link— ShaKa has grown. Oh, they're still in the same light-industrial alley show in the photo above, but they've moved a few doors down the row. Their new space is nearly 4x the size of the old one. They have a bunch of casual seating inside, though with this week's warm weather the ideal place to sit was outside, in the shade, with a gentle breeze making the 80°-ish temperature more pleasant.

ShaKa has grown their portfolio of beers. Last time I enjoyed the Riley Red and Sunnyvale Lager. This time they had at least 4 others in addition. I started with a glass of Gemini, a summer ale with mild fruit flavors and a hint of sourness. It seemed like great choice for sipping outside on a warm afternoon.

Co-owner Shawn, the "Sha" of ShaKa Brewing, came by to chat with us. We asked him about what style of beer Gemini is. He explained that it's not a sour beer because they don't use any bacteria in it to produce the sour flavors. That's what distinguishes sours from other beers. He calls Gemini a "tart" rather than a sour because it gets its mildly sour, gently fruity flavors all from carefully chosen hops and yeast. He agreed that it was crafted specifically as a great sipper on a warm afternoon, much like certain styles of white wine— which is exactly what I was thinking about as I drank it.

For my second round I tried a glass of Gaia Scotch Ale. Going in this beer was my #1 choice as I like darker ales, but I tried the Gemini Summer Ale first because it's better to try lighter flavored drinks first. The heavier ones kind of crush the palate and make it harder to enjoy the lighter ones. And, oh boy, was Gaia heavy.

Gaia has all the flavors you expect in a Scotch Ale. It's dark, rich, and mildly sweet with notes of toffee. It's also higher strength, at 7.2% ABV. Overall it's just too much for me, kind of like the other Scotch Ale I've tried in my long-running beer tasting project, Kilt Lifter— except even more so. As I remarked to my companion, it's not a beer I'd kick out of bed, I just wouldn't order a second one.

Speaking of second one, two was enough for me on Friday afternoon. Both beers were on the high side of alcoholic content: Gemini at 6.2% and Gaia at a whopping 7.5%. If they were lighter, like around 4.5%, I might have sat to enjoy a third. Instead I grabbed a 4-pack of cans to take home to enjoy over the coming week. I bought 2 cans of Gemini, 1 each of the Riley Red and Sunnyvale Lager I liked last time, and none of the Gaia.

Update, Jul 27: ShaKa Brewing made the (local) news! Mountain View Voice article, 27 Jul 2023. The article talks about how the co-founders Shawn and Karl got together to create ShaKa Brewing, how they survived starting days before the Pandemic kicked in, and how they've grown recently.

As part of my beer buying binge two weeks ago I bought a six-pack of Alaskan Amber Ale. It's been almost a year since I last had that beer. As an amber ale it's in what's probably my main go-to category and it's a pretty good example of the set. A year ago in this now long-running beer tasting project it got edged out, though, in a surprise upset by Fat Tire Ale. Well, now it's time for a rematch.



Why a rematch? Fat Tire recently changed its recipe. I do like the new Fat Tire better than the old but sometimes these changes aren't strictly linear. Though I liked the old Fat Tire better than Alaskan, and the new Fat Tire better than the old, would I like the new Fat Tire better than Alaskan?

BTW, if this sounds like a logic brain teaser it's because you're accustomed to something called the commutative property in math and logic. If A > B and B > C, then A > C. But taste is subjective and nonlinear, so such logic may not hold there!

Okay, so how do they compare now?

Alaskan pours much darker than Fat Tire, as you can see in the photo above. For amber ales that darker color is generally a positive sign. Indeed Alaskan's taste fulfills what its color implies: it's a rich tasting beer completely typical of the amber ale category. It's a great example of why amber ale is one of my favorite categories, if not my overall favorite.

As much as Alaskan has going for it, Fat Tire beats it again. Despite its paler color, Fat Tire has an even richer flavor. It also has a stronger note of hops that shines through the sweetness and richness, giving the beer extra backbone. That makes it both more interesting to sip on its own and a better accompaniment to rich or spicy food.

The difference between new and old Fat Tire shows well in this rematch. Recall from the first match-up how I thought Fat Tire's slightly sour hops finish might be a minus. It turned out to be a palate-cleanser for drinking the beer with rich food. The new Fat Tire no longer has that slightly sour finish. Instead the hops flavor is better integrated into the beer so it's no longer a slight aftertaste. Yes, New Belgium Brewing made the beer better by changing it; no "New Coke" travesty here!

