By the Pint's Worst Ten Beers

Bud Light Golden Wheat - Anheuser-Busch, Saint Louis
Bud Light Golden Wheat
41
Wheat

I don't make a habit out of following Anheuser-Busch's press releases so Bud Light Golden Wheat was a bit of a surprise to me. My first thoughts were, "Oh, they're trying to cash in on the popularity of craft wheat beers by releasing one of their own." Then I got to thinking... craft beer drinkers aren't going to pass over their regionally brewed wheat in favor of the Bud Light version of a wheat beer unless it's absolutely stellar. Well, spoiler alert: it's not stellar, not even close. This beer is essentially just a Bud Light that was brewed with a pinch of orange rind and, allegedly, coriander. The body is cloudy but not quite as opaque as the wheats you've had before. It certainly looks a lot closer to a wheat than a Bud Light... but looks can certainly be deceiving. The flavor is about the same as I remember a regular Bud Light tasting only it hasn't had ALL of its flavor filtered out. There is a faint hint of citrus up front when you take a sip but it quickly dissipates and you're left with a bland, slightly bitter and wholly riced light beer.

13th Century Grut Bier - Brauerei Weihenstephan, Freising
13th Century Grut Bier
43
Gruit

This is my first true Gruit style beer. I've heard a lot about Gruits recently and was excited when I found this bottle on a recent trip. My knowledge of Gruits is pretty limited, I just know that they are not brewed with hops. Instead of using hops to flavor the beer, Gruits are brewed with herbs and spices. This particular Gruit is a version released by Weihenstephaner and is modeled after recipes from the 13th century. The label of this beer indicates that is is part of a Historic Signature Series and was brewed by Dr. Fritz Briem in Munich. The historical significance of Gruits isn't lost on me, but there's a good reason beers aren't brewed with ginger and bay leaves anymore... so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Decadent Imperial I.P.A. - Ska Brewing, Durango
Decadent Imperial I.P.A.
46
India Pale Ale

I have a number of issues with this Decadent Imperial I.P.A.... First of all, it comes from Ska Brewing in Durango, Colorado. I don't have anything against the good people of Colorado but I don't care much for the Ska movement, or lifestyle, or whatever you want to call it. Ska music is like punk and swing mixed together and repackaged for teens. Not exactly an authentic genre I can get behind. So if you're the kind of person that is so proud of Ska that you'd want to put that on your label, it might give the wrong impression about your beer. Unless, of course, you are actually taking two types of beer, mixing them together and trying to mass market them as the hip new thing... But enough about the brewery, how is the actual beer?

Thunderbolt Wheat - Warbird Brewing Company, Fort Wayne
Warbird - Thunderbird Wheat
53
Wheat

I've seen a few of the Warbird beers on the store shelves for a while now and I've never been all that interested in trying one. Finally I decided I'd pick up a bottle of the Thunderbolt Wheat, figuring that a wheat beer is something just about every American micro brewery gets right. So I decided to play it say, and I'm pretty glad I did because if they missed the mark on a wheat I'd hate to taste their more adventurous beers. This pint of Thunderbolt Wheat got off to a good start. The beer pours a nice yellow color that settles to be a cloudy orange with a decent aroma. Everything seemed to be going well, until I took my first sip at least... You see, this beer isn't like any wheat I've ever had, and by that I mean it doesn't taste like a wheat beer. This beer is bland in flavor but still a bit spicy. It finishes a little bitter, something I've never really tasted in a wheat before. There just isn't much more to say about this beer. I simply didn't care for the flavors they put into this beer. Perhaps it was just a bad bottle I got... but it didn't leave a good impression on me.

New Dogtown Pale Ale - Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma
Lagunitas Pale Ale
54
American Pale Ale

The label of the Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale has a friendly looking down on it just above a small line of text that reads "Still Doggone Good." Doggone good? I beg to differ. I enjoy beers that are balanced or showcase complimentary flavors, this Pale Ale doesn't do either of these. The New Dogtown is too hoppy which makes it taste dry and bitter. It smells like there is some citrus in this beer but you can barely tell through all of the bitterness. There are plenty of beers with strong flavors that I like but bitter, over hopped Pale Ales just aren't my preference. This beer isn't all bad but it is difficult for me to say much nice about it. The best part of this beer would have to be the few seconds after taking a drink when you are able pick up on the sweet flavors in here just before the bitter hops rush in and make everything taste a bit like dandelion. My advice would be to take a pass on this beer.

