10/28/11 Saranac Bohemian Pilsener

Last night after a long day of driving I decided to sit back I have my three slices of Domino's pizza and pair it with Saranac's Bohemian Pilsener. I had two slices of mushroom and a slice of pineapple. The beer paired very nicely with the pizza. I personally always like a lighter colored beer with pizza. This beer poured a huge head that dissipated to about a 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch off white frothy head and held very nicely with excellent head lacing. In my opinion I would say it has a somewhat wheat and floral aroma to it. The body had a sparkling clarity and a beautiful yellow color with a soft carbonation. There was a slight hint of bitterness but nothing to overpowering I would liken it to what I can remember of the taste of a Heineken. My mouth had a nice watery feel to it and I would say that it had hit my tongue more to the back to middle. After a long day this made my night and I would recommend trying this beer and I give it a rating of B+ for the light to moderate flavor in a light colored beer(that is a good thing in my opinion). That is two out of the six beers of winter reviewed. I haven't decided if I am going to do my next review tomorrow or on Monday because of going to a Halloween Party tonight. I am looking forward to my next beer and as always thanks for reading and please drink responsibly. Below is information I got from the Saranac website and the pictures I took.

Bohemian Pilsener

Availability: 12 Beers of Winter 2011

Brewers Notes:

Saranac Bohemian Pilsener is a medium bodied Pilsener crafted like the original Pilseners of Czechoslovakia.  Brewed with the finest Pilsener malt and Saaz hops, you will find this beer has a crisp, clean taste and leaves you wanting another.  Enjoy!

Beer Style: Bohemian Pilsener

Malt Selections: Pilsener

Hop Selections: Saaz

Color: Straw

Mouthfeel / Body: Medium

Food Companions: Fried or Broiled Seafood, Lamb, Beef

Alcohol By Volume: 4.8%

Original Gravity: 12

I'm now starting to attribute the 37 degree temperature to my refrigerator. 

10/27/11 Big Moose Ale by Saranac

Well for lunch today I had 2 Greek wraps and a Big Moose Ale brewed by Saranac. Big Moose Ale is one of beers in the 12 Beers of Winter variety pack. The Box gives this information about the beer. This full flavored ale is triple dry hopped with specialty citra. Centennial and cascade hops to give you a vibrant citrusy hop aroma. The bold hop character is balanced by malt sweetness from English pale and caramel malts. The beer first made its debuted back in 2009 and is a limited quantity beer available from October through January. I paired the beer with a Greek wrap made with a whole red pepper, 3 garlic cloves, half a white onion, lots of feta cheese, spinach, 6 white button mushrooms, 3 baby bellas, on a whole wheat wrap with some balsamic and red wine vinegar. Oh my god was this the best pairing of beer and food I have ever had. I don't know how I got so lucky but wholly crap is all I can say. This beer when paired with this wrap brought out all the flavor in the food. The red pepper and red wine vinegar took over and perfectly balanced the beer. In made the beer have a light citrusy  taste mixed with a slightly bitter full bodied of my god good everything. The only bad things I can say is that the temperature started out at around 38.1 degrees which was really surprising considering I had it in the freezer for about 45 minutes and in the fridge for another hour and then I put it back in the freezer for around 5 minutes and I poured it into an icy pilsner that had been in the fridge for almost a week and then when I finished this ale it came in around 47.3 degrees which is surprising for less than 15 minutes. The other bad thing was without the peppers and red wine and balsamic vinegar to balance the beer it had a stronger, more bitter taste after the meal. All the finer points of the ale were a large 5 inch head which was very frothy and light brown and dissipated slowly. It had fantastic lacing and some lively carbonation. It is definitely a darker beer and had a beautiful amber color with a citrus taste close to that of Blue Moon but with some bite on it. With something to balance it it had a light flavor and by itself it had a more moderate to heavy flavor. It had a taste that stuck with you for a good while after finishing and I will say that even as I am writing this I still have a pleasant taste in my mouth. I haven't found out the alcohol content on this one yet but it has to be higher than average because writing this is harder than usual and I am having much more spelling mistakes. Overall I would say this is an excellent beer to have with the proper meal and a little heavy and too bitter for my taste to sit back and have a few while doing something else. I would rate it an A+ with the proper pairing and a C by itself so overall I would say a solid B. If you didn't get to read my post before this one the case on beer was $27.49 at Brewers' Outlet in Pottsville, PA. Thanks for reading and please drink responsibly. 

