Review of The Frog and Onion Pub

This past October, I did a 5 night cruise to Bermuda on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas. One of the things I was looking forward to was checking out the microbrewery in the Royal Naval Dockyard. It's the only one in Bermuda. As I remember, they offered 8 varieties of beers and ales. I ended up trying the Somers Amber Ale which I found pretty good. The ale came in 2 sizes - 9 ounce ($5.99) and 20 ounce ($10.99). For $5 more, they have a deal where you get to keep the glass. What they do in that case is you take your receipt to their gift shop and, they'll give you a new souvenir glass. I ended doing this option as I enjoyed the pub so much.

The pub does offer various food but as I was on a cruise where I had plenty of free good food already, I didn't try any of their food.

The pub also had entertainment the night I was there. It was a 1 man band who played various songs.

The pub is in a 150 year old warehouse and has a wonderful atmosphere.

Overall, I was very pleased with the pub and will definitely be back when I return to Bermuda Memorial Day weekend 2020 on Grandeur of the Seas. If you're in Bermuda, this place is worth checking out. I give it 2 thumbs up.

Jailbreak Infinity Amber Ale Review

When I visit the Total Wine store in Laurel, Maryland, I'll make it a point to try some beer or ale I haven't had before. Sometimes, it's in preparation for a future trip example: I tried Kingfisher Lager recently because it's sort of Indian. It's brewed in the United States under Indian (India) supervision. As I'll be touring India next year with Globus, I wanted to try some of their beer and see how it is.

In the case of Jailbreak Infinity Amber Ale, what makes this special to me is that it's brewed in Laurel, Maryland. I haven't visited the microbrewery where presumably they brew the stuff but, it is neat to me that it's brewed in the town I live in like National Bohemian is special to those in Baltimore even though that beer isn't brewed there any more.

Anyway, in the case of Jailbreak's amber ale, I found it to be a nice ale though I'll readily admit I'm not any kind of aficionado on ales. If I like it, I say so. If I don't, I say that too.

Total Wine sells Infinity Amber Ale in 12 ounce 6 pack cans for $10.99 which isn't cheap but not exorbitant in my book either. I suspect it's not a bad price for a microbrewery.

Overall, if you like ale, I think you'll like this one. I'll have to check and see if you can buy it at the brewery and if so, at what price. That would be neat to be able to take a 6 pack home with you after trying it at the place it's made. Happy Drinking All!

Birra Moretti Beer Review

While shopping for foreign (anything made out of United States of America (USA)) beers, I came upon some Birra Moretti beer. The beer is a lager with 4.6% alcohol and is brewed by Heineken Italia in Comun Nuovo, Italy. Total Wine & More in Laurel, Maryland sells a 6 pack of 11.2 fluid ounce bottles for $7.99.

One thing I liked about this lager is that it's a genuine Italian beer i.e. it's brewed IN Italy. I've seen a number of foreign beers that are actually brewed in the USA. To me, they're not legitimately foreign though they may have a different taste to what we're used to in the USA. This lager tasted like a standard lager. It wasn't harsh tasting like some German beers can be though it wasn't super smooth like some Hawaiian ale I've tried. Basically, it's a decent lager at a reasonable price for a genuinely foreign beer.

Tip: Total Wine & More has a frequent shopper club called Total Discovery where they'll send you coupons for their stores that'll save you money on beer or other spirits. In this case, thanks to the coupon, I saved a $1 off this 6 pack. If you drink a fair amount of beer or other spirits, it could be worth it to you to look into it.

Overall, I thought this was a nice beer. I very much liked that it's genuinely Italian. I do question the claim on the bottle about Italian passion for brewing. I think Italy is known more for its wine then its beer. Still, it was fun to try this brew. Happy responsible drinking all!

Famosa Lager Beer Review

I haven't done a beer review in quite a while so here goes.

