Category: beer

I wish I had a picture of this but I guess I forgot to take one or accidentally deleted it. The beer was a lovely coppery color with a thick head. So, now use your imaginations to picture that in a frosted pint glass.

From the label:

Five hops and four malts make Hoptober Golden Ale a vaeritable cornucopia of the earth. Pale and wheat malt are mashed with rye and oats to create a medium-bodied ale with a creamy mouth feel. Centennial, Cascade, Sterling, Willamette and Glacier hops form a bonfire of citrus notes, fruity cheers and a bold finale.

From my notes:

Not as hoppy as I was expecting, the moniker might be a little misleading. This beer smells good. Citrus, spice, and maybe a hint of stone fruit. I was hoping it’d taste as good. But, it doesn’t. There are still hints of citrus and fruit in the beer but those flavors are overwhelmed by bitterness of the hops. Surprisingly, the finish, while bitter, tastes of grapefruit. Plenty of carbonation here. Smooth.

I’m not the biggest fan of hoppy beers. The bitterness of hops always seem to overwhelm everything else in a beer’s profile. So, I was a little leery picking this beer up, but, I’m a fan of New Belgium and so I gave it a shot. I wasn’t disappointed. New Belgium does a good job of balancing the flavors in this beer. I only wish it tasted as good as it smelled.

Rating (out of five):

 

from the label:

Old Chico Brand Crystal Wheat. Only available locally, Old Chico Crystal Wheat is our lightest offering. This filtered beer is brewed with malted wheat and barley – leaving it light bodied, refreshing, and wonderfully drinkable.

I’d link you to Sierra Nevada’s information on this beer but their website doesn’t seem to include it amongst their beers…? Old Chico is a really light wheat beer. As you can see from the picture above it has a golden blond color and a fine white head. Old Chico has a floral bouquet with subtle hints of banana and wheat. Beer had a clear citrusy taste with a hint of apple on the roof of the mouth. I was surprised to find a bit of hops flavor in the beer as well that lingers. Not the best wheat beer I’ve ever drank but certainly will do on a hot, summer day.

You might have a hard time finding this beer outside of Northern California. That is okay though as there are plenty of good wheat beers out there and Old Chico isn’t amazing merely competent.

Rating (out of five):

 

From the label:

Wailua is Hawaiian for two fresh water streams mingling. This was just the inspiration we needed for our aloha series wheat ale brewed with tropical passion fruit. A refreshing, citrusy, sun-colored ale with the cool taste of Hawaii

From their website:

Swimming in a fresh water pool at the base of a cascading waterfall is what we all imagine we would find in paradise. On Maui, follow the old Hana Highway and you will find such a place – Wailua Falls. This plunging cascade of clear water is the inspiration for our Limited Release Wailua Wheat Ale. This golden, sun colored ale has a bright, citrus flavor that comes from the tropical passion fruit we brew into each batch. Sit back, relax and enjoy paradise anytime.

The first thing I noticed is how fruity this beer is! Furthermore while there is a hint of citrus as the quotes up above mention the more noticeable flavor is passion fruit. Please note that when I say this beer is fruity I’m not talking cocktail fruity, hard cider fruity, this is very much still a beer and while the passion fruit flavor is strong it isn’t sweet. The beer has a clean, crisp finish and leaves a satisfying passion fruit aftertaste in this mouth.

This beer is only sold during the spring and summer and that is a shame cause I’d drink it year round. But, since it’s only around for the BBQing months I hearitly recommend picking this beer up next time you’re grilling instead of Corona or other domestic lager.

Rating (out of five):

 

 

 

I wasn’t expecting to have a five star beer yet but here it is. So in it goes to the newly created False(B)blogic Hall of Beers.