Additional information that just got posted on the Saranac website in the last week.

Big Moose Ale

Availability: 12 Beers of Winter 2011, 12 packs, 6 packs, Draught

Brewers Notes:

Saranac Big Moose Ale is an American Pale Ale with a kick.  The medium-bodied malt sweetness is balanced by a nice crisp bitterness from hand selected centennial and cascade hops.  Look for a vibrant citrusy hop aroma that will leave you craving another swig!

Beer Style: American Pale Ale
Malt Selections: Pale, Caramel
Hop Selections: Centennial, Amarillo
Color: Amber
Mouthfeel / Body: Medium
Food Companions: Roast Beef, Lamb
Alcohol By Volume: 5.3%
Original Gravity: 13.5

What I have done lately with Hanes and other happenings

So I forgot to say that I was wearing a Hanes tag less comfort t shirt to trivia on Monday and it was fantastic just like everything else Hanes makes. I wrote Hanes again this week and I was going to post what I wrote but I accidentally copied Hanes' website and lost the email. I am once again hugely disappointed in my haste to do things. Hopefully I will learn. I also forgot to take a picture in my Hanes T. Also I have 7 t shirts requested so after 9 more I will put in the order. I am also once again trying to branch out. I have contacted a local distributor about sampling beers and reviewing them and I am debating reviewing a different bar each week in Schuylkill county. I'll put a poll up on the side to see what people think. I figure I'll branch out into every possible spectrum of alcohol I can. I will be at Dorko's Cafe this coming Monday for Halloween Trivia it starts at roughly 8:15PM. Anyone who comes and wants to get in some pictures with the Man Can Critic stop by the RZA's table and I'll post them to the blog. Also don't forget that every time you come to trivia on a Monday gets you a chance to play for the $500 prize they are doing in December. I'm looking forward to a huge crowd and getting to see some Man Can Critic followers. I stopped in at Brewer's Outlet in Pottsville today. I picked up a 12 bottles of winter Saranac Sampler and at $27.29+tax it was very reasonably priced. It has been a long time since I had been at Brewer's and let me tell you that I was pleasantly surprised. Brewer's has a huge selection, reasonable prices, and information about the beers on little cards with their prices. I will be doing a marathon of reviewing on the sampler over the next week so look forward to a ton of new posts. Thank for reading and drink responsibly.

10/24/11 The Budweiser Pounder

So it was a night of many disappointments. I did the video but it was horrible(more on that later). There were hardly any people at Dorkos(only 3 teams including the RZA) and the King of Beers did not live up to its name. I arrived at Dorko's Cafe around 7:45 and set up for making the video minus my smoking jacket that I could not find. That fact alone should of told me it was not going to be a good night. The beer of the night was Budweiser produced by Anheuser Busch. The price was reasonable for 16oz at a measly $2.00. Bud had a higher than I thought ABV at 5% which I always thought was only 3. The beer temperature was not as cold as usual hitting only 49.5 degrees. It produced a head that even a porn star would have been proud of at a whopping 7in out of a possible 8(which would have been all head). The head was white and fizzy and it dissipated slowly. It had a lively carbonation that just didn't seem to quit my one table mate said it was the glass but for a pilsner these bubbles would quit. It had a sparkling clarity and a yellow color. I had read some other reviews while I was doing this one and everyone was commenting on the corn smell from this rice beer and I would agree about a grainy smell. It had a moderate flavor and finish length. My mouth had a creamy feel and the beer hit the front of my tongue when drank. It had virtually no  body lacing. I would classify it as drinkable but not to memorable other than the crazy dreams that this beer produced with Patrick Dempsey, my HR manager, and a frozen lake. I would say it was a good value but for me the chance of drinking again is marginal at best. Overall I would give it a B because it was not great but not horrible. The RZA did not end up pulling out a victory on this night as who but Tanny would know what the highest possible score on Pacman would be. I took off the video and I don't think I will try for a while. I didn't like how it turned out and I would rather just write. Thank you for reading and as always drink responsibly.

The beer of the night.

