Santa Fe Brewing Company's Santa Fe Pale Ale

I gotta' tell you, the label is uninspiring. And I never liked that Zuni (or whatever) sun symbol that makes up the New Mexico state symbol. I like the place though, just not the cities that look dirt brown all the time. Dirty. So I'm not sure what a New Mexico beer will have to offer, based on everything I know and have seen so far.

But when I poured it, it poured fairly slow with a great tan head that sticks and good carbonation with a deep amber color. Impressive for the style by appearance, and I hope the taste is as good as the appearance.

Nice smell. Hit of grassy, herbal hops. The label says they use whole-flower hops, and I have to admit so far they don't appear to have skimped on anything but the artwork. Nice and malty as well, and just a bit sweet.

Damn. Great body for one of the lighter styles. Good grassy bitter pop up front, with a solid malt taste and twangy finish. Bitterness sticks on the back of the tongue and stays for a while. Not in a bad aftertaste sort of way, but in a solid taste kind of way. I'll have to keep a look out for this brewery, and hope that all of their beers are like this.

Penn Brewery's Penn Pilsner

It must be Pennsylvania Brewery Day. Although this one has less of an old school look and feel. I'm hoping that's made up by the fact that Pilsner is one of my favorite styles, even if it's the lesser funky German style.

Pours a fast, deep clear yellow with a good light tan head for a pils. Low carbonation for a lager. Smells very sweet and malty even for a German pils. Has more funk the deeper you draw.

Moderate cardboardy bitterness, which is almost always an indicator of weak or adjunct malt grains. Crisp lager feel, but the odd bitterness overpowers the funk that a pils should have.

This one goes way down on the list of pilsners to buy if I see it again. Just off the mark, overly bitter with an underwhelming pils flavor.

Stegmaier Brewing Company's All Malt Amber Lager

Never heard of it. The label looks like an old-school yankee brewery, a hold over from when the big three really took over and some older breweries managed to hold on just well enough to stay in business.

Great head for an amber, especially an amber lager. I'm looking forward to the all-malt part of this, but it admittedly makes it smell kind of flat. Great deep amber color, but oddly clear like a lot of heavily filtered lagers. Very malty for a lager though.

Wow. Surprising bitterness for an all-malt, and certainly for a lager. Bready and malty like an amber should be with a good bitter pop to it that lingers for a bit but finishes clean overall. Very good beer, especially for the style. One that I'll pick up if I ever see it offered in Texas. I just hope I remember it.

Anchor Brewing Company's Anchor Steam Beer

I know half the world is mad at this brewery for trade marking "Steam," a beer style, as this beer's name, but I could care less. They're one of the original modern craft brewers, and they do a great job so they're entitled to it as far as I'm concerned.

This one pours a clear orangish amer with a great pillowy light tan head that very slowly thins to a thick sheet. Geat bready, malty, complex smell. Hint of sweetness, slightly peppery.

Solid. One of the best and most thought-out breweries in the US, and this is a great example of why. It's supposed to be 'common,' but it's anything but. Mild bitterness that is neither grassy or brash, with a continued malty taste that loses the sweetness and holds up a good body as well. Like a mild amber or pale, with all the body, but it's done better than most. One of the best lighter bodied beers in the US, from one of the best and most consistent breweries.