Southern brews and toxic booze

Your Weekend Starter with Carter: It's the time of the seasonal ales

Geary's Autumn Ale?($7.49 for a six-pack, available at Dead River) As the autumn weather shuffles in, beer drinkers everywhere eagerly await whatever fabulous seasonal brews this fall will bring. Luckily, Maine-based Geary's Brewing Company stepped up with its caramel-colored brown ale, the dark horse of all seasonals: the Autumn Ale.

Your Weekend Starter with Carter: O'Doul's: unjustifiably tasteless

Old East India Pale Ale ($5.99 for a six-pack, available at Hannaford) This IPA is a standard on the tab at the Sea Dog Brewery and delivers a great taste that only Sea Dog could. Because it is 6.2 percent alcohol by volume, I happily purchased this beer the other night down at the bar, curious to see how smooth this IPA would taste in relation to others I had sampled in the previous hours. The first thing that struck me about this beer was that it was noticeably darker than any of the other beers on tap and seemed to weigh more, although I am told that is untrue.

Your Weekend Starter with Carter

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

Carter Thomas

Columnist

October 14, 2005

Pacifico ($6.99 for a six-pack)

Though brewed in Mexico, this beer is classified as an American-style Lager like PBR or Bud. The taste, however, is not nearly as bitter as its associates. Rather, it is sweet and almost fruity. Imagine what Corona would taste like if it were a dark, brown beer?funky enough to drink during Spring Break on the beach, but heavy enough for a night indoors and without the feeling that you're taking down liquid candy. Pacifico's composition goes wonderfully with Mexican food because it quells overstimulating spices.

Ian Hanley '07 loved this beer, exclaiming, "You think I could drink a case of this on the beach in La Jolla? 'Cause I just did.'"

The beer's weakest point is its label, which leaves much to be desired: it is a simple piece of paper impatiently glued to the brown bottle. Luckily, this did not upset the drinking experience. I would definitely recommend this beer to anyone who needs a new brew for the beach or other hot weather activities. My ratings: Taste: 3.9 Partyability: 3.8 Benefit/Cost: 3.0.

Genessee Ice ($1.49 for a 40-ounce)

I was drawn to this elixir when I saw that it was prominently displayed as the cheapest 40-ouncer 7-11 had to offer. Being the thrill-seeker that I am, I picked up two. I got home and bragged to my friends about how cool I was for saving 85 cents on these massive American Lagers (brewed in upstate New York).

Figuring that drinking right out of the 40 would be the best way to appreciate the euphoric combination of malt and hops, I downed an enormous gulp. Wow. Not only was this beer searing to the taste buds, it left an aftertaste akin to razor blades on my tongue. Like any other self-respecting beer drinker, I refused to let my friends know how it tasted. I described it as "unique" and "aggressive," pretending that I had imbibed a less abrasive beer than I actually had.

Even making a brass monkey out of this 40 was sub-par, which was essentially the nail in the coffin as to why it was the cheapest beer. When asked to comment, Greg McConnell '07 peeped, "Real bad." The lesson is that if you are going to buy cheap, make sure you are prepared for the worst. I would happily spend an extra 50 cents to get a Bud Ice or similar beverage so as to make the experience much more pleasant. My ratings: Taste: 5.0 Partyability: 1.0 Benefit/Cost: 2.0.

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