I love beer.
I may have mentioned this previously. One of my favorite things to do is try local brews, seasonals, anything that looks interesting in whatever beer cooler or bar tap row . In other words, strange brews. But strange in a GOOD way.
Since I stumble across these brews with fair frequency, I thought I could become a resource for all you beer voyeurs out there. I hope you enjoy.
This installment is about Shiner Brewery’s Prickly Pear, a new summer seasonal (we start summer early in Texas.) Now just talking about the town of Shiner and the brewery is a blog in and of itself, and the next time we mosey that direction I’ll do just
This one looks ripe!
that. But today is about their new Prickly Pear. They introduced this seasonal to replace their Ruby Red, which they now are producing year round (another blog to come).
Shiner describes the beer as “the fruit of the prickly pear… blends wonderfully with Citra & U.S. Golding hops for a tart, citrusy flavor and floral aroma that’s unlike any other summer lager.” Well, I couldn’t tell the taste of a prickly pear fruit from a car tire, but this beer has a light texture and flavor that reminds me of raspberries, and an understated citrus undernote (grapefruit?) that cuts enough of what could be cloying sweetness that you can easily imagine enjoying this on a hot summer day (we have one or two here) and it being nicely refreshing.
I’m not a hops fan, and the hops in this brew take a nice backseat, again helping foil the sweetness while not slapping you in the mouth with that characteristic bitter aftertaste of hoppy beers.
A nice amber.
I’ll also confess to the fact that I don’t spend a lot of time looking at my beer. In fact, many times it never emerges from the can or bottle for me to admire its color or the type of head it has when poured.
For those of you that enjoy those sorts of details, this is a nice amber but the head is short lived – which to me is a feature, because thick foamy heads on beer just get in the way of me drinking it, and that “Got Milk” look isn’t exactly attractive.
So, Shiner Prickly Pear is yet another seasonal winner from Shiner, that I’m enjoying here in the spring and look forward to tipping back when the weather gets hotter. Strange rating of 4 (out of 5 – it’s made out of cactus fruit, for crying in the sink); drinkability 4 of 5; would I buy it again? Heading to the store now. Hmm. Wonder what else might be there…
Almost makes me want to try a beer!
My work here is done.