Posted: April 27th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Ale, Beer Reviews, Brewpubs, Craft Brew, Seasonal, What's that in your fridge? | 1 Comment »
AVB does seasonal ales right! is one of my all-time favorite beers. It’s a real treat to find it on tap, but I’m just as happy when spring arrives and the local store stocks the Summer Solstice. As a seasonal beer, it’ll probably be available from late April through August, then gone until next spring.
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!
Posted: March 2nd, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Craft Brew, Organic, Tripel, What's that in your fridge? | No Comments »
Bison Brewing’s Belgian-style aleI have to admit up front that I often don’t love organic beers. While I do love many other organic things — fruit, vegetables, grains — I usually find that organic beers just taste wrong, much like “sulfite-free” wines taste wrong. So it’s with a little trepidation that I bought a bottle of
Bison Brewing’s Belgian Ale. But I persist in my search for tasty organic beer, especially since I love Belgian-style beers!
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.
Posted: February 27th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Craft Brew, Pale Ale, What's that in your fridge? | No Comments »
Who wouldn’t love a coppery beer like this?I love
Kona Brewing’s Pipeline Porter, so when their
Fire Rock Pale Ale went on an excellent sale ($6.99!) I had to try it. Now, I don’t typically like pale ales. They’re often a bit over-hopped for my taste and leave a bitter flavor in my mouth or they’re a bit metallic in the finish.
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?
Posted: February 24th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Cider, Gluten-free, What's that in your fridge? | 2 Comments »
Blue Mountain Cranberry CiderI already knew I loved
Blue Mountain ciders, so buying their cranberry cider when it was on sale at Belmont Station was a no-brainer.
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.
Posted: February 21st, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Brewpubs, Craft Brew, Events & Tastings, Gluten-free, Newsworthy, Tripel, What's that in your fridge? | No Comments »
It’s time for the finale in my three-part Green’s gluten-free beer review series. I’m kind of wishing all six other styles were imported to the states so I’d have a few more gluten-free beer choices, since this puts me at the end of the line for what I’ve been able to find so far.
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!