Beers in Review: Two more for summer

It's been kind of a slow week, beer-wise. I bailed on a Six-Pack of News because there hasn't been too much going on, unless I want to write about ANOTHER beer coming to cans or the latest of A-B InBev trying to take over the world (which, admittedly, is a little bit soul-sucking). I may find one or two news items to write about this weekend, but no promises. The Six-Pack will return, as soon as there are interesting things about which to write.

I also only have a couple of beers to review. This issue, I guarantee, will be resolved this weekend. Both of these beers somewhat unintentionally fall into the week's Beers of Summer theme from Monday's video, so this all really lined up nicely. Enough chit-chat. Let's get to the beers!

Our first offering is a collaboration between Oskar Blues Brewery and the World of Beer bar chain, and is called American Summer Hoppy Wit. As expected, it pours a nice golden color and is pretty clear/see-through. Citrus notes dominate this beer, but in a way in which the bright witbier and yeast citrus notes blend well with citrus coming from the hops. There were also some mild spice notes, most notably some clove, as well as a very mild hop bitterness coming around at the end of the sip.

Second, and last, is the Nitro White Ale from Boston Beer Company, aka Sam Adams, and their fairly new nitro can project. The beer's color falls somewhere between lemon and orange, and is quite hazy. As mentioned, this can has a widget that releases nitrogen into the beer when opened, a la Guinness. This results in a frothy, creamy head of microbubbles, and a creamy mouthfeel. Mild citrus notes were the first thing that came to me as I took the first sip. I also get a bit of a unique flavor that comes from the nitrogen. It's hard to explain--it's not really a flavor, but every beer that's infused with nitrogen has a unique background taste that until recently I had just associated with mild English ales. Moving on, there are some mild spice notes, again with cloves but also maybe something like nutmeg or all spice/five spice. The mouthfeel IS creamy, as expected, and it has a pretty clean finish with little aftertaste, which is surprising for a beer under nitrogen.

Coming tomorrow: the Beers of Summer series, which totally always included this beer review, concludes with a video review of Holy City's Washout Wheat. See ya then!

Beers in Review: Miscellaneous Trio

After the WBF posts, I have a bit of a backlog of beers from pre-festival.

In one of the festival posts, I professed my love for NoDa Brewing Company's Jam Session Pale Ale (which I'd mistakenly called an IPA). Earlier in the week, I had their winter seasonal, called Cold Crash. It pours a reddish-bronze hue, and has a moderate to full body. I caught a hint of a nutty aroma, and a good amount of dark fruit flavors along with some malty hints and maybe a bit of hops. Pretty tasty beer. I've generally enjoyed the beers of NoDa.

Another solid brewery, I find, is Lonerider Brewing Company, and their Sweet Josie is a top-flight Brown Ale, in my opinion. Pouring a deep, dark brown, this full-bodied Brown has a ton of flavors going on: nutty flavors, caramel, cola, sweet chocolate. Really, really tasty. This Brown stands out in a category that can be a little stagnant.

Finally, a collaboration between Tradesman Brewing Company and the World of Beer bar chain. Called Boil Advisory (as a fundraiser for Columbia's disastrous flooding late last year), it was a very dark brown to nearly pitch black--to the point that I needed to basically look at it directly through the afternoon sun to get any color through it. Pretty complex flavors throughout this Black IPA, as a coffee hint combines with the hops to make the beer quite bitter to start. From there, it resolves to assorted sweetness (some cocoa, a bit of fruit) and some hints of spice.