I was lucky enough to have another homebrew delivered to my desk this afternoon. Jonathan Edwards dropped off his latest concoction, Hit ‘n Run IPA. The story goes that on the way home from the brew shop he was actually involved in a hit and run. Something about two meth crazed old ladies who sides-swiped him. Man, the burbs ain’t as same as they used to be!

First off, as we all know I am a sucker for labels. For a homebrew, this one has got a great one. An oregon license plate “Hit n Run” with the alchohol level (just a guess or the real valu?) and IPA as the registration stickers. Nice. Well done.

Beyond the label, it proved to be a very easy drinking IPA. Mr. Edwards apologized ahead of time that it was a little weak. But in a world where IPAs and IIPAs seem to overcompensate for art with more hops, I found it enjoyable. I love a hoppy beer, but it can definitely be taken too far. I could say that Hit ‘n Run needs more hops but I won’t. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Just do what the big microbrewers do (ahem, Fat Tire), just name it something different! If it tastes kinda like an IPA but is easy drinking, just call it Easy Rider IPA or something and put something about how you were trying to capture the drinkability of a lager and the hop-roots of an IPA. Viola!

This is Chris McGowen. Everyday that you go to work and your computer doesn’t die a horrible death from viruses and botnets (assuming you use McAfee), you should be thanking Chris.

Personally, every time I’m thirsty and am looking for solid alcoholic beverage to chill with on the patio, I thank Chris. Cause by golly, does this guy brew some tasty beer. Not just tasty, but in a true nod to the comfort in his manliness, a fruity beer. Very fruity, and perfect for a warm evening BBQ, or for boozing up your lady for a night of lovin’.

Chris’s entry was a tasty ruby ale that we at the Goodness have name “Ruby McGowen”. The name makes me think of one of those waitresses you’d order pie from in a Texas diner. Sweet, but with a hint of sharpness if you push her. In this case, Ruby had a cool, sharp flavor on first sip, then went down with a mellow fruitiness.

And unlike some fruity beers I’ve had, it had no sugary aftertaste to sicken the palette. (McMenamins!!) All in all a worthy brew that I hope I can con Chris into giving me some more of.

As an aside, I would like to acknowledge my restraint on not making a joke after I wrote the words “went down with a mellow fruitiness”, as well as give a mild taunt to the one called “Jilot”. Mr Packer, along with Chris himself, claimed that Ruby was overly “heady”. Well my friends, take a look at the picture of this pour. I call it skill. Or perhaps a testament to how much I drink…

Our next installment of the Beers of Evil comes to us from jolly old England. Brewsters Brewing Company has the distinction of being one of the few breweries with a female brewmaster. Kudos to you sister. And kudos on this beer! Wicked Women Mata Hari is named after a World War I woman labeled as “Europe’s queen of unbridled eroticism, an exotic dancer, courtesan, harlot, great lover, spendthrift, liar, deceiver and thief.” She was later convicted by the french, virtually without evidence, of being a spy for Germany and was executed by firing squad. If that’s not inspiration for a beer, then I don’t know what is.

I’ll admit, I was totally gun shy after installment one. For no good reason, I cringed as I started to drink this beer. But you know what, it was good! Its a nice copper colored ale, with a real smooth drinkability. It has a bit of fruity wheat taste, kind of like the summer wheats I dig so much. All in all, quite enjoyable. Sort of the British equivalent to “Easy Drinkin’”.

In addition to the good taste, I also have to give kudos to the Brits for the bottle. It has that funny British bottle shape, but unlike their smelly southern neighbors, it holds 1 pint, 9 ounces. That my friends, is appreciation for the drinker. And just another reason why England won the war. I’m not sure which war, but damn it I’m sure they won.

     A beer from Monty Python’s comedy crew, brewed (I envision) by stiffly-moving british police in a hand-cranked meat grinder.  I of course picked this up purely for the label, as being a card-carrying geek I would proudly drink any beer brewed by Monty Python, Dread Zeppelin, They Might Be Giants, rock tumblers, graphing calculators, 24-sided dice, etc.  (I could go on…)  I know I’m being suckered by niche-marketing, and I know the true beer snobs will complain this is the wrong way to pick a brew.  But let’s face it, you’re not reading Walt Liquor’s beer reviews on this site for my nuanced palate, are you?  (If you are, I urge you to read my Grammy-award-winning series of reviews on Beers Whose Artwork Can Kick Your Ass.)

