Beer!

Since foomfoom is feenin' for some beer, I'll go ahead and kick this thing off with 2 reviews of beers I've recently tried.

First up:

Franziskaner - Made in Germany, it's an import beer that you can find at some major supermarkets (I've found it at Safeway on occasion, as well as Whole Foods), though they only seem to carry the hefeweisse. Being an unfiltered wheat bear, it's a very heavy beer, but given the full flavor and sweetness of these types of beers, it's one of my favorites. This beer in particular has a thick, sweet taste (almost honey-like) with just a hint of bitterness at the end. Given that it's an import, it probably has its fair share of preservatives in it (which might account for the bitter aftertaste... or I might just be on crack) - but I hear that there are some local bars that have this on tap!

Until now, I'd primarily been drinking the Widmer and/or Pyramid hefeweizens (both solid beers), but I've found that the Franziskaner has a much deeper flavor. This one gets two thumbs up!


Next up:

Grolsch - I picked up this beer (Dutch import) just based on the cool bottle design. It has a pop top that can be opened without a bottle opener, and can be resealed. Pretty nifty. That being said, it's a pilsner beer (a pale lager) that has quite a bit more body than most pale lagers found in the US. Even my not-much-of-a-beer-fan fiance took a taste and could taste the different layers to the flavor (the initial bitterness, followed by a light wheaty flavor, which ends with a really sweet finish). It was a pleasant surprise and while it doesn't have the same impact as a good hefeweizen, it was much lighter and more suited to drinking alongside a meal (whereas a hefeweizen can be a meal in itself o_O).

One and a half thumbs up! Not quite as rich as, say, a Yebisu lager IMO, but one of the better lagers I've tried in the US.