I remember being excited when I heard that Hofbräuhaus München was going to open a beer garden in Cleveland; I had walked past the one near Cincinnati (actually Newport KY—and it was closed) and thought how lucky the people living there were, to be able to enjoy that authentic German beer hall experience. Never having been to Munich, I suppose the best thing I could come up with were several visits to Frankenmuth MI and my memories of the Akron’s long-gone Bavarian Haus.

We’ve visited the new Hofbrauhaus Cleveland location a couple of times now and have not been disappointed. If you’re a lover of fresh, traditional beer styles—like crisp golden lagers and rich, malty dunkels—then the offerings here will satisfy you. The Hofbrauhaus also offers some additional varieties, like Weissebiers and rotating seasonals; my wife ordered a sampler flight and enjoyed each of them.

As good as the beer was, the food may be even better. In addition to traditional German favorites, there are plenty of other options, all wonderfully prepared and with portions big enough to ensure that you’ll bust a gut if you choose to wash these down with a liter or two of lager.

Like any real German beer hall, you’ll sit at a long table, and if the place is crowded (like it is on many weekends) you may find yourself sitting next to a stranger—who may be your new best friend after a liter or two.  Live music is offered every day during lunch and dinner service, and when the music and beer start flowing, the place can get a little rowdy and really fun, with people standing on the benches, singing and and yelling “Prost.”

We have plans to go to Germany in the next couple of years—until then, I think can get my German Beer Hall fix at Cleveland’s Hofbrauhaus.

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There are a lot of attempts by big foreign conglomerates to infiltrate the American Craft Beer Market. Some, like the recently reviewed Newcastle-Caledonian Pale Ales, result in a good product that offers something worthwhile; a solid British Pale Ale, brewed with English Hops – make sense, right?

Then, we have Guinness’ effort to approach this market: Let’s try to make an American Style lager that’s made with American Hops. This is the reasoning behind Guinness Blonde American Lager.

First of all, I would remind you that I’m not a fan of some high-alpha American hop varieties, or resinous, “Piney” hops like Simcoe. In many cases, it’s not even so much about the hops, but the fact that many brewers are not subtle in their use, tending to “load up” for “big” flavor and bitterness.

That said, we have a wealth of great American Craft Breweries who are working their tails off to bring us an incomparable range of unique ‘American Lagers.”  Does America really need Guinness to show us how to do this? My guess would be no.

My suggestion to Guinness would be to simply stick to what you do best. Great stout…Irish Ales…you get the picture. Harp’s a fine product—just try to convince people to buy it more often and you’ll be fine.

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While most of my beer-buying is done at the local supermarket (our locals have a fairly excellent selection) I came across Newcastle's new variety pack at a nearby BP station, where the proprietor goes out of his way to offer a modest selection of craft and import beers:

"Just let me know what you like, I'll try and get it for you, boss."

The “Best of Britain” Variety 12-Pack contains equal amounts of three ales, including two definitive new styles from the brand--Newcastle British Pale Ale and Newcastle British Session IPA--along with Newcastle Brown Ale, which has always been one of my “predictable, go-to beers.”  The three distinctly Newcastle offerings are intended to “showcase the quality and depth of the Newcastle-Caledonian partnership and capitalize on the growing demand for variety among consumers.”

So much for marketing strategy. My main concern would be how the two new offerings would taste, and I wasn’t disappointed.

It’s probably important to preface this review with the fact that I am NOT a big IPA drinker; in fact, I almost never buy American IPA’s because (for the most part) I find them over-hopped and overly bitter for my palate. I’m also not a big fan of some varieties of American hops, which seem to get shoveled into those IPA’s relentlessly. I know a generation of young drinkers have been told that these IPA’s are delicious. Good for them. Open a Bottle and Carry On.

Back to the Newcastle Variety Pack.  The newcomers include a Newcastle British Pale Ale (5.8% ABV, 39 IBUs) and a Newcastle British Session IPA (5.1% ABV, 45 IBUs).

I tried the Session IPA first—realizing that even at just 5.1% ABV, it’s not technically a Session Ale at all (needs to be 4% or under. If you doubt me, ask @D_I_N_G on Twitter). It had a lovely copper hue, manageable bitterness, and an aromatic nose; a nice balance overall--and as I was outside opening the pool on the first weekend in May--notably refreshing.

The British Pale Ale was actually a little better. A little more of the same, with a rich gold color, a little more body and a citrusy-finish that I found particularly appealing. The higher alcohol level was not really that apparent, but what was apparent to me was that I could drink quite a bit of either one of these ales.

I was happy to have come across them, but was also wondering how long these Caledonian offerings would be available. I was also wondering to myself “why can’t more American pale ales taste this good?”

I’m sure there are some that do. If you’ve tried either of these Newcastle-Caledonian offerings and want to suggest a similar offering from one of our American craft breweries, please send me an email or a tweet with your suggestions.

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With all the beer-rating apps available for smart phones, there’s never any shortage of viewpoints when it comes to the quality of one brand of beer or another. Of course, there have been websites and blogs with taste-tests and ratings for years, too (something I have chosen—for now—not to bore you with) resulting in the fact that there are plenty of opinions out there, should you ever need one to help shape your beer-drinking decisions.

Me? Usually it’s whether I think the label is attractive or not. Or the tap-handle, if we’re talking draught beer.

But I digress. What does tend to irk me is how many “raters” or commenters will take what we know to be a perfectly good beer and whine about how it smelled skunky—as if that quality was brewed into the beer at the outset.

The recent example I came across was a rating on Pintly for Stella Artois, which I have enjoyed for many years, and still do upon occasion. I’ve been lucky enough never to have had a bad one (most were on draught) or an old one in the bottle. And that is the key.

Having sold beer, I know the importance of regular stock turnover and rotation. And everyone should know the effect that things like light and age have on beer. So if the “rater” a) didn’t notice that the bottle may have been dusty, or - b) wasn’t fully confident of the beer’s freshness, they may have wanted to delay final judgment until a proper sample could be obtained.

It’s not uncommon to come across a beer with a strange, unpleasant or slightly-off taste / smell, even when fresh. But generally-speaking, skunkiness should be a red flag that says “dammit – this beer is past its prime, or hasn’t been stored properly.”  That’s probably not the brewery’s fault, though it’s true some styles and some bottles (green) are more susceptible to this odiferous condition. For more on this, check out a nice article here.

You would hope that an educated beer drinker would realize that it was more likely that the particular “sample” was skunky, rather than the “beer” being skunky—and perhaps not representative of the product as originally produced. To some, that’s a fine line, but bad things can happen to beer after it leaves the brewery and before it gets to your mouth.

Which, in the end, is a pretty good endorsement for the idea of enjoying your local craft beer, anyway. It should always be fresh. Right?

Note: I did come across a story headlined "Skunky Beer Recalled by Stella Artois" in 2010 - but that problem was not skunkiness at all (innaccurate headline) but a "sour" taste due to a production problem...and none of that beer reached US shores, anyway.

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