Monthly Archives: January 2010

Beer Review #43 Red Fox Ale

My wife and I decided to go out to dinner last night to the Fox and Hound. I haven’t been to one in a few years and I forgot how extensive of a beer selection they have for a chain restaurant. They have 15-20 beers in draft and double that in bottle selections. Most if it is stuff you would expect to see, aka the typical craft beer selections. They did put Miller Chill under the Specialty/Craft beer bottle menu though. Anyway they had a beer called Red Fox Amber which I had never heard of before, so my wife and I each ordered one.

I figured with the name that it was a beer that had been specially made for Fox and Hound, just like Uno has their own beer. This was not the case as I found out when I looked it up at home,but this is what I when in believing. Red Fox Amber is actually an Anheuser-Busch product, and it tastes like one. The color of the beer is a very light amber color, almost light enough to not call it an amber. There was a thin white head that quickly faded and left no lacing on the glass. On the nose my wife and I didn’t really pick up anything big. A slight bit of adjunct/metallic smell with extremely limited malt and/or hop.

On the first taste we both thought that the waitress had given us the wrong beer because it tasted exactly like Budweiser. The color was different but the taste, aroma, and everything else left me with a distinct Budweiser flavor. Even the aftertaste was exactly like a Budweiser. I can’t really say much more than that, it screamed Bud. I honestly didn’t know that Bud had produced this particular product. If you like Bud but want to drink something with some color, the Red Fox Amber is for you. A typical craft beer drinker would probably not enjoy this beer. It has a very American light lager feel, with a different color. I do want to note that I wasn’t able to get a true depiction of the color because of the lighting in the Fox and Hound but you could tell that it was a very light amber color.

Beer birthday cake

This beer blogger just recently celebrated a birthday. My wife got me a bottle of beer, some Delirium Tremens to be exact, and I received a few other beer related items. Apparently I am getting easy to shop for becasue 75% of the gifts I get now relate to beer. They know me so well. Anyway my wife also decided to make me a beer birthday cake and I think it turned out awesome.

The original idea was to make it into a pilsner style glass. She used a pound cake mix becasue if Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes have taught us anything, pound cake is great for carving. She put cake batter into a few cake pans and then used a straight edged glass to make circles. She then put frosting between the layers and placed it in the fridge for a bit to harden up. When carving, she found out that the circles were a bit too narrow to be carved properly into a pilsner shape, so we decided that it was mug (with no handle). In either case I think it turned out great and I really dig the suds on the top.

Is beer just another drink?

My wife and I have been having a discussion recently if beer should be considered just another drink like coffee, milk, or soda. I am of the belief that beer is in fact, another drink. She believes that you need to be careful with beer and you cannot just classify it as “another drink.” Her reason is two fold. First, beer, particularly craft beer, is more expensive than any other drink. If you break it down and do the math, it is.  A typical six pack is going to cost you about 10 bucks for 72 ounces worth of beer. There are 128 ounces in a gallon so that works out to 1.78 six packs per gallon or as I like to refer to them as SPPG.

128 ounces per gallon ÷ 72 ounces per six pack = 1.78 six packs per gallon

I am going to ballpark this here and say that the typical six pack is going to range anywhere from $8-12. So doing the math a gallon of delicious craft beer is going to come in between$14.24 and $21.36. Alright she has me there, it is expensive. The other argument is that beer and alcohol in general can cause health issues along with addiction. We both come from families where alcoholism runs in our blood. Somehow neither of us seem to have a problem with controlling ourselves or needing a drink. While this is a real problem for thousands, it doesn’t really hit home for us.

I am from the school of beer is another drink, a very, very wonderful drink. I don’t see a problem with coming home from work one night and having a beer or two. I agree with my wife (and I am assuming most of you) that drinking like crazy when you come home isn’t a good thing. But I don’t see the harm in having a beer or two every few days.

The best man at my wedding told me of his roommates in college who thought he was crazy to have a beer with his dinner. He is also of the belief that beer is just another drink just in case you were wondering or couldn’t figure that out. Anyway his roommates believed that beer was for drinking a lot of or having without food and just to feel good. No so. Beer is essentially flavored water with some alcohol in it. Most beers are made of of 90-95% water.

When I was in college the closest big brewery was Stoudt’s Brewing Company in Adamstown, Pa. They also happen to be one of the first regional breweries in the country and have an excellent reputation in the craft beer world. Ed and Carol Stoudt are also some pretty awesome people (and Carol is a great brewer). Anyway, while taking a tour of the brewery last year Ed talked about the health benifits of beer and exclaimed that he has almost a six pack a day and is healthy as a horse. While I don’t know how much of his story was for show, and I think drinking that much per day on a regular basis is a terrible idea, beer defiantly does have its own share of health benefits. But that is a post for another time.

Yes alcohol can be an addictive substance, but lets take a look at a few other common drink favorites; soda and coffee. Those two drinks are packed with caffeine, which is one of the most addictive substances know to man kind. Alcohol pails in comparison in addiction levels to caffeine. Why are those drinks OK when they can lead to health complications as well?

Yes beer can be expensive, but I don’t think that it shouldn’t be considered an acceptable drink to have for any occasion because of that. There are addiction risks and possible health complications associated with improper use of alcohol, but that also applies for other commonly accepted items as well. What are your thoughts on have a beer randomly? Is it acceptable to have anytime or something just for the weekends?

Beer rating

I was recently watching an episode of Beer Buzz on Beer Tap TV where they made mention of beer ratings. The base argument of what they had to say was that they do not give beers scores or ratings. There is a place for every beer and there can be something positive found in any beer, just like people I suppose. They also read an e-mail they received from a fellow beer blogger whose name/blog escapes me at the current time. He decided to go ahead and remove all the ratings on this site because if people only come for the rating, they miss the point of hi writing.

In general I agree with these thoughts. Brewery Reviewery has never had a rating system in place and there is a good reason for that. I am in no way an expert in beer tasting or writing for that matter. My tastes vary and my appreciation for different styles varies. For instance there has never been a review of a Lambic on this site because that is a style of beer that I just don’t get. They are also pretty tough to find around here. I also refuse to give a beer points or a grade because what I find in the beer might be completely different than what someone else sees in it.

I like the idea that there can be good found in every beer. Those who know me personally would consider me an eternal optimist, much to my wife’s displeasure. It makes sense that I should try to find the good in beer. My most negative review was of Hamm’s Beer. At the end of the article I said “I would not recommend this beer to anyone.” That was really harsh and perhaps out of place. There are people out there who love that stuff, so why should I bash it?

Sometimes I get my lines blurred on the audience that I am talking to. In general I would conisder the people who read this blog craft beer drinkers. However, there are those out there new to the “scene” or those just looking up info on there favorite beer. Who am I to say their beer stinks. I would agree with the stance that each beer fills a void. Every drinker can find something that is pleasing to their palette even if their palette does not agree with mind. On future reviews I will be looking to find the good in every beer and also keep in mind that my tastes will vary greatly from some of those of our readers.

Let me know if you have any notes for me or any thoughts on reviewing beers.