The french fries I wish I would have eaten instead of the beef jerky that Bob gave me with the look of amazement at the site of a member of the RZA ordering meat.

Some other information about Budweiser from various sources.

Year Introduced Budweiser:  1876

Beer Category/Styles: American Lager

ABV: 5% for 12 oz.

Calories: 145

Carbs: 10.6grams

Protein: 1.3grams

Ingredients/Brewing: Barley malt, rice, hops, yeast and water

Interesting Facts:  Beachwood is used in the fermentation process to create Budweiser 

So I might start doing videos

Now that I have a modest amount of people coming to the blog every day I have been trying to think up new ideas and things to create some excitement. I have been working on a T-shirt design which I might unveil if there is enough interest in it or I might just make a couple for my most loyal fans, who knows. I have also had some request to do a video version too and I have decided that once the counter hits 1000 I will do a separate video blog with some different commentary and what not. It will be very low budget as in I have no video skills whatsoever, and it will be mainly me eating, drinking and talking which could be funny or not we will see. As for the theme song I have yet to get any auditions from any of the people who said they were going to tell friends but that takes time just like waiting for responses from Hanes, Ellen and Brewing Companies take time. I emailed Hanes again here is what I said this time
My underwear blog is really taking off and its main purpose is to get a single pair of Hanes underwear for free. It would be cool if you sent a pair but if not at least check out the blog and tell me what you think. http://pounderoftheweek.blogspot.com/
Hopefully telling them that it is an underwear blog will help out the cause but we will have to see. I joined Beer Bloggers UnIite and I joined Beer Advocate. I decided that I will be doing my first taping of Pounder of the Week on monday at Dorko's Cafe in Mount Carmel, PA. I will probably put it up when I have 1000 hits but I might do it sooner we will see depending how well it goes.

http://www.ooshirts.com/d/30267661

My one friend found a way cheaper place to get custom t shirts so if there is enough interest I'll order them and just base the cost on how many people want them. Email me at pounderoftheweek@gmail.com if your interested.

10/20/11 Rolling Rock in a Bottle

I have been trying to contact Miller and have been having some trouble I got an email back saying to call them and now I'm waiting to hear back from their media division. Who knew just trying to get some information would be so difficult. Any who, in an effort to have an excuse to drink more and when I don't get to go to trivia I'm going to try reviewing different non pounder beers and other alcohol from time to time. I had a request yesterday to possibly judge a boilo completion which I'm waiting to find out about. Tuesday night around 6:30pm I walked over to Uncle Cones Bar in Minersville to see what I could get to sample for this week. I saw a six pack of Rolling Rock for $7.00 and just looking at the bottle brought me back to younger days of sampling multiple types of beer. It also had me reminiscing of the last time I had a Rolling Rock. It was at the Rolling Rock Town Fair that was held at Heinz Field that year. It was a glorious excursion one in which I saw a sight that got me thinking. I saw a man peeing on the field because he either couldn't or didn't want to make it to the bathroom. The sight had me thinking wow how many times in your life are you going to get a chance to be standing on Heinz Field and second how many times are you going to get to pee on it. But alas I dared not to take the chance of exposing myself and being ejected from such a great concert. Well, back to the beer. Rolling Rock Extra Pale is brewed by the Latrobe Brewing Company part of Anheuser-Busch and comes in that distinct bottle that has so much folklore surrounding it, but that is another story. So as I poured my 12oz bottled beer into my Yuengling Larger pilsner glass I cased my eyes on that beautiful gold colored wheat odored goddess Rolling Rock. It had a huge close to 3 inch head that was nice, off white and fizzy. The digital thermometer from Pampered Chef read 29.1 degrees right after I snapped the picture and I could see ice flowing to the bottom so I new I was in for a treat. The beer landed right on the middle of my tongue and had what I would consider a somewhat citrus taste to it.  It had a sweet flavor that was very drinkable. I paired my beer with some vegetarian fare, a black bean burger with provolone, spinach, ranch and some french fries. I had expelled some gas from my mouth and get a gentle after taste from the beer that had made its way to my stomach by now. My mouth had a nice watery feeling when the beer heat my mouth and it was very filling with the meal. Rolling Rock has a nice balance, is definitely memorable, a certain wow factor and I definitely would buy again. It was a great value and I would rate it a A- compared to the other beers I have been reviewing. That's my review for the week thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.

