What a game! Seriously, one of the best Super Bowls of all time. The only way it could have been better was if the Redskins won (Brian’s team) or the Packers won (Josh’s team). But, both teams sucked this year. Oh well.

Congrats to the Steelers and their crazy fans. In their honor, go enjoy one of these (if you live in Pennsylvania…since it’s not available many other places)…Iron City from Pittsburgh Brewing Co.

They usually run out of it when the Steelers are in the Super Bowl. If you can’t get it where you are, then grab some Yuengling Lager (made in PA) and wave your terrible towel (or whatever towel you can get your hands on) in honor of the World Champion Steelers.

So far, we’ve sampled Beck’s Premier Light and Yuengling Light Lager as our Super Bowl pre-game beer. For kickoff, we kicked it up a notch with Pale Ales…Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale and Yazoo Pale Ale. Now it’s time to mellow out while we watch The Boss rock the half-time show. What better way to watch The Boss than to kick back with a classic American Lager?

Samuel Adams Boston Lager is one of (if not the best) BIG BEER…beers. It’s a classic lager…dark golden in color. Really smooth and really good. We could elaborate with fancy words but that’s kinda lame. Buy this instead of Budweiser and you’ll impress your friends. Also, their website is amazing! It’s an education in beer…styles, history, food pairings. We highly recommend you take the field trip!

The other lager we recommend for your Super Bowl half-time show comes from Holland. Grolsch is one of our absolute favorite lagers. 6 packs are easy to find in grocery stores. They also bottle a 22 oz. filp-top which looks extra fancy. We recommend that one. It’s like the Harvard of beer bottles.ac

Well it’s New Years Eve. Time to celebrate the end of yet another year. It’s been fun and there’s a TON coming from beerschoolblog.com in 2009. Can’t wait! Thanks for reading/watching/tellingyourfriendswhoalsolovebeer. Tonight, we will be toasting to you, our loyal students. What will we be filling our glass with? The only beer worthy of this special night…The Champagne of Beers (of course). Miller High Life.

So, as we enjoy drink this classic American lager that prides itself on providing “quality without draining your wallet”, please realize that we do it for you. We do it because we love you and want you to enjoy better beers. Hey, someone has to drink to the High Life on New Year’s while you sip Duvel or Chimay or some other high-gravity/awesome beer.

This one is not good. It’s worth drinking for the novelty though…go ahead, serve it up in actual champagne glasses to impress your friends.

Grade: D- (not an F…because Josh is from Milwaukee and that would break some sort of family code)

Have a good night and BEer safe out there! As Miller says, “Drink Responsibly”.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ~ Brian & Josh

Ever wondered what the difference is between lager beer and ale? It’s simple…yeast on the top vs. yeast on the bottom. Lagers are brewed with bottom fermenting yeast. They’re brewed over a long period of time because they’re always brewed at cool temperatures. Ales are brewed with top fermenting yeast at warmer temperatures thus, only a short period of time is required. There are a bunch of different styles of lager (Bock, Doppelbock, Dunkel, Oktoberfest/Maerzen, Pilsner). The differences between them can be subtle but the key is they’re all lagers. Yeast on the bottom means you’re drinking a lager.

One of our favorite styles of lager is the Pilsner.  Pilsner beers come from Bohemia in the Czech Republic. A good pilsner will have high carbonation, tangy Czech hops, and a crisp bitter taste. A fresh pilsner will have thick white foam (head) and when done well, is ultra refreshing. When done poorly…skunky, stale and nasty. Usually the cheaper varieties of pilsner are brewed with a mix of corn or rice which makes them more cost effective to produce…and you get what you pay for.  Ever had Coors, Budweiser, Miller, Heineken, Corona? They’re all classified as pilsners. We don’t know why. Maybe it’s because that sounds fancier. A real pilsner can and will blow your mind. A bad pilsner could make you question your love of beer……and we don’t want that.

