Two Brothers Brewing Company Ebel's Weiss

 For this sampling Two Guys tried a Hefeweizen. Our 4 loyal readers will, no doubt, know exactly what a Hefeweizen is. Two Guys, though, when confronted with the word Hefeweizen looked very much like one of our grandmas when asked to overclock the motherboard to match RAM memory frequency with default Mothb settings - 1333MHz, RAM frequency 1600MHz. In other words, it was like a foreign language to us.  Well it turns out much to our surprise it IS a foreign language, German actually. Our on the ball readers will remember the last time we were confronted with a German word. It was Weissbier which stands for wheat beer. It turns out that Hefeweizen is the same type of beer, a wheat beer. The difference is that Weissbier is a general description while Hefeweizen is a specific style. It still uses wheat instead of barley as the malt. This gives beer the power for Two Guys to dance or even, dare we say, sing at wedding receptions. It's just that it is unfiltered so it tends to be very cloudy in its appearance. The other style of Weissbier is Kristallweizen which is, you guessed it, filtered. It will obviously be more clear. The Hefeweizen beers are also known for being less hoppy bitter and higher in carbonation than the other type. Well enough with overclocking motherboards and weizens, now onto the beer.

Joe: For this sampling we tried a Two Brothers Brewing Company Ebel's Weiss brewed in a state that looks like it packed a few too many beer pounds in the ol' midsection—Illinois. The first thing I noticed when I looked at the bottle is that it mentioned bananas. Bananas?—the journey of beer exploration is not for the faint of heart but bananas? Once more unto the breach my dear friends. The beer rates at a 4.90 ABV with a very cloudy—remember the intro—appearance. It has a good amount of carbonation and pours with a heavy head. Its odor is sweet and of bananas. The taste naturally mirrors the flavor. It starts with a malty sweet banana taste and ends with a citrusy slightly bitter taste with a hint of grape. I have to say while the banana taste threw me off at first, I really like this beer. The nature of wheat beers make them ideal to drink on a hot summer day. I give it 3.5 stars.

Score!! The yellow walls are finally paying off!

Justin: This may surprise some given my affinity for IPAs but I find myself really enjoying wheat beers. This Hefeweizen by Two Brothers is no exception. Ebel's Weiss is a refreshing beer with mild hoppiness, medium carbonation and tons of flavors. The most noticeable include banana, clove, and vanilla. Contrary to what you may be thinking, no bananas are actually added to the beer. Specialized strains of yeast are used which produce overtones of banana and clove as by-products of fermentation. All in all, a very nice, easy drinking, hot weather beer. Four stars!

I'd like to give a happy birthday shout out to my beer drinking bud Joe! Hmmmm, what could we possibly do to celebrate?

Bell's Best Brown Ale

Our next review is a brown ale. What’s that? You already know that ales are brewed using a top-fermenting yeast under warm conditions from our previous posts? A+ for paying attention! Brown ales distinguish themselves by being, you guessed it, reddish brown to dark brown in color. They tend to be maltier and sweeter on the palate, sometimes with a nutty flavor and are lightly hopped. Two Guys would like to take a little time now to help dispel a beer myth. It is believed by many that once beer is cold, if it is allowed to warm back up it will be ruined or possibly become skunked. Guess what? As long as it’s not extreme, temperature changes will have little to no effect on your beer. Light and only light is the reason your beer went skunky, hence the industry term “lightstruck”. Clear and green bottles are the real culprits here, not temperature change. Two Guys promise to do their beer-nerdulent duty to help dispel more beer myths, misinformation and half-truths in future posts. Now onto the beer!

Joe: For this sampling we tried a Bell's Best Brown Ale brewed in the state that looks rather like a mitten desperately reaching for a spike—Michigan. One can only guess what the mitten is going to do with that spike once it reaches it but I have a feeling Ohio better watch the heck out. The ale has a mahogany brown color with a 5.8 ABV. It's odor—remember drink from a glass—is a mild toasted malt. The taste starts with a caramel malty taste with a hint of roasted chocolate coffee. It ends with a vaguely tannin hops taste which nicely counterbalances the malt. It is not overly bitter and is a perfect beer to have on a cool night. I give this beer 4 stars.