The joke of the label itself is a little broad, given the off-kilter Monty Python humor — the beer artwork says “Holy Grail”, with the “GR” crossed out and “ALE” written in below.  Yes, thanks, I got the joke — broadcasting your joke that loudly I’d expect instead from something Jay Leno pasted to a black card, not from the folks at Monty Python.  And yet, the beer is actually really tasty…  it’s got a nice thick ale taste to it, something you might imagine enjoying with a bratwurst or salt & vinegar chips in a British pub somewhere.  I had figured that an essentially gag one-off beer would show the signs of a lack of priority on taste, but it’s the real deal.  Of course after five straight reviews of the very worst in beer (again, see my Stanley-Cup-winning series on Beer Whose Artwork Can Kick Your Ass), Formula 409 might get three out of six from me at this point.  For that reason I give myself a handicap of one off my first impression of 5 out of 6 for this beer.  I heartily recommend it.   And I wear high heels.  And I like to press wildflowers…

As I sit here looking at the snow covering my lawn, I can’t help but think the beer in my hand is somewhat inappropriately named. Still, I have nothing but good things to say about Rising Moon, the “spring” offering by perennial favorite Blue Moon. It’s smooth, its tasty, and seems to absolutely lack any matter of aftertaste. Which is good, because too often beers that would otherwise be tasty, end up leaving a taste in my mouth like I just chewed on one of skylark’s socks.

It’s also got just a hint of lime in the initial flavor, which is kind of fun. Hopefully it’s enough lime to keep SwillJockey from drinking “Miller Chill” during the Super Bowl. Speaking of Super Bowl weekend, since the outcome of the game can only make me sad, SJ and I may use it to finally have the New Belgium vs. Blue Moon, supreme brewery showdown.  The more the patriots (lower case on purpose beeotches) score, the drunker I’ll need to be.

In the ongoing frosty-battle between Full Moon and New Belgium, the leader of the pack is constantly changing. But like a presidential primary, based on last nights polling results New Belgium has delivered a mighty smack down with its “Mothership Wit”. It’s light, a touch spicy, and has a clear crisp taste that is very wheat brew-y.

Fellow reviewer skylark (whose wife recently gave birth to a bouncing baby boy), and I were having an argument … er … discussion once about his assertion that New Belgium beers all taste the same. Having now tried all but 1, I have to say that Mothership Wit tastes nothing like 1554, and publicly decry that he’s just bitter that New Belgium doesn’t make IPAs.

I also have to give this beer extra kudos for being organic. Up here in the land of Birkenstocks and hybrid cars, labeling things organic gives you extra points with the “boutique grocery store” crowd. Even the hippies my kids played drums with in the park would approve. Not of showering perhaps, but drinking this beer for sure. Then recycling the bottle to water your “medicinal” herbs, man.

There’s really not much I can say about this other that yum. When SwillJockey and I were cooking up the idea for this site, we stumbled into a beer pusher and bought a large collection of random beer. Tannen Bomb, from McMinnville, Oregon was one of them. I honestly don’t remember much about them apart from a little piece of paper I kept that said “Tannen Bomb - thumbs up”.

And yes it is! I wouldn’t say its a “memorable” beer, but its one of those beers that you drink and go…damn this is good. It’s dark, malty and super smooth going down. And unlike some other beers I’ve had that I though were good, I drink every last sip. And truly, the measure of a good beer is if you want to drink even that lukewarm semi-fuzz that sits at the bottom of the glass.

Big Sky Brewing, the makers of “Moose Drool”, have delivered a positively yummy little summer beer here. It seems that I have an unhealthy affinity for beers with “Honey” in the title, and this is no exception. It was light and airy like a yummy wheat mixed with a pale.

All you have to do is get past the horrible wrapper. It took me a few beers to realize that that was in fact not a bear…but a wolf. At least I know that if my current career doesn’t work out, I could have a future in wrapper design.

I can now add another in my quest to review all the brews from this generation’s best brewery, New Belgium. This time I had a six pack of something that can only be described as Happiness in a glass. It was like drinking sunshine. Sunshine Wheat to be exact. And very appropriately named. It was light, refreshing, a hint of fruitiness, and if such a thing can be said … it tasted … cold. If you like wheat beers that are light enough to please the pilsner crowd, start guzzling now. As the three recent empties in the picture can attest to, you’ll drink them fast. Too fast, the throbbing in my head might say…

**edit - I’m sorry to say that I’ve had to lower my ranking on this beer to a three.   See above for the reasons for this beer’s fall from grace.

The company I work for had a BBQ on site last week. As usual with company bbq functions, they coughed up some beer for us. Yippeee!!! When digging through the bucket o’ goodness, I found some Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. Figuring that it would taste OK, I popped one open and took a swig.

THIS STUFF IS UNBELIEVABLY YUMMY!! It’s not overly fruity but it definitely tastes of cherry. It’s a mild wheat bear that’s incredibly well balanced and not too sweet. These guys know their way around a beer!