My Beer Log

I've started to drink beer a little more often, but I'm a long way off from having any kind of preference. I figure my best way to form an opinion is to try it all, and see what shakes out.

So, no doubt inspired by the Wired article on tracking your life, I've started a Beer Log. Besides, I come from a family of scientists, this is just how we think.

Please add your suggestions of ones to try in the comments...

• 8/6/20009: Avery White Rascal - I randomly tried this one tonight, and I found it quite drinkable. The waitress asked me if I could taste the hints of orange - yeah, we're not that tuned yet. Grade: A
• 8/17/2009: Long Trail Ale & Otter Creek Copper Ale - I tried these two beers back to back, on a hot summer day when my friend got married. I found the Long Trail Ale easier to drink and tasted better, and the Otter Creek was just a bit too intense. Though, still drinkable. The heat certainly didn't hurt matters. Grade: B+, B-
• 8/18/2009: Mother Martha’s Kolsch-style Ale - This is Rock Bottom's light beer offering. I suppose it tasted OK, though I didn't find it particularly memorable. I guess I appreciate that it was guilt (calorie wise) drinking. Grade: B.
• 8/25/2008: El Jefe Hefeweizen - This is another Rock Bottom beer. I'm not sure how to describe this one - the first word that comes to mind is "spicy." It's one of the first times I tasted a beer and noticed something other than beer taste. I found it quite drinkable and fun to try to decode. Grade: A.
• 9/3/2009: Coastal Flats Pale Ale - Yikes this beer was bitter. So bitter, I found I had no urge to finish the glass. I'll have to come back to it after I've gotten more beers under my belt, and see if I continue to find it as undrinkable as I did this first time. Grade: D.
• 9/6/2009: Half Acre Over Ale - This was another bitter brew. Though, I didn't find it quite as bitter as the Coastal Flats Pale Ale, and had no problem drinking the whole bottle. It's still a taste I think I'm going to need to acquire. Grade: C
• 9/10/2009: Corona - I finally got around to trying this standard beer. No wonder it's so popular, it drinks more like a soft-drink than a beer. While I didn't feel particularly adventurous while drinking it, it was far from disagreeable. Grade: A
• 9/17/2009: Dogfish Head Punkin - Despite the seasonal nature of this beer, and the name, I couldn't even find a hint of Pumpkin while drinking this beer. But, I did find it flavorful enough for me to enjoy, yet not so overpowering that I'd write it off as too bitter. For my tastes, it pushed the limits of what I'll enjoy while drinking a beer - but, that's probably a good thing. Grade: A-
• 9/20/2009: Yuengling Light Lager - This was definitely a passable beer to drink. Being a light beer, I suppose it's one I could drink with less caloric guilt. In terms of flavor, it didn't strike me as anything either amazing, or horrible. Grade: B
• 9/27/2009: Arrogant Bastard Ale - My first thought, when tasting this beer was that there was almost something spicy about it. Though, in the end, I was having a hard time teasing out a specific flavor, other than just bitter. I'll just call it complex. Grade: B. Oh, and they have the slickest website yet.
• 10/24/2009: Magic Hat, Odd Notion Fall 2009 - Wow, this beer had a remarkable flavor. From the website it mentions Chocolate and Clove. Alas, this flavor came across as burnt and bitter to me. It was definitely too strong for my tastes, but interesting none the less. Grade: C