Suds or Duds?

Scared to try a new beer? We've done the tasting for you.

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For this summer beer tasting, we hit up the “pick-six” racks found in the liquor departments of local Price Cutter Plus stores. It’s a neat way to sample lots of beers; for $8.59 you can create your own six-pack from loose bottles. We chose six we had never tried and tested them on our subjects, who cleansed their palates with lime sherbet.

The tasters, left to right in photo: Kari Engel, art director; Evan Fisk, web editor; Chris DeRosier, staff writer; and Gregory Holman, editorial director (replaced by circulation director Dylan Whitaker mid-tasting).

Beer 1: Tsingtao

The bottle says

“Master brewers use only the highest quality malted barley, hops, yeast and pure mountain water to produce Tsingtao, the finest beer from China.”

The smell:

Greg: It’s smells kinda skunky. Almost exactly like Pepé Le Pew would, were he real.
Chris: Smells like it’s been in the fridge about three days longer than it should.
Evan: I don’t smell much.
Kari: It smells like the old days of Keystone in college; a little skunky.

The taste:

Greg: The flavor’s better than the scent, it’s thin-like.
Chris: Definitely a lack of hops.
Evan: I don’t know. It’s crisp.
Kari: There’s no aftertaste. It’s bitter.

Beer 2: Blue Moon Summer Ale

The bottle says

“This Gold Medal-winning honey ale is brewed for the summer and combines the fresh flavor of orange peel and real honey with pale malt and malted white wheat.”

The smell

Greg: It smells more like molasses or caramel.
Chris: It’s a fuller smell, a little more wheat. It smells like it’s going to have an aftertaste.
Evan: I think I have a cold. I can’t smell anything.
Kari: I smell a fruit, like a raspberry. Maybe it’s my awesome breath.

The taste

Greg: I like it. It’s definitely a wheatier flavor.
Chris: It’s got a softer flavor than the last one. Good summer beer.
Evan: I still taste the lime sherbet. There’s a summer berry hint.
Kari: It’s very honey- or light fruit-tasting. It’s a good girl beer.

Beer 3: Heineken Dark Lager

The bottle says

“Brewed in Holland”

The smell

Dylan: I think it smells like ass. A lot of head on it… great pour Nicole.
Chris: It smells like rancid pee.
Evan: I smell bubbles.
Kari: It smells like grass… not pot.

The taste

Dylan: It’s foul. It tastes like a shi**y Newcastle.
Chris: You get all the flavor right away, with none on the back end.
Evan: It’s got an unsweetened coffee aftertaste. It’s very dark, but not rich.
Kari: The aftertaste is tobacco. It tastes like a cigarette would taste.