Bud Light Challenge pt. 1, by Laura Lloyd

Ok so just for fun I did what I like to call the "Bud Light Challenge". The idea is to basically find water tasting drinks (note: this is usually just water) and compare them to Bud Light. Blindfolded. Then, you have to say which one is the beer, and which one is the water-based liquid. Fun, right?

Upon being blindfolded, I was presented by spectator and judge, Taylor, two glasses. One containing Perrier, another containing the single bottle of Bud Light I had purchased. Let it be known that this particular brew was purchased because I was 30 cents short of whatever other beer I actually wanted. Oh, and cause my friend Dana won't stop talking about how awesome Bud Light is. So, in the sake of second chances and new beginnings, I went for it.


I took a sip of each drink. Unfortunately, it was obvious which drink was what. Mind you, this is not to say that my hypothesis of Bud Light tasting like water/Perrier has been disproved. The reason I could tell the difference is because we were unfortunately a little unprepared for this impromptu Bud Light Challenge, and as a result the Perrier was lukewarm and almost flat, unlike my recently purchased cold Bud Light.

So, in the name of science everywhere, I will not draw a conclusion, and will plan for another challenge. Rest assured, it will come.

Until next time Bud Light Challenge...

Oh... but after this I think I drank some real beer and some shit like this happened, and got yelled at by Stef's neighbors, so that night wasn't a total bust I guess.


My eye is buggin'

xo Laura Lloyd

sorry Stef

Dennis Hopper knows what's up.

Dos Equis Special Lager

I’ll admit it. I was a little intrigued when I first saw the commercial for Dos Equis featuring The Most Interesting Man in the World. It’s hard not to pay attention when your boyfriend yells “COOL” at the TV every time it airs, with the gusto of an 11 year old boy watching a wrestling match. The marketing campaign is obviously geared towards men because it worked like a charm on my boyfriend but as I watched it I wondered to myself, what would it be like to fuck The Most Interesting Man in the World? I don’t mean to get all Sex and the City on Tasty Brews but a lot of girls want to know what it’s like to be with a sophisticated older gent; a refined, stylish, well travelled and hopefully rich man of the world. It all looks pretty good in the commercial, he has a sweet beard, a gravelly vaguely Euro accent and other women seem to be into him which is a key factor for female attraction.

I got my hands on a six pack of Dos Equis in Los Angeles which I kept referring to as Dos Ickys because of my crappy Spanish accent, however my mispronunciation turned out to be pretty apt. I expected so much of this beer, I wanted it to fulfill all of my hopes and dreams. I wanted it to taste like a fine cigar mixed with a faint hint of cologne mixed with the smell of a warm leather couch in front of a fireplace in a European ski lodge. I wanted to tell this beer that no one had ever made me feel that way before. As I put that cool green bottle to my lips I savoured the moment before all the hype would be revealed and i’d be admitted to the cool club of those who have sampled The Most Interesting Man in the World’s beverage of choice. And then nothing happened, it was totally underwhelming. As for the slogan 'Stay Thirsty', well I stayed thirsty indeed because this beer provided no satisfaction whatsoever. I take it back, I don’t want to fuck an old dude if it’s anything like this beer. Weak, unflavourful, skunky, no foam, doesn’t get you nearly as drunk as you need to be. No thank you! I’ll come and visit you at the old folk’s home, maybe I’ll give you a sponge bath if you pay me enough but that’s it.

This beer was so distasteful that I gave most of it away to a roving pack of homeless hippies who were living in a dumpster in San Francisco. Just when they thought their lives couldn’t get any worse I unleashed this seemingly well-meaning gift upon them because I hate hippies almost as much as I hate Dos Equis.

We haven't posted in a while, but I promise we will soon!
DON'T FORGET ABOUT US

mondial de la biere 2009

I was so overwhelmed when I walked in that I started to tear up a little bit.

Beer # 1

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
10.6%

This beer is called a Russian Imperial Stout, which makes sense because its really dark and heavy. This stuff was ok, kind of disgusting. It was a very rich brown, like melted chocolate but the texture was more like molasses, very syrupy but very bitter with a chocolatey after-taste. It was enjoyable as a taster but I definitely could not drink a whole glass of this

I wrote ‘I am drank’ in my notes so I guess by the end of this guy I was kind of buzzed.

Rating 3/5

Beer # 2

Roseé d’Hibiscus from Dieu Du Ciel breweries.
5%

This stuff was so nice! It was pink like grapefruit juice and tasted like a fizzy juice not a beer. It was really light and summery and I want to drink 10,000 of these on a terrace somewhere in the sunshine. I think this beer was my favourite of the day and I just found it in 6-pack format at depanneur near my friend’s house wheeeeee!

