OCTOBER 13

Breckenridge Avalanche Ale
Amber Ale; 5.4%
Origin: Colorado, USA

You know what?  This beer actually reminded me a lot of Magic Hat #9. I think it was the blend of an earthy hop taste with a hint of fruit like apricot or peach or something. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't fruity, but there was definitely a top note there. It was slightly malty, slightly yeasty but earthy with a hint of fruit is the best way I can describe it. It was an interesting beer and I greatly enjoyed it. I would definitely drink this again.


Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
IPA; 9%
Origin: Delaware, USA

I've had this beer a few times because one of my good friends looooves it. I have never been a big fan until now. I very much enjoyed this beer this time around. My only problems with it though, are how long it takes me to drink it. It is so hoppy and sooo extremely bitter that after every small sip I have to take a little break to give my taste buds a rest haha. Maybe I'm still just a pansy, but I like a beer that I can drink at an average pace, not one that is almost painful to drink. By the end of the beer however, I did grow to enjoy the bitterness and it became much easier and much more enjoyable to drink. Overall, a very special IPA and an overall great beer.

SOMETHING FUNNY FOR HALLOWEEN

Check out this picture I found that pictures two of the Fall beers I have written about so far...
SO FUNNY.

OCTOBER 12

The last bartender was cool and everything, but I really missed Ivey.. AND the larger draught selection at my other Taco Mac so I decided to visit there today.

Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
Flavored PumpkinAle; 5.7%
Origin: Colorado, USA

As she handed this to me, Ivey said "Now I know you hate Blue Moon... but you HAVE to try this." I fought with her for a few minutes and then finally took a sip. WHOA. This beer is by far the best pumpkin beer I have ever put to my lips. It didn't just taste like pumpkin, it straight up tasted like Halloween. The different spices I was tasting mixed with the smell really took me back to Halloween as a kid and all the memories and smells from that time of year. I tasted clove, nutmeg, and so many others that I just couldn't describe. Great job... this beer successfully captures Fall and everything about it in a glass. AWESOME. I will definitely been enjoying it next year.





 Laughing Skull
Amber Ale; 5.4%
Origin: Atlanta Brewing Company, Atlanta

I liked this beer. It wasn't very bitter at all, which made me love it even more. It tasted spicy, earthy, a little bit hoppy, and finished very cleanly... no crazy bitter aftertaste. It tastes toasty too, which I am learning is one of my favorite tastes in a beer. Very good, awesome draught tap design, and I would definitely drink it again.




Rogue Double Chocolate Stout
American Double/ Imperial Stout; 8%
Origin: Oregon, USA

WOOF. Dark chocolate, dark chocolate, dark chocolate. That is exactly what I got from this beer. It literally was like drinking melted dark chocolate that had been chilled. It has a roasted flavor on top of the chocolate and it finished with a hoppy bitterness. It is definitely a great dessert beer if you're into that kind of thing. I thought it was good, but I don't think I could drink it again unless I was in the mood for chocolate. Chocolate stouts are good... just not my favorites. Overall very interesting beer experience. Accomplishes just what it's name implies.

OCTOBER 11

Back from Sewanee, and since it's a Monday I finally get to drink AFTER work. I decided to give the smaller Taco Mac closer to my house another chance and got lucky with a really great bartender!

Spaten Octoberfest
Octoberfest; 5.9%
Origin: Germany

This beer was ok.. The brewery claims that this beer was the start of Oktoberfest. If this is true, then it's kind of sad because there are MANY more October beers that I prefer over this one. It was a good beer, very drinkable, not too heavy, not to malty or hoppy.. but there was just nothing special about it in my eyes.




Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout
Milk Stout; 5.2%
Origin: Colorado

Poured black with a chocolate-colored head. Legit tastes like adult chocolate milk. Had a warming feeling while drinking this beer. It's cold yet tastes warm if that makes any sense at all. It was extremely heavy and creamy though, which kind of turned me off but I think I must have been in a chocolate stout mood that day because I remember really really enjoying this beer. One of the better stouts I have had to date.


Duck Rabbit Barley Wine '09
English Barley Wine; 11%
Origin: North Carolina, USA

The bartender convinced me into trying this beer next purely for the fact that it was going to be an extremely rare credit on my Brewniversity account. This tasted crazy. Because it had such a high alcohol content, it came in one of the smaller glasses. It was so weird!! You could definitely taste the alcohol and it was very wine-like to me. I kept having Franzia flashbacks the more I drank. It was very smooth, medium consistency, and extremely easy to drink. I loved it. Too bad I'll probably never get to drink it again :(




Smithwicks 20oz Draught
Amber Ale; 4.5%
Origin: Ireland

After the Duck Rabbit Barley Wine, I was definitely getting a little bit tipsy so I don't know how accurate the review of this beer will be BUT.. It was very smooth and creamy. I tasted caramel. It also had a medium body so it took me a bit longer to drink since I was getting full at that point! I did realize that the flavor improved as the temperature of the beer went up. I noticed more and more flavor the warmer the beer got and I'm glad I did because when it's cold you definitely miss out on some of the taste!

