I recently tried making Skippy's (also known as Hunch Punch and Fadorade) with Miller Light instead of Bud Light and it was bad news bears. I first tried Skippy's with my friend Rebecca and we used Burnett's Vodka, Minute Maid Lemonade and Bud Light. We immediately fell in love with it and almost always drink it when we get together.
But Skippy's made with Miller Light is quite a different story. In addition to to looking like the urine of a person who hasn't had water in a long time, it tastes off too. If you're buying ingredients for this delicious beer cocktail, steer clear of Miller Light! If Miller Light is cheaper than Bud Light, pay extra for Bud Light. If you're into drinks that look like urine samples, by all means, use Miller Light.
Full Moon
‘What is my favorite beer doing in a white dress?’ I ask myself in the beer isle at Kroger. I don’t know, but I don’t like it. I buy a six-pack to investigate. I don’t need to use my Law & Order detective skills to solve this mystery, though one of Lenny’s wisecracks would be nice. This is the Blue Moon Brewing Company’s Winter Ale. I know I’m from Chicago, but since when did Christmas come before Thanksgiving? Is it such a crime to want to drink a fruity beer all year long? Some people say that Blue Moon is ‘too rich’ and that the citrus taste is 'too overpowering.’ I say ‘we used to be friends.’
Appearance: It has a dark amber color but isn’t too cloudy. Its thick foam lingers on the sides of the glass long after the beer is gone.
Drinkability: While Full Moon is a far cry from my beloved Blue Moon, this Winter Ale isn’t half bad.
Here's what my friend Rebecca says about Full Moon:
"It tastes like Sierra Nevada mixed with regular Blue Moon, with a kitty litter aftertaste."
If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.
Winter Ales are generally darker in color and may contain a higher percentage of alcohol than other beers and may or may not have a richer, more nutty aroma. I may or may not be confused about how Winter Ales are different than other beers.
Appearance: It has a dark amber color but isn’t too cloudy. Its thick foam lingers on the sides of the glass long after the beer is gone.
Smell: Full Moon has a rich, nutty fragrance with a hint of coffee beans. Not too overwhelming, though, like Porters can be.
Taste: There is a mild coffee flavor in my first sip of Full Moon, though not in the aftertaste. Hmm....strange. It has virtually no aftertaste at all, which is good because I don’t much care for coffee. Coffee’s smell is delightful, its taste is tolerable, but its aftertaste is pretty damn unpleasant. The entire glass of beer drinks this way—a hint of coffee taste initially, but not aftertaste. When I’m finished, little beads of foam still hang on the sides of the glass.
Mouthfeel: Thicker and frothier than most beers I can think of, but a lot lighter than any Porter I can think of.Drinkability: While Full Moon is a far cry from my beloved Blue Moon, this Winter Ale isn’t half bad.
Here's what my friend Rebecca says about Full Moon:
"It tastes like Sierra Nevada mixed with regular Blue Moon, with a kitty litter aftertaste."
If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.
Red Eye and Liquid Viagra
A couple of nights ago I had my friend Rebecca over to try a couple more beer cocktails.
Red Eye was the first one we tried.
Red Eye is “A Bloody Mary made with 3-4 oz of Clamato and a pint of light beer, or just beer and tomato juice.”[1]
We used beer and Clamato tomato juice. It looks like a watered down Bloody Mary.
“It tastes like a spaghetti smoothie...but with beer,” Rebecca says and makes a gross face.
“Yeah, it’s pretty disgusting,” I agree. “It’s like I just took a bite of pizza and the pizza taste is still in my mouth.”
Rebecca thinks it gets a little with more beer added. I think it tastes even worse.
We move on to Liquid Viagra.
Liquid Viagra is a beer cocktail made from Red Bull energy drink and beer. The first one I make is ½ Red Bull and ½ Amber Lager (from my JW Dundee’s Craft Pack).
“It’s not very good,” says Rebecca.
“No it’s not. I want it to be a Jäger bomb, but it’s not.”
“Maybe it needs more beer,” Rebecca suggests.
So I open another bottle of Amber Lager and pour a little into Rebecca’s glass.
“Don’t be stingy with the beer Beth,” Rebecca says. “Everything else is just a side item.”
When we get restless with the experimenting, we decide to make some more Skippy’s.
Since we ran out of Bud Light, we use JW Dundee’s Hefeweizen (from the JW Dundee's Craft Pack) instead.