Pumpkin Beer - O'Fallon Brewery, O'Fallon
O'Fallon Pumpkin Beer
54
Pumpkin Ale

When you reach for a Pumpkin Ale you expect to get a beer that reminds you of pumpkin pie and cookies. O'Fallon doesn't agree... they seem to think you're expecting to get a watered down Scotch Ale that has some faint pumpkin spice thrown in. That may see a little harsh, but I think it accurately O'Fallon's Pumpkin Beer. This beer isn't all bad though, it's just mostly bad. So, what did O'Fallon do right? Well, this beer smells excellent. It almost smells like a bowl of cinnamon spice oatmeal. There are hints of maple and brown sugar as well. It smells like it'd taste amazing... but, it falls short. There is very little pumpkin, very little spice and very little malt in this beer. Maybe it was just the bottle I had, but O'Fallon's Pumpkin Beer was just too watery and bland for me. It smell great though, so if you're looking for a looking for a beer you can pour in a glass and sniff for a couple hours then this just might be your beer. Otherwise, don't bother.

Jenlain Noël - Brasserie Duyck, Jenlain
Jenlain Noël
54
Bière De Garde

I'm not quite sure what to make of this Jenlain Noël. The thought of a French Christmas beer certainly intrigues me, even more so because it is a Bière De Garde. I went into this beer with high expectations, which may be a little unfair but I tried to keep an open mind. That being said, this beer started disappointing me as soon as I poured it into my glass. This beer smells a bit like iced tea that's been poured over toasted nuts. There's a little funk and a little malt on the nose but not nearly as much, or in the right proportions, as I was expecting from a Bière De Garde. That pretty much sums up this entire beer really...

Bob's 47 Oktoberfest - Boulevard Brewing, Kansas City
Boulevard Bob's 47
55
Vienna Lager

Ah, Bob's 47... I haven't had one of these in probably four years. One fall I mistakenly picked up a six pack of Bob's 47 instead of the Bully Porter and it put me in a bit of a bad mood. I didn't think very highly of the Bob's 47 at the time and I pretty much wrote if off as a bad beer. After a couple of Boulevard Brewery tours and hearing the story behind the Bob's 47 seasonal I thought it deserved another try. For those of you who weren't aware, the name for Bob's 47 comes from a master brewer's graduate recipe. Bob Werkowtich, the master brewer, graduated from the US Brewer's Academy in 1947 and this was his final project. I thought it was a pretty cool story. The history alone was enough to convince me to pick up more of a beer I'd already had, and disliked... So, was this beer any better the second time around?

Route Des Épices - Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel, Quebec
Route Des Épices
55
Rye Beer

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel's Route Des Épices packs a lot of flavor into a beer that's only 5% alcohol. This beer's flavor profile is deceptive though... while it tastes like a much bigger beer it flavors aren't really coming from fermentable sugars. Rather, this beer's flavor comes from a combination of hops (to a lesser extent) and peppercorns (which dominate your palate). I can't say I'm not surprised. After all, this beer's name translates as Spice Route. The spices in this beer aren't what you usually get when someone says a beer tastes spiced. Peppercorns are, well... peppery. This beer is so peppery that it really takes away from the other flavors in this beer. Malts, which are obvious on the nose, are barely noticeable when you take a drink of this beer.

Saranac Pumpkin Ale - Matt Brewing Company, Utica
Saranac Pumpkin Ale
55
Pumpkin Ale

If there weren't a big Jack-o-Lantern on the label of this beer you probably wouldn't be able to tell it was Pumpkin Ale. Saranac's "Pumpkin" Ale doesn't have that spiced oomph that other Pumpkin Ales pack. There isn't any gingerbread spice or nutmeg in this beer either, it's odd... but I kinda like it. To be clear, as a Pumpkin Ale this beer fails completely. There are really very few similarities between this beer and pretty much every other Pumpkin Beer I've had. As an autumn seasonal beer, this Saranac is pretty good. It has an earthy, nutty flavor that feels warm and is really quite nice.