Category: beer

Beer of the Week 43: Aprihop

Dogfish Head’s Aprihop India Pale Ale

From the bottle:

An India pale ale brewed with real apricots

From my notes:

Smells of stone fruits and citrus, pretty faint. Pours a nice auburn color with a fine tan head, mild lacing as I drank. Medium bodied beer with a hoppy finish. Tastes like cherries and apricots and malt sweetness when it hits the tongue and then it hits the back and it’s citrusy hops going down. Not a lot of flavor here not a lot of hop either, mild for an IPA.

Who could go for a beer right now?

With Indian Pale Ales being such a popular beer right now Aprihop doesn’t have a lot to distinguish it from the pack. The apricot flavor is weak and the hops aren’t that powerful either. Not a lot to say about this middling brew, really.

Rating (out of five):

Beer of the Week 42 Tweason’ale

Dogfish Head’s Tweason’ale

From the bottle:

A gluten-free sorghum-based ale brewed with strawberries and buckwheat honey.

From my notes:

Strawberry blonde color bordering on light pink with a one inched, cream colored  head with fine bubbles. Smells of fruit, grape, strawberries, and honey. Tastes like berries, and something that I can’t identify, I’m thinking it is the sorghum? It’s not pleasant. This is a sweet beer. Almost a wine cooler. Dry finish.

Almost looks like a crappy rosé, huh?

I bought this beer out of curiosity mostly. A gluten free, sorghum based beer? I’ll try that! Except, the beer isn’t that good. The problem with going out to the edge is that, sometimes, you fall off. Strawberry is a good match with beer, as is honey but they’d do better in a beer that is made from either wheat or barley.

Rating (out of five):

Beer of the Week 41: Primator Maibock

 

Pivovar Náchod a.s brewery’s Primátor Maibock

From the bottle:

In 2008, prominent Beers of the World magazine awarded Primator Maibock as the World’s Best Lagar. Original gravity: 16 degrees Plato; alcohol by volume: 7.5%.

Golden amber color. Subtle fruit aroma. Crisp, medium-bodied palate. A blend of rich fruity malt and tangy hops produces this complex yet perfectly balanced maibock.

From my notes:

Cool amber color with large bubbled white head. Floral hints, yeast, and malts on the nose. Nice balance of spice, citrus, some nut, and toasty flavors on the tongue. Medium body with a clean feel on the tongue, creamy almost.

I know Maibocks aren’t served in a tulip glass, shut up!

Maibock’s like other robustly flavored beers need to be paired with similiarly robustly flavored foods. Spicy food works as does BBQ and fried foods (fried chicken!), would also work with more flavorful cheeses! If you’re having this beer with dessert I recommend a good strudel or cheesecake.

Beer of the Week 40: Hell or High Watermelon

21 Amendment brewery’s Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer

From their site:

Hell or High Watermelon Wheat is our summer seasonal beer available from April through September in six pack cans and on draft. We start by brewing a classic American wheat beer, which undergoes a traditional secondary fermentation using fresh watermelon. A straw-colored, refreshing beer with a kiss of watermelon aroma and flavor.

From my notes:

Opaque peach color, small bubbled head that dissipates quickly. Smells of wheat, maybe spice and fruit. First taste of the beer has a watermelon taste, like Jolly Rancher’s watermelon. light bitter finish. The feel is thin and  little odd.  The taste, overall, seems artificial. Lightly carbonated.

This beer stumped me.

Despite watermelon being one of my favorite fruits I just couldn’t get into this beer. Not an amazing wheat beer and the watermelon flavor was more of a turn off than anything.

Rating (out of five):

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