St. George Brewing Company Dragon Pack

I've had my eye on this pack of beers for awhile now. It has a dragon on it. How can it not be awesome? This pack came with six different beers and I'm feeling lazy and don't have a whole lot to say, so I'm just going to hit all of them I've had so far in one post.

Lager - This is really good. I think this is my favorite from this pack. It's nice and smooth and is one of the most flavorful lagers I've had. It's mostly malty and sweet, with just a little bit of hoppiness.

Pilsner - Similar to the lager, but a bit hoppier.

American Brown Ale - This is smooth with coffee and chocolate flavors, almost like a porter.

Erie Brewing Co. Misery Bay IPA

Misery Bay IPA is one of the better IPAs that I've tried. A lot of people seem to consider it a more middle of the road beer and a bit too malty. This probably was to its advantage with the number of very malty beers I drink compared to very hoppy things like IPAs. It was still definitely bitter and citrusy, but not like the offerings from breweries such as Stone, where it takes a few sips just for me to adjust to the flavor.

Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy

Leinenkugel's generally can be counted on for a good beer. Unfortunately, I don't much care for their Summer Shandy. It's not bad, but it's not for me. The Summer Shandy is a wheat beer with lemonade in it, similar to their Sunset Wheat. It's a very sweet lemonade, though, which is not something that I care for. I prefer a more sour, lemony lemonade.

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter

Just a placeholder for the moment so that I don't forget

Harbin

Harbin was my first foray into Chinese beer. This one seems to be more or less the same thing as our typical beers in America with a little bit more flavor. I haven't looked into it, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was the equivalent of Miller or Budweiser over in China. For someone used to drinking Miller or Coors or the like who would like to branch out would do well to start here. It has slightly more flavor than the usual American beers, but isn't going to be the huge, sometimes disliked difference that jumping straight to a proper IPA or Stout is.

Wychwood Brewery Scarecrow Ale

Scarecrow Ale is a decent, if a bit average tasting beer. It would probably be very good, except it's pretty watery. This beer is malty and earthy with just a little bit of hop flavor. I really wish it were more impressive, because it wasn't bad, and the brew names and bottle images from Wychwood Brewery make me want to drink them.

Samuel Adams LongShot 2008 Double IPA

Wow, this is some bitter, hoppy beer. Of course, that's to be expected, but still, damn. This is the third beer from the 2008 LongShot contest that Samuel Adams holds. It's a very strong Double IPA with a lot of hops and a definite citrus flavor. According to the label, the person who brewed this used 7 types of hops. Apparently this was actually a 2007 winner, but there was a hop shortage, and some of the required hops were not available. Sam Adams decided to add a 3rd beer to the 2008 Longshot pack so that this beer could be distributed. Drinking this beer is like drinking a grapefruit.

Clipper City Brewing Co. Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout

Peg Leg Imperial Ale is an interesting beer. It has strong chocolate and coffee flavors. The mouthfeel (see, I'm using fancy beer snob words) is pretty thin with very little carbonation. I've tried several of the Heavy Seas series of beers, all of which are good, but this is the only one I've bought a second time so far due to the strong and different flavor.

Stone Brewery Arrogant Bastard Ale

Arrogant Bastard Ale has caught my eye several times due to the comical name and the gargoyle logo. Fortunately, this is also a pretty good ale. It's pretty strong, with a very hoppy flavor. I wish I had more to say about this one, because it is a good beer.

Samuel Adams LongShot 2008 Cranberry Wit

I tend to enjoy a wheat beer with some fruity flavoring and this Cranberry Wit is no exception. In fact, it's kind of nice to drink a wheat beer that uses a flavoring other than citrus. It does seem a little watery, though and I would like it if more of the cranberry flavor came through. Overall, a decent beer and a nice change from the other beers I've been drinking recently.

Anchor Brewing Anchor Steam Beer

Anchor Steam Beer is a traditional American lager of a style originating on the west coast. Originally, steam beer was an inexpensive, low quality beer brewed out of necessity rather than preference. It used lager yeast, but was brewed without ice or the cool temperatures usually associated with lager. Anchor Brewing is based out of San Francisco, California and has taken the Steam Beer name for their beer, which is officially referred to as California Common Beer since it has little relation to the original Steam Beer style. Anchor Steam Beer is somewhat thick and creamy, but with the light, only very mildly hopped flavor of most American Lager style beers, but higher quality. I will definitely be on the lookout for Anchor's other offerings.

Samuel Adams LongShot 2008 Traditional Bock

For the last few years Samuel Adams has held a contest for home brewers. Two beers are picked from the submissions to be brewed and distributed for a limited time by Samuel Adams (although there were 3 in the 2008 pack due to a problem in 2007). This weekend I picked up a 6 pack of the 2008 winners. The first one I tried was the traditional bock. This was good, but did not stand out from the other bocks and double bocks I have been drinking recently. I was rather sweet, moreso than the others, although not to the point of the barley wine I didn't care for a couple of weeks back.