Rating 5/5

Beer # 3

Jackie Brown Beer from Mikkeller Brewery in Denmark
6%

Another dark, chocolatey stout. It had a smoky flavour with hints of caramel, chocolate and coffee. I have a hard time stomaching this beer because it was so damn syrupy.

3/5

Beer # 4

Sparkling Rosé Cider from Les Vergers de la Colline

Although not technically a brew I needed something light to cleanse my palate from all that chocolate stout. This stuff was amazing, it was a light pink sparkling cider which smelled as good as it tasted. It was sparkly like a diamond and after I took a sip I let out a high-pitched ‘ooouuuuuuhhhhh’ because I liked it so much.

4/5

Beer # 5
Maple Cream Ale from Brutopia
5%
This beer was pretty unremarkable, it tasted like a Sleeman from the fridge. Blah.
2/5

Beer # 6
Ålö Ale from Sweden
5.6%
Nothing much to report here, a pretty standard beer, but there were some nice fruity undertones.
Rating 3/5

Beer # 7
Unibroue Éphémère Cassis
5.5%
This beer was similar to the one from Dieu Du Ciel. It had really nice undertones of blackcurrant yum yum yum.
Beer # 8

Cameron’s Brewing Co Auburn Ale
5%

I wrote down that this beer tasted “soooooooooo really very good” I was also pretty much wasted. This beer fell somewhere between a rousse and an IPA but with a nice flavour I could still taste even though everything pretty much tasted the same at this point.

Rating 4/5

The only thing that would have made this day better would be if I somehow got my hands on a press pass. Maybe next year!

LA 11 !

I found Unibroue's incredibly crappy "Under Construction" website and perused the beers.
I found one called "LA 11" which they don't brew anymore and appears to have been a limited edition 11% brew. It looks so debonair, I want to drink it right now but I can't and that makes me want it even more.
The writing on the front, "Unibroue 11", is done with GOLD engraved lettering. I don't know when they last updated their site, so I have no idea how long this brew has been discontinued but I'd love to know if anyone has tried it!
Only 6,000 cases were sold in Quebec.
Has anyone drank this mystical brew?!

Speaking of higher percent brews, Emma let us drink some of her Cannon beer, from Montreal's "RJ brewery" (Tremblay, Belle Gueule, Cheval Blanc...) the other night on her balcony. Its 7.6% and tasted super mild. Kristina and I were buzzed off one. You could get really shitty with these considering the taste was so normal!
I've never seen this beer around though, I don't know which deps you can get them at.

(for anyone who took the time to look at the Unibroue website in english: please look at the "our beers" section and notice the pronunciations in brackets next to each name)

Reader Review: Meaghan Kelly on WACKO

Mike and I are here in Morgantown, West Virginia - the first stop on our seven-state-wide road trip through the U.S.A.- and we have made it our mission to keep Tasty Brews up to date on all the fun and "exotic" brews we are able to try along the way!
The first of these taste tests is brought to you by the people over at the Magic Hat breweries in Vermont. We picked up a variety pack of their summer beers to enjoy in our friend Jason's sunny back yard and I chose to review this crazy brew: Wacko! Described on the website as:

"Crisp like the morning, cool like the evening and quenching all day long. It's the beer that dances to the beat of summer. Pop the top and set your summer loose. Wacko is the liquid song of summer."

I can't say I completely agree with this description. While it's true that the beer tasted like summer, "quencing all day long" sounds like a bit of a stretch in my opinion...
I can't provide much in the way of a report on the beer's psychedelic effects -although the packaging leads me to believe that too many of them might have you seeing some cooky stuff! - because it was followed by a few too many glasses of wine, a whisky sour (or three) and several other Magic Hat brews, but I CAN report that my hangover was slim to none! I attribute this, in part, to my diligent water and coffee intake throughout the course of our drinking adventure, as well as the hefty amount of walking we did between Jason's house and downtown Morgantown, but I'm willing to give Wacko a little bit of the credit at least!

I can say this though: whether it be the fact that we're on vacation, how much fun Jason and his buddies are or just the general feeling of a hot July night away from home, this night was fun! Boston singalongs, catching fireflies, shamelessly indulging in greasy food late at night and lots and lots of giggles mean that I hold this beer close to my heart now as it will forever remind me of this wonderful night!

It's worth the time to check out their website if you have the chance. It's got some freaky little graphics and lots of interesting descriptions of their different brews!

Dear Meaghan,
all I have to say is that I love your use of the words "freaky" and "cooky".
Please keep trying new beers!
Love always,

Tasty Brews