Tsingtao Beer

Brewers Description:
Tsingtao Lager (Pronounced "CHING-DOW; 4.8% ABV) has a crisp, slightly malty flavor and nutty sweet taste which complements spicy or flavorful Asian cuisine. Tsingtao Lager is brewed with the finest all-natural ingredients including domestically-grown hops, high quality barley and spring water from China's Laoshan mountain region.

I've never had Chinese beer before, so I can't compare it to anything else from the region. One of my friends brought this over for dinner (Chinese food, hence the Chinese beer). By taste, it is a watered down, sweeter version of Heineken. I was disappointed by this fact until we started eating. The beer is intentionally very light and generic so that it compliments the meal without overpowering it. Because Chinese cuisine usually has it's own spice and flavor you don't need a strong beer. Consequently, my friend and I had finished the six pack in no time.

It's worth trying once, if for no other reason than to have Chinese beer with your Chinese food. I would not recommend it without a spicy or flavorful food paring. It won't be anybody's favorite beer, but I doubt anybody could really hate it.

Sierra Nevada's Celebration Fresh Hop Ale

Brewer's Description: "Celebration Ale is a special ale for the holidays. Featuring the first hops of the growing season, this pioneering IPA is full of complex flavors and aromas from the generous use of whole cone American hops."

This surprisingly dark IPA from Sierra Nevada poured with very little head, but a lot of aroma -- not hops aroma, but wheat and spice. For an IPA (even a Christmas one) I was really impressed with the dark, rich, taste this beer packed (and the 6.8% ALC). At first taste, the Celebration Ale was like all ales: very hoppy. Nothing surprising here except at how normal the flavor was, without any skunkiness or harsh bite. But the flavor quickly deepened into a thick brown more commonly found in a stout. The remaining flavors were a smooth and generic blend of spices and wheats with a smooth, gentle aftertaste. Overall, Sierra Nevada made another good beer -- nothing too fancy, but just a good, classic Christmas Ale that won't let you down.

First Post and Blue Star Wheat

This blog is to explore our favorite beverage - beer.  Some of what might be found here in the future could include:

• reviews of specific brews
• suggestions about pubs or bars to visit
• pictures of beer
• thoughts and discussion about the brewing process

Posts will be tagged with things such as names or styles and there is a search function to find certain topics of interest.

To begin, I thought I might share a bottle I had this afternoon.  Blue Star Wheat Beer from North Coast Brewing Company in California.  I picked it up a Sciciliano's Market while back home in Grand Rapids this past weekend.

It comes in a shorter, stout brown bottle similar to Newcastle or brews from Founders.  The label is blue and yellow, which is automatically appealing to a Michigan man such as myself.

The bottle description says "water, malt, hops, yeast, & that's all" and it seems about right.  This is a pretty basic wheat beer.  It poured a solid orange-gold color with an nice inch+ head that subsided nicely upon drinking.  The most important part is that it tasted good.  Typical wheat flavor with a little citrus; not much bite to it.  The only downside might be the significant amount of sediment found in it, but that doesn't take much away from the overall quality.

BeerAdvocate

It has already been added to my bottle collection, which I officially started yesterday when it became more than one total.