This is one of the better Oktoberfest beers in my opinion. After I poured it into a frosted mug, I know this is not what you do with an Oktoberfest but all my mugs were in the freezer, I noticed it had very little head. It was not until the beer was about half gone that I could see the true color through the frosty-ness of the mug. So I waited to take my notes until I could pour a second one. This time around it was much better. It had a nice clear amber color, with just a little head that didn’t last long. It smelled like a typical Oktoberfest/Marzen, lots of malts. It had a somewhat sweet taste and caramel feel on the palate. A decent finish, with a small amount of linger time from the hops.

I will get this one again and would recommend it. I love fall and all it brings, especially the Oktoberfest brews.

P-O-R-C-H rating: C

Posted by Mr. Porch

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The remnants of Hurricane Ike made it to my home Sunday, and the winds destroyed the neighborhood and left us without power for five days. I had nothing more than yard gars and warm beer during a week of cleanup. Tonight, after I put the canopy back on the Tasting Booth I settled down with a mug of Folgers coffee and a Man O War Cigar.

The natural wrapper appeared to be very well crafted with no obvious defects. I gave this beauty my typical pre-light squeeze test, and revealed that the cigar was not consistent in density. It felt a bit lumpy in areas. This lumpiness did not translate to problems as I found out.

After lighting and I began to enjoy this cigar, the flavor seemed a bit stronger than I was expecting (Not that it was a bad thing). The flavor was good, and I even made note that the aftertaste was pleasant. It didn’t carry a stale aftertaste at all.

The burn was even and required no touch ups or relights during the whole session, and I dumped it after about an hour. It was truly a good smoke. I must have inhaled too much because I felt a bit nauseated afterward, even while composing this review.

I’m giving this cigar a solid B+. It was a great cigar, but didn’t impress me enough to warrant an A.

Posted by Sam

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I am a big fan of Spoetzl brewery’s  Shiner beers. I’ve tried just about all of them except their Kolsch. Until now. I had a hard time finding it in my area, but a couple of weeks ago Sam and I heard of a place about 30 miles from here that has hundreds of different beers. I found it!

You know how some days just happen to turn out special? Well I thought I’d save these for a day like that. A week or so later, an old friend of mine, who I haven’t seen in a year or so, just happened to show up on the porch. So we fired up the grill and out came the Kolsch. Ron spent some time in Germany in his younger days as a defender of our freedom with the U.S Army. It was there that he developed a taste for darker and heavier beers. This was turning out to be one of those days.

When we poured it in our mugs, we didn’t see anything special. It had a clear golden color and it looked just like typical volume beer with very little head that didn’t last. It smelled a little stale,  but not skunky. After we were done pretending to be professional beer tasters, we drank it. It had a smooth feel in the mouth, a little tingly (carbonation?) with some hops. It started out like a light ale but it quickly turned sweet. I thought it had a clean finish and Ron said it “invites the next drink”. (I think he was still pretending). We both liked it a lot and it’s almost as good as their Bock. A decent beer but I don’t think I’ll drive 30 miles to get it unless I’m already somewhere that carries it, then I’ll get it. It went great with our burgers.

P-O-R-C-H rating:  R- 

Posted by Mr. Porch

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I was reading the September issue of Market Watch magazineand came across several items I found interesting and might be worth posting.

I saw an ad for Corona Light - in a can. Corona is known to go with a slice of lime, but in a can what are you supposed to do? I guess you can crack the can open, and shove it in but isn’t eye appeal part of the drinking experience? I can’t imagine Corona in a can.

I’ve seen a commercial for Budweiser’s new American Ale coming out. I haven’t tried it yet, nor have I seen it in the stores. There was an article introducing this beer. It sounds like a darker, hoppier version of the American Lager. Mr. Porch and I discussed this on a porch session earlier this week, and was also discussed in another article in the magazine. Over the last several years, the big brewers have been feeling the rise of the micro brews and I would expect for Budweiser to start rolling out more craft beers, maybe a Bud Pale Ale or a Bud Stout?

Warsteiner rolled out a light beer called Warsteiner Premium HiLight that is a Pilsner style lager that promises a refreshing taste with only 87 calories per bottle.

Posted by Sam

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My wife, the beautiful Mrs. Porch, came home from work the other day with a gift for me. But it wasn’t from her. It was from one of her coworkers, we’ll call her “Alice”. Alice has heard Mrs. Porch talk about this site and wanted to contribute. (and we will accept most contributions if any of you feel compelled to give us some beer or cigars. ) : )

The beer: Augustiner Premium Lager from the Iron City Brewing co. in Pittsburgh Pa. I have to admit, I’ve not had a lot of Iron City beers, this may be the first, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I poured it in my frosted mug and noticed that it was very dark for a lager. More of an Amber color than the normal yellow you get from other lagers. It’s head was thick and foamy white. The bubbles were so small it almost looked like ice cream. It had very little aroma, almost none. But then again what lager does? It simply smelled like beer. The taste was a bit heavier than a typical lager, but not much. Just a smooth rich lager beer. It had a clean and crisp finish with almost no aftertaste. My opinion is that this is a good year round beer, but would be ideal for one of those summer afternoons at an all day picnic/cookout.

Thanks for the contribution Alice. It was very thoughtful of you to add to our site.

P-O-R-C-H rating: C

Posted by Mr. Porch

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I found this beer by sheer accident. I went to the local convenient store to pick up some snacks for the coming evening, and checking out the beer section (as I always do) I noticed one I’ve never seen before, and it was from Germany.  So I had to get it. Now armed with a new beer and a bag of pretzels, I headed for the porch.

The package looked festive enough so it couldn’t be too bad. The bottles were as colorful as any beer bottle I’ve ever seen, I was excited about trying this one, so I got my mug and my note pad and poured away. The first thing I noticed was the color, very cloudy and almost a peach color. You could really tell this was a wheat brew. The head was a little off white and thick. So far, so good. The aroma was somewhat mild for an Oktoberfest. Next was the long anticipated taste. This is where I started to get a little disappointed. It was very creamy and had almost no aftertaste. Just another mild wheat beer that bores the palate with a lack of hops.

I don’t like giving bad reviews, but to be honest, this beer looks better than it tastes. It may be a good autumn beer for someone who doesn’t like the stronger flavor of the typical Oktoberfest beers. It packs a healthy 5.7 ABV but for $9.49 a six pack they can keep it in Germany.

P-O-R-C-H rating:   O 

Posted by Mr. Porch

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