Tag: beer

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):

Beer of the Week 39: Union Jack IPA

Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Union Jack India Pale Ale

From their website:

Union Jack abounds with hop aroma and character. In fact this well balanced, west coast IPA is double dry hopped, giving it more and more of the grapefruit, citrus hop aroma and flavor it is known for. Overall it utilizes over four pounds of pacific-northwest hops per barrel.

From my notes:

Coppery colored with large bubbled tan head with medium retention (about 3 or 4 minutes) and nice lacing. Citrus hoppiness on the nose with with pine in the background. Citrus and floral on the tongue, specifically  I’m tasting grapefruit. Medium bodied. The hope flavor is pretty well balanced by some malt which smooths out the hops. Mild to medium bitter finish.

Another IPA! IPAs have a robust flavor profile and need to be paired with food with similarly strong flavors. Think spicy foods, bold cheeses, robust cheeses. Thai food is great here, as would be macaroni and cheese  with some good blue cheeses.

Rating (out of five):

Beer of the Week 38: Red Seal Ale

North Coast Brewing Company’s Ruedrich’s Red Seal Ale

From the bottle:

Malt & hops are beautifully married in this copper-red pale ale. Generously hopped for a long, spicy denouement. Water, malted barley, hops, yeast & that’s all.

From my notes:

Pinkish rose colored beer with a thick tan head. Smells of malt and hops hints of cherry. Tastes of hops and citrus. Too much bitter on the finish. Very smooth to drink.

It looks pretty in the tulip glass. Though I think ale’s just go into pint glasses.

 

Considering how much I enjoy North Coast Brewing Company’s other beers Ruedrich’s was a let down. It’s a perfectly serviceable Red but seeing how their other beers were so much more than ‘serviceable…’  I need to learn to not let my expectations spoil a beer. Red Ale’s go well with chicken, seafood, and ground beef. A little spice won’t hurt either!

Rating (out of five):

Beer of the Week 37 Lagunitas Pils

Lagunitas’ PILS

From their website:

Czech Style Pilsner. Like Adam and Eve, Issac and Ishmael,Mao and Confuscious, Good and Evil, Day and Night, Hittites and Visigoths, John and Lorena, or Groucho and Moe, Ales and Lagers are as different as can be. Still, we must love each other for who they are, seperately but equally, with liberty, and justice, for all. Cheers!

From my notes:

 Wheat coloring very clear beer. Thin white head. grain, grass, and malt on the nose maybe a hint of citrus. Crisp, crisp finish. medium hop aftertaste. good example of a Pilsner.

It’s a thing of beauty, no?

Pilsners are   fairly light on the alcohol (4.5 to 5.5% ab. They pair really well with lighter foods: chicken (okay to spice it up), sandwiches, and seafoods. Or you can just drink them unaccompanied.

Rating (our of five):

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