The Best Thing I never Had by Amak

This week's Ponder of the Week was 8 fluid ounces of "Tilt" by Anheuser-Busch. At $3.00 a can, I paid way too much for this malt beverage. At a 12% ABV, you would think I was getting a quality deal. 

"Quality" was probably the last thing I thought of when tasting "Tilt." From what I've gathered, "Tilt" was a product of the whole "alcoholic energy drink" craze, most notably the "Four Loko" drinks. The  Anheuser-Busch had removed the caffeine from "Tilt," but boosted the amount of alcohol instead. So combining the high amount of alcohol with the high amount of sugar, it can mess you up pretty bad... granted that your taste buds weren't working.

I started by pouring the murky, purple bile into a pilsner glass and checked the temperature at 36℉. Most notable was the lack of head. Virtually nothing appeared accept for a small fizzy bit that would be typical of pouring a soda. Also, similar to a soda, there was some sparkling carbonation in what one local bar owner described the clarity as "damn near black." I would say there was a bit of a purple hue to the body as well, typical of a drink who's flavor is actually called "Purple." It had a very artificial sweet aroma. I would describe it as a mix between soap, perfume, and black licorice. Grape and possibly a hint of molasses is what you would describe the taste, but if you can imagine pouring a bottle of grape cough syrup into your beer then drinking it, you would have an idea of what "Tilt" tasted like. The initial flavor had a heavy, tart sweetness that finished with a mild sourness. It left a very syrupy aftertaste around the middle of your mouth.

So, what have I learned from drinking "Tilt?" Well, for this drink to be most effective, I recommend chugging it as fast as you can before you have a chance of tasting it. Shotgunning it might actually be a nice solution. Otherwise, you'll feel like throwing up just from sipping on it. I wouldn't recommend "Tilt" if you're looking for anything remotely tasty, but if you're the type of person who wants to get wasted in under a minute for $3.00, then "Tilt' just might be the drink for you.

Update on everything going on 10/17

On a positive not, we finally hit 100 visitors. On a sad note, tonight I will be unable to attend Dorko's because of having to work early tomorrow. So filling in for me will be the uncompromising Amak. He will be choosing the beer and send me his finding so that I might delight you with the happenings of the night and give you at the very least my pounder of the week. I have also been working on possible artists for singing the theme song I have a couple of hopefuls but I am just waiting on their auditions so that I can post them and allow you the reader to pick the winner. Sadly I have not heard back from Ellen, Maroon 5, Hanes or Miller on any of my questions. However, I was able to pick up two sweet Comfort soft t-shirts that I will be wearing the next two times to trivia. I will also be sporting a smoking jacket to complete the ans amble. I have also been looking at other blogs for ideas. I found this on one The Science of Beer & Biotech Vendor Showcase featuring Dr. Charles Bamforth and it went on to say that they saw this guy speak in Palo Alto and I was thinking how awesome was that. A doctor was speaking about beer in Schuylkill County and then I realized it was California they were talking about. I was so disappointed I cried for 3 1/2 hours but I'm good now. I might possibly have some people sending me some homemade brews for ratings. We will see how things develop. Hopefully with added people reading will come some additional ideas on expanding things. Oh yeah I almost forgot that I have been thinking about having some man can dancers so send any auditions tapes via link to YouTube to pounderoftheweek@gmail.com but wait until I get some possible theme song versions to dance to. Here at Pounder of the Week we are an equal opportunity blogger and to look at any submissions be it for our theme song singer/singers or dancers. Thank you for reading and as always drink responsibly.

Update on how I'm trying to grow the following

So I've been writing to Hanes, Ellen Degeneress, and now I'm trying to see if Maroon 5 would sing the theme song. Here is what I wrote to them.
I wrote a theme song to be played when I go into bars and was wondering if you would sing it. You know put your own spin on it. Just thought it would be funny/cool if you did. Here are the lyrics I’m a man and I drink beer out of a can.
If its 24 or 16 its down my throat as I take my notes.
I wear hanes every day let me hear you say okay.
Trivias is my bag and my blog is no wrag
I’m the man can critic. Thanks.
I have yet to here from any of them which is kind of disappointing but I look at it that you have to keep trying to get things out there. I have made up business cards and that seems to be helping but I need your help too. Whoever you know just tell them about the blog and how much you love it and what I'm trying to do. I am also trying to come up with a dance to do when I come in but I will only do it if I get someone to sing my theme music. I updated some facts on the beers I've reviewed and I emailed out the other beers to get the same information from them.

