Full Sail LTD 02 Review

Brewery: Full Sail Brewing Co. | Beer: LTD 02
Style: Maibock/Helles Bock | ABV: 6.4% | IBUs: 32
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

Full Sail's LTD series is designed to give the brewers a chance to experiment. LTD doesn't just stand for limited, but for "Live the Dream," and each new beer is one in a series of small-batch brews available for a limited time only. The series is limited to lagers only, which I have to say its a pretty ballsy move.

The second beer in the series is LTD 02, a Maibock (or Helles Bock). The backbone is built with Two-Row Pale, Caramel, and Vienna malt, along with wheat. The hop bill consists of Czech Saaz and Styrian Goldings. Here's how Full Sail pitch the finished product:

A light-bodied nonetheless hella good limited edition lager that is golden colored with soft malt undertones and is nicely balanced with a crisp clean finish.

Sounds hella solid to me, let's get crackin'!

Appearance: A crystal-clear, golden-amber body. Up top, a creamy whitish head that features great retention and lacing. Very pretty.

Aroma: Mildly spicy hops over a bready malt base. Maybe some hints of booze if you go looking for it.

Taste: Biscuity, bready malt leads the charge. Towards the end, the mildly bitter and spicy hops show back up to help dry up the finish. The aftertaste is of biscuity malt and a few hints of bitterness. If I had to guess, I think I'd probably have flagged this as an Ale, rather than Lager.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. It dries a bit in the finish.

Drinkability: Rather sessionable I suppose, but I don't really see myself ordering a second.

Verdict: I have to say, this is just a little boring, especially for a limited edition beer. It's inoffensive enough, and might make for a decent gateway beer, but it's just too unremarkable for me.

Grade: C+

Note: While the review above is being posted in 2011, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh in 2008.

Rogue Dead Guy Ale Review

Brewery: Rouge Ales Brewery | Beer: Dead Guy Ale
Style: Maibock/Helles Bock | ABV: 6.5% | IBUs: 40
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Dead Guy is Rogue's flagship beer, and one of the most ubiquitous brews in the craft world. The dead guy logo was originally designed as a tap sticker in honor of the Day of the Dead, but it proved so popular that Rogue applied it to their Maibock.

The Maibock, or Helles Bock, style is a strong German lager brewed for consumption during spring. According to the BJCP, it can be thought of as "either a pale version of a traditional Bock, or a Munich Helles brewed to Bock strength."

Not just a catchy label, Dead Guy has won a slew of awards, including nine medals from the World Beer Championships. The backbone is built of Northwest Harrington, Klages, Maier Munich, and Carastan malts, Perle and Saaz hop varieties provide bitterness, and fermentation is provided by Rogue's proprietary Pacman Yeast.

Rogue describe the beer as "deep honey in color with a malty aroma and a rich hearty flavor." Sounds good, let's crack it open and pour it into my handy Dead Guy pint glass.

Appearance: A slightly hazy, golden-amber body capped by two fingers of creamy, off-white head that endures well and leaves good lacing.

Aroma: Lots of toasty caramel malt with a dash of spicy hops.

Taste: The focus here is really the bold and toasty caramel malt backbone, which is spot-on for the style. Towards the end a mild alcohol character emerges, about equal to what you'd expect to find in a Bock. It finishes with earthy and subtlety spicy hops that help to dry everything out.

Mouthfeel: A medium, slightly creamy body that features moderate carbonation.

Drinkability: Just shy of session territory, but still very drinkable.

Verdict: Dead Guy is a tasty and very drinkable beer with lots of character, but falls short of being exceptional. A worthy flagship brew for one of the bigger American microbreweries.

Grade: B+