Beers in Review: Dangerous Wits

I'm starting off today's BiR with a ramped-up version of the Wildflower Wit from Natty Greene's Brewing Company in Greensboro, NC. Wilderflower Imperial Wit checks in at a powerful 9+% ABV. It pours a hazy peach-to-orange color. There are plenty of spices coming through the flavor profile. That profile also features plenty of fruit notes, including some citrus specifically. There is a mild level of sweet booziness present as well--not a shock at the ABV level. But a really enjoyable beer, and perhaps a bit dangerous, as it is quite drinkable at over 9%!

Next up is a sessionable Blonde Ale from North Charleston, SC's Freehouse Brewery. Folly's Pride is designed to be drinkable in any situation, most notably the long, hot summers so present in the Carolinas. Pouring a crystal clear pale yellow, this Blonde is brewed with grapefruit, and that serves up the primary flavor notes in multiple ways. While there is a general citrus note, as well as the meaty grapefruit flesh, I found the bitter grapefruit rind to be the most-forward flavor note, with a fair amount of bitterness accompanying it. Personally, I could have used with a hair less of that bitterness, but otherwise, this is a light, crisp, low-ABV (4.8%) ale that serves as a solid summer option.

Beers in Review: Late-ish

I'm writing this at a later hour than I normally like to write, so let's just get into today's beers.

First up is the Honey Kolsch from Rogue Ales. Rogue's farm near their brewery in Oregon sourced the honey for this Kolsch from over 7 million bees kept on the farm. This beer pours a straw yellow, and is nice and light with mild sweetness, including a not-too-strong honey note. Doughy and yeasty notes are also prevalent, all leading the way to a nice biscuity malt finish. I found this beer to be quite tasty.

Next up is New Holland Brewing Company's Sundog. Pouring a deep copper color, I found notes in this beer I really liked, but I also found something a bit off. The beer has a strong malt backbone with bready notes and a whole lot of caramel. The finish was kind of strange--I felt like I was getting a nutty note, but there was also some sort of off flavor. It seemed like maybe something metallic, but I had trouble placing it. The front half of this beer was decent, but the back half was a bit of a killer. I would give it another try, perhaps in bottles (I got a draft) or at another locale.

Finally, from Freehouse Brewery, their Battery Brown Ale. The beer poured a pretty light cola color, and brought a massive malt bill with huge burnt sugar notes, along with toffee. There was a slight hint of a straight-up burnt note, but it blended well with everything else going on, so that it was not off-putting. Despite the dark candy-like notes, this beer carried just a hint of sweetness. A whole of what I like from brown ales in this Battery Brown. The brewers call it "quaffable...for all seasons", and I completely agree.

Recovered and Reflected: WBF Highlights, Part 2

As promised yesterday, let's knock out a couple of Pourly Reviewed Ciders before my final beer reflections.

Really, I went to the cider section of the World Beer Festival to break up the beer tastings and try to save my palate a bit. Varying levels of success on that.

In the cider section, my goal was to go outside the box of the typical hard apple cider. I started with McKensie's Beverages and their Black Cherry Cider. It was very tasty, sweet but not killer sweet, and the black cherry was very much up my alley. Really delicious. Second was Bold Rock Hard Cider's IPA, which stands for India Pressed Cider. It lived up to the IPA initials, pairing an early apple sweetness with a hint of that hop bitterness normally reserved for pale ales. Most of the hops were in the back end of the sip, and made for a solid overall taste of the cider.

Back into beers, I had never heard of Charleston's Freehouse Brewery until seeing them at the festival. Their Green Door IPA relies on organic barley and hops. Overall, the result was a mild but solidly drinkable IPA.

Staying with IPAs, I had Thomas Creek Brewery's Trifecta IPA, which features plenty of crisp citrus hop flavors. I haven't seen this beer much around until very recently--this is one I need to explore further.

Finally, Hi-Wire Brewing had their new Spring seasonal, a hoppy Belgian called Death Defying Spring Ale. It was something different, as the hops blended well with the traditional fruity Belgian sweetness. Another beer I hope to enjoy again soon.