My latest email to Hanes and some ideas for improvements

I messaged you last week and have read your response and I was hoping you might change your mind. Now that http://pounderoftheweek.blogspot.com/ is showing an increased following and is now being viewed internationally if there was any way that I could get a pair of free underwear. If not if you could just read the blog and pass it on to your fellow coworkers. Hope you enjoy.
I also got a link to a huge list of pounders from my fellow RZA teammate Dr. J. I started trying to think up some other ideas to improve on this whole endeavor and I was searching hanes' Facebook page and I found what I the name of the people they give free underwear to. Its called Hanes Comfort Crew and it is my mission to get them to make me a member. I will stop at nothing to make this happen. With the help of everyone who reads this blog I know that this dream will become a reality and hanes will have to bow to my demands for a free pair of underwear. Oh yeah and I also came up with a theme song or at least the lyrics to one.
I’m a man and I drink beer out of a can.

If its 24 or 16 its down my throat as I take my notes.

I wear hanes every day let me hear you say okay.

Trivias is my bag and my blog is no wrag

I’m the man can critic.

Granted its short but I hoping to have a band play it with a fair amount of instrumental accompaniment. Comment if you like these ideas or if you have any to add.

10/11/11 The Miller High Life Pounder

So its about 8:15PM on a Monday which can mean only one thing. Its time for team trivia at Dorko's. This night sported a fairly decent sized crowd and the lacking of our usual moderator Larry. Filling in for Larry on this night was Bob, the owner of  Dorko's. The questions seemed a little easier that usual but that didn't stop the RZA from falling slightly short with their lack of knowledge of how badly the American economy is failing. In a team filled with optimist who care not for the happenings of the world outside of trivia economic states do not concern us. So in the end in turned out to be another second place finish for the team that is loved by all and chanted about using four letter words. So using my new technology I was able to make a more proper gauge of the beer of the night for this week. After much personal debate I chose to rate Miller High Life made by the Miller Brewing Company. The champagne of beer started at a balmy 36 degrees Fahrenheitand poured with a nice 1 and 1/2 inch head when poured at a 45 degree angle. The head was frothy and white in appearance and dissipated quickly over the straw colored sparkling liquid. It had a soft carbonation and a grainy leathery resin like taste and aroma. Surprisingly the alcohol content was 4.7% which at first I joked and said that I would think it would take a year to get drunk on this stuff. However, it did not take a year and by the ride home it took all my power not to have a revisit from the half dozen wings that I had consumed earlier. Now granted my drinking abilities are very lack luster compared to my younger days and I did not heed my own advice of drinking responsibly, but I would not think four pounders to put me in such a state. Overall the light flavor and overall drink ability were okay and made me want to buy the beer again. The lack of the wow factor however made me keep this beer in the realm of the Busch pounder coming in with another B+. The night was a good one and the added advertisement of the blog made it even better and hopefully its inspiring others to write, drink and find a little extra happiness. In all my excitement shopping for tools yesterday I did forget to buy one thing on my list, hanes comfort tees. I feel this was the true reason for our loss last night as greatness can only be achieved while wearing hanes products. So as always thanks for reading and drink responsibly.

The start of the night a chilled pilsner and an ice cold Miller High Life.

A balmy 36 degrees Fahrenheit.

Good color and too good not to drink.

I wanted to take this picture before I ate the wings but they failed to last that long.

The signs of an extremely clean glass are when the head clings to the sides of the glass and yes my dishes are very clean.

10/10/11 The Hanes Update

So since my last post I sent a message to Hanes to see if I could get some free underwear for writing this blog and this was their response:
Dear Mr. Kurtek,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Unfortunately, due to the large number of requests we receive for samples and coupons we can not honor your request.  We no longer have coupons available to send from our office; however, from time to time we do offer promotions at various locations including in-store displays, magazines, and on the internet.