Finally I got around to a beer showdown I've been waiting to make happen for a few months. It's a showdown of two beers in the Maibock category, also known as helles bock. BTW both terms are German and not terribly useful in literal translation: May (style) dark and light dark. Or more literally May (style) goat and light goat. Anyway, the two beers here are Estrella Reserva 1906 and Abita Mardi Gras.



Both of these beers have fared well in past taste tests. Both are delicious and are already on my short list. Moreover both have beaten all comers so far. But now it's like the finals: two undefeated competitors enter, only one leaves undefeated. Ding, ding!

First I appreciated the look of the beers. Both have great amber hues that are indistinguishable. 1906 has a lighter head. Mardi Gras looks foamier in the glass but that's partly because it's actually a larger pour of beer. The 1906, being produced in Spain, is the Euro standard 330 mL (11.2 oz) versus the Mardi Gras' US standard 12 oz. (355 mL).

Next I sipped the beers without food. 1906 was first and, wow, it reminded me, "This is what a good beer tastes like!" It's rich and malty and neither overly sweet nor tart. It's no wonder 1906 has defeated every comer so far. I'd have made it my house beer already except supply is spotty here in California and the price is bit elevated.

Mardi Gras comes from Abita brewery in Louisiana. My experience with their beers actually goes back 25+ years, though I only saw their Maibock variety a few months ago. That said, it came out swinging, hard, when I first tried it. In this comparison it brought the fight. It is very close to 1906, the difference between the two coming down to minor dimensions of taste. The 1906 has a more tart, malty flavor; while the Mardi Gras Bock is sweeter. I could go either way on which I prefer overall.

Next I tried the beers with food. I tried them both with a snack of lightly salted cashews and a meal of grilled steak. Here I thought the 1906's maltier flavor would excel, but to the contrary the Mardi Gras Bock pulled ahead. The 1906's flavor remained what it was opposite the food. It tasted like 1906 every sip. The Mardi Gras, by contrast, remained rich and enjoyable but melded better with the flavors of the food. It's like a talented pianist who accompanies a violin player beautifully in a duet versus one who tries to show them up. Again, though, this is a fine distinction. Both are great piani— I mean, Maibocks.

Bottom line, Mardi Gras Bock wins by a nose.

New Orleans travelog #6
French Quarter - Sunday, 22 Apr 2023, 11pm

After carousing on Bourbon Street two nights in a row I've decided to party a bit more quietly back at the hotel, in "The Room of Seven Gables", as I call it. At the same time I've decided to keep working on my Beer Tasting 2022 project. Yes, even though it's 2023 now. I don't drink beer as fast as I used to when I was younger. (That's also why I don't feel like carousing on Bourbon Street 3 nights in a row.) Plus, there's such a wider variety available now. That's true even here in New Orleans, "The Big Easy", where drinking alcohol is literally a local pastime.

On this trip I've seen a variety of local brews in bars and stores that either didn't exist years ago or weren't widely distributed even here in their home territory. A few I've had and enjoyed back in California, particularly several varieties from Abita Brewing. Most of the bars have Abita Amber on tap and most of the stores have it in bottles. It's... is far from Abita's best, IMO. I've hunted around and found two other local beers in stores, buying a 6-pack of each for enjoying back at The Room of Seven Gables.



My two picks for enjoying back at the Room of Seven Gables on this trip are Abita Brewing's The Boot and Parish Brewing's Canebreak.

I chose to try The Boot because a) I've liked a number of other Abita beers I've had, particularly Turbodog (a brown ale) and Mardi Gras Ale (a Maibock) and b) it's a Louisiana exclusive— not distributed out of state. Canebreak I chose with no recommendation, just the labeling on the bottle that it's a wheat ale.

The Boot is a blend between Pilsener and Kolsch styles. Like a Pilsener it has gentle flavors, a light body, and overall a crisp, clean, refreshing character. The addition of Kolsch yeast gives it a bit more body than a traditional Pilsener but without the stronger, fruity flavor that typifies Kolsch. I like the way Abita has blended these two styles. The Boot has some spine but remains crisp and clean.

Canebreak is an actual wheat ale. I emphasize that because in the US the style hefeweizen has been popularized and almost everybody mislabels it "wheat beer". Hefeweizen actually means yeast-wheat and is a different style. It has strong flavors of banana and clove that Americans incorrectly think typifies wheat beer. Those are flavors from the yeast, not wheat. Wheat beers have a very clean flavor. I like Canebreak because it has a very clean, simple taste. It's much richer than The Boot... but that's to be expected as it's an ale rather than Pilsener.