Beers in Review: Completely non-Valentine's Edition, Honest

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No lovey-dovey beers here! Except in the ordinary "loving beer" type of way. Let's get right to it!

Some time ago, Ballast Point Brewing Company aimed to create “medium-bodied” stout at their pilot brewery. The result was The Commodore American Stout, which contains 6.5% ABV and rates 62 IBU. This year-round stout pours pretty close to black, as expected, though I would probably define it as being “light-bodied”, not the medium Ballast Point claims. Perhaps that is simply picking nits, as there is no question the brewers hit their target on what certainly is a lighter-bodied stout. Flavor notes include some mild spices and bittersweet chocolate, along with a moderate coffee note—fairly standard stout offerings. There is also a fairly strong smoky note, and smoky notes tend to be a turnoff for me. They work in this beer, which is quite tasty overall, with no flavor note (including that smoke) overwhelming the rest of the stout.

I can’t quite tell if it’s global warming, or just the law of averages (the average winter high in Columbia, SC is in the low 60s Fahrenheit), but it’s felt like such a warm winter that it seems like we should abolish winter beers. Despite yet another bunch of days at or above 70 degrees, my next beer up is Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Winter Solstice Ale. The Winter Solstice comes in at 6.9% ABV and a mere 6 IBU. This take on the winter warmer style pours a nice reddish-copper color and brings hints of caramel and toffee. There are also considerable spice notes, which I believe I was interpreting as an iced tea flavor. The beer also brings a slight sweetness. Anderson Valley really brings it when it comes to the Summer and Winter Solstice ales. This is a tasty and terrific ale!

Beers in Review: Goze Duo

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Before we start, a brief description of gozes, for the beer novices. Gozes, or gueuzes, are sour wheat beers that are very crisp and dominantly sour, often even venturing from sour to salty. They typically have very little body, fairly low alcohol content, and little to no hop presence. They can be quite the acquired taste, as you may imagine very sour/not heavily sugared lemonade.

First up is Anderson Valley Brewing Company's The Kimmie, The Yink, and the Holy Goze. Yep, that's the name. This goze has tons of lemony tartness, along with a hint of saltiness that comes through in the second half. The second half also has hints of earthiness as well, leading into a finish that is very clean. As expected, the whole thing is very effervescent and lively on the tongue the whole way through.

The second beer of our Goze pair is simply called Goze from Charleston's Westbrook Brewing Company. Westbrook's Goze is incredibly intense in every way. There is a hint of initial sweetness that quickly gives way to a strong citrusy bite--and I feel I'm getting assorted citrus in that flavor, not just lemon. The bite is powerful, and takes some getting used to. It does level out some in the back half of the sip, though a fair amount of saltiness is also added to the flavor near the finish. In a style of beer that tends to be pretty strong, flavor-wise, Westbrook's Goze would be among the strongest.