Beer? In the mail? Yes. Once again I have received a blessing in the form of liquid gold from the brewery gods...or so I thought. The bottles had all the telling signs of something enjoyable. One embossed with the words "Rye P.A.," the other promising "Bavarian Wheat" goodness. Then I read the fatal words that sucked all excitement from the thought of tasting these brews: "Michelob."
Sure enough, my beer-swilling compatriots also seemed to drop their enthusiasm once I let it be known that our tasting material had been gifted to us by the big M. Still, a beer drinker is nothing if optimistic, so down the hatch.
Tastes: like cheap, corporate beer attempting to taste like microbrews. The Rye P.A.'s flavor is like the ill cousin of your favorite I.P.A. It wants to go out and play to but it's just too frail and weak to keep up with the non-asthmatic kids. On the Michelob Web site, the Bavarian Wheat is said to have "a refreshing taste of citrus." I tasted something sour, but I'm fairly sure it didn't grow on a tree.
I got mine: in the mail (score me!) but you can get yours in a Michelob Ale sampler pack that is pretty much all over the Michelob Web site. The other beers in the sampler: Porter and Pale Ale.
Additional notes: The majority of our tasters did not like either beer. That being said, one of our female tasters identified the Bavarian Wheat as a "chick beer." Take that for what it's worth.
Verdict: Of the two, I prefer the Bavarian Wheat. I think this brew is closer to what Michelob was trying to accomplish with these two brewskies; craft a stellar example of a given beer type. The Rye P.A. just feels watered down and there are a hundreds of wheat beers that taste far better than Michelob's Bavarian Wheat. But hey! If you get them in the mail, you might as well give 'em a sip.
Happy drinking!
