Rhino's Sports Pub and Bacon Bistro

Each month, we here at Rhino’s Sports Pub sample a brand-new beer. Somehow, we’ve missed the previous two months, but we’re back and still staying true to the rotation, which means it’s time for an import.

Brewery: Klosterbrauerei Weltenburg

Variety: Winter-Traum

Style: Märzen/Oktoberfest

ABV (alcohol by volume): 5.2 percent

Purchased at: The market at Alpine Village in Torrance, Calif.

Beer was enjoyed with … A feast of kielbasa, potato pancakes and sauerkraut. Yes, it was all very tasty. Post-meal festivities included putting up the Christmas decorations in the apartment. Now, the place is all kinds of Christmas-cozy.

Will we drink this beer again? ‘Tis the seasonal. This treat is brewed in March, kept in cold storage during the spring and summer months and then brought out in time for autumn consumption (Märzen). Typically, Märzen’s are full-bodied, of copper-ish color, toasty and of medium-to-high alcohol content.

The Winter-Traum didn’t disappoint. It offered a hint of caramel, and a little smokiness, too. There’s just something about rich winter brews that just warms the heart.

Prost!

Brewery: Innstadt Brauerei

Variety: Bock Weisse

Style: Weizenbock

ABV (alcohol by volume): 7.0%

Purchased at: Alpine Village in Torrance, Calif.

Beer was enjoyed with … Basically, the soothing self-satisfaction after a long, yet productive, day at the office. Said day contained three Thanksgiving Day NFL games, including the Green Bay Packers’ 27-15 victory over the Detroit Lions, which sent the Packers to 11-0 for the first time in team history. Still, it was a long day at a desk behind a computer and away from family/friends on one of my favorite holidays of the year (also, the greatest of the food/football holidays). Perhaps that experience will be a motivator to rectify that situation in 2012. But, I digress …

Will I drink this beer again? I’ve already consumed a number of Innstadt’s offerings, including the Original Edelsud, Neues Helles and Stadl-Bier (none reviewed yet here at Rhino’s Sports Pub … oh, darn, guess we’ll just have to make another trip to Alpine VIllage to try those fine beers again).

I’m not going to lie, a big part of the allure of the Innstadt brews is the packaging. Bock Weisse, like the aforementioned Innstadt offerings, comes in an awesome swing-top bottle. It’s just more fun drinking a beer from a swing/pop top.

Upon pouring, one might notice a couple things:

1. The beer actually looks like a root beer. Thankfully, it’s not and — at 7 percent ABV — packs a bit more punch.

2. The lack of head. This isn’t a bad thing … makes it easier to pour.

Initial taste brings a hint of chocolate, caramel and maybe some nuttiness (not the crazy kind of nutty).

This was a pleasant beer experience, and further affirmation that you simply can’t go wrong with a beer from Germany.

Cheers!

Brewery: Dundee

Variety: Oktoberfest (it’s a Märzen-style lager)

Style: Märzen/Oktoberfest (Märzen is brewed in March, and kept in storage, chillin’, during the spring and summer months, and then unleashed to happy beer drinkers in the autumn, when many good things are unleashed unto beer drinkers … football, baseball playoffs, Oktoberfest, football, leaves changing colors, football … well, mostly football).

ABV (alcohol by volume): 5.5%

Purchased at: BevMo!

Beer was enjoyed with … New York strip steak bone in, cooked on the grill (of course) and seasoned with pepper. Lots and lots of pepper. It was the special this evening at Rhino’s Sports Lodge and Bacon Bistro. On the TV was a combo package of Seattle Sounders FC’s 2-nil loss to the Philadelphia Union and Game 1 of the ALCS, which endured two lengthy rain delays.

Will I drink this beer again? A coworker — we’ll call him “Justin” here to protect the innocent — had recommended an Oktoberfest beer. After said recommendation, I made a trip to the local BevMo! to purchase beer. The highlight of this trip was scoring another Leinenkugel’s seasonal variety pack. I also grabbed a sixer of Dundee’s Oktoberfest for $6.99 (with an additional dollar off due to my BevMo card). Turned out, it was the Karl Strauss Oktoberfest, not Dundee’s, that had been recommended by “Justin.” I just saw “Oktoberfest” and figured it was the right one. How could I go wrong? I happen to like a lot of Oktoberfest brews.

Dundee’s was a solid effort, but nothing spectacular and certainly won’t have me running back to BevMo! for another sixer (even at a dollar off the original price of $6.99 per). To be honest, I was happy to finish up the Dundee Oktoberfest and switch to the Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest. I should preface all of this by mentioning that I am a huge fan of Leinenkugel’s beer, so it’s hard to say that Dundee missed the mark here. They didn’t. It was tasty, but in my Oktoberfest power rankings (which are yet to be compiled), Leinenkugel’s rates higher.