Unlike other foreign beers that are sold in the United States (U.S.) (a number of them aren't like Sapporo and Fosters), Famosa Lager (Gallo, don't know why I should include that) is actually brewed in Guatemala City, Guatemala and imported to the U.S. Total Wine & More in Laurel, Maryland sells 12 ounce 12 packs in cans for $9.99 U.S. which I think is a decent price for that much foreign (to those us in the U.S.) beer. The beer is classified as a Euro pale lager.

The beer has a crisp and not bitter taste. I find it a decent lager. Plus, it reminds me of my Panama Canal cruise with Royal Caribbean International. One of the ports my ship (Legend of the Seas) called at was Puerto Quetzal which is a container port which Guatemala apparently uses for cruise ships too. From there, I took an excursion to Antigua Guatemala which was a pretty interesting town.

Anyway, while visiting there, I remember seeing advertising for Famosa Lager but, I didn't get around to trying it while I was there. However, I did make amends once I got back to the U.S. and did get to try it. It's a decent beer. I've had worse. I remember one in Peru that was pure piss water but, that's another story which I'll spare you for now.

Overall, I think Famosa Lager is a decent foreign beer which Total Wine & More offer at a good price. If you want to try a decent beer from a country you've probably never been to, you might want to give it a go. Happy and responsible drinking all!

Old Speckled Hen Ale

Recently, I finished off a six pack of Old Speckled Hen ale. I thought it would be neat to try as I'd never had any of this English ale before. Also, it is genuinely English i.e. it is brewed in England and imported to the United States. Lastly, I thought it had a neat name. However, taste wise, I found I didn't care for it. Supposedly, it has a malty flavor and, that may be why I didn't care for it. The ale was smooth enough but, the malt flavor turned me off on this English ale. Because of that, I wouldn't recommend it though if you like an ale with a pronounced malt flavor, it might be for you. For me, I'll pass. Happy and responsible drinking all.

Serious Beer Trip

For a long time, I've wanted to buy some at least a 6-pack of James Boag Australian lager so I could give it a proper tasting. The lager is one of the beers the Outback Steakhouse chain offers. I got to try my first bottle during my first bike road trip to Richmond, Virginia. Unfortunately, James Boag lager isn't widely available in Maryland. I did find one liquor store that sold it and then, I forgot to bookmark the store. This morning, I finally located the store. It's called State Line Liquors in Elkton, Maryland. The name of the store is appropriate as the store is very close to the Maryland-Pennsylvania state line. The store isn't overly large but, it offers a surprising number of international beers. I saw beers from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland and Spain. It was pretty impressive. Price wise, considering where some of these brews were coming from, I thought they were pretty reasonable. Service was excellent. Parking was adequate. The location was located just off of Interstate-95 so easy to get to. The only downside to my trip was I forgot how the state of Maryland likes to gouge people that travel on Interstate-95 going to Pennsylvania. They hit me up for $5. Thankfully, they didn't do that on the trip home. This is one liquor store I plan to visit again in the future once I've finished my now ample supply of brew. If you like to try various international beers and you're in the Maryland-Pennyslvania border area, you might want to give them a look. Their website is: http://statelineliquors.com/index.htm. Cheers all!

Beer Review - Elephant Beer

I tried some of Carlsberg's Elephant Beer today. I decided to buy a six-pack of it in memory of my trip to Denmark, Sweden and Norway. I bought it at the Corridor Wine Store on Maryland Route 198 in Laurel, Maryland. The beer is a pilsner/lager. I found it had the standard lager taste to it. One thing that is different about the beer is its alcohol content. The beer packs a 7.2% alcohol content which makes it a potent beer. While the taste of the beer isn't very alcoholish, after a couple of these brews, you will feel the higher alcohol content. I know I did.

Price wise, a six-pack will cost you XXXX at Corridor which I think is pretty reasonable considering they have to import it from Denmark where it is brewed. The beer comes in 11 ounce bottles. Further information on the beer can be found at the Carlsberg website: http://www.carlsberggroup.com/ under brands. Cheers!

