If there's one thing that can make or break your grocery buying experience it's free samples. Most of the time the free food that's being offered up is a singularly sorry lot. Whether it is bowls of dip that look as if small children have palmed their grimy little hands through the rapidly warming mixture of sour cream or room temperature hunks of sausage that have been skewered by damp pretzel stick handles the promotional items often not only turn you off of the sale items but the concept of food itself. There are, however, those rare occasions when you come across a sample that is so good and so surprising that your entire world view is changed. When you entered the store you had no knowledge whatsoever of the product but after consuming a free sample you realize you cannot possibly leave the store without owning massive quantities of it.
The Holy Grail of food samples is, of course, free beer. Most venues don't bother with handing out samples of something so well known. I can understand the trepidation of the stores since not only do you have to deal with the hassle of screening every single person who is sampling the freebies but beer seems like one of those products that sells itself. Convincing people that beer is good is like trying to sell people on the idea that sex is great fun or that they should regularly breathe in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide; it's one of those blindingly obvious things that seemingly has no need of advertisement. But what makes beer samples a necessity is that not all beer is created equal. How is a person supposed to know if a particular beer is the perfect match for them unless they are given the chance to find out? An informed consumer is a happy, steady customer.
When I did come across a grocery store that was giving away beer samples I was obviously thrilled. Even better, the man handing out the samples was well versed in beer and beer culture. Too often the clerks minding the samples stare blankly ahead, as if the local voodoo practitioner let his zombies work the afternoon shift at the supermarket. Having a clerk who was engaging and interested in the product was a perfect topper to the energizing experience of drinking free booze. I felt an instant kinship with the fellow, as if I had discovered a long lost brother. I don't know where that guy is now but I thank him for not only introducing me to several beers but for restoring my faith in humanity.
One of the beers that I tasted and thrilled to was Leinenkugal's Apple Spice. Leinenkugal is an odd duck of a brewery. Their reputation and history is built on the sense of being an aw-shucks local brewery from the wilds of Wisconsin. Their website goes into the oral tradition of the beer, even going so far as to name the horse that pulled the beer to thirsty customers. Thing is, the label sold out to Miller Brewing Company back in 1988. Since then Leinenkugal has existed as an imprint label in a multi-national corporation. Any regional color or atmosphere is nothing more than an agreed upon illusion. It's the liquid equivalent of Prairie Home Companion but instead of Garrison Kellior you have beer. But like any daydream the fantasy that Leinenkugal projects does have a certain appeal. For the length of time it takes me to drink down a draw of beer I can imagine that I am wrapped in flannel and that I'm enjoying a brief respite from a long day of lumberjacking. What I will not support, however, is the company knick-name "Leinie." Not only does that sound stupid but it demeans my imaginary woodsman lifestyle.
I thought I was familiar with Leinenkugal's and what they brought to the table but the free sample introduced me to something new; Leinenkugal's Apple Spice. As the name implies Apple Spice is a beer brewed with apples making it almost, but not quite, into a hard cider. The seasonal nature of cider drinks is understandable. Not only do the drinks have to correspond to the harvesting season but ciders are one of those drinks that you need some time away from. When you first drink a cider you wonder why it has been so long since you ordered one but by the time you finish you remember the reason. Ciders are one of those drinks that are fine for a bit of variety but are not something you want to drink on a regular basis.
This is where the cleverness of the brewing done on Leinenkugal's Apple Spice comes in. Instead of tasting like a cider Apple Spice comes across like a beer with a secondary taste of apples. Apple Spice balances the line between being a beer spritzed with fruit flavoring and the sense of what it is that makes it a beer being washed out by the musky taste of apple juice. Perhaps it's the bit of cinnamon that helps balance out the two differing tastes. Or perhaps the beer is so full of artificial sweeteners and additives that the resulting concoction is going to taste like whatever a group of brewing scientists want it to taste like. The secrets of their alchemy elude me but I do recognize that it's an impressive bit of brewing for such a major label beer.
The Leinenkugal's home page also tries to spin the Apple Spice into the romantic back story of the beer company. The press release waxes on about how 2,000 pounds of apples are picked at the height of their flavor and are then mixed in with the finest care into each batch. That's nice and all but if they were grinding up Flintstone Chewable Vitamins and dumping them into the brew for flavor I'm sure they would try to make that sound as rustic and poetic as possible. But none of that is important. What matters is that some nice guy at a grocery store gave me free beer. That ultimate act of kindness was so, so beautiful and it introduced me to a beer that wasn't half bad to boot.
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