New Michelobs

Has anybody tried any of the new Michelob brews coming out? I was just e-mailed a special that my brew supplier has for them, and might go and try a couple different kinds.

I don't keep up with latest marketing , so I'm not sure what you mean by "new".

I just purchased a six pack of Michelob "Pale Ale" and I'm frankly disappointed. It's not bad but falls way short of my favorite craft brews. The best thing I can say about it is that it tastes better than the old standby mass produced American lagers and it's cheaper that the really good stuff like Sierra Nevada and Avery's.

I've had their dunkel wiess. To me, it tasted like a watery beer with banana flavor in it.
As a kid, we used to have Towne Club soda shops. One of the 12 oz bottles of pop we would get was banana flavored. Reminded me of that.

They claim some special Belgian yeast. If special means "a shovel full of overpowering banana" then they've hit the mark. It didn't make me want to throw up or anything, but I won't be buying anymore.

JPicasso said:

I've had their dunkel wiess. To me, it tasted like a watery beer with banana flavor in it.

Click to expand...

That's the one that has the highest ratings at beeradvocate.com (graded a B overall). The porter, Irish red, and Bavarian wheat are all B- at the moment, with other offerings going lower from there.

I have had most of their specialty brews. And while I agree with the others that there are MUCH better beers in each category, I think they are all pretty good and a nice change from their American Premium line. I would have no problem picking up a sixer for a get together if the price was right.

I applaud all brewers that branch out and offer variety.

I had their Shock Top Wheat a few weeks ago. It was okay, but nothing special. At least the bottles are reusable.

I liked their Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale. Said so here.

I like their Pale Ale, but like most Midwest micro's, their version of a pale ale is much more like an English Pale Ale than and APA.

Even Sam Adams Pale Ale is styled after the Special Bitters of the UK.

Why larger breweries are afraid of the "C" hops is beyond me.

BierMuncher said:

Why larger breweries are afraid of the "C" hops is beyond me.

Click to expand...

In think for midwest micros it is the average consumer who is afraid of the C hops. The relatively few who like the hops go for the IPAs of which many are quite good. The Pale Ale is sold more to the average consumer who is more conservative than those in bigger microbrew areas like the west coast.

Luckily Cascades and Centennial grow well in our environment so i can brew plenty of C hopped IPAs. I havn't brewed an IPA in a while so I may have to make up for it by brewing an IIPA hop bomb.

Craig

I've liked pretty much all of the craft Michs I've tried, although the pale was just ok, and the shock top is not close to my favorite. The rest are decent brews and at a good price. I like getting the sampler box and then I have a nice box to put my homebrew in when I bottle.

I bought the Craft Collection with the Pale Ale, Marzen, Porter, and Irish Red beers. While it was OKAY, I wasn't too impressed. I did find that the labels come off very easily with a 15 min hot water bath with some baking soda in it. That has to be my favorite property.

justinakajuice said:

I bought the Craft Collection with the Pale Ale, Marzen, Porter, and Irish Red beers. While it was OKAY, I wasn't too impressed. I did find that the labels come off very easily with a 15 min hot water bath with some baking soda in it. That has to be my favorite property.

Click to expand...

+1. I got the collection too. They were OK, but not really worth the money IMO. However, I still got some bottles out of it, although half of them are twist off. The carton will come in handy too for storage.

It doesn't say a lot about the beer though when I'd rather talk about the bottles and carton.

CBBaron said:

In think for midwest micros it is the average consumer who is afraid of the C hops.

Click to expand...

I think there's a big opportunity here.

Kona was distributed locally here in St. Louis up until about 2 months ago and then disappeared.

At several restaurants it was the best selling draft. People at work who I know enjoy good beer have been lamenting it's absence...so much so that I've been..."commissioned" to brew up several batches as personal favors to folks.

The Vanilla Bourbon Cask ale was really a disappointment to me. It had a nice aroma, and the vanilla was interesting, but it seemed that the vanilla and caramel notes were there just to cover up a really cheap ale. The aftertaste was not pleasant at all.

I've got some of the Dunkelweisse on my counter now. Lets just say that since I've got about 12 gallons of home brew ready to drink now, that it will be a LOOONG time before that sixer gets drunk. Its ok, but nothing to write about.

I bought some because they had a rebate deal.
i had Shocktop, Pale Ale, and Hop Hound.
All were ok, all reusable bottles. Price was right.