“Hefeweizen is kind of citrusy anyways. It’ll probably mix well with lemonade,” says Rebecca.
This batch of Skippy’s is not as good as the first time we made it, but it’s certainly better than Red Eye or Liquid Viagra.Beer and Vodka Together?
Yes, beer and vodka can go together.
This weekend I tried beer cocktails with my friend Rebecca. She made lasagna while I mixed the alcohol. “A beer cocktail is a mixed drink similar to a true cocktail. It is made predominantlywith beer (including ales, such as stouts, or lagers, such as pilsners), into which distilled alcohol (like vodka, gin, rum, tequila, etc.) or other drink mixer is combined.”
"The distinction between a beer cocktail and a cocktail with beer are the relative amounts of the various alcohols. In a beer cocktail, the beer product is the primary alcohol by volume compared to the distilled alcohol or mixer.”
Several of the drinks listed on the beer cocktail Wikipedia page called for similar ingredients, so I thought experimenting with beer, vodka, and lemonade was a safe bet.
Skippy’s called for one part beer, one part vodka, and one part lemonade. Force and Hunch Punch are other names for this beer cocktail.
I used Bud Light ($5.39 for a six pack at Kroger), Burnett's vodka ($8.47 at Johnnie Ganem's), and Minute Maid Lemonade ($1.00 at Kroger) to make our Skippy's beer cocktails.
The first batch was heavy on the lemonade and light on the beer, as we hadn't eaten yet.
“Cheers to Skippy,” we clink beer mugs and reluctantly sip.
“It tastes like freshman year,” Rebecca says.
“Yeah, it does. You can definitely taste the vodka.”
We both agree that Skippy’s is pretty good. You can easily identify the taste of each contributing ingredient, but they actually compliment each other.
While drinking a glass of Skippy’s is just as pleasant as drinking a glass of unaltered lemonade, don’t be deceived. This beer cocktail is strong, and if you don’t drink it slowly you will feel its effects.
Fortunately the lasagna was ready by the time we finished our drinks.
After we ate, I made a second batch of Skippy’s. This time Rebecca suggested I use more beer and less lemonade and I think it improved the taste.
By the third and fourth rounds, we were running low on vodka, so Skippy’s became more of a beer and lemonade drink. We thought we found the perfect ratio, but maybe we just stopped caring.Pale Bock
I’m making my way through the JW Dundee’s Craft Pack, slowly but surely. Pale Bock is JW Dundee’s Ale/Malt Lager. Pale Bock is a seasonal beer available from February-April. It was a Gold Award Winner of the 2006 World Beer Cup : German Style Heller-Bock/Maibock Category.Source: http://www.jwdundee.com/AlesLager/PaleBock/
Appearance: Pale Bock has a deep orangey-gold color. The bottom of my glass was fairly transparent, but hazier towards the brim.
Smell: The beer has a rich hoppy smell. It’s a stronger, bolder malt aroma than JW Dundee’s Honey Brown. I detect a hint of something nutty or coffee-like.
Taste: The first couple of sips weren’t as strong and bitter as I’d expected, given the strong smell. It’s not as strong initially as it is later, but when it does kick in, it’s not at all unpleasant.
Mouthfeel: The first few sips of Pale Bock were pretty foamy, but that dissipated as I drank it. The carbonation bubbles were minimal and it was smooth going down.
Honey Brown
The JW Dundee craft pack I bought last week at Kroger contains six different craft beers; American Pale Ale, American Amber Lager, Original Honey Brown, Pale Bock, India Pale Ale (IPA), and Hefeweizen. The craft pack provides two bottles of each beer style, twelve brown longneck bottles with twist-off caps in total.JW Dundee’s Original Honey Brown was a World Beer Cup Gold Award winner in 2004 in the best specialty honey lager or ale category.
Source: http://www.jwdundee.com/AlesLager/HoneyBrown/
Appearance: Looks like a mix of apple juice and mostly flat ginger ale, except slightly darker. There are some carbonation bubbles, but it’s not overly foamy or fizzy.
Smell: I found no one overwhelming or overriding smell. Unfortunately I have a head cold and my sense of smell might have suffered. I do pick up a hint of toasty caramel smell, but overall I would say Honey Brown doesn’t have a strong aroma.
