Mug Shots: Portland's Beer Scene
The Skunk works
column by Mark Organ
Issue date: 2/11/10 Section: Student Life
Writing beer articles can be hazardous. Not only do you occasionally have to drink a beer that you have never heard of before, but you are also required, as a result, to tell the masses about your find. So, masses… let me tell you what I found. My recent voyage into the deep, dark ocean of the unknown brought a beer called Steinlager Classic to my attention.
Steinlager Classic is made in New Zealand and like all foreign beers-or beers made more than one state away-it suffers in the passage. Beer does not like heat, vibration or changes in pressure, and the Steinlager Classic suffered all of these. After I cracked the emerald green bottle open, I was amazed to smell a skunk. I thought that maybe it was a mistake, but after another sniff I confirmed the obvious: this beer stunk.
This is a beer that I should hate because it literally does not smell good… but like all hardcore beer drinkers, I kept drinking. And then it hit me. Bong! I like it because, despite the stink, it tastes okay. Not wonderful, but definitely what you might crave after a long day in the sun chasing sheep. I can see why New Zealanders might like it enough to export it.
Steinlager Classic does not maintain a complex taste structure; all that is easily definable is the hops. Steinlager Classic brags to the inattentive drunk that it is made without preservatives or additives. Well, my little Index readers, hops are a preservative (Aha! You did learn something).
Steinie has a bit of a Heinie taste to it. Slightly skunky and nicely carbonated, the Steinlager Classic is a golden beer that probably smells fairly nice in the land of the kiwi birds, but not here. With 4.9% alcohol by volume, the Steinlager is not particularly strong, but because it comes in 22 ounce bottles, you too can smell like Pepe Le Pew.
Steinlager Classic is made in New Zealand and like all foreign beers-or beers made more than one state away-it suffers in the passage. Beer does not like heat, vibration or changes in pressure, and the Steinlager Classic suffered all of these. After I cracked the emerald green bottle open, I was amazed to smell a skunk. I thought that maybe it was a mistake, but after another sniff I confirmed the obvious: this beer stunk.
This is a beer that I should hate because it literally does not smell good… but like all hardcore beer drinkers, I kept drinking. And then it hit me. Bong! I like it because, despite the stink, it tastes okay. Not wonderful, but definitely what you might crave after a long day in the sun chasing sheep. I can see why New Zealanders might like it enough to export it.
Steinlager Classic does not maintain a complex taste structure; all that is easily definable is the hops. Steinlager Classic brags to the inattentive drunk that it is made without preservatives or additives. Well, my little Index readers, hops are a preservative (Aha! You did learn something).
Steinie has a bit of a Heinie taste to it. Slightly skunky and nicely carbonated, the Steinlager Classic is a golden beer that probably smells fairly nice in the land of the kiwi birds, but not here. With 4.9% alcohol by volume, the Steinlager is not particularly strong, but because it comes in 22 ounce bottles, you too can smell like Pepe Le Pew.
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