Much Better than lesser known Bell's Mediocre Brown Ale.

Justin: This style of beer isn't my favorite but I found Bell’s Best Brown Ale to be quite enjoyable. It doesn't overpower in any area. There is a moderately sweet taste of caramel and cocoa malt flavors with just a bit of hop bitterness. The beer is full bodied with average carbonation and is perfectly suited for the fall season. Three stars!

Bass Black and Tan: Pub Kit

For this sampling Two Guys tried a Black and Tan. A black and tan is a combination of a dark beer such as a stout and a pale ale or lager. Our ever alert 4 loyal readers will remember that we have defined what a stout and an ale are in previous blog posts. In our never ending battle to prevent boredom we will not define them again. The name Black and Tan is used not just because of the mixture of the black stout and pale(tan) ale. It has more to do with when you pour them correctly into a glass.  When poured correctly, you will have the ale on the bottom of the glass and the stout on the top.  This gives the beer a black and tan layered look. Now Two Guys are going to throw some physics your way. The stout is on the top because it is of lower relative density than the ale/lager. The reverse is called the Rayleigh-Taylor instability which is found in the after effects of a supernova. If you ever feel the need for a headache look up the Rayleigh-Taylor instability on Wikipedia. It'll take care of that shameful lack of a head hurt rather quickly. It has graphs and everything. Beer is powerful but not quite powerful enough to go supernova. The proper way to have the black and tan layering is to half fill a glass with the ale/lager then pour the stout over an upside down spoon. Guinness draught and Bass ale are commonly used in the black and tan combination. This is the kind you will normally see poured at a pub, but there are other combinations used. One more thing, if you find yourselves in Ireland at a pub, do not order a black and tan, order a half and half. A black and tan is another name for the Irish Royal Constabulary which was a police force made of Englishmen who were known for cracking some Irish heads during the Irish War Independence. They are not remembered kindly in Ireland. Now onto the beer!

Joe: We tried a Black and Tan Pub Kit from the Bass Brewery located in a city with a name that legally can only be found in England---Burton upon Trent. But due to leveraged buyouts and several rulings by the European Union and the United States, it is actually owned by the little known brewery, AB InBev. So more than likely, it was brewed in St. Louis upon Mississippi. See, it doesn't sound as awesome as it would in England. The pub kit consists of 3 Pale Ales and 3 Stouts. Both Justin and I tried the pouring using the spoon method mentioned above. The first flavor is of the stout. This has a roast coffee malt taste that then transitions to the Pale Ale. This has a bit of a malty creamy taste with hint of caramel. The two work together well and I enjoyed the beer quite nicely. I will say to those who have tried a Black and Tan from a tavern using Guinness, it does not have quite the same bite that those do. The Bass Stout is bit more smooth than a Guinness. I will confess that I like the Guinness better but saying that I give the Bass Pub Kit 3 stars. I recommend you try it for the pouring ritual alone. Which by the way, Justin was way better at than me.

A supernova-free zone

Justin: I really enjoy a good black and tan and now thanks to the folks at Bass I am able to enjoy this from the comfort of my own home. If it weren't for this convenient kit poor folks everywhere would be forced to purchase their stout and ale separately! Oh, the horror! All joking aside, I was impressed with this beer combination. While each of these beers can taste great on their own, combining them creates something special that should be tried by everyone. Like Joe, I prefer b&t from a local Irish pub but this alternative works great for an at-home solution. Be brave, grab a friend and have fun as a DIY bartender creating an impressive layered libation that tastes great and looks cool. Three and a half stars!

