Video Review: Beers of Summer, Part 2

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Today, I check out two more Summer seasonals as part of the Beers of Summer series. This includes one of my all-time favorite beers which might be having a little bit of difficulty, or at least an identity crisis. Check out my thoughts on beers from Victory Brewing Company and Bell's Brewery here!

Beers in Review: They can't all be winners

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This BiR brings a wide range of emotions to this blog. Beers will be liked. Beers will be disliked. Let's find out which is which together.

The folks at Craft and Draft had a fun little tasting last week, pairing assorted beers from River Rat Brewery with specific types of candy. I tried River Rat's Broad River Red with a Kit Kat, and this initially generated a bit of a mental "taste" already, as the aromas of the beer matched the sweet cocoa and wheaty, biscuity notes from the Kit Kat. At least, they did in my head. Overall, the Kit Kat matched well with the Red ale and it's solid malt backbone with some spicy sweetness, and perhaps a dark cocoa hint...or was that the candy doing its job. Regardless, the Red is one of my favorites from River Rat.

Next up is Fandom Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company. Fandom is a hoppy ale being brewed for the Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar chain. Now, perhaps that fact should have been the first red flag when it came to this beer. Pouring a straight-up yellow, I got tons of piney and vegetal aromatics before even taking a sip. These notes carried through to the taste. Flavor notes included assorted grains, vegetal notes, and hoppy pine. There was a mild hop bitterness that tended to carry through a dry finish into the aftertaste. These flavors, though were shoved in your face quite harshly during the drinking experience, and I found the flavor combination to be not very appealing. This was a serious miss by Lagunitas. Or a major cleaning problem on the part of my local BWW.

On a much more positive note, we move to a brewery that has rarely, if ever, disappointed, Bell's Brewery. Roundhouse is an India Red Ale brewed with honey, and is a fall seasonal with availability in September and October ONLY, per their website. It pours a reddish color, and is quite bold in both hop and especially malt flavors. Sweet honey blends well with a sweet maltiness along with mild crackery notes. This is balanced by a mild hop bite, with just a hint of pine present. I found this beer to be a quick drinker--highly drinkable and highly enjoyable.

Beers in Review: Playing catch-up

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After Sunday's little party, I have whole bunch of beers about which to write, but I'm still playing catch-up from the previous week! We'll see if I'm feeling frisky and want to write about a couple beers more than usual. Let's get started.

Leading off is Picture of Nectar Double IPA from Southbound Brewing Company. It pours a yellow-gold color, and features peach and peach skin flavors, along with some floral aromatic notes and piney hops. I got a mild bitterness on the back end of the drinking experience, as well as some earthiness towards the end. It wasn't too sweet, and also not really boozy, which was a slight surprise for 9.3% ABV. A very drinkable DIPA.

It seems like I've covered a lot of Bell's Brewery lately--the Octoberfest series has aided that perception--and the latest in a series of very good beers from Bell's is their Special Double Cream Stout. As expected, it pours a near-black color, and offers notes of coffee as well as some cocoa and perhaps even a hint of smokiness. It's very tasty overall, with a fairly smooth mouthfeel (again, as expected from a DOUBLE cream beer).

Third up is the highly-regarded Narwhal Imperial Stout from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. This beer is pretty much pitch black, with some quite tasty flavor notes, including dark fruit, raisins, plums, sweet chocolate and vanilla, and sweet maltiness. It has an incredibly complex flavor profile, with a moderate amount of booziness. This my first tasting of Narwhal, and it lives up to its reputation.

Finally, let's jump into one beer from Octoberfest on Sunday. This Brewdy Peach/Habanero IPA was brewed by Low Tide Brewing Company for The Fat Hen, a French Low Country restaurant just outside Charleston, SC. Pouring a cloudy orange color, this IPA brings plenty of pepper. The Habanero kick is evident from the outset, as a just-uncomfortable-enough spiciness invades the throat upon the first sip and persists even after swallowing. A black pepper note joins it early on, before being joined by the peach and maybe a funk note, as well. The hops come through in the back half of the drinking experience, an experience which includes a bit of a creamy mouthfeel. This is an impressive beer, and the first I had at Octoberfest. It was a hell of a lead-off hitter.

Beers in Review: Two favorites

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We've reached the month of May, which means summer is approaching (or here, as in Columbia, SC). That makes it the perfect time to write about two of my favorite beers. One is a summer seasonal wheat ale, while the other is a year-round wheat beer crossed with some interesting global flavors. Frankly, I'm stunned I hadn't written about these beers yet, especially the year-round offering (considering I've only been writing since the fall).

First up, the seasonal from Bell's Brewery, Oberon Ale, which for me is pretty much THE example of what a wheat ale should be. The ale pours a hazy, orange peel color and has a light body. The "orange peel" concept continues into the taste for me, as I detected both citrus like orange and lemon as well as citrus peel flavors. There are also some grain or wheat notes, along with some mild spices and a very mild hint of bitterness. Oberon tends to be available for a longer period of time than most summer seasonals; it is reportedly available from April to August. As one of the ideal summer wheats, it's one I'll enjoy that entire time. This is a true go-to beer.

Next is one of the first truly unique beers I ever tasted, Westbrook Brewing Company's White Thai witbier. A little lighter than the Oberon, more a straw color, but also pretty hazy and light in body. This beer has a crisp, tart opening with some sweet orange and lemon citrus notes. Very quickly, the "Thai" portion of "White Thai" asserts itself, as notes of ginger and lemongrass become prominent, with some other spices in the background. The ginger and spices carry through the rest of the sip and even into the aftertaste. A wonderfully complex and very different type of witbier.

Beer in Review LIVE: Bell's Two-Hearted Ale

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I'm already logged in and writing, so let's have a beer!

Bell's Brewery makes one of my favorite beers in their Oberon Ale, a REALLY tasty wheat beer. I recently picked up a four-can pack of Two Hearted Ale, their American-style IPA.

A golden-orange color, and translucent, this is an excellent APA/IPA. The taste starts out with some definite hop flavor, but not a whole lot of bitterness. There is some bite as the taste progresses, but this is tempered by mild fruity flavors. Underlying through out the entire drink, and especially notable at the end, is a significant malt presence. The body isn't super big, but the beer is crafted so as to be a sipping beer, certainly something to be savored, not downed quickly--a sentiment that matches a beer that is so well-executed.