Stoudts Pilsner

What a day and what a beer Stoudts Pilsner J Brewed by Stoudts Brewing Company located in Pennsylvania                                                                                                      http://www.stoudtsbeer.com/

As I pour into a clear glass, I couldn’t help but notice the vibrant golden beam of light shoot into the air from this happy juice. Following this pleasant color was a quickly dissipating white head that would spit wonderful smells of earthy grains, malt and a noble hop profile. After several sips you should get this sharp carbonated tingle that will hit your tongue from the light body followed by a dry citric bite from the Saaz Hops.

This beverage was perfect for the sunny almost 70 degree weather day. One that will be added to the fridge more often and offered to all guests that looks like someone just shitted all over their parade. Classing this one under the “up lifter category”, packaging doesn’t look like much. Hell, from the first impression you might even think WTF? Thanks dude, here I’m a guest in your home, sharing a sad story and the support I get is a beer that looks like it’s going to be a skunky disappointment. Why don’t you kick me in the balls and get it over with! Until that vibrant pour I have a feeling that this beer will be over looked, not considered or disregarded as… yay-beer (low pathetic voice). I’m here to say that it’s actually decent and comes with a thirst quenching hand shake. (<- hand shake?) I would definitely recommend this and if unable to find at your local market then don’t look so glum. Still wanting to test my theory but I would say that “Stoudts Pilsner” does have a very similar profile to the “Noble Pilsner” by Sam Adams so this could be a Plan B.

SnapperHead IPA brewed by: Butternuts Beer and Ale out of New York

www.butternutsbeerandale.com/

This beer had all the expectations of a good IPA but lacking a full profile. It has a very nice orange, rich color with a light head which is leaning towards a thin carbonation due to the quick dissipation. The taste was sweet almost butterscotch like followed by a strong malty flavor. So far so good right, and here comes the disappointment: very low in hops all around which destroyed what I thought this beer could have been. It’s there however I felt like Dr. Jones hunting for it. You will find it in the back of the bitter taste giving a hint of citrus. Hardly no aroma due to the over power of the malt, think I went into this expecting the lost ark or a hidden gem due to the outstanding package/marketing.

Being a graphic designer I’m now noticing that when exploring new brews I can get quickly distracted by the marketing and labels. Butternuts Beer and Ale’s website is a wonderful adventure filled with many hidden easter eggs and proving how cool you can make a product seem by some simple flash. (check out the link above) Now this beer wasn’t a complete loss and for it being a 6.8% IPA sold in cans it could be a real winner for a hot day of chugging. I’m actually thinking of adding this to my Bonnaroo variety pack since there is a strict rule on No Bottles. If someone was standing next to me in an aisle and asked what I thought about SnapperHead’s IPA? I would follow up with- Are you wanting to drink an IPA or a Pale Ale because this is what I consider this beer leaning towards.