When I think of a biergarten, I think of outside drinking, like what you'd find at an Octoberfest. When I think of Octoberfest, I think of dreary, rainy days. Coincidentally, today is a rainy day. That means it has to be a perfect evening for me to enjoy Leinie's BeerGarten Tart.


Yes, I know that the "Tart" in the name of the beer leads itself to warmer weather than the Octoberfest experience I've just described. Fret not! It's pretty doggone humid in my apartment. Summer is just around the bend. It's a mixture of dreary rain and sticky humidity. As such, I'm willing to bet this Berliner Weisse-inspired brew'll be nice and refreshing.

I've been known to enjoy a Leinie every now and then. Mostly shandies. Like many of my friends, I typically kick back with a Summer Shandy in the warmer months and the brewery's Harvest Patch Shandy (which is their pumpkin beer) was one of my default beverages this autumn.

But, my experience with Leinenkugel begins and ends with shandies. Last winter, my future father-in-law kept his fridge stocked with Snowdrift. I'm always temped by porters, but, seeing has how I was visiting in the middle the Christmas brew season, my beer palate was preoccupied. My final Christmas post went up a week ago tomorrow. Now that winter's sprawled out openly before me, what better time is there for me to try a Snowdrift Vanilla Porter?