Random Suds Review: Wells Banana Bread Beer.

Time to review an import. That's right... our random review this time around will be Wells Banana Bread Beer. Brewed by the UK based Charles Wells Brewing Company (aka Wells & Young's Brewing Company), it's a favorite of the British beer-drinking populace. It is 5.2% Alc. by volume and created with fair trade bananas as part of the brewing process. As such, it supposedly has a remarkable flavor not normally experienced in an adult beverage. Is it true or just a bunch of hocus pocus? I'm going to find out.

As with all of my reviews, I will taste test the beer at two different temperatures -- cold and at room temperature. Here we go!

Cold:

• Very strong banana odor upon pouring it into the glass.
• Light fizz.
• No head to speak of.
• Initial taste revealed a bold, but not overpowering banana flavor.
• No bitterness at all to speak of.
• The background of the flavor profile is both nutty and bread-like, as one would hope.
• Much to my pleasure, the beer is not overly sweet or artificial tasting.
• Quite enjoyable and easy to drink!

At Room Temperature:

• Has developed a slight amount of bitterness, but nothing terrible.
• The bread-like nature has become more emboldened.
• The fizz has completely dissipated.
• As to the flavor, the banana has mellowed and isn't as fruity.
• Still perfectly acceptable to drink warm, just not as good as when cold.

And there you have it! A flavorful imported beer with an awesome taste. If you like banana bread, or just bananas, you will enjoy this beer from Charles Wells. Look for Wells Banana Bread Beer at your local specialty beer and wine retailer!

Random Suds Review: Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose Ale.

Happy Friday everyone! I'm back with a random, on-the-spot review of a new beer for you. Served up this go round is the Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose Ale. My regular readers will know that I've reviewed multiple brews from Anderson Valley Brewing in the past, all with great success. Let's hope this latest ale will continue that trend!

The Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose Ale is 4.2% Alc. by volume and brewed with an extra special ingredient. During the fermentation process, blood oranges are added to the mix. As such, the final result should have a fair amount of citrus flavor. With this being a gose ale, it's brewed slightly different than other beers. Sea salt and coriander are employed in the brewing process, producing a much different flavor than one would expect. I've never had a gose ale before, so here goes nothing!

As with all of my reviews, I'll break it into two different parts. First, I'll taste test it while cold. Then, I'll drink it at room temperature. Some beers are better warm. Others are better when frosty. Let's get started!

Cold:

• No head upon pouring it into a pint glass.
• I can't detect anything citrus-like by the beer's odor.
• Lots of carbonation and fizz.
• WOW! Extremely bitter upon immediately hitting my tongue.
• One of the most bitter beers I've ever tasted.
• The flavor has a dull, highly muted lemon quality.
• The bitterness overshadows the citrus notes, almost to the point of eroding them completely.
• If there are any blood oranges in this beer, I can't taste them.
• I am amazed at how the bitterness continually smacks me in the mouth, gulp after gulp.
• Thankfully, the bitterness is all front-loaded, and the ale goes down quite easily upon swallow.

At Room Temperature:

• The bitterness nature has become more sour and funky, much to my chagrin.
• The fizz has all but disappeared.
• Flavor profile is completely bland and lifeless.
• Honestly, it's not really enjoyable at all.

Bummer. I was looking forward to trying another beer from Anderson Valley. Sadly, the Blood Orange Gose Ale was a complete failure in my book. I don't think it had anything to do with me not having experienced a gose ale before, either. Ultimately, the beer was just lifeless and awkward. If I wanted to taste something bitter, I'd suck on a radish.

Random Suds Review: Shiner Ruby Redbird Lager.

In 2015, I completed two sets of weekly seasonal beer reviews: the Brew Spew (autumn) and the Yule Grog (winter). With each set of reviews, I took one beer a week for an entire month to task, analyzing their pros and cons. Ultimately, I produced some amazing results with beers I had never tasted before.

I figured, why limit such a successful article series to just two months out of the year?

At random, I will continue to review new beers on Fridays throughout the entirety of the year. Of course, I will have new installments of the Brew Spew and Yule Grog for 2016. Instead, these upcoming random reviews will not be limited by seasonal availability. If I see a beer that I want to try for the first time and review, then I'll do just that. Appropriately, these reviews will be known as Random Suds Reviews.

The first Random Suds Review will be the Shiner Ruby Redbird Lager. It is produced by Spoetzl Brewery of Shiner, Texas. Initially produced in 2011 as a summer seasonal beer, Shiner Ruby Redbird was so successful that it's now available year round. Shiner Ruby Redbird is 4.01% Alc. by volume and brewed with two key ingredients: grapefruit juice and ginger.

As with my previous beer reviews, I'll break my taste testing into two segments: cold and at room temperature.

Bottoms up!

Cold:

• No head.
• Grapefruit odor is very strong.
• Initial taste is tart but not sour.
• Very pleasant and wonderful upon first impact on my tongue.
• Carbonation is light.
• The ginger flavor is faintly sweet and removes any bitterness from the grapefruit.
• Aroma is like a bouquet of fresh citrus fruit, really opens the nose.
• Doesn't froth in my mouth.
• No bitter aftertaste upon swallowing.

At Room Temperature:

• Tartness has increased somewhat.
• No bitterness that often comes with warmer beer.
• Sweetness has dropped only slightly.
• Not much difference in taste with the change in temperature.
• Very impressed with the consistent grapefruit-filled perkiness!

I've enjoyed many other Shiner beers in the past (Holiday Cheer and Prickly Pear to name a few) and the Ruby Redbird continues this trend. This beer is PHENOMENAL! I insist you go out and try the Shiner Ruby Redbird right now. Your tongue will thank you. I finished this review feeling highly impressed!