May 2010

I’m writing this on an Apple iPad in a screened-in porch at sunset. Why? I don’t know. Just because I can, I guess.  That, and it seemed to be a nice place to take a picture of the bottle.

O’Doul’s Premium, which comes in a green bottle, does indeed taste different than O’Doul’s Amber, which comes in an amber bottle. One tastes amber and the other one tastes green.

Okay, it’s kind of cold out here on the porch. I’m going inside.

There. Much better. Now I’m sitting in a recliner writing on the iPad. And I’m still drinking this O’Doul’s.

What do I mean it tastes "green?" Well it just does. It tastes like it’s coming out a green bottle. It’s psychological I guess, but really, that’s what it tastes like to me. Green glass beer.

It smells weakly of green hops. It tastes like green hops, too, and watery. There’s a bit of a bite from the bubbles and, for a few seconds, the brain is fooled into thinking this might be a Michelob. But it fades quickly to a rather disappointing barley water flavor, followed by a muted surge of weak bitterness.

If I had to choose between O’Doul’s Premium and O’Doul’s Amber, I’d choose the amber. If I had to choose between this and water, I’d choose O’Doul’s, either color. It’s better than nothing. Not much of an endorsement, I know, but that’s as good as you’re going to get from me.

O’Doul’s Premium is better than plain water.

This is O’Doul’s Amber.

Oh yes, amber.  Not to be confused with O’Doul’s green.  The color distinction is more in the shade of glass than the brew – but, whatever.

This one really does smell like beer.  So much so, it’s got my pen-hand shaking.

Hmm.  Not good.  I mean, for me.  If I miss the stuff so much that a sniff of it starts me to shaking…  Well, let’s not go down that path right now.

The first sip fools my taste buds for maybe four seconds, the taste masked behind a very beer-like effervescence. That fades to a barley-water taste that’s devoid of even the hoppiness – weak as it is – of Sharps.

A surprise here:  I like Sharps better!  I don’t know why I thought I’d like O’Doul’s better, but I did expect I would, and I don’t.  Quite the contrary.

This is watery but not with a thin mouthfeel – the specific gravity seems fairly heavy.  And, well, I’m not going to pour it out.  It’s drinkable.  But compared to Sharps, I’d take the Sharps.

I’m still surprised by that.