Fall Mix Pack

Drinking Gremlin here to chat about the 'work' and experiences I had a few weeks ago.  I was once again out of town for work, so I took some time to put in a little research.  This time the topic was Fall Drinks.  So I snatched up six different fall flavors for a taste test.  Below are the results, hopefully you will be able to try some of these one day!  Brewery is in bold, beer in italics, percentage in [brackets].


Shiner - Märzen-Style Oktoberfest [5.8%].  A Texan attempt at Germany's greatest party beer.  It has a quality malt with a complete flavor.  I find it almost has a little bit of caramel after taste.  Grab a pretzel, a big pretzel, and drink a few!  6/10

Brooklyn - Oktoberfest [5.5%].  A different approach than Shiner, a bolder malt flavor with a slight touch of bitterness.  At this point I am almost sad I did not add a German Oktoberfest to the role to compare them.  Out of the two German celebrations this is my favorite on the list.  I feel over the course of a 6 pack this one would be tougher to drink more of, but on an individual basis it is the one I would first order in a stein.  6.5/10

Southern Tier - One Buffalo [4.8%].  An American Blonde Ale, made specifically for and with the Buffalo Bills in mind.  Nothing says 'Fall' like football.  The beer is very smooth and crisp, no exotic flavors, but does have a fantastic after taste.  This is a nice lighter beer, one that you can enjoy with a game on TV.  For me it went very well with some Asian food.  7/10

CB- Harvest Jack Pumpkin Ale [5.5%].  Wow, this beer has a ton of flavor.  When I first opened it I had low expectations, it is a pumpkin beer and that usually means I will get my hopes only to get disappointed.  I was not; this beer describes itself as rich and creamy with a pumpkin flavor, and that is the best way to describe it.  It reminded me of some type of pumpkin bread, perhaps with chocolate chips.  I would venture to say this is best enjoyed as a dessert beer or for one crazy weekend breakfast.  9/10

CB- MacBubba [6.5%].  This time CB was chosen to be represented twice.  A Scotch Ale made with the usual fury you typically find a Scotch Ale.  I've had this beer before at their brewery and I must say I loved it there, in fact it was my favorite one I tried.  Now sampling out of the bottle I found I still like it a lot, it has a strong malt flavor and almost has a hint of that roasted caramel type flavor.  I'd recommend this beer with a big juicy burger and some fries.  7.5/10
Fun fact: during the reign of Diocletian of the Roman Empire, the Romans tried to set prices on all items bought and sold within the Empire.  This included beer, of which there were three types - Celtic, Pannonian (modern day Hungarian Plain), and Egyptian.  The first two cost the same, the Egyptian half as much because it was likely half as good.  Making it the Schlitz of the ancient world.

Kuka - Banana Nut Brown Ale [5.5%].  The name is a great description of this beer.  It is not my favorite brown ale that I've come across, but it has some really interesting flavors.  I taste a little bit of banana nut, but I really want more.  This could be a solid dessert beer, but it lacks a little bit of punch that I got out of the Harvest Jack above.  It is still a solid make, but perhaps I need to actually have some banana nut bread with this one.  5.5/10

Good luck in your tasting, may you enjoy whatever you are looking for this Fall Season (my favorite of beer seasons).!

- Gremlin
PS: many of these in various reviews will be hard to get outside of regional areas.  In this case Brooklyn and Southern Tier are widely available in the Mid-Atlantic of the USA and Shiner (from Texas) is fairly accessible throughout the whole country.