The Beers:
Leinenkugel Honey Weiss
Leinenkugel Red Lager
Leinenkugel Berry Weiss

Review Team:
Clay the Corruptor
Zanny the Enabler
Kat the Malicious

The night of August 1st marked the first ever official Nerds With Beer (NWB) meeting. In order to celebrate the occasion we decided to do, well, what we do! Drink beer! Unfortunately, out of the four of us, Randy the Magnificent had to leave early and did not get to participate in the festivities. He was lured away to a quiet evening with the Evil Keystone Wench, one of our greatest adversaries. But he did partake in the important things like actual meeting stuff. Anyway…that being said, our review team consisted of Clay the Corruptor, Zanny the Enabler and Kat the Malicious.

While in Tampa, Kat had visited the Kingdom of Heaven a.k.a. Total Wine in order to stock up on her favorite wheat beer, Hoegaarden, which is supposedly unavailable in the South Florida branches of Total Wine.

Reasons Total Wine is amazing:
They sell single bottle import and craft brews so that you can piece together your own miscellaneous six-pack. (They also sell the Feigling Vodka which is fig flavored and, incidentally, delicious.)

Kat created a six-pack and three of the six were different styles from the Leinenkugel brewery. Previously, Nerds With Beer had reviewed the Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat, so Kat was very excited when she found out they made a Honey Weiss and Berry Weiss. She also picked out the Red Lager on an employee’s recommendation.

At any rate it seemed like an appropriate night to taste the Leinenkugel collection. We began with the Honey Weiss.

Leinenkugel Honey Weiss:

Kat poured the Honey Weiss into three small glasses. Here is what in sued…

Appearance:
Clay- “It looks like urine.”
Zanny- “It has a golden, clear filtered cider look, sort of like an American Pilsner. Very little head. I don’t like head. Please note that I do not mean sexually speaking. ”
Kat- “Oooh, it has bubbles!”

Aroma:
Clay- “It smells burnt and bitter”
Zanny- “Slightly citrus. Citrus variation of Miller maybe.”
Kat- “Yum, sweet and hoppy smelling.”

Viscosity:
Clay- “It caresses my mouth like a velvet glove.”
Zanny- “Yes, a bit velvety, rather smooth.”
Kat- “Smooth like Morgan Freeman’s voice. Very light.”
Clay- “Zanny made head in a beer with no head.”

Taste:
Zanny- “Too much like an American Pilsner. Slightly less watery.”
Clay- “Tastes like killer bees just destroyed a small village in Zimbabwe.”
Kat- “An almost even balance of sweet and bitter. Too watery. I’d expect something that’s supposed to taste like honey to be a bit thick.”

Leinenkugel Red Lager

Appearance:
All- “Iced tea”

Aroma:
Clay- “Smells like red meat”.
Zanny- “Yeah, it does have a blood/iron smell to it.”
Kat- “Sort of. I think there is a slight molasses smell also.”

Viscosity:
All- “Very crisp.”

Taste:
Zanny- “Hmm… more bitter cousin of Yuengling.”
Clay- “It’s like sucking on a penny.”
Kat- “Bitter… malty. The aftertaste is gross and yeasty, like eating rotten bread.”

Leinenkugel Berry Weiss

Appearance:
Clay- “Like the color of a lassie’s cheeks when we’ve seen each other naked for the first time.”
Zanny- Temporarily unavailable for comment.
Kat- “Pretty!”

Aroma:
Clay- (with his nose wet) “It smells so good I just accidentally dipped my nose in it, trying to smell it more.”
Kat- “I think I just creamed my pants.”
Clay- “Almost makes me want to do the Berries and Cream dance.”
Zanny- Still unavailable for comment.

Viscosity:
All- “Light and crisp. Slightly heavier than the Honey Weiss.”

Taste:
Clay- “Zanny get out here now!”
Kat- “Stop shitting, I want to taste the beer! This looks amazing!”
Zanny- (finally emerging) “Ooh, this does look fantastic.”
Clay- “It tastes like an alcoholic sorbet. This is amazing.”
Zanny- “This is fucking good shit man.”
Kat- “I actually did cream my pants this time.”
Zanny- “It’s like a cider but with a beer undertone. Or a wine cooler without the overpowering sweetness and headache.”
Clay- “I really do want to do the Berries and Cream dance now.”
Kat- “I think I will go to Total Wine tomorrow and try to find more of this.”

Epilogue

Showcase Winner: Berry Weiss
The Leinenkugel Showcase ended on a good note with the Berry Weiss. The other two were in the realm of “not-so-tasty” and will probably not be purchased again. But yes, Nerds With Beer has finally found a winner in the Berry Weiss. It is highly recommended and has officially received the NWB stamp of approval (or would receive it if such a stamp existed).