Mix-and-Match 6 Pack - week 1

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” 

       ― Benjamin Franklin

I have found over the past year or two that I really enjoy wheat beers, one of the best I've had is the Pyramid Hefeweizen. It's brewed on the west coast, Pyramid's headquarters is in Seattle, Washington but they do have other breweries. Just discovered that they have a brewery in Portland, Oregon where I'll be in a little over a week, hhhmmm....... So I figured that I'd mainly try different wheat beers. The first M&M 6 pack included the following beers (left to right, top to bottom): 

• Flying Dog--In Heat Wheat Hefeweizen (Maryland)
• Bell's--Lager Beer (Michigan)
• Heavy Seas--Gold Ale (Maryland)
• Blue Moon--Rounder Belgian Style Pale (Colorado)
• Ommegang--Witte Wheat Ale (New York)

Overall I was very happy with my selections, my process was very unscientific, I went by what label appealed to me. I'll probably have to find a better selection process but this is what I used for the first two weeks. While some people may argue that 12 ounces is too much to sample, my argument is that it comes in a 12 ounce bottle I'm certainly not going to throw any out, that'd be an insult to the brewmaster. 

The hands down best beer for this week was the Ommegang Witte, it was simply fantastic. Had a nice frothy, creamy head and tasted smooth. No bitterness whatsoever, nice light refreshing taste. You can definitely smell the orange and spices, adds a nice flavor but not overwhelming. I could certainly see drinking this laying in my hammock on my deck while my oldest cuts the grass. It's a little on the expensive side, $8.99 for a 4 pack, but well worth it. The brewery is not far from the Cleveland area, do I sense a road-trip in the future???

Ommegang Witte--I'm getting thirsty just looking at it

My next favorite was the Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat Hefeweizen. It also had a nice light flavor, I didn't notice any of the fruit scents/flavors that were present in the Ommegang Witte. I would definitely get this one again. I noticed that they have a large selection of their beers at World of Wines, and I look forward to trying the rest of them. The other three beers were pretty good, the Bells Lager Beer was probably my least favorite, certainly not a bad beer, but it was just okay for me. It had a bit of a sour aftertaste, I don't know if I would get it again. 

I certainly am enjoying my journey into expanding my beer horizons. I'm hoping that as I continue to taste more and more different varieties it will aid me in making my own brews. I plan on moving away from the malt extracts and making my own worts from scratch. I'm lucky that there is a homebrew supply store very close to my house, in fact they offer classes on beer making that I look forward to taking. I'm also lucky to have a wonderful wife who puts up with my obsessions. 

Until next time...