As I’m typing, Georgia is doing everything humanly possible to throw away the game against Oklahoma State*, and I’m also drinking a very pleasant beer in Michelob Honey Lager.  As I was in the store, I saw a bunch of Michelob products that I’d never seen before.  They had a Pale Ale, a Blueberry, an IPA and the usual Amber Bock.  All of them were priced at the same $6.49 I paid for the Honey Lager.  I picked up Mrs. Beer a sixer of Amstel Light, as she wasn’t quite sold on the Honey Lager.

I first sampled this beer at Brew at the Zoo and came away impressed.  It was at the same station as Budweiser American Ale (awful beer in case you forgot) and made a mental note to try this one.  It’s reasonably priced and it really just tastes like Michelob Light with a little honey mixed in.  It’s very light and goes down smoothly

I’ve always been a fan of Michelob and I feel like they market their beers well.  I do miss the old Michelob Light golf ball cans they used to have.  It’s always the same classy Michelob cursive signature and the colors on the bottle reflect the taste it provides.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a final judgement on it.

Now, the Clemson Tech kicks off the season tonight against Rick Stockstill’s Middle Tennessee State at 6.  You can’t help but wonder if Dabo Swinney will make out and dry hump Howard’s Rock again (see above picture) like he did against Georgia Tech last year when he first took over.  Clemson’s defense should be nasty this year with Bamberg native DaQuan Bowers making the lives of many quarterbacks miserable, but Clemson’s offensive coaching staff is pretty suspect.  Dabo’s never been a coordinator, Napier hasn’t either, and Brad Scott is well, Brad Scott.  That being said, this team still has Jacoby Ford and CJ Spiller, 2 of the fastest players in the ACC and they should be able to burn Middle Tennessee pretty well.

Clemson: 28
MTSU: 9

*There is nothing better in a game than having a competent announcer calling it.  Sean McDonough who called the USC game is also calling this UGA game and does a good job.  However, who in the hell thought it would be a good idea for idiots like Craig James and Matt Millen to step into a broadcast booth???  Craig James is drunk half the time and repeats the same sentence over and over, and Matt Millen has the personality of a moldy piece of bread.  Seriously!  Where are Ron Franklin and Mike Gottfried?

See you later.

Mr. Beer

I know I was supposed to post this last night, but our Arrow Tech fantasy football draft took longer than expected and Mrs. Beer wanted to watch NCIS on DVD after we got done.  This blogging thing is tough!

Bass was a good beer one at a time, however, I can’t see myself drinking more of it.  This spurred a lot of interest for me so I decided to look up some other Bass reviews and found myself in agreement with  most of them in regards to taste, drinkability, etc.  However, a lot of people that reviewed it felt like it was a backyard bbq type beer and I don’t see it.  It’s not something I’m going to reach for on a hot day at first go.  The sharp mouthfeel to it kind of disapointed me and really hurt its drinkability.  I like Bass quite a bit, however, I just don’t love it.

Taste: 7/10

Drinkability: 6/10

Price: 6/10

Availability: 8/10

Presentation: 7/10

Alcohol Content: 7/10

Overall: 6.8/10

Now, for the USC v. NC State game tonight….

The Gamecocks are a bit of an unkown going into this game while NC State has been named a sleeper in the ACC.  Russell Wilson is a solid QB and NC State should be able to move the ball some against a young and depleted Gamecock defense.  That being said, NC State’s defense is suspect, especially in the secondary.  If there is anything that the Head Ball Coach is good at, it’s exploiting a weakness in the opposing secondary.  This will be a close ballgame, but Carolina’s depth will prevail in the 4th quarter with a late TD run by Jarvis “Joystick” Giles to put the game away.

Gamecocks:  27

Wolfpack:  17

From a beer standpoint, we’ll be picking up some Sam Adams Octoberfest to start the night off, but will move over to the Beer family constant Bud Light after that.  Seeing as how both Mrs. Beer and I have to work tomorrow, it’s best not to drink too heavy a beer.

Mr. Beer

We’ll start out with Dabo Swinney’s Tigers taking on the Gamecock’s schedule:

Clemson @ NC State: W – NC State is going to be a much improved football team this year, and I think they could be a sleeper team in the ACC, but Clemson’s defense will be too stout and has just enough firepower to beat NC State in a close one.