Cheers!

Each month, we here at Rhino’s Sports Pub will sample a brand-new beer. This month, it was the domestics’ turn in the rotation.

Brewery: Six Rivers Brewery

Variety: Chili Pepper Spicy Ale

Style: Chili beer

ABV (alcohol by volume): 6 percent

Purchased at: BevMo!

Beer was enjoyed with … A Milwaukee Brewers victory that put this year’s team at 93 wins, just two shy of the team record set in 1979 (a second-place finish in the AL East) and 1982, the last time the franchise won a division title and also appeared in the World Series. So there was that, and … oh, and meat! More specifically, steak. And baked beans, which were flavored with bacon and a hint of maple syrup (that’s important to know), and biscuits. It was a very hearty and comforting meal on a grey, overcast evening in Santa Monica.

Will we drink this beer again? For what it is, it’s awesome. However, it’s hard to drink. This is some hot, spicy, action-packed brew. This is not for the faint of heart. It’s true. It’s an in-yo-face, clear-out-your-sinuses, sort of beverage.

Seriously, this is the first beer that requires a beer chaser.

Adam Richman (@AdamRichman on Twitter) of Man v. Food fame should seriously consider a hot wings and Chili Pepper Spicy Ale eating challenge. Really? You’re going to wash down those wings with a beer that brings the heat? Just try it!

The Chili Pepper Spicy Ale is made with assorted chilis (with peppers locally grown and fire roasted) blended with a wheat ale. The official beer Internets site goes as far as to describe the beer as “HOT!” Yup, all caps, exclamation point. They aren’t messing around.

Few beers make this kind of impression. The Lost Abbey’s Gift of the Magi was the last beer that made this kind of impression, and that’s a good thing. Neither beer is for the faint of heart, but each offered a distinct and unique experience.

Cheers!

Each month, we here at Rhino’s Sports Pub and Bacon Bistro will sample a brand-new beer. This month, it was the international’s turn in the rotation.

Brewery: Oranjeboom Bierbrouwerij B.V.

Variety: Premium Lager

Style: Euro Pale Lager

ABV (alcohol by volume): 5 percent

Purchased at: Trader Joe’s

Beer was enjoyed with … This is where things get awesome. We grilled up some green beans (with olive oil, crushed red pepper and mesquite seasonings), turkey burgers with Rhino’s Sports Pub’s super-secret and jazaabulous seasoning combo, and peppered turkey bacon. On the television was the Family Guy version of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Blue Harvest …

Peter (Han): And look at this couch. Sombody threw out a whole couch and it’s in great shape.
Brian (Chewbacca): Yeah, put a little Febreeze on that, scrub it out a little bit, it’d look great in your appartment.
Peter (Han): You know what? I know we got a dangerous job to do here, but… I’m taking this. I’m taking this couch.

It was an epic combination of fun.

Will we drink this beer again? Beer Advocate gave Oranjeboom (pronounced “ore-on-ya-bōm“) a unspectacular grade of “C.” But, what do they know about beer? (Kidding!).

We, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more impressed with a beer than came out of a can (we should preface that statement with our frame of reference here … PBR, Hamm’s, Old Style, Miller High Life, Bud Light, Coors Light, and the list just gets worse as we mention more beers from cans. On a side note, Hamm’s is actually pretty solid. I’m OK with going on record and saying that).

We’ll drink this beer again, especially if we can continue to score it via a value purchase at Trader Joe’s.

Cheers!

Each month, we here at Rhino’s Sports Pub will sample a brand-new beer. This month, it was the domestics’ turn in the rotation.

Brewery: Lost Coast Brewery

Variety: Raspberry Brown

Style: American Brown Ale

ABV (alcohol by volume): 6.5%

Purchased at: “Adult Disneyland” BevMo!

Beer was enjoyed with … Homemade pizza off the grill. Yeah … that’s how we roll here at Rhino’s Sports Pub and Bacon Bistro.

Will we drink this beer again? I think that question can be summed up by the reaction of the girl I’m sorta-kinda seeing: “Oh, that was tasty! And, you can quote me on that.”

The Raspberry Brown — a 2005 gold-medal winner at the Los Angeles County Fair (and this is important to note because who knew there was a beer-tasting competition at the county fair?) — is brewed in Eureka, Calif., which we’d heard of, but a Google search revealed is located in Northern California, like close to the California-Oregon state line.

