This is it--the final day of Dry January. Well, mine's been mostly dry. I had a cheat weekend away with Michelle and had a few drinks when we visited her parents at the beginning of the month. But, that's it.

I don't think I've ever talked about it here on the blog, but I'm a huge Spider-Man guy. The character's been my favorite superhero since I was a kid. When Tom Holland took the mantle as the MCU Webhead, I was impressed with how seamlessly he could be both Spidey and Peter Parker.

When he announced BERO last year, I told myself I'd be on the lookout for it for this year's Dry January. I found a variety pack of the stuff at Target the other week, picked it up, and drank all but one. That's what we're doing today: BERO's Kingston Golden Pils.

Ah, Pabst. Or, depending on when you first encountered it, PBR. Well, I guess it's always been PBR but, when I was in my undergrad, the music and art kids who drank it prominently called it Pabst.

Pabst Blue Ribbon is a staple. I think I've seen it in every bar I've ever been in. Every gas station I've ever visited has has it. It's (anecdotally) as ingrained in American beer and brewing culture as AB InBev, and Miller, and Molson Coors, yet (again, anecdotally) thought of as being on a lower tier. And I've never really gotten that (well, okay, maybe it's deservedly lower than many of Miller and Molson Coors' beers, but it's definitely at least on-par with any Budweiser product).

Today, I'll drink a can and give you my thoughts.

Look at me, coming in under the wire to get my second bock post up before the calendar turns to April. Kudos to me, all around.

Like I mentioned briefly in my last post, this spring seems to be a weird drought for the bock, a seasonal style I always anticipate. I only found one truly seasonal offering of it (that'd be MadTree's Guten Bock). The other beer I picked up was originally a seasonal beer but, due to fan outcry, has long since been made a core offering. That lager is, of course, Shiner Bock.

How hot is it where you are? It's 90° on my porch, where I'm sitting while writing this post. It's been in the 90s the last week and it'll be in the 90s for the week to come. Wish those people who said the summer heat would kill the virus were right. Oh well.


Because it's so hot and because of the virus, we won't be seeking out fireworks tonight. I'll do some yard work later on and maybe some dishes. Michelle's working on her taxes. We're just doing an incredibly subdued Independence Day 2020. But, it's not without beer. Case in point: This can of Warped Wing's Trotty Lime beside my laptop.

This is it, ladies, gentleman, and all you fine non-binary folks who frequent these parts: The end of my Oktober fest season. While it's been an absolute joy (I've found a few new autumnal mainstays for my fridge), I can't say I'm too terribly sorry to see it go--Spooky Finger Puppet Ghost Month starts up in just a few days.


But (!) that's not to say it's all over yet. See, this month I've been saving what I presume will be one of the best for last. Fat Head's has a track record for me that's pretty unbelievable: Of the three beers of theirs I've sampled for the blog, two received perfect scores ("perfect" on the blog, if you don't know [which you might not because I don't think I've ever explicitly stated it?] means it gets my absolute highest recommendation, and that it's an amazing brew. "Perfect" doesn't actually exist) while the third got a 9.0/10. So, you might see why I'm excited to break into my bottle of G'Suffa! Let's not waste too much more time.

Do you remember September 30th, when I drank Warped Wing's Lagerstadt? In my post, I mentioned Holiday Special, a beer that I'd only glimpsed on Warped Wing's website, and promised to give it the full John Likes Beer to treatment come its release in December.


Well, guess what? It's December now and I've been able to track down a sixer of the lager. So, without further ado, I present to you my very first impression of Holiday Special, Warped Wing's holiday lager.

We're on the cusp of October. It's around 80 degrees here, and it'll be in the 80s all week. Damn. Nothing like pulling into the best three months of year in a crazy sweat (that was sarcasm, if you couldn't tell).


But, honestly, 80 degrees in October is the new normal. The delivery method of beer for this post, though, is not normal. Nor will it ever be normal. I'd fully meant to nab a sixer of this stuff, but the cans didn't launch in time for my final September Oktoberfest post. So, I had to track down a growler.

At the end of August, Warped Wing announced Lagerstadt via their Instagram. I've had, and loved, all of their craft lagers. So, I felt a rush of joy when I learned that the newest entry would be an Oktoberfest Lager. Since then, I've planned on finishing this blog series with it. It launched on tap at the brewery on the 20th and was canned and sent to distro on Friday. I've been hunting furiously for cans for the last two days, to no avail. Today I went to a giant grocery store nearly an hour away, and managed to find it on tap as a carry-out beer in a growler. I didn't bring a growler with me, so I bought on and had it filled with Lagerstadt. Let's find out if it was worth the trouble of tracking down!

I feel like people have been talking about craft lager for a while, saying how it'll be "the next big thing." This is a phrase I've been reading for the last year or so. And, you know what? I'm down for it. I'd much rather each brewery have 50 different lagers than 50 different IPAs. Excuse my hyperbole, but you know exactly what I mean. I'm of the opinion that it's more challenging to make a bad lager than it is to gnarly IPA.