Clemson @ Georgia: L – The Bulldogs should be able to hold Clemson’s offense at bay and win this one comfortably.

Clemson v. Florida Atlantic: W – Florida Atlantic is a team that could scare some people, but doesn’t quite have enough talent to hang with Clemson.

Clemson v. Ole Miss: W – This one has been the toughest for me to pick.  I think Ole Miss is overrated and at home Clemson should be able to win one.  They were always able to score on Tyrone Nix…

Clemson v. SC State: W – Enough said.

Clemson v. Kentucky: W - Kentucky has been solid over the past few years, even beating Clemson in the Music City Bowl, but they struggled on offense last year and I don’t think they’ll be much better this year.

Clemson @ Alabama: L – A repeat of last year would be in order.

Clemson v. Vanderbilt: W - This would be the game I could see Clemson slipping on if there was going to be an upset, but not at home.

Clemson @ Tennessee: L - While I don’t think Tennessee is going to be very good this year, Clemson’s never seen the likes of Neyland Stadium and Monte Kiffin absolutely hates Clemson’s guts.  Tennessee wins in a close one.  Also, for the record, after all of little Lanie’s boasting, I would be pulling for Clemson in this one.

Clemson @ Arkansas: L – Arkansas is the sleeper team this year in the SEC and I don’t know if there is a better offensive playcaller than Bobby Petrino.  Arkansas is probably the second toughest place in the SEC to play (behind The Swamp) and the Tigers lose their second straight.

Clemson v. Florida: L – This one wouldn’t be close.  Probably worse than the 56-6 drubbing Carolina took last year.  There is a strong possibility Clemson wouldn’t even score.

So Clemson goes into the Carolina game bowl eligible at 6-5, but on a 3 game losing streak (sound familiar?), so let’s see how the Gamecocks do against Clemson’s schedule.
Carolina v. Middle Tennessee State: W – New QB coach GA Mangus gets to lead the season off against his former colleagues, and the Gamecocks cruise big to start the season off.

Carolina @ Georgia Tech: L - This one would be close, and if it were at the Brice I would pick the Gamecocks, but I think Tech edges this one in a close ballgame.

Carolina v. Boston College: W – I’m not sure if BC has ever played in a stadium that holds more than 50,000 people (outside of Clemson) and would be in for a rude awakening in Columbia.

Carolina v. Central Michigan: W – I don’t know much about Central Michigan, but I know enough to know they wouldn’t beat Carolina.

Carolina @ Maryland: W – The last time the Head Ball Coach saw Ralph Friedgen, he hung 56 on him in the Orange Bowl.  I’m not saying a repeat performance is in order, but the Gamecocks should have enough offense to win this one.

Carolina v. Wake Forest: L - I think Carolina has more talent than Wake overall, but Wake returns 17th year senior Riley Skinner and Jim Grobe is one of the best coaches in the country, sneaking Wake into Williams Brice and coming away with a close win.

Carolina @ Miami: W – Is there a bigger train wreck (maybe Michigan) in the BCS other than Miami?  Shannon may be a U alum and a good defensive coach, but he seems to have lost the players down there and is tanking what Larry Coker tanked.  Cocks win this one easily.

Carolina v. Coastal Carolina: W – Enough said.

Carolina v. FSU: W – Spurrier v. Bowden.  I hope that both teams play well enough to go to the Peach Bowl and we actually get to see this game.  A battle of 2 coaching legends.  Bowden’s teams mostly owned Spurrier’s during there wars in the 1990′s, but Spurrier bests Bowden here.

Carolina @ NC State: W – Did I just spoil my own prediction for Thursday?  No, because I’m thinking at this point in the season the Gamecock offense is clicking while Ellis Johnson’s defense is punishing.  Who knows what happens on Thursday….

Carolina v. Virginia: W – Let it be known that no major college football team should lose to Virginia.  Colin Cowherd said it best, all schools are known for something.  Harvard for its business school and Yale for its law school, and Virginia for curling up in the fetal position on Saturdays during college football season.

The Gamecocks go into the Clemson game 9-2 and looking for an ACC title and a 10 win season.

It’s fun to pretend isn’t it?  Mrs. Beer and I drank white wine with our sushi (from the Fresh Market) tonight so I’ll be back tomorrow with a final judgement on Bass.

