Beer of the week: Presidente

Beer score: 3.4

Web site: Presidente

ABV: 5.0

IBU: unknown

Coming from the Dominican Republic, this pilsener is not worth your time. It tastes much like your typical Mexican brew, but with quite a bit more carbonation, making it almost acidic. There is a little beer taste, sort of grassy, splashing around in this liquid, but I just can't recommend it to true beer connoisseurs. It's wet, with some light bitterness that lingers on the tongue. Sorry if this is one your favorite beers, because it sucks.

Pyramid Sun Fest

Beer score: 5.3
Web site: Pyramid Breweries

A light pilsner beer with the barest hint of bitterness while sitting on your tongue. Goes down easy with a touch of light foam (which I often call froth). Nice and neat, but nothing overly spectacular.

Pyramid Snow Cap Ale

Beer score: 4.8
Web site: Pyramid Breweries
Fairly strong, but the strength dies quickly as you swallow. Sweet with a nutmeggy flavoring, kind of like those nasty winter/holiday brews. A sipping beer that takes some getting used to. It's a winter seasonal brew, and I generally don't care for those.

Pyramid Scotch Ale

Beer score: 6.2
Web site: Pyramid Breweries

Sturdy and sweet like many a good Scotch ale. The problem for me is this: I don't care much for overly sweet beers, so Scotch ales sometimes suffer in my beer ratings. Still, Scottish ales often make a good sipping beer – especially on winter evenings when you're in the mood to drink but not get drunk. Scotch ales can grow on you a bit, but I wouldn't suggest breaking a case out at a party. I don't believe Pyramid brews this Scotch Ale anymore, at least not on a regular basis.

Pyramid Fling Pale Ale

Beer score: 7.0
Web site: Pyramid Breweries
A tad strong and bitter for a pale ale, but goes down easy and wet. Goes well with Tortellini out of the can, or any other Italian dish out of a can (yes, I've tried it). Goes down a little fruity. Too heavy for casual drinking, but just right for sipping on.

Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen

Beer score: 7.8
Web site: Pyramid Breweries
Light enough that a beer snob could sit around and drink this all day (Wait a second! That's what I'm doing!) Still, the flavor is probably too complicated for non-snobs to enjoy. A touch of sweet going in the mouth, a touch of bitter on the way down. A little fizz. A little froth. A pretty good wheat beer with yeast.

Pyramid Audacious Apricot Ale

Beer score: 5.7
Web site: Pyramid Breweries
Light and fruity with a touch of frothiness. The apricot flavor adds a little zing that's worth trying out. From Pyramid Breweries Inc. in Seattle, Washington, and Berkeley, California.

Portland Oregon Honey Beer

Beer score: 7.2
Web site: MacTarnahan's Brewing Co.
Very light. Goes down extremely smooth with a nice honey backtaste (because it's brewed with honey, get it?).

Portland MacTarnahan's Amber Ale

Beer score: 6.2
Web site: MacTarnahan's Brewing Co.

Pretty smooth with a nice, coppery "red" taste common to amber ales. A good drinking beer. Would go well with pub food.

Portland Icicle Creek Winter Ale

Beer score: 6.3
Web site: MacTarnahan's Brewing Co.

One of the better winter brews because it doesn't have a powerful cinnamon and nutmeg and spices taste. From Portland Brewing Co. of Portland, Oregon, originally, but now owned by MacTarnahan's Brewing Co.

Portland Haystack Black Porter

Beer score: 6.6
Web site: MacTarnahan's Brewing Co.
A pretty good porter with a smooth, slightly-maple flavor but a little too much carbonation. Weak enough that experienced beer tasters could sip this all night. Formerly the Portland Brewing Company, the maker of this beer is now known as MacTarnahan's Brewing Company.

Pinkus Mueller Organic Munster Alt

Beer score: 7.8
Web site: Pinkus Mueller
Has a slight vinegar smell if spilled, but the drinking flavor is fruity and light. Vaguely reminiscent of white ales or even lambics. Made by the Pinkus Mueller Brauerei of Munster, Germany.

Pinkus Mueller Organic Hefe-weizen

Beer score: 7.6
Web site: Pinkus Mueller
Extremely smooth without being flat. Light and fluffy. Carbonation and bitterness grow the more you drink, but not a lot.

Pilsner Urquell

Beer score: 8.2
Web site: Pilsner Urquell
From the Czech Republic. The bottle says "The Only Genuine Pilsner," but that's because this stuff is from the city of Pilsen. Light and smooth but goes down with the strongest bitter I've ever tasted in a true pilsner. Unique and worth your time. Light enough that you could enjoy this after mowing the lawn.

Pike Pale Ale

Beer score: 7.8
Web site: Pike Pub and Brewery

The Pike Pub and Brewery of Seattle, Washington, makes this beer. This is a little strong for novices. A solid pale ale with just the barest touch of the sourness usually found in India pale ales. Actually, a pretty fine beer.

Pete's Wicked Winter Brew

Beer score: 6.4
Web site: Pete's Wicked
This beer isn't as strong as many winter brews. It's got a light tea smell to it. It's somewhat watery. Stout enough flavor.

Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde

Beer score: 7.8
Web site: Pete's Wicked
I love this beer mainly because it tastes like real strawberries and not candy strawberry flavoring. There's a little sweetness here, but not enough to be overpowering. A strong, frothy drink. This beer goes good with cheese, preferably swiss or cheddar. One of my favorite brews from Pete's Wicked.

Pete's Wicked Springfest

Beer score: 4.1
Web site: Pete's Wicked

First introduced in Winter 1998 to replace Pete's Wicked Mardi Gras, this beer is no longer on the market. Goes down smooth but the taste is too spicy, almost like many Christmas beers. The label says this is a malt liquor and an amber bock. Bocks are traditionally a strong, full-bodied beer. This brew has the coloring of a bock, but tastes more like a cheap malt liquor.

Pete's Wicked Red Rush

Beer score: 5.5
Web site: Pete's Wicked
The bottle calls this an "American Red Ale." It kind of surprises me that Pete's Wicked has stooped to making a red beer; not that there's anything really wrong with red beers, but during the 1990s red beers were usually a gimmick beer that cheap beer makers used to try and make people think their beer was something special (which it usually wasn't; normally it was just another cheap beer with a red label of some kind and non-beer snobs usually thought they were getting something special). Anyway, this brew is definitely stronger than the average red beers sold in the U.S. This brew has a sweet, burnt maple flavor and a hint of spices that almost makes it taste like one of those obnoxious Christmas beers. It goes down a little smoother the more you drink, and by the third or fourth swallow it has lost some of its sweetness and gained a little more burnt maple bitterness. Worth tasting, but I wouldn't recommend it as a regular drinking beer. Update: As of the summer of 2010, apparently this brew is no longer on the market.

Pete's Wicked Pale Ale

Beer score: 6.3
Web site: Pete's Wicked

This is about as typical as a pale ale can get. It's not a bad pale ale, it's just not an overly exceptional or notable one. Still, I wouldn't pass one up if you handed it to me. It's a good thirst quencher.