Mr. Kurtek, if we can be of future assistance, you may reach us at 1-800-994-4348, Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 4:30pm (EST), or on the Internet at www.hanes.com.

Sincerely,

(There was someones name here so I took it out)
Consumer Care Specialist


Well based on that response it only makes me want to try harder to get me some free underwear. So I'm going to take some steps towards making this criticism more sophisticated. I will be posting more pictures and be using a new beer rating form. I will also be bringing my own chilled pilsner glass for added authenticity. I also got a thermometer and some business cards. I'm hoping all of this will add more legitimacy to my cause and encourage hanes to send me some free underwear. I will be doing a recap of tonight's trivia and the pounder of the week either Tuesday or Wednesday so wish me luck. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly. 

10/4/11 The Old Milwaukee Pounder

Last night I made my weekly venture up to my favorite Monday night endeavor (Dorko's). Dorko's is one of the most tech savvy bars I know having both Facebook page and a web site. This Mount Carmel Tavern specializes in light fare, flavorful drinks and my favorite team sport, Trivia. This night the RZA was trying to capture the elusive three peat. However, it was not meant to be as a team filled with vegans lacks the knowledge of restaurant slogans to compete with their meat eating rivals. This however did not put a damper on the night because of the great company and the urging on of teammates this blog was created. This blog is a effort to hopefully get some free underwear from Hanes (who makes the best underwear by far and who everyone should be wearing). Also I would like to hopefully encourage others to venture outside of their comfort zones a stray away from their signature drink and sample the cornucopia of beers put out by their local watering whole. This week I decided to sample the flavor of Old Milwaukee and really take a close look at the beer itself. I paired it with a half dozen of kitchen sauce wings(the cooks signature flavor the changes slightly every so often). Old Milwaukee did have a pleasant aroma and good color. It did however have a slight bitterness in taste and didn't flow as nicely down the esophageal tract as the Busch from the previous week and had some ill effects on my digestive system. Overall I would rate the beer a C+ for taste and after effects. I thank you for reading and as always drink responsibly.

10/3/11 The prequel to this weeks Pounder of the week

This is my blog dedicated to my favorite serving size of my guilty pleasure. Each week I will detail the treats that I enjoy while partaking in my favorite past time, trivia. Last week I had the pleasure of sampling Dorko's famous kitchen sauce wings. They are basically hot wings with what ever the cook decides to cook them in so every night its a surprize but it is always delicious. The pounder that I decided to focus my efforts on the Busch pounder. A Pounder for all of you who don't know is another name for a 16 oz beer. The Busch pounder paired very nicely with the wings. It had a nice cooling effect and rolled effortlessly down my throat and into my anxiously awaiting belly. It had a smooth flavor, good color and a very pleasing taste. Overall I would rate it a B+ mainly for it being my first pounder of the week rating and I never start out with a perfect rating for fear that something better would come along. All in all the night was a huge success with delicious food, great beer and a win for the RZA (our trivia team name). I will be writing an update sooner after each visit to Dorko's hopefully sometime tomorrow. Thanks for reading and always drink responsibly.
Some additional facts I found on busch.com

BUSCH BEER FACTS

Introduced Busch: 1955

Beer Category/Styles: American-style lager

ABV: 4.6%

Calories: 122

Carbs: 7.5 grams

Protein: 0.7 grams

Malts: 2-row, 6-row, Munich Malts

Hops: U.S. grown Cascade, Glacier, Millennium and European Grown Tradition, Strisselspalt

Taste: A refreshingly smooth taste, pleasant hop aroma, and slightly sweet finish. "Cold As A Mountain Stream, Smooth As Its Name"

Ingredients/Brewing: Busch is brewed with a blend of premium American-grown and imported hops and a combination of malt and corn to provide a pleasant balanced flavor.

Interesting Facts: Since being introduced regionally in 1955, the Busch beer brand family has grown to become one of the top-selling value beer brand families. Busch Bavarian was the first beer brand Anheuser-Busch introduced following the repeal of Prohibition. Mainly introduced for consumers in the Midwest and Southeast, Busch dropped Bavarian from its name when it went national in 1979.

122 calories, 7.5g carbs, 0.7g protein and 0.0g fat, per 12 oz.