Now, back to the issue at hand.  I picked up a sixer of Bass at the store and so far I’ve been quite pleased.  From Wikipedia:

Bass (pronounced /ˈbæs/ with a short a) is the name of a former brewery and the brand name for several English beersBurton upon Trent at Bass Brewery and still brewed in Burton on behalf of InBev by Marston’s. Bass is most particularly associated with their pale ale. The distinctive Red Triangle logo for Bass Pale Ale was Britain’s first registered trademark.

It has a rather sharp feel for it when you first drink it, but a good taste that goes down smooth.  From an appearance standpoint it has an impressive look to it.  The bottle is very plain and I like the red triangle look.  It pours nicely and has a smooth aroma to it.  I like it.  I’ll be back tomorrow for a final judgement.

Tomorrow starts game week.  I was listening to one of the local radio stations last week talking about how Clemson and Carolina would do if they played the opposite’s schedule.  Tomorrow we’ll examine that, and Wednesday you’ll get predictions for USC v. NC State, and Thursday you’ll get predictions for Clemson v. MTSU as well as some new beers.

Mr. Beer

Yes my friends finally it is here.  What you’ve all been waiting for.  A recap of Brew at the Zoo.  I was initially somewhat skeptical going into it to be perfectly honest.  Last year, my cousin Trip went and did not hide the fact that it was a nightmare.  Long lines, running out of beer, bad weather, and worse music were just a few of its flaws.  Whatever happened last year, they must have corrected for this year, because we had a great time.

We made our way into “Zone 1″ (the beers were divided up into different zones) and decided to give Landshark a try.  This was our first experience with Landshark and it obviously led into a review.  Here is a picture of Mrs. Beer and I with the flamingos.

We saw a unit that had Budweiser American Ale on it and made the wise decision to bypass that particular beer.  They did, however, have a few nice Michelob samplers at the booth, including a honey wheat that was delightful.
We made our way over to the Sweetwater booth where I had the 420, and Mrs. Beer and Papa Beer (In Law) had the blueberry flavored beer.  I had a taste of Mrs. Beer’s and was quite repulsed.
When we saw the Heineken I naturally got excited.  Did you realize that Heineken was the world’s most distributed beer?  Well now you do.  I was going to save that little nugget until we actually reviewed it, but I got so excited about it I grew three arms (not a three legged horse).  Yes one of those is Heineken light.
And we hit what turned out to be the most pleasant surprise of the entire event.  I won’t give my whole back story on PBR right now (Mrs. Beer lets out a sigh of relief), I’ll save that one for the actual review.  But you know what, it’s a tasty beer.  Papa Beer (In Law) and I gave it a little sampler and appreciated its Americanness.
We finished our evening with some nice foreign beers, the caps of which have mysteriously disappeared so I cannot exactly name them.  Mrs. Beer decided to take a quick break and have a seat on the bronze Simba.
All in all I have to tip the cap to Riverbanks Zoo.  I don’t know about last year, but this year was a huge success.  They had a great crowd, a solid band, and some delicious beers.  Mrs. Beer and I missed the Lights at the Zoo last Christmas, but Brew at the Zoo more than made up for it and we are already looking forward to next year.

Mr. Beer

So Mrs. Beer decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns in regards to our little experiment and picked up two new beers yesterday while she was at the grocery store.  The first one we decided to sample was Blue Moon’s “Honey Moon” summer ale.

From Wikipedia:

For the summer season Blue Moon now renames the Summer Ale to Honey Moon. “This ale is brewed with clover honey, orange peel, pale malt, and malted white wheat.” This ale was a first place winner in the Specialty Honey Lager or Ale category at the Great American beer Festival in 2006^[9]. Honey Moon is 5.6% alcohol by volume.

Seeing as how it’s a Blue Moon brand, Mrs. Beer and I peeled a couple of oranges to get the tasting started.  As sure as we got our excitement up, we got let down pretty damn quickly.  The combination of all its ingredients plus the orange peel did not make for a tasty treat.  I don’t know what the best word to describe it was…I’m thinking overkill.  All we could taste was the orange.

So, we decided to give it another shot without the orange peel.  I thought it tasted better, but it still wasn’t particularly great.  After I poured it, the aroma actually made me cough.  Seriously.  It’s almost as if they took a bottle of Blue Moon and poured some honey in it.  Mrs. Beer thought it had a “funny taste” but couldn’t quite put her finger on the problem.  She’s a big fan of the package; she said she nearly bought Blue Moon but the packaging made her pick this up instead.  The price wasn’t unreasonable at $7.49/sixer, but we were hoping for more taste.

