Shiner Smokehaus Review

For the record, earlier in the year the Texas alcohol distributors lobby appeared before the state licensing committee to oppose microbreweries selling beer on the brewery property. Their testimony strongly implied that the distributors were responsible for the growth of Texas breweries. This beer came out June 1 and is still not in Fredericksburg. I bought this six pack in Albuquerque on June 13. I also spotted it California, Nevada and Colorado. It showed up in my local supermarket on June 24. Good work, Texas beer distributors.

On to the review:
Appearance (0-3): Pours up crystal clear gold with a with head that dissipates rapidly leaving a few wispy clumps of bubbles floating on top of the beer. 2 points.
Aroma/Bouquet (0-4): Not much aroma. Some malt and something else. I assume it's smoke, but if I didn't know this was as smoked beer, I certainly wouldn't call it smoke. 2 points Taste (0-10): Hop/Malt Balance (0-4): Slightly sweet malt flavor with a hint of smoke in the finish. Not very noticeable. A little plastic/Band-Aid like flavor, which, I know from brewing a mesquite smoked beer, is the flavor of mesquite. No hops detected. 3 points
Aftertaste (0-3): Mild and smooth aftertaste. The smoke lingers a short while. 3 points
Mouthfeel (0-3): Mouthfeel is a bit thin with good carbonation. 2 points
Overall Impression (0-3): It's okay, once you get used to the odd smoke flavor. But it's a little hard to drink a third one. 2 points
Total: 14 points