Beer – Page 6 – Denim Beer Machines & Coffee

Jack’s Abby Grapefruit Radler and Pineapple, Guava Passion Radler in cans.

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Jack’s Abby Grapefruit & Pineapple, Guava Passion Radler review

Published on July 28, 2022

Strolling through the refrigerated section of the beers I came across Jack’s Abby craft lagers. Jack had a wide selection of tasty-looking fruity beers to choose from. I had never heard of this brand. The cans look like there was something delicious to behold so I decided to go for the Grapefruit Radler and Pineapple, Guava Passion Radler.

I may have mentioned this before, but I’m not really into the light beers but I decided to give these radlers a try. If you are new to this type of beer (like me), they are basically about a 2-to-1 mix of beer and some other juice, soda, tea, etc. They are intended to be light summery, easy-going beers with 2 to 4% alcohol.

I decided to first start with one of my favorite fruit, the Grapefruit Radler. My first impression…light. Very light. I was waiting for the hint of grapefruit, but I never tasted it. Honestly, if you blindfolded me and ask me to choose which was the favored beer, the Grapefruit Radler or a Coors Light, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

I wasn’t that enthused to try the Pineapple, Guava Passion Radler, so it took a few days to taste test. It did have a little more flavor than the Grapefruit, but I couldn’t place the favor.

My verdict. It’s almost seltzer-like and far too light for my taste. However, very light could be what it is meant to be.

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My favorite beers: Kona Longboard Island Lager

Published on July 9, 2022

The Island Lager by Kona Brewing Co. is currently one of my favorite beers. Since this is the blog’s first beer post, there are no Top 10 or 20 Lists yet. The fact that I chose Longboard Island Lager as one of my first posts, however, should tell you something.

Longboard Island Lager 12-oz. bottle of beer by Kona Brewing Company of Hawaii Kai

If I had to estimate where it would fall, I’d say it makes my Top 15 list. I will also add that one of the Kona Brewing Co.’s beers easily cracks my Top 5. However, that story is for a future post.

I discovered this beer while on vacation in Hawaii in July 2021 because it was everywhere. I’m really picky about beers, so I grew frustrated there were not more beer choices at the hotel bar and all the stores I checked. I was looking for some of my favorite craft beers to stock in my hotel room fridge, but all I saw were Kona Brewing Company selections, the usual mass-market brands, and a few popular Japanese brands, Sapporo, Asahi, and Kirin. I settle for tall cans of Sapporo and Kirin.

Near the end of my trip, I grabbed a local draft from the bar because it was offered at a lower price. I was on the run and didn’t think to remember the name. I told the bartender what I liked (lagers, ales, fruity, not too heavy, not too light) and let him select my beer. I do remember as I walked around at the pool thinking, damn, this beer is kind of good.

A week after my vacation, I was home shopping in the beer section of my nearby grocery store. “Humm, what do I feel like today,” I asked myself.
“A Shiner Strawberry Blonde, Sam Adams Summer Ale, UFO White?” You get the picture of what I was in the mood for. Just then, I noticed on the store shelf for the first time the beer I saw all in Hawaii.

They offered pilsner, lager, and an IPA. I rarely drink pilsners unless I’m in the mood for something light. I drink IPAs even less frequently than pilsners. I don’t dislike them. In general, I feel like the taste is too aggressive. It’s like my tongue is on a date that wants to get right to it! That left the lager as the obvious choice.

I usually have two beers with dinner. And, I prefer to drink beer from a glass (frosted is a plus). I feel like I get a more uninterrupted taste.

All I remember is thinking, My God! What a missed opportunity in Hawaii. This is an incredibly good beer! This was that beer from the bar.

There’s something very clean and clear about the Longboard’s taste. Straight-forward delight, vibrant and charming.

I read other reviews before writing this review to see what beer influencers thought about it. In general, nearly all said the same thing. Clean taste, and without any characteristics to complain about. In other words, a great-tasting beer!

Beer

Shiner Strawberry Blonde Watermelon Recipe & Review

Published on July 1, 2022

Shiner Strawberry Blonde is a crisp, pleasantly sweet beer without the bitter aftertaste that I’ve found in other fruit-flavored beers. It’s my thirst-quenching go-to beer.

How to make a Shiner Strawberry Blonde icy watermelon beer recipe with Wonder Melon juice — Use Shiner Strawberry Blonde beer, jar or glass, and watermelon juice to make a great summer drink.

My brother-in-law likes to drink his beers warm, as-in room temperature. He only refrigerates beers if he expects beer-drinking guests over. I’m the opposite. I like my beers cold. As cold as possible. I like to put them in the freezer until they are so cold, that they freeze up as I pour them into a frosted glass.

If you are like me and enjoy a beer with a little fruit flavor, I’m going to share with you one of my favorite tasty beers, along with a little thing I like to do to enhance the fruitiness and temperature.

I first discovered this beer around 2016 while running around Los Angeles, making jeans. Always on the hunt for new beers, the name sounded enticing. Without remembering the brewer’s name, only the package design and words Strawberry Blonde, I bought six-pack after six-pack until heading back to New York.

A few weeks later, I had a craving for that strawberry beer I discovered in LA. Checking the beer selections every time I walked into a new store, it took months before I discovered a retailer. The thing was, this retailer was in lower Manhattan, and I lived in Brooklyn. This meant I had to load up whenever I passed by the area. Eventually, that store ran out, and I wouldn’t come across Shiner’s Strawberry Blonde until several years later.

Recently, while shopping at one of my nearby grocery stores, I spotted a sale on six-packs for a little less than $8. I nearly bought the market out, leaving about two six-packs for other shoppers to discover. With over a hundred strawberry beers around, it gave me time to experiment with different fruit combinations to enhance the flavor.

Find a glass with a strong base that can take the expansion of liquid freezing, and fill it about 20-25% with watermelon juice. Pour in a cold beer (the colder the better). The juice will keep the beer cold while slowly releasing a little added watermelon flavor into the beer, reaching its flavorful peak as you finish the last few swallows.

I usually keep two glasses frozen because I usually have about two beers with dinner. By the time I finish the first beer, only a core of frozen juice at the bottom of the glass. Fill the glass with more juice and place it in the freezer. The still frozen core will help the added juice freeze faster but grab your second glass for your next bottle of beer.

I’ll admit, I like drinking Wonder Melon juice by itself, but it’s not the best juice to “ice” with beer because it has secondary flavors added. A more commonly available cold pressed juice and better tasting option would be WTRMLN WTR.