OCTOBER 8

Today, I had a few beers while I waited for Joey to pick me up to go up to Sewanee for the weekend!! So excited!! But I figured I should continue my education while I waited...


Wild Heaven Ode to Mercy
Imperial Brown Ale, 8.2%
South Carolina (soon to be Decatur, GA)

I let my sister pick a beer for me, and she chose purely for the name. Surprisingly, she managed to pick a relatively new brewing company that is just now getting started. This beer was.... I'm sure extremely tasty, but let me just say it was definitely not for me. It was extremely dark, you could smell it from across the table, and it had a strong coffee/chocolate taste which I am coming to realize I HATE in beer unless I am in the mood for it. It was really thick feeling and heavy (probably why I didn't like it). Overall, I probably wouldn't get this again.



Sweetwater 420
Pale Ale; 5.4%
Atlanta, GA


After years of claiming to hate this Sweetwater, I decided to give it another shot with my newfound beer open-mindedness. Tried it again, and I will admit I like it slightly MORE than I have in the past. It's still not my favorite beer, but I have definitely learned to respect it. Especially since it is one of the only 4 beers on draught at my bar, and one of my new friends LOVES it, I have learned to get along with Sweetwater 420. It's officially off my hate-list.

OCTOBER 7

Magic Hat Hex
American Amber/Red Ale; 5.4%
Origin: Vermont, USA

Since I love Magic Hat so much I decided to give this one a try. Magic hat calls this one "Ourtoberfest" and it is their attempt at an October beer. To me, it tasted malty... and I got like a smoke flavor as well which I kind of liked. It had a warmer taste too... I can see it as an oktoberfest beer for sure, but it's different than the others I have tried. I really liked the smokey, warm taste to this beer. Great beer, but not my favorite Magic Hat. It wasn't as good as I expected it to be.






Terrapin Hop Karma IPA
Brown Ale; 6.0%
Origin: Athens, GA


This beer was so weird! It was like a mix between an IPA and something entirely different. Ivey, my favorite bartender, told me that it was like a mix between an IPA and a brown ale which I can definitely agree with. It has the hoppiness of some of the other Terrapin IPAs, but a chocolatey and orangey taste to it that lingers behind the hops. It also has a creamy feeling in your mouth as you drink it. It was pretty good! I would definitely order it again! VERY bizarre beer.




Victory Festbier
Octoberfest Beer; 5.6%
Origin: Pennsylvania, USA

Little did I know at this point, but this beer was just the start of my journey through all the Victory beers. I actually enjoyed this beer quite a bit. It was very sweet, had lots of different fruit and malt flavors, and finishes in a nutty, dark kind of taste. It was surprisingly easy to drink and I finished it much quicker than I thought I would be able to. Surprisingly light for an Octoberfest. I give it a B.

OCTOBER 6

Fred Brick
5.2 %
Origin: Atlanta, GA

This beer was made when Fred Crudder of Taco Mac collaborated with the Red Brick Brewing company. The beer has a nice, solid taste to it, but nothing that really stood out to me. The thing I liked most about this beer was the earthy flavors. Overall, I liked it but didn't love it.

Terrapin Hopsecutioner
IPA, 7.3%
Origin: Athens, GA

One of my new favorites!! The beer pours a foggy, dark orange color with a nice head. You can smell this beer from all the way across the bar. Crazy hoppy, bitter finish. The taste of the beer from the time it touches your lips to the end of your sip is a really big transformation. Different than any of the beers I have found so far.. Definitely one of my new favorites! I will definitely drink this again!

Update: Had this drink the other night at Hornsby's, one of my new favorite bars. So good!

New Favorite Taco Mac

OCTOBER 5
Soooo... I felt sketchy about going to the same Taco Mac 2 days in a row so I decided to frequent one that was closer to work since I was just stopping for a beer or two before I headed over. SO GLAD I DID!! The new one has a much bigger draught beer selection, and the bartenders are much nicer. ALSO, there are more alchies there and less real people which is always a plus haha.

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Pale Ale; 5.3%
Origin: Athens, GA

I had bought this beer a few times before, and really never enjoyed it. This time I had more of an open mind.. Still an extremely bitter beer to me. The taste lingers in the back of your mouth and is just BIIITTTTERRR. I couldn't drink it fast. Had almost like a grapefruit feeling to it.. that kind of bitterness. The rye and hops are very prevalent in the taste. It's a very pale colored beer. Looks nice, but it bites you.

Sam Adams Octoberfest
Seasonal Dark; 5.7%
Origin: Massachusetts

I chose this picture so you could see how pretty this beer is! We just got it in where I bartend, so I have been loving this beer for quite a while now. It has such a warm, earthy taste. Very malty. I also like it a lot because it's not filling at all like some of the other dark beers have been. Some of the tastes are like a "roasted taste" and almost a caramel hint at the very end of a sip. I love this one! Definitely one of my new favorites. Too bad it's seasonal!!!

