This is actually an ideal beer for a warm spring day – full enough to take the chill off you when the wind blows, but light and crisp to compliment the warmth of the sun on your face. I could see it pairing nicely with sushi, or even udon. Something that doesn’t have strong spices that would overwhelm the ginger notes.

It reminds me a lot of the experimental ginger hefeweizen I brewed a couple of months ago, only more carbonated. I hope that my brew gets a bit more bubbly!

Also, it turns out that Laughing Buddha had to change its name to Trade Route Brewing due to a legal dispute. Since the brewery is in Seattle, I’ll have to check it out the next time I go north.

On pouring, the Real Ginger Brew is not as light as I’d expected, having a more copper color that was a bit hazy. The haze didn’t reflect a wheaty taste. On pouring there’s a bit of head, much like a soda, but no head retention.

It has a surprisingly tart aroma followed by coriander and citrus. The initial taste also has a tang like a Flanders Brown, slightly fruity and tart. The ginger flavor is present, but more savory than spicy, and there’s no real ginger hotness. I noted a definite metallic taste that all the Hitachino Nest beers have. The carbonation is a little rough, like a soda, though it calms as the beer warms.

On warming there’s a noticeable alcohol aroma and flavor, and the taste of the beer becomes more savory than tart. It’s an interesting beer, but I’m not sure I’d pay over $4.50 for it again.

Finally, a pigskin I can enjoy!

Still, I like to support and Oregon brewery, and the price was right. I couldn’t help but notice that, in the bottle, the beer seemed a little uncharacteristically cloudy for a pale ale. On pouring, it looks more like a hazy amber or a kolsch – pale coppery and hazy. Funny, since the brewer’s site claims it’s a pale yellow beer. The head is minimal, but it does retain a little foam over time.

Fresh from the fridge, I notice the floral hops aroma first, but there’s little bitter hops aftertaste. As the beer warms, the floral character mellows and allows the malty flavor to come out. It has a nice velvety bubble to it that makes it rather easy to drink. We had spicy burritos for dinner and the Pigskin pale held up perfectly against the spice and the heat of the day.

I have to say that, surprisingly, this beer was exactly what I wanted today. It’s refreshing, malty but not sweet, hoppy but not bitter or overly floral, substantial without being heavy, and all-around a perfect fit for a summer day. I’ll definitely buy this again and look for it on tap.

Oh, it's a little trouble!

This is a nice golden-colored beer of medium clarity. Decent head retention, fine but substantial carbonation, and a tart wheaty aroma present themselves on first pour. I let it warm up a bit before drinking, since it was too tart when fresh from the fridge. As it warms, the wheat flavors start to come out on top of the tartness. But the bright flavor is refreshing, complex, and a welcome change from sweet, malty beers.

I appreciate that it’s delicately hopped, just enough to keep it from being sweet but not so much that there’s any bitterness. This is one well-balanced beer! I wish it came in larger bottles. It’s more like a wit beer than a wheat ale, so if you’re looking for a hefeweizen you can find cheaper, local beers. But for an alternative to Celis White, this is good! Not full of orange and coriander, but still tasty and more complex than your basic hefeweizen.

Still, $3.11 for 11.2oz is a little steep. This will be a specialty beer in my house!

Such cute little bottles!

Belzebuth is a gorgeous golden color in the glass, much like a mead or even a cider. There’s little head on pouring, though a little foam remains around the edges of the glass. The bubbles are fine like a quality champagne — which I’d expect from a fancy French beer! Of course, Brasserie Grain D’Orge is located just south of the Belgian border in the Flanders region of France, so this is barely a French beer in my mind.

Of particular note is that this beer is 13% alcohol, a fact prominently stated on the neck label. This had me prepared for it to be quite sweet, which it is. Lots of candy sugar flavor in this one, almost sticky and sickly sweet at times. The sweetness is a little better as the beer warms and the malt flavors become apparent.

If you don’t let this beer warm up before drinking it, all you taste is sweet up front with a metallic finish. Kathy said, “The aftertaste tastes like fish. Ew. You can drink this one.” To me it didn’t taste like fish (and I hate fish flavor), it just had a strong metallic finish. Once it’s warmer, the finish is more fruity and spicy.

Because of the sweetness, this is not a fast drinking beer. I’ve been sipping mine for at least an hour now and still have a bit more to drink. On account of the alcohol level and the sweetness, this wouldn’t be a beer I’d put in regular drinking rotation. But it makes a good dessert beer, that’s for sure!

AVB does seasonal ales right!

What I love about it is that it’s flavorful and interesting, but so drinkable that you could have several pints of it in a day and not mind the repetition. On pouring, it has a clear coppery golden color with a light head that quickly disappates. I love the velvety smooth mouthfeel, the malty, light cream soda flavor that brings a mild but not overwhelming sweetness. The finish is clean, smooth, just enough hops to keep the beer from being sweet. And it gets better as the beer warms up a little, allowing the maltiness and creaminess come through, with the sweetness taking a back seat.

It’s certainly not a beer for everyone, though! I convinced a friend to try it at a bar and she thought it was too weird—too much like cream soda. I hate cream soda, yet I love that taste in this beer. Go figure!