Anyways, this doesn’t take either of us back to our honeymoon (St. Martin) and it’s unlikely this Honey Moon will be making a second trip into the Beer Household.  For now, we’ll stick with Blue Moon.*

Taste: 4.5/10

Drinkability: 4.5/10

Price: 6.5/10

Availability: 6.5/10

Alcohol Content: 7/10

Presentation: 8/10

Overall: 6.2/10

*Mrs. Beer says that she isn’t willing to write this one off for good yet, but she isn’t going to go so far as buying another six-pack until she figures this one out.  She says she’d be open to trying it without the six-pack commitment and definitely wants to see how a beer place like Flying Saucer serves it (with or without the orange?).  You can be sure, my fellow beer drinker, that I will keep you updated on her findings.

Today, fellow beer drinkers, you are in for a 3 for 1.  You’re getting Landshark’s Final Judgment, a new beer (and a final judgment), and finally, yes finally, pics from Brew at the Zoo.

Now, for the first post.

I really liked Landshark.  But what else should we expect from the brand that brings you “Cheeseburger In Paradise?”  When Jimmy Buffet (fellow Kappa Sig) does something, he always manages to do it well.  Whether it be a restaurant, concert, margarita mix, or a beer, they have all been done well.

Landshark has a clean taste and has a smooth mouth feel to it.  It can easily be consumed a couple at a time or in larger quantities.  The alcohol content is only 4.7%, but that’s about on par for its drinkability.  The price was not bad ($13.99 for a 12 pack) making it somewhat comparable to a Bud Light or a Coors Light.  While I am a fan of the packaging and the bottle, Mrs. Beer didn’t like it one little bit.  She eventually got past all of that and finally tried one, enjoying it even more so than she remembered from her first taste at Brew at the Zoo.  However, she did not appreciate having the bottle stand in the way of her enjoyment in the first place.

Landshark will be making another appearance in the Beer fridge, possibly as early as football season.

Taste: 8.5/10

Drinkability: 9/10

Price: 7/10

Availability: 6.5/10

Alcohol Content: 6/10

Presentation: 6/10*

Overall: 7.2/10

*Similar to MGD, I felt the bottle for Landshark was a good fit, while Mrs. Beer disagreed.  Once again, we compromised to give it a 6/10.

On the subject of the call-in show, it was a particularly great night for The Beer Household, as Mrs. Beer won a Steve Spurrier Carolina hat from the Head Ball Coach himself.  Earlier in the evening, we decided to forgo our planned racquetball game owing to each of us having had a hard day at the office, instead choosing to properly commemorate the beginning of the Carolina Football season with 100 or so of our closest friends at Wild Wing.  Evidently (it was so damn loud in there we could hardly hear anything), Todd Ellis announced that the first female drinking a Coors Light to come forward would win the hat.  Well, truth be told, Mrs. Beer and I were both enjoying a cold Rolling Rock, but two fine Americans near us were drinking Coors and, having heard the announcement, pulled the old switcheroo so that Mrs. Beer could take the proper beverage up to the stage.   Upon her arrival, the Head Ball Coach tossed her the hat.

While we’re still on the subject of football, tune in to the blog every Wednesday for Clemson football predictions and every Thursday for Carolina football predictions (if Carolina plays on a Thursday then we will switch it up).

Now that I’ve shared the latest and greateest, back  to the issue at hand.

I picked up a 12-pack of Landshark the other day and I have to say that this is a tasty beverage.  I first sampled it at Brew at the Zoo (I swear I’ll post pictures from that at some point) and came away impressed.  It was hot and the Landshark went well with the heat. Very refreshing.

From Wikipedia:

Land Shark Lager is a beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch and marketed as a part of Jimmy Buffett‘s “Margaritaville” brand. The beer currently holds naming rights for Land Shark Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, Florida MarlinsMiami Hurricanes football team. Land Shark Lager is brewed with a secret blend of 17 herbs and spices.

The beverage’s name derives from the landshark, a character portrayed by Chevy Chase in the TV show Saturday Night Live as well as Jimmy Buffett‘s song about Landsharks, “Fins”.

