Two Nerd Party

Brewer: Duvel Moortgat
Type: Belgian Abbey Double
Rating: 5/10

The first two thoughts that came to mind were: "Wow, this smells like barley. And...it tastes like barley." Oddly enough I didn't taste the higher alcohol content that much (I suppose it was overpowered by the heavy barley flavor). I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't drink more than one every now and then. This wasn't really my style.

Company: The Steeping Room
Type: Flavored White

I have very little experience with white teas. The only kind I've tried before this was a commercial brand of flavored white in teabags. Getting a loose-leaf white made a huge difference in taste. The commercial brand was somewhat weak, and the flavoring overpowered the tea. In contrast, the loose-leaf had a nice flavor, similar to a very mild green tea (as I would expect). The goji berries smell a bit like strawberries, but are not nearly as sweet. I imagine it might even be good iced.

Here's my rating scale for beer. At some point, I'll come up with one for food.

The scale goes from 1 to 10, with 1 being bad and 10 being good. Ratings 3-7 are based on party experience.

7 means that after coming home in the afternoon, I'd happily open one of these beers and have it with dinner, or by itself. At a party, I'd like to start with a 7, both to get me into the "party mood" (I'll probably drink it fairly quickly), and because later on I might not be able to enjoy its more subtle flavors. A 7 has an excellent flavor and is easily drinkable. The Shock-Top I just rated is a 7.

A 3 is at the other end. At this point, the party's gone past its peak, one or two party poopers have already gone home (but I of course haven't noticed), and I'm in very high spirits and trying to sustain that. I don't really care what I drink, as long as it's got some kick and doesn't taste like a penny in the sewer. PBR might be a 3.

You can probably extrapolate the remaining values from that. Steel reserve is probably a 2 (doesn't meet the penny-in-the-sewer requirement). I can't think of any 8+ beers off the top of my head. I don't like giving anything in the far extreme; I expect to meet a 1 or a 10 maybe once every few years. Both 1 and 10 beers must be truly amazing: they are unique and outstanding in their own ways.

Keep in mind that beers rated below 5 aren't necessarily bad, just as beers rated above 5 aren't good in all situations. Every beer has its place. As I mention above, some beers belong at the beginning of a great party, and some belong somewhere in the murky, blurry shadowy depths at the end.

Brewer: Anheuser-Busch
Type: Belgian Hefeweisse
Rating: 7/10

Susi picked this out at the Spec's the other day, and I was pretty skeptical. This beer has a giant orange dude (not a dude who's orange, but a dude who's actually an orange) on the front, surrounded by wheat, with BELGIAN WHITE printed in big letters underneath. I'm not personally a fan of Belgians (the beer; as a whole I find Belgian people "charming and quaint"), nor am I a big fan of wheat beer. When I do find a hefe I like, I don't generally prefer it with a big slice of citrus sticking in its side. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted this beer; it's got the thicker, bready taste that hefes sometimes do, but it also got an excellent flavor to follow it up. There's just a hint of hops (just the right amount), and possibly just a hint of citrus. Not at all the light, watery orange juice flavor I was expecting based on the label.

Brewer: Guinness Brewing Co.
Type: Lager
Rating: 6/10

Up until recently, it was uncommon to find a Lager in our fridge (unless my dad was visiting). We are not ironic hipsters guzzling PBR or Schlitz. For a while I automatically associated "Lager" with "bad". Fortunately, that's not always the case. We visited Spec's just before St. Patty's Day to find a ton of Irish beers on sale, and one of them was Harp. I hadn't had any in a long time, so I had completely forgotten how drinkable (yet tasty!) it is.