Anchor Steam is the best known of the eight beers crafted by this still-small San Francisco brewery. (Others you may have heard about include Liberty Ale and Old Foghorn Ale.)

I sometimes feel like the prodigal son when I’m out in the pubs or at my local beer warehouse, pulling down bottles of every strange brew I’ve never before sampled. After all the sampling, and all the experimenting, I often find myself coming home and popping open a bottle of a tried and true favorite masterpiece. Such is the case with Anchor Liberty Ale.

I’ve been drinking a fair amount of Abita beer over the last month or two. I’m trying to identify a house signature while at the same time becoming familiar with the entire Abita family of beers. It’s not that I find Abita particularly fascinating — I don’t, mostly because their beers tend towards lighter bodied brews than I usually prefer, but I enjoy the tasting challenges anyway. My latest foray into the Abita product line is Purple Haze.

While sharing his wisdom on life with Bart one day, Homer Simpson told his son to never be afraid of weasling out of things. “It’s what separates men from animals…except for weasels.” he said. I couldn’t agree more, and while I’ve been weasling out of finishing up with my tasting notes on the Abita product line, I’m finally figuring that maybe I should be un-weasel like today and pop open a cool Abita Amber and see how it stacks up against the rest of the Abita stable of brews.

I am proud to report that, yes, Alaska really does exist. Not only does it exist, but it is broken down into smaller cities and towns.

Beer is beer, and wine is wine, but what the heck are we supposed to make of cider? Cider tasting might actually have more in common with wine tasting, but wine people don’t seem to want to adopt it as their own, and so it’s become something of a step-child to beer aficionados.

It’s the most wonderful time of the beer. Just the other day, I commented that MillerCoors’ Blue Moon “doesn’t suck, but I don’t really care for it.” So I was surprised to find myself buying a six-pack of their seasonal beer called Full Moon.

The Boston Beer Company, known for many quality beer styles and a cult of craft beer that now borders on being mainstream, recently released their 2009 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias. Utopias is the flagship brew of their “extreme” beer line.

As I sit here, leaves are beginning to fall from the trees… some of them right into my beer mug. Although the crisp days of autumn are not quite upon us yet here in New York, I recognize that the Octoberfest is the perfect beer for today’s climate. This seasonal German style lager is hitting the spot.

Spaten Ur-Oktoberfest is one of the finest amber lagers that you can buy. Taste a bottle and I think you’ll agree.

Looking for something with a nice, malty, nutty flavor but that’s not too strong? Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen might be the brew for you!

B.J. King’s Wingwalker Lager is a bit of an odd man out. It is called a “fully krausened” pilsner, but right in the name is the word lager. The label says both, and adds that it has smooth hops. I have to say that it is more like a light IPA gone wrong. I was […]

Superior is not among my favorite Mexican beers, and I can’t say that I’ve ever gone out of my way to buy it before. I don’t avoid it either.

Most of us have seen Tecate. Most of us have not tasted it, though. It’s the beer in the ugly red can that someone at the table across from you is drinking in the Mexican restaurant. Starting to ring a bell?

Negra Modelo is one of the richest tasting, most robust beers in Mexico. A complex beer, redolent with caramel and chocolate flavors from the malt, the beer is perfectly balanced with a bit of spiciness or nuttiness in the hop aspects of its flavor profile.