The official Internets of the Lost Coast Brewery boast, “The cool maritime climate of the Humboldt Bay region has proved to be very conducive to brewing quality ales.”

Agreed. The Raspberry Brown was just delightful. This was just a decadent duo of a chocolate malt with a intense infusion of raspberries.

Mmm … raspberries!

This brings up the great “what tops your berry power rankings?” debate. Raspberries, or strawberries? What about blueberries? Well, based on our assessment of the Raspberry Brown — and a positive experience with Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde — it appears berries are a valuable addition to brews.

Cheers!

Each month, we here at Rhino’s Sports Pub will sample a brand-new beer. This month, it was the international’s turn in the rotation.

Brewery: Rinkuškiai Alaus Darykla

Variety: Before-After Premium Lager

Style: Euro Pale Lager

ABV (alcohol by volume): 4.7 percent

Purchased at: The market at Alpine Village in Torrance, Calif.

Beer was enjoyed with … Chicken fajitas off the grill … oh, and a Seattle Sounders FC 4-2 triumph over the New York Red Bulls, which is really all that mattered on this fine June evening.

Will we drink this beer again? Uh, yeah, there was really nothing about this beer that will have me racing to my mode of transportation and heading down the 405 to the 110 for the fine place called Alpine Village. And, if I just happen to race down that 405 to the 110 to Torrance, then it’d likely be for something with “Weihenstephaner” on the label, or perhaps “Radeberger” or “Franziskaner.” That’s the stuff (well, that and the smoked German bratwurst and kielbasa at the meat market … mmm, meat!).

So, this Before-After Premium Lager is from Lithuania. This was a first for me, I think, drinking a beer from Lithuania. That helped entice the purchase, as did the unique bottle label thingee (please see photo … reminiscent of a phenomenon known as “beer goggles”). It poured to little head, but still smelled and tasted like a beer. The noteworthy aspects of this beer end there.

Quickly, the Sounders managed a build a 2-nil lead, then give up that lead only to score two more times to claim victory. All the while, the Before-After Premium Lager was replaced by the familiar Widmer Hefeweizen.

Cheers!

Each month, we here at Rhino’s Sports Pub will sample a brand-new beer. This month, it was the domestics’ turn in the rotation.

Brewery: Grand Teton Brewing Co.

Variety: Pursuit of Hoppiness Imperial Pale Ale

Style: American Amber/Red Ale

ABV (alcohol by volume): 8.5%

Puchased at: “Adult Disneyland” BevMo!

Beer was enjoyed with … Bison burgers, off the grill … the little ticket thingee at BevMo! suggested that the Pursuit of Hoppiness would pair well with meat off the grill, and that proved to be the case. It was right.

(You know, I’m going to go on record and suggest that basically all beers go well with meat off the grill. I have a hard time differentiating between a regular beer that might not be brewed specifically to be consumed with grilled foods, and one that is. I hope you don’t think less of me because of that aforementioned admission.)

Will we drink this beer again? Absolutely, but this is not a classic “session beer,” you would have to drink this one with food. That 8.5 percent ABV will sneak up on you and you might feel some regret.

What better way to celebrate Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you!) than with an “Imperial” red ale. Like “The Imperial March,” the Pursuit of Hoppiness can pack a punch … 8.5 percent ABV, to be more precise.

“Impressive … most impressive.”

There’s something about the Pursuit of Hoppiness that you’ll notice right away, the intricacy of the pour. Be careful when pouring it into your pint glass, otherwise you could wind up getting lots of head. Once you get past that stage in the process, the fine beer appears as a “burnt sienna” (the girl I’m sorta-kinda seeing described it as such … giving her due credit here). The flavor is, well, delicious. I’m going with “carmel-y.” On taste, Pursuit of Hoppiness is very smooth, not bitter. This is definitely a hearty effort out of the Grand Teton Brewing Co., which it should be noted is located at the base of the Teton Mountains in Victor, Idaho.

There are a couple of key points that one should keep in mind when considering consuming this fine brew selection …

• Each bottle, which is more like a champaign bottle, comes with a “bottled on” date sticker.
• It was brewed under strict compliance with the Reinheitsgebot, the Germany Purity Law of 1516, according to the beer’s official website.

“You do not realize your importance.”

That last point is most important, and will earn the Pursuit of Hoppiness an additional pint in the five-pint rating scale we use here at Rhino’s Sports Pub and Bacon Bistro.

Cheers!

1. The Daily Pint
2. Joxer Daly’s
3. Backstage
4. JP’s
5. Lost & Found