Taste: As the name implies, Honey Brown does have a mild honey taste, but it’s not overpowering. I also detect a hint of molasses, but the overall taste isn’t too sweet.
Mouthfeel: Honey Brown feels smooth and light in my mouth.
Drinkability: Easy to drink and it doesn’t feel too heavy in my gut. I’d like another!
"The Dundee family began with Honey Brown Lager in the early 1990's during the height of the craft brewing resurgence. Introduced by then brewery head Jack "JW" Wehle, Honey Brown was a full bodied lager brewed with natural honey provided by Wixon's Farm in the Finger Lakes town of Dundee, New York. The brand was an overwhelming success that defied definition as a style and grew to tremendous acclaim, garnering several medals at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.
In 2004, Pale Ale and Amber Lager were added, making the JW Dundee name a true craft brewing family. By 2006, a variety of seasonal styles were introduced including an award winning Pale Bock, an American style Hefeweizen, a boldly hopped India Pale Ale, a robust Porter and a hearty holiday favorite - Festival Ale.”[1]
[1] http://www.jwdundee.com/OurStory/
5 Ways To Review A Beer
Beeradvocate.com and other experts review beer based on the following criteria:
1. Appearance
Color and Clarity
“In order to effectively judge the color and clarity of a beer, hold the beer up to a white background in a well-lit environment. Look through it to gain an impression of its clarity, then at the top and sides of the glass to rate its color. Keep in mind that a beer’s color and clarity must be assessed in the context of its style. For example, lagers and filtered styles should be clear and bright, whereas bottle-conditioned ales or wheat beers will have a somewhat cloudier appearance.” [1]
- Appearance
- Smell
- Taste
- Mouthfeel
- Drinkability
1. Appearance
Color and Clarity
“In order to effectively judge the color and clarity of a beer, hold the beer up to a white background in a well-lit environment. Look through it to gain an impression of its clarity, then at the top and sides of the glass to rate its color. Keep in mind that a beer’s color and clarity must be assessed in the context of its style. For example, lagers and filtered styles should be clear and bright, whereas bottle-conditioned ales or wheat beers will have a somewhat cloudier appearance.” [1]
2. Smell
As anyone who's suffered from a stuffy nose will tell you, food doesn't taste the same if you can't smell it. The aroma of a beer plays a big part in its taste, so be sure to smell the beer before tasting. The beer’s ingredients are what make it smell sweet, nutty, spicy, flowery, or musty. So bring that beer glass up to your nose and take a whiff!
3. Taste
The first couple sips of beer are the most important. Let the beer linger in your mouth for a few moments before swallowing. Breathe through your nose while you’re doing this. “This process is known as “retro-olfaction,” and it allows the beer’s scent to reach your olfactory nerves, which, due to the connection between the senses of taste and smell, intensifies the beer’s flavor.”[2] Your descriptions of the taste may be similar to the smell.
Does it taste sweet, bitter, fruity, or toasty? Do you detect any hints of caramel, coffee, citrus, or honey? Is there a dominant flavor? Do the first few sips taste different than the last few? How is the taste similar to or different from other beers of the same style?
Visit http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/ or http://www.ratebeer.com/BeerStyles.asp for more information about beer styles.
4. Mouthfeel
5. Drinkability
How Do The Experts Review Beer?
Before I could begin reviewing beer myself, I had to find out how the experts do it. I discovered a lot of helpful beer-tasting advice from some great websites.
The Rules
Follow these rules from beeradvocate.com to ensure each beer gets a fair shake:
*“Review with an open mind. Judge beer for what it is trying to be, not what you think the beer should be".[1]
*Refrain from reviewing a beer you already know you don't like it. Your opinion will be unfairly tainted.”[2]
*“Know your beer styles and keep them in mind when judging beer.”[3] You can’t compare a Porter with a Cider. Check out http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/ and http://www.ratebeer.com/BeerStyles.asp
for more information about beer styles.
*“Don't attempt to review a beer if your senses are out of whack, like: you've got a cold, burnt your tongue with coffee in the morning, just ate a plate of atomic wings, tasted too many beers already, you're exhausted or simply in a bad mood. Taste buds can get ruined and tired, so be flexible and try a beer more than once.”[4]
*“Never review a beer in a smoky environment or while smoking. Smoking inhibits your sense of smell and taste in a major way, and smoking (first- or second-hand) can damage your senses, sometimes permanently.”[5]
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