760 Craft Works Orange Card Session IPA

Posted on by Evan

I am quite fond of 760 Craft Works in Huntersville, North Carolina. They brew some delicious beers, and I have had just a few. This is Orange Card Session IPA, with 5.1% ABV. This sessionable IPA uses hops such as Citra, Idaho 7, Cascade, & Mosaic. I picked up Orange Card because the label caught my eye. I think it goes with the World Cup, or something like that. This beer pours orange with a two-finger white head. The aroma is citrus fruit, oranges, and bitterness. The flavor is a bit like candied tangerine, orange, and bitter/pine. The pine note is light at best, and I mostly taste a bitter citrus flavor, mostly sweet orange/tangerine. This beer has a medium mouthfeel. The finish is citrusy and bitter. It doesn’t taste overly bitter.  The aftertaste is candied oranges/tangerines. That does linger with a faded bitterness. The overall flavor doesn’t make this too sessionable, but it does have a lower ABV for an IPA. I don’t think I could have more than two and a half pints or forty ounces. You could say this is kind of sessionable ( a shorter drinking session). Anyway, I think Orange Card Session IPA is an A. If the flavor and mouthfeel were lighter, this would be an A+. I still think you should try this one. The flavor is delicious. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Westbrook Brewing Co. Whipped Pineapple Gose

Posted on by Evan

I am a huge fan of Westbrook Brewing Co. from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and their Gose. This is Whipped Pineapple Gose, available from June to September. This 4% ABV Gose has CTZ hops and American Ale Yeast. It uses malts such as Acidulated and Pale Wheat. Lastly, there are adjuncts such as coriander, pineapple, sea salt, and vanilla. This beer pours a bright, cloudy yellow with a two-finger white head. The aroma is lightly sour, sweet, and pineapple-like. Taste is light, tart/sour, with pineapple notes and sweetness from the vanilla. This beer has a light salted flavor. The mouthfeel is light. It has a vanilla-coated pineapple finish. There is a slight saltiness and sourness to the finish as well. Aftertaste is a lingering vanilla with faded pineapple. This is very good; it gets an A from me. Overall, it is like a lightly salted vanilla pineapple. I recommend this one! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer Curve Munich-Style Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

Pilsner is my favorite beer style at the moment. This one is Burial Beer Curve Munich-Style Pilsner. This is also just a German Pilsner. This 5.4% Asheville Pilsner is made with Barke Pilsner malt, steeped extensively with Bavarian-born, small-farm Mittelfruh and Hersbrucker. I have never seen or heard a German Pilsner called a Munich Pilsner. This beer pours a light golden with a two-finger white head. The aroma is dry and crisp, with light floral notes. The flavor is also dry, crisp, floral, with very light fruit and malt notes. This has a lighter mouthfeel. This Pilsner has a dry and crisp finish. The aftertaste is light, dry malts, with fading floral-fruit notes. I found this Burial Beer to be good but could be better. It’s a high C+. This Pilsner had the slightest hop notes that kept it from grading higher. Would I have this again, would I recommend it? Yes and yes. But I think Burial Beers are good overall. The last handful I’ve had have not been as good as some in the past. They brew awesome IPAs. This was good, but I think there are a couple in this style that are better. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Grillo’s Pickles x Pabst Blue Ribbon Pickle Beer

Posted on by Evan

Pickles and pickle-flavored things are all the rage right now. There are many different pickles and pickle-flavored things out there these days. One of those things is Grillos Pickle’s x Pabst Blue Ribbon Pickle Beer. This beer is a 4.7% lager. This collaboration pours golden with a steady one-finger white head. The aroma is Sour, with light vinegar and faint garlic.  It does smell like a PBR you left a bit of pickle in. The flavor is light garlic and vinegar. It’s sour and a bit bready. The pickle flavor fades as soon as you taste it. This PBR has a light mouthfeel. It finishes with a very light pickle flavor. The aftertaste of light pickle fades quickly. This is not great. I give Grillo’s Pickle’s x Pabst Blue Ribbon Pickle Beer a D+. It is not terrible, but I would like more pickle flavor. I wouldn’t recommend this, but I would recommend Martin House Brewing Best Made Pickle Beer instead. This is not great. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Epic Brewing Big Bad Baptist Coquito

Posted on by Evan

I picked up another Epic Brewing Big Bad Baptist. This one is Coquito, a 12.8% ABV barrel-aged stout. It is aged in whiskey and rum barrels with cinnamon, vanilla extract, and rum-soaked coconut.  A Coquito is a Porto Rican cocktail. This stout uses Marris Otter, 2-Row, Light Munich, Chocolate Malt, Black Malt, and Roasted Barley malts. There are hops such as Nugget, Chinook, & Cascade. I have found out that this particular stout is no longer in production, but you might still find it on store shelves. This beer pours pitch-black with a thin, one-finger, quickly fading beige head. The aroma is sweet, cinnamon, vanilla, and boozy notes. This beer has a strong boozy flavor, with cinnamon and vanilla notes. The mouthfeel on this stout is full. Then it finishes with a cinnamon boozy flavor. The aftertaste lingers with alcohol and cinnamon bun flavor. This was a good barrel-aged stout. It’s a B. The vanilla flavor turns into cinnamon bun frosting flavor when combined with the coconut and rum barrels. I would somewhat recommend this. I think you have to like this style of beer or the types of barrels. I still think I would try another Big Bad Baptist. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly!