Here we are with yet another AB beer.  I did not realize they had such a stranglehold on the beer market.  I knew this was a Buffett beer, but I have to give AB credit for brewing a tasty beverage.  After our last experience, I’m happy to report this one is worth picking up.  Mrs. Beer doesn’t care for the look of the bottle (too similar to MGD – a beer she’d  prefer to forget sooner rather than later)  but I happen to like it.  I have no doubt she will too… once she gets past the packaging.  It shouts to you “drink me on a hot day!”  Mrs. Beer thinks it screams “cheap gold jewelry!”  While MGD may have the taste equivalent of cheap gold jewelry, Landshark, thankfully, has the taste of pure excellence.

I’ll be back with a final judgement.

Mr. Beer

To say that this past week has been, well, rough, would be like saying Tiger Woods got owned at the PGA Championship.  Without getting into the nitty gritty details of a long work week, my cousin Wylie and I decided to challenge downtown Columbia to a fight on Friday, while Mrs. Beer and the girls went to Bonefish (where else) for a girls’ night.  We met up with the somewhat recently engaged Bob and Heather at Flying Saucer (a new favorite location of mine) where Bob had a few recommendations for us to sample.   

The Delirium Tremens was the starter (although Mr. E Beer originally introduced me to that one), and with its alcohol by volume it’s got a hell of an engine to it.  Bob recommended a couple of German beers whose names I can’t remember.  They were darker, and tasted good, but they weren’t the best choice for a muggy summer night in downtown Columbia.  Well, at night’s end we were at Pavlov’s, which is never good when you are in your upper 20s… for any occasion.  It did give me an opportunity to see some folks I hadn’t seen in a while, including a few Kappa Sigs and the best referee the CIBL has ever seen.  I woke up Saturday morning with a headache and I could somewhere hear Toby Keith singing “I Ain’t As Good As I Once Was” in the backgrounds, echoing the fact that, well, Mr. Beer has gotten old.  Maybe I’m just out of practice.  I can hear my friend Mr. Nichols now, quoting the legendary Earl Bascom “If it ain’t lame, then it ain’t tame.”  I think I got that one right.

So, now back to the issue at hand.  Harp is a pretty decent beer.  I enjoyed it, but I didn’t enjoy how much I paid for it ($8.99/sixer).  It’s got a crisp bite to it and an ok finish, but it left something to be desired (perhaps ½ pint of Guinness).  It’s not a beer I’ll want to drink on game day, or even in large quantities.  It’s more of a sampler beer at Flying Saucer (which, Mr. Beer is now an MVP card holder again – thanks Heather for hooking that up).  I’m not sure where the marketing of it goes – I know the linkage to Guinness just from my appreciation for Black and Tans, but the question is does a lifelong Budweiser drinker know it (Mrs. Beer didn’t).  Perhaps at some point we’ll mix it up some and do a Black and Tan taste test and Harp can re-enter the fold.  But until then, it will remain on the shelves and out of the fridge at the Beer household.

Taste:  6/10

Drinkability:  5.5/10

Price:  3.5/10

Availability:  8.5/10

Alcohol Content:  7/10

Presentation:  5/10

Overall:  5.9/10

Stay tuned for a new beer.

Mr. Beer

It’s been awhile since my last post I know…but even Mr. Beer deserves a vacation, right?  Anyways, we’ll introduce a new beer tonight and as soon as I can upload the pictures we’ll go over brew at the zoo. 

This beer has actually been sitting in my fridge for the better part of 2 weeks.  I was in the store discussing Carolina football with my good friend Alex when he recommended I give Harp a try. 

From Wikipedia: 

Harp Lager (Harp Irish Lager since 1997) is a pale lager brand owned by Diageo. It is brewed in The Great Northern Brewery, Dundalk for Ireland, the Labatt‘s brewery for Canada and the Hydes brewery for Great Britain. In Australia distribution is handled by Carlton & United Breweries. In Great Britain distribution is handled by Bargain Beer Supplies.

At first taste it was kind of bitter, but as it goes along it ends up finishing rather pleasantly.  Mrs. Beer found it rather forgettable, but she only drank one (she’s now sipping on a Bud Light).  I believe her quote was “no opinion strong enough to remember.” 

It’s good and I like it…I just don’t love it.  I do want to get some Guinness to go along with it as a Black and Tan, but  I’ll be back tomorrow with a final judgment.

Mr. Beer