Battle of the Beers – July Reviews

Well, another month has come and gone and 2017 is passing in the blink of an eye. In the month of July, we reviewed 15 beers. It’s time to rank them from worst to first! Starting with number 15:

15: Kalik

This beer claims to be the “Pride of the Bahamas”. For the sake of the Bahamas, I hope this isn’t the case. This was quite possibly the worst beer I have ever tried. Maybe it’s the clear bottle, or maybe the ingredients are just terrible, but this beer was so skunky it was borderline undrinkable. Would not recommend this to anyone. Read the full review here.

14: Samuel Adams Summer Ale

In the last few months, I have tried a number of fruit-beers and have enjoyed almost all of them. This one was difficult to enjoy. Samuel Adam’s missed the mark in infusing the beer with lemon. The end product was an underwhelmingly bland ale, followed by an exceedingly bitter and sour punch. Read the full review here.

13: Crabbie’s Alcoholic Gingerbeer

Whether or not you consider this to actually be a beer, it was disappointing. Having grown up drinking non-alcoholic ginger beer, I was initially excited to try the “hard” variety. While it may have been an adjustment made for American tastes, this ginger beer lacked the heat I expected, simply tasting dull and artificial. Read the full review here.

12: Samuel Adams Boston Lager

This is not a bad beer, it’s just not as strong as those in front of it. As far as generally-available American lagers go, it is considerably more complex and pleasant than many. It has a bitterness and a “body” to it that isn’t replicated by its watered down peers. That said, it lacks the originality to be considered higher on this list. Read the full review here.

11: Abita Purple Haze

I was a little disappointed by this beer. After tasting Abita’s Strawberry Lager, I was excited by the idea of a raspberry based brew. While some elements of raspberry are detectible, it just doesn’t embrace the flavor in the way I had expected. Again, not a bad beer, just didn’t live up to its full potential. Read the full review here.

10: New Belgium Juicy Watermelon

Similar to the struggle of Abita’s Purple Haze, I was left a little disappointed by New Belgium’s brew. The watermelon flavors just didn’t penetrate the beer in the manner I had hoped. What’s left is a refreshing but somewhat earthy flavor profile. I understand that watermelon isn’t the strongest of flavors at the outset, but if you’re promising watermelon I hope you can deliver. Read the full review here.

9: Cerveza Por Favor

A wonderful entrant to the Mexican Lager space, 903 Brewer’s Cerveza Por Favor is pleasant to drink. After posting my review, I was advised that the beer I drank may have been compromised as it didn’t display the qualities this beer typically shows (it was thick and sediment-y and somewhat sour). Even so, I enjoyed this beer enough for it to claim spot number 9 on the monthly rundown. Read the full review here.

8: Lost Gold IPA

Real Ale makes wonderful beer. Of all Texan breweries, they are probably my favorite. As someone who typically doesn’t like IPA’s I was pleasantly surprised by the drinkability of Lost Gold. While it is bitter, the taste doesn’t linger on the back-end, making it an enjoyable bitter rollercoaster. I would recommend this to those who may not be a fan of IPA’s. Read the full review here.

7: Cactus Cat Kolsch

I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of flavor in this beer. It is much more bitter than most Kolsches. That said, it ended up being a negative as the bitterness slowly developed, mouthful after mouthful. If it didn’t retain as much bitterness, I imagine I would have placed this much higher on the board. Great beer, just wish it wasn’t as bitter overall. Read the full review here.

6: Abita Blueberry Wheat

On the back of their spring seasonal offering, Strawberry Lager, I expected big things of their summer fare. Abita did a pretty good job, but the blueberry just didn’t play as big a role as I’d hoped. All in all, it was a well made witbier, and as a fan I can’t fault them on that. But like their Purple Haze, I just felt they did not leverage the fruit to its fullest potential this time around. Read the full review here.

5: Freetail Tropical Punch Bexarliner

This one was an interesting brew. Being based in San Antonio, TX (just like Sargent Suds), Freetail is available all over. At a stop at San Antonio’s Flying Saucer, I had to try it. It was very fruity, tasting almost more like juice than beer. It was sweet and sour, with the passionfruit flavors really coming through. Highly enjoyable and recommended to anyone. Read the full review here. 

Related: Passion Fruit Kicker Review

4: JosephsBrau Summer Brew

In keeping with the summer season, I tried a number of summer brews in July (read my Battle of the Beers post here). Having tried two of Trader Joe’s exclusive beers this month, I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality, and the price, of their offerings. This is a decent summer beer and one I would recommend. Read the full review here.

3: Sierra Nevada Summerfest

This is an excellent summer brew. Also review as part of the Battle of the Beers article, I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of this lager. Generally, lagers are very light and lack depth flavor wise. Sierra Nevada put a great brew together. Check it out while it’s still available! Read the full review here.

2: Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils

Saint Arnold has consistently impressed me with its offerings. Their 5 O’Clock Pils is available year round and brings an excellently crafted brew to a traditionally weak genre of beer. If you’re looking for a great mix of well flavored and light and refreshing, you’ve found it here. Read the full review here.

1: JosephsBrau Hefeweizen

Who would have expected to see Trader Joe’s take out the title this month? I know I certainly wouldn’t have predicted it. I may be somewhat biased in my love for hefeweizens, but Trader Joe’s makes a legitimately good one. Is it the best on the market? Absolutely not. But it’s a very good beer, priced at $1.17 per bottle. Who could complain? Pick yourself up a bottle. Read the full review here.

Connect with Sargent Suds on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

So there we go, fifteen July reviews ranked from worst to first. Have you tried these beers before? Do you agree with my rankings and reviews? Let me know!

DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE!