WPEngine Plans update often which makes it a good idea to always check their website directly.
As of April 2024 WPEngine offers 3 “top level” plans but most businesses will fall into one of the 4 sub plans of Essential (outlined below):
Essential – Starting at $20/month.
Startup – $20/month 1 Site 25,000 Visitors 10 GB
Professional – $40/month Up to 3 Sites 75,000 Visitors 15 GB
Growth – $77/month Up to 10 Sites 100,000 Visitors 20 GB
Scale – $194/month Up to 30 Sites 400,000 Visitors? 50 GB
Core – Starting at $400/month. No public details, you need to “Get in Touch”
Enterprise – Starting at $2000/month. No public details, you need to “Get in Touch”
Every WPEngine Plan includes the following features:
Managed Performance – Fully managed environments with auto-applied WordPress updates, PHP updates and platform management.
Performance Monitoring – Built in Lighthouse speed reports.
Online Support – WPEngine is known for it’s fast and knowledgeable support representatives. We’ve been a customer for over 6 years and can attest to their competence.
Look, some people just don’t like the taste of beer. However we have friends and family who do, or at least pretend to and therefore we desire a suitable placeholder. Thankfully there’s a wide variety of “beer like” drinks that mask, minimize or outright replace the traditional beer flavor with… something else.
Radler Beer
Radler is a refreshing German beer-based mixed drink that combines beer with lemon-lime soda or lemonade. Here are some key points about Radler beer:
Origins: Radler originated in Germany in the 1920s when an enterprising Bavarian innkeeper mixed lager beer with lemon soda to help stretch his beer supply for thirsty cyclists. “Radler” means “cyclist” in German.
Ingredients: Traditional Radler consists of roughly equal parts lager beer and lemon-lime soda or lemonade. Some versions use grapefruit soda instead of lemon-lime.
Alcohol Content: With the addition of non-alcoholic soda, Radler has a lower alcohol content than regular beer, typically around 2-3% ABV.
Taste: The lemon-lime or lemonade flavors give Radler a tart, refreshing, almost shandy-like taste balanced by the beer’s toasted malt flavors. It is very light and crisp in character.
Serving: Radler is served well-chilled, often with a lemon wedge garnish. It makes for a thirst-quenching, sessionable drink perfect for hot summer days.
Popularity: While popular in Germany for decades, Radler and Radler-style shandies have grown in popularity worldwide in recent years as a refreshing beer alternative.
So in essence, Radler provides an enticing middle ground between beer and lemonade – lighter than beer but more flavorful than lemonade alone.
Blue Moon
Blue Moon is a popular Belgian-style witbier (wheat beer) brewed by MillerCoors under the Molson Coors parent company. Here are some key details about Blue Moon beer:
Ingredients:
Malted wheat
Orange peel
Coriander
Oats
Barley malt
Appearance:
Hazy golden-orange color due to the unfiltered wheat and oats
Thick, fluffy white head
Aroma/Flavor:
Citrusy aroma and flavor from the orange peel
Spicy notes from the coriander
Bready, wheaty malt backbone
Light to medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel
Alcohol Content:
5.4% ABV
Serving:
Typically served with an orange slice garnish to complement the citrus notes
Origins:
First brewed in 1995 in Montreal
One of the earliest popular craft-style wheat beers produced by a major beer company
Popularity:
One of the best-selling craft beer brands in the United States
Helped popularize the witbier style among American beer drinkers
Overall, Blue Moon is known for its refreshing, orangey flavor and unfiltered, cloudy appearance typical of Belgian-style wheat beers. Its wide availability made it an affordable “cross-over” craft beer option.
Shock Top
Shock Top is a Belgian-style wheat ale brewed by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Here are some key details about this beer:
Ingredients:
Unmalted wheat and malted barley
Belgian yeast strains
Citrus peels (orange, lemon, lime)
Coriander
Appearance:
Hazy golden color from the unfiltered wheat
Thick, fluffy white head
Aroma/Flavor:
Citrusy aromas from the orange, lemon, and lime peels
Spicy notes from the coriander
Bready, slightly sweet wheat malt backbone
Light to medium body with a creamy mouthfeel
Alcohol Content:
5.2% ABV
Serving:
Often served with an orange slice garnish
Origins:
First introduced in 2006 as a spring/summer seasonal beer
Became so popular it was made a year-round offering in 2007
Varieties:
Shock Top Belgian White (the original)
Shock Top Raspberry Wheat
Shock Top Lemon Twist
Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat
Shock Top was one of the first widely available Belgian-style wheat ales from a major American brewery. Its unique citrus and spice notes, along with its hazy, unfiltered appearance, helped popularize the witbier style in the United States. It’s marketed as a more affordable “crafty” option.
Hoegarden
Hoegaarden is a classic Belgian witbier (wheat beer) originally brewed by the Hoegaarden Brewery in the town of Hoegaarden, Belgium. Here are some key details:
Ingredients:
Unmalted wheat (around 50% of the grain bill)
Malted barley
Curaçao orange peel
Coriander
Appearance:
Hazy pale yellow color from the unfiltered wheat
Thick, fluffy white head
Aroma/Flavor:
Citrusy, spicy aroma from the orange peel and coriander
Light, wheaty malt backbone
Subtle zesty orange flavor
Dry, refreshing finish from the wheat
Light to medium body with a creamy mouthfeel
Alcohol Content:
4.9% ABV
Serving:
Traditionally served in a hexagonal Hoegaarden glass without any garnish
History:
Originated in the village of Hoegaarden in the 1600s
The witbier style died out until Pierre Celis revived it in 1966
Hugely popular in Belgium and a landmark beer that inspired the modern witbier revival
Hoegaarden set the standard for the witbier style with its hazy appearance, citrus aroma, creamy body and refreshing finish from the wheat. Its balanced flavors of orange and coriander make it an iconic and quintessential example of Belgian wheat beers.
While my Lenovo Legion Go unboxing post mentioned some of my first impressions, I thought it helpful to expand on my experience over the first few days.
I remain impressed. While no device is flawless from start to finish, the Lenovo Legion Go continues to impress after a solid week of play.
My 22 first impressions in bullet list form:
The screen is big, and fabulous.
The device is big, but not too heavy to hold for 30-45 min.
Running Windows is a double edged sword. It offers access to all my libraries but some games require tweaking, and some games just don’t work well.
I had one worrisome issue, where the device would not power on. A quick visit to Reddit gave me the solution: hold power for 15-20 seconds. According to the post (and others) Windows can have sleep issues…
I easily paired my two Steam controllers and Xbox controller.
I had to admit I prefer my Xbox controller over all others including the built in ones.
The buttons on the back side of each controller are somewhat annoying as they are easily pressed when picking up, holding or playing. Thankfully they do nothing in most games and applications.
Make sure to check Legion Space for updates, as well as Windows. If you have experience setting up a new Windows PC, you know the drill.
Battery life is so-so. This is a powerful device, and therefore you should never stray far from your power source.
Some people complain about fan noise, it has never bothered me.
I easily connected the device to my TV although without an official dock, it’s a little clumsy.
Speaking of, there’s no official dock! An oversight for sure, most people buy Steam Deck docks.
I haven’t had time yet to try out the novel “FPS” or First Person Shooter mode. Basically the right controller turns into a mouse, and for someone like me who’s terrible with controllers in FPS games this sounds intriguing.
Some people have reported “wobbly” controllers but I’ve yet to have an issue. From what I hear you either have it out of the box, or you don’t. Thankfully I don’t.
When I called Lenovo support for my “won’t wake up issue” they weren’t super helpful, or knowledgeable. I had to use Reddit to find a solution.
My living room experience was decent, but some games had “two controller” issues and one a TV/second screen issue. It’s probably the games’ fault, but I won’t know until have more hours of playtime on my TV.
The quality of the device feels exceptional. The photos and videos online do not do it justice. I was briefly worried about the quality of the controllers but have been impressed with the build and feel.
The kickstand kicks ass. It’s offers a wide range of movement for upright, and tilted back orientation.
The hard shell case is nice, but there’s no room for the charger. Bonus point for the hole in the front that allows charging with the case closed.
Out of the “big three” launchers, Steam handles controllers and the touch UI the best. EA is annoying to use specifically scrolling which is finicky.
Speaking of the touch UI, Windows with touch is actually decent and you’ll find yourself not using the touchpad as often as you’d expect.
Legion Space, and the Lenovo hardware control panel interface, both available via hardware buttons are nice features and provide quick access to all the primary functions (gaming and config).
