Summit Brewing Company- Oktoberfest

As I took a week off from writing my review, I anxiously awaited my trip to Minnesota to watch my beloved Huskers. My hope was that when we arrived in the Twin Cities that I would find a local brewery with a seasonal brew. Lucky for me, I found one! While we were eating at a local brewpub, Cooper's, I stumbled across Summit Oktoberfest.

This fall I have had many different fall beers: Sam Adams Octoberfest, Goose Island Harvest Ale, Blue Moon Harvest Ale, and many others. I never thought that I would find a fall beer that would top my all time favorite of Sam Adams Octoberfest, but, indeed, the Summit Oktoberfest did. This brew tops my list of fall beers; as the beer touches your lips it goes down quite smoothly with a great toffee flavor. The after taste is just amazing. Some beers have a very strong hop after taste; however, this beer has a very light hop after taste which I would associate with the fact that the hops used in this great brew come straight from Germany every fall.

After taking our seat at Cooper's, I asked our waiter, “What will go best with the Summit Oktoberfest?” He named off the house favorites of fish and chips, pan fried walleye, and any one of Cooper's great steaks. I decided to go with my own pairing. The three cheese macaroni was calling my name. I ordered it topped with grilled chicken and breadcrumbs, and the cheeses paired very well with the brew.

At the first sip of this beer, I knew it was my favorite of the fall season. Before I knew it, the weekend was over, the Huskers had lost, but my taste buds had won! Three Oktoberfests on Friday night, led to one more as we ate breakfast on Saturday morning, and three more on Saturday night. My love of this beer is strong, and to my surprise it is available in the 402 (see below for where). This beer is a clear 5 out of 5 stars, I highly suggest you try this great brew before its gone for winter. Until next week, happy drinking!

Pair with these foods:

-Mac and Cheese topped with chicken

-Egg and hash brown breakfast

-Fish and Chips

-Ribeye steak

Beer info:

Style of Beer: Seasonal Dark Beer

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 6.6%

Color: Bronze

Where to buy in the 402:

-N Street Liquor, Lincoln, NE

-Most Hy-Vee liquor stores

People's Brewing Co.- Nine Irish Ale

As I watched the trees fly by on our trip to the Nebraska Huskers game in West Lafayette, IN, I thought to myself, “what beer am I going to write about for my next review?” My dream was to find a local brewery in West Lafayette with great brews and a great atmosphere. Our first day there my dream was answered when we rolled into Peoples Brewing Company. After trying a few different beers, I found the perfect one for the fall season.

I saved the best for last, after four different beers my mouth found the perfect taste for a cool fall day. The beer is called ‘Nine Irish Ale.’ This is a traditional Irish beer; with a great caramel and toffee taste that work with one another in an excellent fashion. This is one of the smoothest Irish Ales I have ever had and has an amazingly sweet after taste.

That night we decided to eat out at a great local Irish restaurant and I noticed they had this beer on tap. I decided to pair it with my Manhattan Beef, which is a heap of meat and potatoes over toasted bread. This beer went great with the beef, bringing out the rich juices of the meat and the beef broth used in the gravy. This is by far the best Irish Ale I have ever had and this brew is easily a 4.5 out of 5. So, next time your in West Lafayette to watch a Husker win, make sure to stop by the Peoples Brewing Company and give not only the Irish Ale a taste, but all of the other great brews they have to offer. Until next week, happy drinking!!!

Pair with these foods:

-Hot Beef

-Bangers (Irish sausage)

-Fish and Chips

Beer info:

Style of Beer: Irish Red

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 4.3%

Color: Redish Brown

Where to buy in the 402:

-It is not available in the 402, however, if you are ever in these following cities, it is available:

-West Lafayette, IN

-Indianapolis, IN

-Fort Wayne, IN

-Chicago, IL

-Louisville, KY 

Goose Island- Harvest Ale

The first review of specialty fall season beers is the not-so-good Goose Island Harvest Ale. I have always been a big fan of the 312 Urban Wheat Ale by Goose Island, so I thought I'd give their Harvest Ale a chance. After I cracked open the first bottle and took the first sip, I knew this was not going to be a beer that I really liked.

Harvest Ale is categorized as American Extra Special Bitter, and this statement is quite true. This is one of the more bitter beers that I have ever had. To make this beer more palatable, I had to pair it with a polish sausage. Overall, this beer is only for the bitter drinkers. It has a very strong hop aroma and a very smoky after taste.

This beer has a dark copper color and is best if drunk in a Willi. The Willi is a popular European glass best suited to German lighter colored beers. In short, this is a glass that is skinny towards the bottom, bows out towards the top, and then narrows again. This design is made to hold in the rich flavor of the foam.

Now to my rating. I have given this brew a lot of tasting and thought. After drinking a six pack over the past week, it is hard for me to give Harvest Ale a very high rating. Out of five stars, I give this one and one half stars. If you are into very bitter beer this may be your forte, but it does not leave me wanting more. Until next week, happy beer tasting!

Pair with these foods:

-Chicken

-Turkey

-Sausage

Beer info:

Style of Beer: Extra Special Bitter Ale

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 5.7%

Color: Copper

Where to buy in the 402:

-Hy-Vee

-N-Street liquor

-Most grocery stores

North Coast Brewing Company- Scrimshaw Pilsner

For awhile now, I have wanted to start something that would help people when they are trying to find a good, new brew. I have been watching the new show "Brew Dogs" on the Esquire Network, and it got me thinking, why not start a blog with my top beer choices?

My inaugural beer for Becher's Beers blog is a great brew that I ran across this summer while in Malibu for a friend's wedding. What first drew me to this beer was the ornate beer tap which is a large carved whale's tooth. The word Scrimshaw comes from an old sailing term which means to engrave or carve images into ivory or bone. But enough with the history lesson and back to the beer. Scrimshaw comes from the North Coast Brewing Company located in Fort Bragg, CA. This is one of many beers that the North Coast Company brews, but in my mind, the best. This is a beer that is on tap in about every bar in southern California and is located in every liquor store up and down the West Coast.

This beer has a pale-straw color and a subtle hop aroma and flavor, but what makes this beer one of my all-time favorite pilsners is the fact that it has a very dry and clean after taste. Unlike some other pilsner beers that have more of a bitter after taste, this beer cleanses your palate and has your taste buds wanting more! If you have not tried this great beer, it is a must. On my scale of a one to five, this is clearly a five as it is the best pilsner on the market.

Pair with these foods:
-Best paired with sea food
-Burgers
-Steaks
-Fish and Chips

Beer Info: 

Style of Beer: Pilsner

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 4.7%

Color: Pale Straw

Where to buy in the 402:

-Most Hy-Vee liquor stores

-N-Street Liquor, Lincoln, NE

-Super Saver, 27th and Cornhusker, Lincoln, NE

This photo was taken from the North Coast Brewing Co. website, which is http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/beer-scrimshaw.htm