That brings us to North Coast Brewing Co. out of Fort Bragg, CA. They make an old-school pilsner that might as well come straight from the Czechs. It’s called Scrimshaw and it’s good. The hop flavors are subtle. The taste is crisp and the after-taste (finish) is dry and somewhat bitter. Exactly what a great pilsner should taste like. If you like more of a sharp taste to your beer (Pale Ale or IPA) then you’d dig this particular beer. You can get it several places in Nashville. Brian had it on-tap at 12 South Taproom. Josh picked up a bottle at Old World Leaf and Ale in Brentwood.

Comments from Josh: The first time I had this beer was at Fall For Greenville in Greenville, SC. I got it on draft. I sipped as I walked around downtown Greenville and noticed that the flavor of the beer got better as it got warmer. It was weird but it was amazing! I grabbed a bottle from Old World and actually let it warm up for 15 minutes before I drank it. It was and is one of my favorite beers. If you get it, taste it cold and then let it warm up a bit…you’ll notice a subtle change in the flavor. A sweetness develops and it’s oh so wonderful.  Grade: A

Comments from Brian: I noticed some similarities to a good Pale Ale with the Scrimshaw but it’s definitely not as strong as an IPA.  I say this because I don’t want anyone to shy away from this beer because we compared it to a Pale Ale, it’s really not that strong.  It’s 4.4% alcohol content really takes a lot of the edge off.  Some pales (especially IPA’s) can be up near 6% or more.  The sweetness outweighs the bitter character.  Not sweet like a cider (nowhere near that) but sweet as in fresh.  I liked it.  You should try it and let us know what you think.  Grade: B+

Our review of 3 Crow Bar in East Nashville: This place is amazing! We tasted 2 beers. 1 was awesome. 1 was bland.

Classroom: 3 Crow Bar

Total of 30 Beers on tap, over 70 beers in the bottle!  A brand new bigger patio and a food menu that includes Sandwiches, wraps, pizza, snacks….etc  But enough “classroom” details, on to the BEER!

Josh started with the GROLSCH FLIP TOP and Brian went for the COOPERS PALE ALE.

The Grolsch is one of the best lagers we’ve had.  Right up there with Samuel Smith’s.  It’s really smooth, a tad sweet (but not over-bearing) and it’s really easy to drink.  Hahaha that makes us laugh, “really easy to drink” …. like beer is ever literally ‘difficult’ to drink ~ GRADE : A

The Coopers Pale Ale.  hhhmmmm, hhmmpphhhh, ugh…. and all those other words.  We really wanted to like this one.  We drank the Coopers Lager at Olde World Leaf and Ale in Brentwood and it was a decent Australian lager.   The lager is like the next step up from Foster’s.  You all probably know the Foster’s “Oil Can”…. that was the good beer we (Brian) would buy in college, aaahhh the memories.  Anyway we digress.  If Foster’s is Australian for beer, Coopers lager is Australian for “great” beer, Coopers Pale is Australian for bland.  It’s just kind of……there.  There is sediment in the bottle of this pale.  Which normally indicates a good, healthy, strong brew.  Not so much here, we think they put it in for show.  GRADE : C-

So, back to 3 CROW BAR.  We really like this place.  It’s a no frills East Nashville bar.  Some of the best bar sandwiches we’ve had and they’ve got a killer beer selection.  Don’t be scared, venture into the East side, and go to 3 CROW BAR!

Recently Brian had the chance to visit the Depot Street Brewing Company in Jonesborough, TN.  It’s a small, family owned brewery that serves the “tri cities” area of East TN.  Fortunately they allowed Brian to purchase a mixed 6 pack to bring back to Nashville.  We tried 3 of their finest.  Read on friends……read on

Depot Street – Loose Caboose Lager : Color – looks darker than most lagers we’ve had.  Taste – it’s good!  When approaching your lips, your brain says “I’m about to enjoy a pale ale” but then as it rolls onto the tongue your brain goes “what the crap, this a lager!  Stomach, you like this….enjoy”  Josh likes the lager because its “dark and thick” and both Brian and Josh agree that it “tastes fresh”  GRADE : A (well done Depot Street)

Southbound Scottish Ale – Yeah, overall we didn’t really care for this beer but then again, we haven’t had many Scottish Ales  GRADE : Hhrmmphh

Roundabout Rye Stout – We tend to think stouts are going to be thick and creamy, and truth be told, some are.  This one is not.  It has the essence of coffee as most stout beers do,  but doesn’t have a thick foam (head….hehe) and it’s not extremely bitter after you sip.  Brian likes that it’s not as heavy as some.  Josh doesn’t dis-like this beer.  GRADE : B

Conclusion : It’s hard not to appreciate this Mom and Pop style brewery.  The people are great and the beer is un-processed goodness.  Here’s to hoping they bring their beers (especially the Lager) to Nashvegas.