If you've hung out around the blog here long enough you know that I'm no stranger to craft lagers (see lagers here and pilsners here). While it's never been my favorite style, it's one that I thoroughly enjoy and, over the years, I've learned what makes a lager seem great to me. And unbeknownst to you but beknownst to me, I love cheetahs. They're my favorite animals and have held that spot ever since Beast Wars was on TV. So, when Rhinegeist announced that their craft lager, Cheetah, was being canned for year-round availability, I just about lost it.

I've been saving this lager for a day just like today. Upon receiving a sixer of New Glarus beer back in March, I had a vision of enjoying this exact bottle of Two Women on a pleasant, hot June evening. Well, good news for me. The sun's shining. The birds are singing. And, damn, is it hot.


Maybe it's the color of the label. Maybe it's that this beer is a craft lager. Whatever the reason is, the fact remains: I saved this bottle for a day exactly like today. The question is, was I right to do so?

I was sold on this brew from its ad campaign. An all-American lager inspired by camping days of yore? Sign me up. Also sign me up for the kickass color scheme on the can. Blues and whites coming together in a nostalgic '50s throwback? Yes, please.

A few months ago (back in April) I reviewed the only Anchor Brewing beer I've ever had: the 2014 Christmas Ale. I liked it.

After discussing it on here I shared my thoughts on the ale with the brewery. They tweeted me back (I shared my write-up with them by linking it in a tweet, you see) and encouraged me to try more of their brews.

Now, over two months later, I'm finally following through one our brief, 140 character or less social media conversation. Today I'll be sharing my thoughts on Anchor Brewing's Anchor Steam Beer with you.

This is, hands down, the most inexpensive beer I have ever bought. The six pack ran me a grand total of four bucks. That's cheap. So cheap, in fact, that I thought it may be bad. No offense to Saranac, but the only one of their brews I've had is their Pumpkin Ale and, while it's not the worst pumpkin beer I've had (Blue Moon holds that distinction), it's not my thing.

My dad hates Saranac's Pumpkin. I mean, as a rule he doesn't like pumpkin ales. But Saranac's was the first one he had and it poisoned him against the stuff.

I love pumpkin ales, though, but even I had my doubts when I saw the $4 price tag on Saranac's Goat Rodeo Pale Bock Lager. Surely good beer isn't so cheap. The price tempted me into buying it. If it turned out to be terrible I could pitch it without feeling bad, right?

Anheuser-Busch is the Disney of beer. This comparison is all the more fitting once you realize that this beer company owns a string of theme parks including SeaWorld and Sesame Place (the Sesame Street park). These guys have had, for a long time, a stranglehold on the brewing industry run a business full of beer brands that I drink and genuinely enjoy: Rolling Rock, Stella Artois, Landshark, and Johnny Appleseed (which is a cider), among others. But, they also have brews that are a blight upon an industry full of great beverages that pass unnoticed by the masses because of Anheuser's enormous market presence. These include Budweiser in all its various forms, Michelob, Cobra, and Natty.

Now don't get me wrong. Bud, Michelob, Cobra, and Natty all have their places. They're usually at college parties where they get people (who may or may not be of legal drinking age) hammered. Thankfully, none of those beers have a place anywhere near my mouth or any of my other sensory receptors.

But, like I said, I find some Anheuser-Busch brands to be enjoyable. Most of these fall under my umbrella term of "butt beer." For me, this is somewhat a term of endearment. It's beer I can drink that's inexpensive and no fuss. Specific examples are Rolling Rock and, the beer I'm discussing today, Busch's Signature Copper Lager (of which a twelve pack'll run you nine bucks).

This is part 3 of my short, 4-part series on Michigan brews. You can take a look at the first part, in which I discussed Atwater's Purple Gang Pilsner, to get a better idea of what this series is. To briefly describe it, I built a four-pack and threw in some beers native to MI that I'd never before had so I could share my first impressions of them with you, my beloved readers.
Short's is one of the most recent breweries to cross my radar. The very first time I encountered it was when I was in Michigan in January and my cousin insisted that my dad and I try their Bellaire Brown, which, he claims, is the best brown ale in the world. Do I agree with him? That's neither here nor there because I'm not talking about Short's Bellaire Brown today (I may in the future, though). No, today I'm discussing the brewing company's Vintage Premium Lager.

If you'll harken back to a few months ago you'll remember that my very first beer review post on John Likes Beer was for a brew offered by Rivertown Brewing Company, specifically their Pumpkin Ale. You may also remember that I thoroughly enjoyed it (I rated it at 8.5/10 and Purrl gave it a whopping 9 hiffs). Today I'm discussing my second beer from them: their Blueberry Lager.