If you happen upon the Summer Solstice at a pub or in the store, really do try it! It’s delicious and unlike any other beer on the market. It will also cost a pretty penny at $9.29/6 pack, but it’s worth the money!

Bison Brewing’s Belgian-style ale

This Belgian-style “tripel” ale is brewed with coriander, though I don’t really smell or taste it much. It does have a nice golden honey color, and it’s super clear. The aroma is crisp, slightly of honey, and has a cereal aroma I associate with Belgian beers. It’s like a hint of Grape Nuts, which sounds weird but really isn’t so bad. It’s nicely carbonated; fine bubbles on the tongue, but they don’t cover the flavor of the beer.

At 8.1% alcohol, this beer has that “warming” quality I like in a Belgian tripel. It seems to add to the malty flavor, and it heightens the banana and spice flavors in the finish. Kathy said this beer tastes grapey, which I don’t taste, but there you go!

I think I’d buy this again if it were on sale. $3.29 for 22oz isn’t so bad, especially for an organic beer, but on sale it would be even better.

Who wouldn’t love a coppery beer like this?

Fire Rock Pale Ale has a lovely copper hue that’s best admired in a glass. These days, I’m trying to be really good about pouring all beer into a glass so I can appreciate the color and the aroma, rather than swigging it from a bottle and missing out on part of the beer experience. Seriously, my brush with a near-beerless life has changed my perspective on beer appreciation! This pale ale is clear, crisp, and the color of a delicious wildflower honey. Or, the color of hot lava!

The aroma is sweet and lightly floral, but not a hoppy floral. It’s more the sweetness of wildflower in spring than the herbal aroma of hops. On first tasting, I notice the fine carbonation, spritzy on the tongue. This is no beer soda. The up front flavors are of a pale malt and the tang of hops. Toward the back of my mouth, I taste the warmth of corn (which I know some people don’t like, but I rather enjoy), and rich toasted malt. There’s a lightly bitter hops finish, but just enough to keep the beer from tasting sweet. They’re using some Hood and Cascade hops in this beer, so I’ve got to appreciate the local connection.

What I love about this pale ale is that it’s got some backbone. It’s not wispy and thin, not bitter, but it’s full and lush without being heavy. It really can stand up to barbecue, scalloped potatoes, and lamb. But it also pairs nicely with salads and even Italian food. Versatile!

I also have to say that the Kona Brewing website is just lovely. I see so many horrible, ugly brewery websites, so it’s awesome to see a company that’s getting it right! The style of the site matches what I expect from a Hawaiian brewery, but has class and substance. They’ve clearly paid attention to the details and hired an agency that knows what it’s doing. The site delivers both a fun experience and the information I was seeking, which is distressingly rare for food-related sites. Huzzah for a great website!

This is the kind of beer that makes me think I should relocate to Hawaii for a time, just to try it out. Delicious beer, great weather, friendly people … what more could I want?

Blue Mountain Cranberry Cider

What a gorgeous ruby red color! It’s so perfect and clear, juicy and gem-toned. I can see why hummingbirds are drawn to red nectar-bearing flowers. Just the color alone begs, “drink me NOW!”

And what a lovely tart, refreshing drink it is! I’d imagine that they use fairly sweet apples to offset the tartness of the cranberries. The bottle states that it’s their Walla Walla 5 apple blend, with a splash of cranberry. The aroma is very clearly of apple, but the tang on the tongue and in the back of my mouth is definitely all cranberry.

This would make a great wine replacement at Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Or most of the time, really. It’s tart enough that you don’t want to guzzle it, but has such a nice light honey aroma and flavor that you just can’t stop drinking it.

I’ll definitely buy this again, especially if it’s on sale. I love buying local ciders made from local apples! It’s the best thing next to having my own cider, and I think I might try a cranberry cider blend next fall.

On opening the bottle, a lovely malty aroma wafted out and nearly fooled my nose into thinking I was going to have a regular beer. The Quest pours nicely, with finer carbonation and a decent (but not truly Belgian Tripel-quality) head — not nearly as airy and, well, huge as what I’m used to seeing. In under a minute it went from a 1″ head to a .25″ head, as you can see in my photo. But the color is a nice honey gold/red and very clear, though probably not what I’d describe as a “blonde.”

As with the Endeavour dubbel, this beer needs to warm a bit to taste good. My first sip was tart and a bit off-tasting. Not tart and weirdly fruity/grapey, more tart like a dry cider but without the apple taste. Not even lambic or geuze tart, which still has a fruitiness to it. Gone, though, is the up front acrid sorghum bitterness and metallic flavor in my mouth.

Once Quest warms up, it tastes moderately like a traditional tripel — definite spicey aroma, warm feeling in the mouth, honey tones to the sweetness. But there’s a slight bitterness to the finish, just a little bite that’s not quite right.

So far, this is the most convincing “Belgian” style gluten-free beer I’ve tried. I don’t think it’s an every day drinker like the New Grist ale could be, but for the price it’s worth the occasional splurge. And again, if I hadn’t had regular beer within fairly recent memory, this would probably be sweet ambrosia on my lips!