Update - December 24, 2012

Two changes to this post:

1st, Corridor Wine Store has changed its name to Total Wine & More. It's still located at Corridor Marketplace on Maryland Route 198 just past the Maryland 295 exit heading toward Laurel.

2nd, a 6-pack of 11 ounce bottles of Elephant beer will cost you $8.99 which isn't bad. It's only gone up a dollar in 5 years.

Beer Review

I continue to try different beers and ales from Corridor Wine Store on MD-198 (see earlier blog on that store). The latest I tried was Lord Chesterfield Ale. It's made by the Yuengling Brewery at its plants in Pottsville, PA and Tampa, FL. I thought the name Yuengling was Chinese but, it isn't. It's actually German. The brewery founder David G. Yuengling emigrated from Aldingen, Germany and founded the brewery in 1829 (Source: http://yuengling.com/faq.htm). The Yuengling Brewery is the oldest in the U.S.

Lord Chesterfield Ale sells for $5.49 for 6 12-ounce bottles at Corridor Wine Store. I found the ale itself to be a bit bitter and harsh. However, it doesn't have a strong alcoholic taste. I was surprised to find out it was rated at 5.4%. It is the most potent of all Yuengling products.

Overall, I wasn't terribly impressed with this ale. Price wise, it is very affordable. Per the Yuengling website, Lord Chesterfield Ale is currently only available on the east coast except for Alabama (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina & Alabama). However, the brewery is expanding their markets and it may become available in time in your area if you don't live in one the areas they currently distribute to.

Product Review

Thanks to the Medieval Times auction last week, I was able to try Grolsch beer for the first time for free. I found the beer to be all right. It isn't terribly smooth or have any noteworthy taste. It is imported from the Netherlands though I don't personally care if a beer is imported or not. I just care about the taste. The one thing I really liked about Grolsch is that the bottles are resealable. They come with their own plastic stopper that you can lock in place. Why is this nice? Because if you don't feel like drinking your entire beer, you can seal it up again and drink the rest of it later without it going flat on you. It's a really nice feature. As I received the beer for free, I obviously can't tell you how it rates cost wise though I doubt it's cheap. Imported beers tend to be more expensive.

Overall, I'd rate Grolsch as a decent beer. I wouldn't make any special trips to buy some but, I'd drink if it was available and wasn't too expensive.

Pete's Wicked Ale

On my last visit to the Corridor Wine Store, I bought some beer. I decided to try something I haven't tried before so I bought a six-pack of Pete's Wicked Ale. This is a product review on that ale.

The company that produces Pete's Wicked Ale states that it is extremely smooth. I did find it an easy ale to drink. It does have a smooth taste. They also state it has ruby color though I can't testify to that as I drank it right out of the bottle. I found out it was also potent. They don't tell you the alcohol content on either the bottle or carrier. I had to look it up on their website http://www.peteswicked.com/. I found out it is rated at 5.3% which is stronger than your normal U.S. brews. The potency doesn't take away from it being a good brew. Overall, I enjoyed drinking this ale. I found out Pete's Wicked Ale makes three other regular products: Pete's Rally Cap Ale, Pete's Strawberry Blonde and Pete's Wanderlust Cream Ale. I plan to try these some time and see how good they are. Stay tuned for further reviews on their products. Cheers all!

Samuel Adam's Boston Ale

I decided to try Samuel Adam's Boston Ale this week. Medieval Times sells their ale and I thought it would be fun to try some. I found the Boston Ale to be stronger than regular lager. The alcohol content is 5.1%. It also has a robust taste to it. It isn't a watery or weak brew. Also, it's available year round. I found out Samuel Adams has a line of seasonal brews as well as regular brews. One of these is called Summer Ale. I picked up a six-pack of that today and plan to try it out Sunday. I'll let you know what I think of it then. If you'd like more information on beers, ales, and other alcoholic brews by Samuel Adams, their website is: www.samueladams.com.