Schlafly's Irish-Style Extra Stout

All right stop, collaborate and listen, Two Guys are back so please pay attention. For our next review we sampled an Extra Stout. Two Guys are no strangers to stouts as we have previously reviewed a chocolate oatmeal stout, an oyster stout and a regular oatmeal stout. The Extra Stout sub-style is a descendant of the British and Irish porters of the 18th Century. These strong porters eventually became known as strong stout, then Foreign Stout or Extra Stout. Much the same way IPA’s were brewed with more hops and alcohol so it could survive transport to India, this style of stout was originally designed with more of everything so it could last through a similar journey. The style can sometimes resemble dry(Irish) or sweet stout but with broader flavors and generally higher alcohol--a bonus if you're looking for a little extra push to get on the dance floor. The Dry or Irish sub-style represents the typical stout in most people’s minds. It is usually black in color and often has a roasted or coffee-like taste. I would like to take time now to apologize to the readers that still have the “Ice Ice Baby” song running through their head. Word to your mother! Now onto the beer!

Joe: For this sampling we tried a Schlafly Irish-Style Extra Stout from the St. Louis Brewing Company. After a painstaking search involving Holmsian deductive reasoning I discovered that it is located in St.Louis Missouri. The beer is lightly carbonated with a very stoutish 8.0 ABV. It is brown in color with a creamy head. The aroma has a very pleasant chocolate and coffee odor---remember drink out of a glass in order to truly experience the aroma. The taste started with a slightly bitter coffee taste mixed with a hint of toffee and fruit. The back end flavor had a bit more of an astringently bitter hops taste. I wasn't sure of this beer at first because of the back end flavor but once I was acclimated to it, I enjoyed it. I give it a 3.5.

Does this beer make me look stout?

Justin: Schlafly's Irish-Style Extra Stout is part of their Special Release Series - it "represents a seasonal lineup showcasing bigger beers (all 7-8% abv) with a focus on unique process and huge flavor." This was another nice beer from Schlafly. As mentioned above with Extra Stouts, the alcohol and flavor was strong but I found it very enjoyable. I was a little surprised by the hoppy bitterness but it paired nicely with the coffee and chocolate undertones. It was a delicious version of a "bigger" traditional Irish Dry Stout that was perfect for the changing of the seasons from winter to spring. Four stars!

New Belguim's Ranger IPA

For this sampling we tried another IPA. Two Guys wrote an excellent history of the IPA for the Red Hook review. Two Guys will pause for a brief moment for our 4 readers to refresh their memory--------. You're back. We don't know about you but George Hodgson is our hero. We will not go into more IPA details for this sampling. Instead, we will take another tack. In our journey of beer exploration, Two Guys have discovered that we truly enjoy the flavor of beer. As mentioned in previous blogs Two Guys are past the drink beer out of a funnel stage---mostly. There is the occasional wedding and beer garden, after all. But what makes up flavor? It's the taste of the beer that comes from the taste buds and the odor of beer that comes from the nose. We have come to realize that the simple act of drinking a beer out of a glass greatly enhances the flavor of the beer. You can't smell the beer when you drink it directly out of a bottle or can. It seems obvious because we all know what it is like to eat food when we have a cold. It is just not the same. It's like this with food. It's like this with beer. A quality beer needs to be consumed from the glass to truly have the full effect. Try drinking your next craft beer from a glass and thank us later. Now onto the beer!

Joe: The beer we sampled was Ranger IPA from the New Belgium Brewery located in the state where the mountains are high and the breathing is hard, Colorado. It is has a light copper color with a 6.5 ABV and moderate carbonation. The odor is of floral hops with a touch of piney spice. The taste sort of mirrors the odor. It starts with a fruity malty caramel flavor on the front end and finishes off with a moderately bitter piney hop flavor. I enjoyed this quite a bit more than the Red Hook we previously tried. I felt it had a much more complex taste. You may have noticed this from all the adjectives I used in the description. I give this beer a 4.

Never Ever!

Justin: Through our journey of beer exploration I’ve come to learn that I tend to favor IPAs. They are full of flavor and have a nice bite of bitterness. Ranger IPA, our second beer to review from New Belgium does not disappoint. This medium body beer uses a blend of cascade, chinook and simcoe hops to add citrusy, floral and fruity flavors that help to give a firm but not overpowering bitterness. A hint of caramel sweetness blends nicely with the piney finish. Four stars!