On Sunday I went to the Tampa Bay Brewing Company with a buddy of mine. I tried their Heffe-Weizen which was yummmmmmmy and also had a glass of their Double Red Ale which was not as yummy. The more I get into this whole beer thing, the more I'm able to discern what it is about certain beers that I do or do not like.
I love Heffe-Weizen (wheat beer). Good stuff. Nice and yeasty and I really like a twist of lemon in it. I plan on making my own soon and might even go for a Dunkel-Weizen (dark wheat).
Normally I like red ales, but the TBBC's Two Red Eyes was just too hoppy for me. It smelled wonderful, but the flowery taste was just a tad bit overpowering to me. Even the Moosekiller Barley Wine Ale, which is highly hopped to soften the high alcohol flavors, didn't taste that hop-strong. However, the experience has opened my eyes to why most American beers suck - little to no hop flavor at all.
Even though I stuck with my self imposed limit of 2 beers, I did ask for a sample of the Scotch Ale. I had read quite a bit that SA was either something you loved or something you hated so I wanted to try it. I ended up loving it. Almost no hop flavors whatsoever. Very smooth and fairly dark. Definitely in my list for a full pint next time.
I had spoken about it with the master brewer here at work. He happened to have a Scotch Ale 'lagering' in 31 degrees for about a month or so. He gave me a bottle today!
I know what I'm washing my dinner down with tonight!