Birdsong Brewing Co. Sweet Dream IPA

Posted on by Evan

I saw a can of Birdsong Brewing Co. Sweet Dreams IPA and thought it looked cool. This IPA is 6.2% ABV and has 2-Row, White Wheat, Caravienne 20L, and light Munich. This beer uses hops such as Citra, El Dorado, and Cascade. This limited release is available from March through April. This IPA pours orange with a one-finger slow white head. The aroma is citrus (blood orange), bitter, and hoppy. The flavor is bitter, hoppy, blood orange, and slightly malty. This has a medium mouthfeel. This beer finishes bitter, with blood orange and light malts. The blood orange bitterness lingers in the aftertaste. This had a slightly thicker feeling. I give Sweet Dreams IPA a D+. I didn’t like this beer, but I did finish a pint. I usually like blood orange, and that flavor of this beer wasn’t bad. That helped just a little. I would say this isn’t good beer overall. It’s good that this IPA is only around for a month. I will not have this one again. Birdsong Brewing Co. is still good in my book, not with this beer. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Founders Brewing All Day Peach

Posted on by Evan

One of my favorite things is peaches and anything peach-flavored. I was recently at Total Wine and found Founder Brewing’s All Day Peach (Grand Rapids, Michigan). This is a 4.7% ABV session hazy peach IPA made with Alora hops, Pale, Wheat, Oats, and Crystal malts. This year-round beer is part of the All Day series of session IPAs. This IPA pours yellow with a one-finger white head. The aroma is peaches, light bitterness, and light hops. The flavor is juicy peaches, light tropical fruits, bitterness, and light hop flavors. This has a light mouthfeel. It finishes bittersweet, peachy, and smooth. The aftertaste is faded peach and light bitterness. This is a good beer with a light, subtle peach flavor. I give All Day Peach a B-. It has a decent peach flavor, but I would have liked more peach flavor. The bitter hops come in and hit your taste buds. Then the bitter hops fade away kind of quickly. But I still enjoyed this a bit and would recommend it. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Highland Brewing Saint T’s Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

It has been a while since I’ve had or reviewed a Pale Ale. Well, here is Asheville, North Carolina’s Highland Brewing’s Saint T’s Pale Ale. This is a 5.1% ABV limited release, available from January through Jun. This beer uses 2-Row and Munich 10L, and flaked oats. There are whole cone hops such as Apollo and Cascade.  Dry-hopped with Cascade. This Pale Ale pours yellow with a one-finger white head. The aroma is fruity, with light bitterness/hops and sweetness. The flavor has a light fruit note, malts, bitter hoppy flavors, and it’s smooth with some sweet notes. This has a somewhat light mouthfeel. This beer finishes bittersweet and smooth with hoppy notes. The aftertaste is a short linger of bitter citrus fruit and faint malts. This was good but didn’t wow my taste buds. I think Highland Brewing Saint T’s Pale Ale is a C+. It was above average. The malt flavors cut some of the hoppy and bitter flavors; otherwise, this could have graded lower. I would recommend it. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Wiseman Brewing Beast Within Italian Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

I am always looking out for Italian Pilsners (dry-hopped Pilsners), even when I am not. Recently, I saw Wise Man Brewing Beast Within Italian Pilsner at my local Total Wine. This is a 5.2% ABV Pilsner dry-hopped with  Saphir and Spalter Select with a traditional Pilsner Base. This is supposedly the official beer of the Salem City SC USL team. This Pilsner pours gold with a two-finger white head. The aroma is lightly hoppy/bitter and crisp. The flavor is bitter with the lightest flavor of grapefruit. It is a crisp beer. The grapefruit flavor does fade rather quickly. I found the mouthfeel light and refreshing. This Pilsner finishes with a light bitterness and a nice crispness. The aftertaste is a lingering light bitterness. Wise Man Brewing Beast Within Italian Pilsner is a B+. This beer is a little more hop-forward than most. I did enjoy it, and you should too. But  to me it’s like a Pilsner on the way to being a crisp Pale Ale, and that is not a bad thing. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Omer Vander Ghinste VanderGhinste RoonBruin

Posted on by Evan

I was in my local Total Wine looking around when I came across Omer Vander Ghinste VanderGhinste Roodburin. This is a 5.5% Flanders Sour Ale that won World’s Best Dark Beer at the 2015 World Beer Awards. This ale is brewed (top-fermented) in Bellegem, Belgium, and was originally called Ouden Tripel. Blending this beer with lambic beer aged in oak barrels for 18 months results in this specific West Flanders Red-brown beer. This ale pours brown with red edges and a one-finger reddish-beige head. The aroma is lightly fruity, sour, and sweet. The flavor is fruity (apple), sour, tart, lightly sweet, and smooth. This ale has a light mouthfeel. The finish is tart and fruity with some light sweet notes. The aftertaste is a faded, tart, fruity flavor. This beer doesn’t taste like how it looks. It is light and smooth overall. This ale is an A+. I found it to be a bit refreshing. This is a beer that I would not miss; I’m highly recommending it. It has such delicious flavors that shouldn’t be missed. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!