We’re halfway through the Beer Advent calendar! The only way to alleviate the glum feeling of only having half of the beer left will be… uh… to drink the other half? Sure.
December 10: Amsterdam Brewery’s Cruiser All Day Pale Ale
CRUISER!
My feelings about Cruiser are already publicly recorded. My feelings about Cruiser have not changed. This beer still rips.
Never disappoints.
Jollymeter score: 9/10
December 11: Pilsner Urquell
If the Amsterdam Cruiser was a blast from the past, a tallboy of Pilsner Urquell is a blast from biblical times.
Pilsner Urquell reminds me of a time when craft beer wasn’t so mainstream, and the tallboys that one could grab at the LCBO were mostly Euro cheapies. I spent many, many nights swilling Pilsner Urquell, Lowenbrau and Tuborg in dusty basements and overcrowded parties. Back then taste wasn’t really a large part of the equation. It was really more of a “what can I get that isn’t breakable that holds the most for under $2” proposition.
Pilsner Urquell bills itself as the original pilsner and that may be true, but it tastes so cheap and mass produced that it’s really not so great for drinking. It is better than some of the even cheaper Euro tallboys, but overall I cannot recommend it unless you are going to be heading to some party where people are stage-diving off of some stairs into a crowded living room.
Jollymeter score: 4/10
December 12: Cowbell Brewing Co – Absent Landlord Country Kolsch
I’m not the world’s biggest fan of the Kolsch style, but I would be lying if I tried to pretend that I had strong feelings about it either way. I think that my knee-jerk reaction is to opt for bitter beer, and if the beer isn’t bitter it had better be outstanding in some other way. I haven’t come across many Kolsch beers that seem to stand out to me.
This beer is fine, and is nicely balanced. Extremely light and slightly fruity (but not wheat-beer-fruity), it goes down without a fuss. I find that beers in this style taste very much like the grain that they are made with, but… the sunnier side of the grain rather than the earthy side of the grain. If that makes any sense at all. Probably doesn’t.
Absent Landlord is okay. It looks beautiful. Boring can.
Jollymeter rating: 6/10
Halfway there. Living on prayer. Tune in next time for the back half!
To start reading this series from the beginning, go ahead and click here!
The Fraudsters' Almanac 