A Duo of Summer Beers

I normally don't review more than one beer at a time, but due to my gigantic backlog of notes and beers sitting in my fridge and basement, I decided to start combining some similar beers into a single larger review. I know some readers do not have the attention span to go through a lengthy post so I will try to clearly separate the reviews so they are easy to read.

Shock Top


Surprisingly this beer is so hazy I cannot see my fingers once they are wrapped around the glass. It is honey colored and pours with a thick head which quickly recedes. The aroma orangey and does not come as a surprise given the large orange slice on the label that your eyes are drawn to. A faint clove/herbal aroma is also present but compared to other similar beers it is not as strong. The taste is orangey and refreshing, but very sweet. The herbal notes reveal themselves towards the end and linger well into the finish. The finish, itself, is very sweet, a little dry with a lot of herbs and cloves.

The bottom line is, this beer is very sweet, and this is not something I enjoyed very much. Towards the end of the can, there was a lot of sugar residue in the back of my mouth. This beer
can be a great mixer, but as a beer, it is too sweet for me.

Amsterdam Oranje Weisse


Clearly this has a more appealing bottle design and a slightly larger format. The beer equally hazy and just a tad lighter in color. It pours with a shorter head which very quickly recedes to just a white skin. This beer has a much stronger aroma with its main ingredients clearly noticeable. Cloves and orange peel make up most the aroma, but herbal notes are also present. The taste also bolder with the orange peel and spices attacking the taste buds from the get go. The more subtle herbal notes nicely compliment the flavour. The finish is dry and comes with a secondary burst of cloves, orange peel and more herbal notes. The orange peel dies quickly, but the spices and herbs do last for a while. An orange wedge, and perhaps the juice of half an orange, would kick this into overdrive.

I really liked this beer and would definitely pick it over Shock Top.

Scores:

Shock Top
Cost - $2.35
Taste - 5.9/10
ABV - 5.2%

Oranje Weisse
Cost - $3.95
Taste - 7.7/10
ABV - 5%

Bottom Line - If mixing these is your thing, then go with Shock Top, if you are looking to enjoy a cold summer beer, get the Oranje Weisse