I spoiled myself and purchased a Lenovo Legion Go (you can grab one from Best Buy). While seemingly out of character of me to purchase such an expensive toy, the Legion Go (or LeNoGo as I lovely call it) was the best fit for my needs. And besides, using “boy math” my purchase was “free” as it was funded by a small profit in crypto (try not to roll your eyes).
But I digress, the Legion Go so far is a fantastic device. Granted, one that I’ve had for only a weekend.
I chose the Legion Go because I am a PC gamer, and have libraries across several launchers. While I know I could have modded a Steam Deck, or chose one of the other new gaming Windows devices, the Legion Go was just the right mix of power, form factor and compatibility.
Without further adéu here is my Lenovo Legion Go unboxing post with photos.
Lenovo Shipping
Before I begin with the photo show I wanted to highlight how amazingly communicative Lenovo was regarding shipment. I’ve never purchased anything online with more communication. The icing on the cake was the live UPS map that allowed me to track the delivery in real-time to my door. Which turned out to be essential as it required a signature and I was not home (special thanks to my Ring doorbell)
Here’s my Gmail inbox showing emails at every step:
It Arrives! Well padded.
Open box showing a fancy sleeve and space on the right for the 65W USB-C charger.
It has a hard shell case!
Open case showing lift strap. The case is tight, which is good and bad (more on that later).
The LeNoGo outside the case showing that there’s no room for the charger! I have no idea what that plastic thing is (yet).
Open case showing screen cleaning cloth with instructions on how to launch Legion Space… I didn’t see and blew right past.
Boot screen showing Lenovo Legion logo. Exciting!
Aaand it’s just Windows 11. Underwhelming and exciting as “it’s just Windows” is primarily why I chose the Legion over the Steam Deck, or Nintendo Switch.
Windows 11 touchscreen desktop. The touchscreen is quite usable in Windows making the tiny trackpad almost unnecessary.
Detached controllers which are both very cool and difficult to get used to after decades of using traditional one-piece controllers. Note: There are several 3D-printable bridges or connector for these controllers. Check out the forums!
The backside showing the very sturdy and flexible kickstand (sorry about the smudges). Also worth noting the plethora of buttons on these controllers which makes picking it up without mashing a few buttons impossible.
Legion Go with a banana for scale. Yes it’s big.
Lenovo Legion Space app which consolidates all your launchers and games into one interface. It’s decent, and being tied to a hardware button makes it very practical. Impatient me didn’t really know about this, and I started by installing Steam which worked, but I should have gone slower and updated drivers first (yes I should have known better)
Bonus pic showing one of my favorite games in action: Sky Force
Another bonus picture showing the new Contra: Operation Galuga game with my (newly paired) Steam controller.
Final Thoughts
While waiting for Windows to update and reboot, I called support at 9:30 PM just to ask a question about registration. After pressing 2 and waiting for just 2 rings, a helpful man answered the phone! No waiting on hold, no menu maze, just a real person on the other line, and available so late! Lenovo clearly wants this Legion line of gaming products to succeed (or I got lucky).
It’s not as heavy as you’d expect. Yes it’s big, but it’s not so heavy as to make holding it a chore.
Detaching the controllers takes some practice. While easy, finding a method that isn’t clumsy takes time.
Pairing my Xbox and two Steam controllers via Bluetooth was super easy (it’s just Windows!)
Prepare yourself for updates galore. Both the Lenovo Legion Space app and Windows will have many updates that will need to be installed over your first few days.
The firmware update gave me a brief scare. As is typical with firmware updates the reboot didn’t go quite as smooth as expected and I had two boots where the device turned on, but the screen was inactive. Another reboot and it solved itself, however some of my games had their video settings reset.
I installed Steam, Epic, and EA with no issues. I have yet to find a game that will not run (I’ve installed about 10).
Generally speaking AAA games will require lower quality settings to run smoothly but all games look great thanks to the amazing screen.
Lots of performance options I have yet to dip into. I’m still new!
Dronelink – Drone flight control software that enables automation.
Open my hotel window – A website to help you find a hotel with windows that open. Coming soon.
Books by the Foot – Often seen in hastily flipped homes, books by the foot allows you to fill your shelves with books that look good, but will never be read. Which to be fair, describes most personal libraries.
