To this point I have been very satisfied with the products coming out of the Sudwerk brewery in Davis, California. I was told at Macadoodle's that the Mai Bock is a seasonal beer for them. I think that might be for the best.
I typically like bock beers, but this one wasn't my favorite. It had a funny twang that I wasn't able to put my finger on. It had a nice malty start, and a decent smooth finish, but in the middle things just weren't right.
I was expecting another exceptional effort from Sudwerk, but the Mai Bock came up a little short for me. Depending on your tastes, it might be worth a shot, but it wasn't for me. So far, I have loved two of their beers and maybe the high expectation caused the third to fall short, but for now, I'm going to pass on a revisit of this one.
Estrella Damm Lager is brewed in Barcelona,Spain. For those of you that have read my previous posts, you know that I am partial to lagers. This beer is no exception.
The flavor starts out with a strong bit of malts, and finishes with a little bite. In between, there is a solid mix of brewing spices that is not too strong. On their web site, they claim that the flavor comes from using pearl rice in the brewing process. They also claim to be one of the few breweries in the world that produce their own malt barley in their own malt house.
If you like American style Lagers, this is a good change of pace. I would liken it to the Spanish version of Budweiser.
Of all of the beers that I have tasted and reviewed for this site, this is the best one. The only beer that I can think of that I might like better is Busch Light.
I bought the Bitburger as a part of another sampler six pack. It was excellent. It tastes a lot like a light beer that is brewed in the U.S., but it has a little more of a full flavor. It had a nice taste of hops at the end that was just right.
There were several things that were interesting about it to me. First, it was 4.8% alcohol, which seemed high for how light it was. Second, the bottle was a little less than the normal 12 ounces. That was odd because it has 171 calories per bottle which, seemed high for how light it was.
Any way you slice it, this is one of the best beers I can remember drinking.
I usually could take or leave Ale's, and if they are too hoppy, I leave them. Phin and Matt's Extraordinary Ale was just about right.
Brewed at the Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York, it had a nice balanced flavor. They claim to use 3 types of hops and 3 varieties of malts. At 5.7% alcohol, it was smooth, and lacked the typical stale overtone that is usually in an ale.
I don't think I could get to the bottom of a cooler of these, but it was a nice change of pace.
In the last few weeks, I have rediscovered my love for Oktoberfest beers. Beck's is one that I have never tried. I really liked it a lot, and I'm usually not terribly fond of Beck's beer.
The smell of the beer had a strong sent of malts, so I knew from the beginning that I would like it. It tasted just like it smelled. It was very malty, and tasted a little sweet, but not too sweet. It was a little different than most of the other Oktoberfest beers that I have had, but I think I liked it the best 
Weston Ruddy Wheat is from the Weston Brewery in Weston, Missouri. It was new to the brewery in 2010.
It was a very different type of beer, but not necessarily in a bad way. It initially tasted like a really strong wheat beer, but the finish was more like an amber beer.
I thought it was a good beer, but I'm going to say that drinking very many of them would be a stretch. Certainly a beer that I would recommend trying, but do it in a sampler pack. 
It has been a long time since I drank Goose Island Honker's Ale. The first time I tried it was in Chicago about 10 years ago. It is brewed in Chicago and they have it on tap up there at most of the bars.
I haven't noticed in the beer stores in a while, so I was excited to have one. It is an English style ale that is redish brown in color. It is a little fruity at first, but it is very drinkable.
I wish I had gone ahead and bought a six pack of it. I think anyone that tried it will agree that it's a solid choice.
The next beer that I tried after the Schlafly Oktoberfest was their Summer Lager. At that point in the night, it seemed to make perfect sense!
I was expecting it to have a summer shandy taste, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was simply a smooth lager. There was a light hint of brewing spices that I usually don't like, but they made it work here. It had a full flavor, but it wasn't so heavy that it was hard to drink.
I could drink these in much the same fashion as I do Budweiser. I thought it was really good, and I will buy it again.
This is the point in the night when things took a major turn.(Which way they went depends on whether you ask me or my wife)
Tommy Knocker Brewery in Idaho Springs, Colorado makes Jack Whacker Wheat Ale. Apparently they use lemon grass in the brewing process.
The best way for me to describe this drink is "interesting". It is an unfiltered wheat beer, which I usually try to stay away from. However, with a name like that I couldn't resist giving it a try. It was a little bit dry, and had a bitter aftertaste. I won't say it was bad, but just "interesting".
The real fun in trying this beer was the conversation piece that it became as we drank it. I also think that it played a huge role in the way my head was throbbing this morning when I got up.
I am a little hit or miss with Diamond Bear beers. Some of them are really good, and some I don't like at all. I do, however, feel a state pride type of obligation to keep an open mind to their beer since they are brewed in Little Rock.
I will say that their Rocktoberfest lager is really good. It has a solid full flavor with a light hoppy bite at the end that isn't too much. The flavor has a definite Diamond Bear stamp on it, but it was good. My only problem is that it was really expensive relative other comparable Oktoberfest beers.
At the end of the day, it was pretty good, and I will drink it again.
One of my favorite seasonal beers that I tried this year was Nude Beach Summer Wheat from Stevens Point Brewery. It was my first review on this site. Last night, I got to try their Oktoberfest Marzen. It was outstanding!!! It had all the characteristics of a Marzen lager, with the unique Point Brewery overtone. The malts are very apparent, and it finishes smooth. It wasn't as strong as some of the Oktoberfest beers that I have drank, but it had a good full flavor. I am a big fan of Stevens Point Brewery, and I'm looking forward to trying more of their beers!
My neighbor, whom I regard as a very solid beer drinker, came through strong last night with a six pack sampler from Macadoodle's in Missouri. They have a different selection than what is available to us at the store in Springdale. The first beer that we tried was O'Malley's Festival Ale. It is an Irish style brown ale that is brewed in Weston, Missouri. It was very good beer. The combination of malts made it smooth, and it had a distinct hoppy flavor at the end that gave a nice bite. This beer would be tough to drink all day at a tailgate, but it would be excellent to have a few with a meal or at the end of the night!
After my experience with the Sudwerk Marzen, I was really excited to try the Hubsch lager from Sudwerk. It did not disappoint at all!
As I stated in my previous review, Sudwerk is brewed and bottled in Davis, California. They specialize in making different lagers. In my research, I found that Hubsch is a German adjective meaning "pretty".
This was a really smooth full flavored beer. It had a unique aftertaste, but it was not too harsh. The more of it that I drank, the more it grew on me. It is a little pricey, but I found it to be worth the money. There will be more of these in my refrigerator soon!