Day 63, 3.4.11., Lindemans Pêche Lambic

Lambic is a style of beer that originates in the Pajottenland region just outside Brussels in central Belgium.  It's a 'wild beer' style meaning that yeast is not manually added to the wort, but instead the hot wort is traditionally allowed to cool in shallow trays, where wild yeast blown in on the breeze finds it's way into the wort.  Beer made with this process of fermentation is also sometimes called farmhouse ale, after the practice of fermenting in attics and other available spaces in farmhouses in the Belgian countryside. 
But what sets lambic apart from other wild ales is that after fermentation, fresh whole fruit is added to lambic giving it fruit flavors as the main aroma and flavor characteristics.  Traditionally, this was done in order to mask the off flavors that result from wild fermentation.
Although lambic style beers are now made the world over, Lambic actually has terroir like Champagne does, and only wild fruit beers made in the Pajottenland region are technically Lambic.  Lindemans is one of the most widely available Lambics here in the US.
The Pêche (peach) variety poured light amber and fairly clear, with a big fat fluffy white head.  The nose is, not surprisingly, all fruit.  The nose comes through as dried stone fruit, peach and apricot.  But there's also some aromas of sour apple.
On the palate, the beer is quite sweet.  Peach undoubtedly is the primary flavor, with very little hop bitterness or malt flavors.  But there's also cider flavors and some funky, sour nearly rotting notes.  This is presumably a result of the Brettanomyces wild yeast.
This is an interesting style, not one that I'd necessarily drink more than one glass of, but fun to try.
6 out of 10.

Day 46, 2.15.11., Hitochino - Real Ginger Brew

Ever since the first taste of Hitachino Nest White Ale, I've recommended it whenever I've had a chance.  And anxiously, I've tried all the varieties I can find.

The Real Ginger Beer is a cloudy red amber beer with a creamy white head.  On the nose, you guessed it, big ginger aroma.  It's a spicy ginger too, like those crunchy hard ginger snaps.  The beer has a nice malty body, with more spicy ginger on the palate.  It also has some intense sourness that almost coated my tongue on the finish, a pretty distracting way to end each sip.
All in all this is a really fun delicious beer, but it just was not as amazing as I've come to expect a Hitachino beer to be. (based on the White Ale, and the Espresso Stout I've tasted)
This beer is pretty good.  Worth a shot if you're looking for a beer that's a bit out of the ordinary.
6 out of 10.

Day 45, 2.14.11., Maui Brewing - Coconut Porter

I think it actually tastes better when served like this...

While we're drinking porters, here's another.  Maui Brewing makes this one with toasted coconut, puts it in cans and ships it back to the main land.  I've tried a couple others from Maui Brewing, and have found them pretty good.
This porter is a little heavier than St. Peter's, and has a bit more sweetness.  It poured dark black and pretty viscous.  The head is thick, off-white and quite creamy, just lovely.  On the nose, there's really nice notes of dark roast coffee beans, and hints of sweetness, caramel and maple syrup. 
On the palate, the dark malts are certainly present, and a good bit of hop bitterness is there too.  Some slight sweet notes round out the beer really nicely.  I didn't really identify any of the flavors or aromas as coconut specifically, but it didn't undermine the beer for me.  Quite good.  7 out of 10.

A word on cans:  I love good beer in cans.  Environmentally friendly, easy to pack, good for the beer.  These are some of my favorite canning micro brewerys:
Maui
21st Amendment
Oskar Blues
Big Sky Brewing
Anderson Valley Brewing
Try 'em out.

Day 35, 2.4.11., Wells - Banana Bread Beer

As you know, I really like beer.  As you may not know, I also really like banana bread.  My mom makes killer banana bread.
When I saw this beer on the shelf, I thought 'hmm, I don't want to drink that'.  But of course I bought a bottle to try since I had never tried it before.   I've certainly tried some hefeweizens that have a distinct banana-esc flavor.  Other than that, I don't really think the two (bananas and beer) have any business hanging out.  I fully expected this beer to be bad to the point of undrinkability...

Wells banana bread beer is a crisp, clear Amber ale.  As expected, the nose is fairly fake banana, like Laffy Taffy.  Banana flavor is less prevelant on the palate, where it's there but quite subtle.  It's accompanied by a fair amount of nice spicy hops character.
In addition to the banana and hop flavors, the beer is actually kind of nice and fruity, not specifically banana flavor only, just general fruitieness.  There's some slight malt sweetness, but it serves to keep the hop bite in check. 
Responsible use of banana flavor makes this a decent beer.  It's actually quite a bit  better than I thought it would be. 5 out of 10.