Southern Tier Pumking
????; 10.1%
Origin: New York

This is officially the weirdest beer I HAVE EVER TASTED. I don't know if you can even call it beer? It smells like straight up Halloween--candy, caramel, pumpkins, hay... it's eery. AND THEN, if the smell wasn't enough, it's a deep deep orange color. AND THEN, the taste. I will start by trying to explain the taste in beer lingo and then I'll just tell you the Katie version. It has a heavy pumpkin and caramel presence, a little bit of vanilla, and a overall warm dryness to it.

Ok now here is what this beer tastes like: BUTTER POPCORN JELLY BELLIES. I am not joking, it tastes the exact same. So crazy.

This beer is extremely easy to drink (like drinking candy), and this added to its high alcohol content makes it a very tricky ho. Drink with caution.



peace and love,
KTL

OCTOBER 4
Many of the Oktoberfest draughts were going fast, so I opted to aim for those before they were replaced with other seasonal beers.

Warsteiner Oktoberfest

Hefe-Weizen; 5% 
Origin: Germany

Took the first sip of this beer and immediately reconsidered my dedication to this challenge, haha. I HATED it. But I trucked on, and the more I drank the more it grew on me. It was a lighter, fruitier beer which I attribute to it being a Hefe-Weizen. It was a little more lightly colored than I originally predicted it to be. Very low bitterness. Barely any aftertaste.

Terrapin Pumpkinfest
Seasonal Dark; technically a lager; 6.1%
Origin: Athens, GA

This beer had a nice coloring when it was poured-- a very deep orange. The taste wasn't quite as pumpkin-like as I had expected, but there were definitely other spices at play that made it a smoother beer. The only time I could taste the pumpkin was in the aftertaste which tended to linger. Not very bitter. Had a very evident oktoberfest-esque taste however.

Warsteiner Konig-Ludwig
Hefe-Weizen; 5.5%
Origin: Germany

Let me just say. Eww Eww Eww Eww EWWWWW. Definitely not a beer I will be drinking again. It comes with an orange, so I tried it both with and without and this is simply not the beer for me. No.

But don't let me sway you, try it! It might be your new favorite!

Magic Hat #9
IPA; 5.1%
Origin: Vermont

I hated the last beer so much that I had to go back to one of my favorites, haha. I LOVE THIS BEER! Technically it's a pale ale, but it tastes far different than any I've tasted. It is infused with apricots and has almost a buttery taste to it when on draught. Very dry beer, and one of the heavier Magic Hat beers. The company describes it as "not quite a pale ale" which fits its taste, color, and smell perfectly.

Chang
Lager; 5%
Origin: Thailand

My first bottled beer during the challenge. I decided to order it because I'm bartending at a Thai restaurant, and we have several Thai beers. This beer is the best-selling beers in Thailand, and the company that makes it also makes the exotic Mekhong Rice Whiskey we serve. It was a very light beer. No special tastes, no lingering bite. Just a simple, light beer. Now maybe it was just the 4 beers I had before hand, but going back to a lighter, less flavorful beer reminded me of going back to the cheap beers that I love so much. So Chang--winner in my book.

Taco Mac Brewniversity Challenge

STARTING STATS:

    Favorite Beers- Natty Light, Miller Lite, Landshark, Magic Hat #9, Magic Hat Summer Ale, PBR

I happened upon this challenge this summer. Basically, you join the Brewniversity and earn credits for every different beer you try. Different Taco Macs have different beer selections, and the draught beer selections change almost twice a week. For the credits you earn, you earn perks as well such as huge gift certificates, shirts, jackets, giant mugs that you can use at Taco Mac for the same price as a normal beer.... stuff like that.


I figure this is as good a place as any to start learning. Not to mention they are everywhere in Atlanta, which helps.


    

Growing Up

    Since I started drinking many years ago, I have always loved cheap/shitty beer. Natty Light, PBR, Miller High Life... you name it: the lighter, more tasteless the better. Maybe I acquired a taste for it? Maybe I don't really like real beer? Maybe it stems from 4 years on top of the mountain where drinking is such an integral part of life that not much else can be stomached in such quantities let alone afforded.


Whatever the reason, here I am. 


    The main reason for this education is the fact that I now work as a bartender. Of course I know all the keywords/descriptions/blah blah blah to sell beers to customers, but something just doesn't seem right being a bartender who doesn't have good taste in beer. I want to be a beer expert with the most beer knowledge of anyone that walks into my bar.


    The second reason is the Big to my Rob, the co-founder of 30-minute-between-class-pitchers at Shenans, a member of the Mi Casa happy hour club, and queen of all things chat roulette. She's been trying to initiate this for years. So Meredith-- This blog is for you!

And I'm ready to grow up. Gone are the days of Natty Light and PBR. Gone are the days of bullshitting my way through a beer description.


Let the journey to Beervana begin....