CHEERS to DEPOT STREET!

Picture this :: You’re sitting at your favorite Mexican Restaurant on a beautiful summer evening about to get your grub on (yes…we really just used that phrase) and the wonderful wait-staff person is rushing you to order a drink.  So because you didn’t have a lot of time to think you reach for an old standard and say “I guess I’ll just have a Corona” ~ We get it, Corona has served you well.  It’s a Summer standard and a no brainer for some when eating Mexican…..We urge you to try Pacifico Clara!

We’re telling you if you enjoy Corona, you will love this one.  It’s not a Mexican amber beer (although we love those too) it’s lighter in color and the most comparable to Corona but the kicker is that it’s way better.  We suggest enjoying it at the lovely Rosepepper Cantina on Eastland Ave in East Nashville.

**upcoming bloggings :: We taste and review Diana’s suggestion Xingu :: We hit up 2 more East Nashville establishments and write about them

Naked Lion

Beer #2 from Old World Leaf and Ale comes from Naked Lion Brewing Co. based in Memphis, TN (brewed in La Crosse, WI).

Josh wanted something he’d never tried before. When he saw the name “Copper Flask” and the description “sour mashed for character” he was sucked in. Sour mashing is a process used in whiskey making. There’s an official description for it but we’ll save you the fancy talk…it’s basically old wheat/water from a previous “brew”. Whatever. It’s the same thing they do to whiskey. Whiskey = happiness…so Josh tried the beer.

Naked Lion Copper Flask

It’s a lager. We love us some lagers! Here is Josh’s take on this one: “The bottle looked fancy. The name was amazing Naked Lion Copper Flask. The color was the most perfect golden color you’d ever seen. The taste…outta this world! Strong and smooth. A great lager.”

We’d give this beer an ‘A’ which is what Naked Lion Brewery would expect. After all, they established their company on three principles:

1.    Brew only Ultra Premium Luxury Beers, using our proprietary sour mashing process.

2.    Disregard convention.

3.    Create stunning packages that not only reflected the Ultra Premium beers that we brewed, but that also appropriately reflected the sophisticated consumers for whom we brew.

Click Here for more info on Naked Lion Brewery.

Aaaahhhhh  the Super Bowl :  Some watch it for the commercials, some watch it for the half time show, some watch the half time show hoping to see a wardrobe malfunction and oh yeah….there’s that football game that happens too.  Whatever your reason for watching, Super Bowl Sunday is an excuse to have people over for one more “big game” ….. and yes we know there’s still the Pro Bowl but come on!  Anyway, one thing the Super Bowl is not an excuse for is crappy beer.  That being said, we (being the good teachers that we are) have decided to step out of the classroom and on to the field…ok that was a stretch but work with us here.  We’ll hi-lite 2 beers in this Pregame Post.

So, we wouldn’t normally recommend “light beers” in any post but we understand that Super Bowl Sunday is a day when you could be bringing beer for the masses or a day when you just might be having more than one beer, and seeing how most of the food at Super Bowl parties isn’t in the light category you might want your beer to be.

The two light beers that we’d bring to school are Beck’s Premier Light Pilsner and Yuengling Light Lager

Both taste as much like real beer as a light beer can…99 calories in the Yuengling Light Lager and 64 calories in the Beck’s Premier Light Pilsner. Oh, you can normally find a 6 pack of Yuengling Light Lager for around $5.49 in the grocery store. It’s only distributed on the East coast and Southeast. Click here for the list of distributors.