Divine Barrel Brewing Paint The Walls Japanese Style Rice Lager

Posted on by Evan

Paint The Walls is a 4.3% ABV Japanese-style rice Lager from Divine Barrel Brewing in Charlotte, North Carolina. It uses puffed Jasmine rice. This beer pours a light yellow with a one-finger white head. The head doesn’t stay. The aroma is lightly sweet, sharp, and right. The flavor is bright, lightly sweet, and light-bodied. This lager has a light, bitter, dry finish with a dry bread aftertaste. This beer is not overly flavorful, but it’s okay. I give Paint The Walls a C-. I don’t think I could have more than two. I would recommend this. But it’s not the worst beer in the world to have. I just found it to be a boring beer with muted flavor, but it was refreshing. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Heist Brewery London Bridges Falling Brown English-Style Brown Ale

Posted on by Evan

I love a good brown ale, London Bridges Falling Brown from Heist Brewery. This is a 5.4% ABV English-style brown ale made in Charlotte, North Carolina. I first got into craft brown ale about the time I got into craft beer, so I can say that brown ale was my gateway beer into craft beer. This ale pours a deep brown with a two-finger beige head. This beer has sweet/nutty chocolate, malts, and coffee aromas. The flavor is toffee, coffee, chocolate, sweetness (probably from the chocolate and toffee), and nutty. The flavor is heavy, as is the mouthfeel, but the mouthfeel isn’t thick stout heavy. This beer has a nice chocolaty toffee coffee finish. The toffee disappears from the aftertaste, leaving malty chocolate coffee. This is a great brown ale that gets an A. It is like a hug, and it’s not overly flavorful to the point where you can have but only one or can’t finish one. This beer is one I could go for, another or three, and I recommend it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brasserie L’abbaye Du Val-Dieu Winter Ale

Posted on by Evan

I have never heard of Brasserie L’abby Du Val-Dieu in Aubel, Belgium. This is their Winter Ale, which is 7% ABV. This beer is categorized as a strong golden Ale. I have not had any beers from Val-Dieu before, so this is my first. This ale pours a deep yellow color with a one-finger white foam head. This beer has strong, fruity, sweet, and spicy aromas. You’ll find strong flavors and spicy notes around some light fruit. This has a medium mouthfeel. It finishes a bit strong, fruity, and sweet, with a strong aftertaste of some alcohol. This is good and very typical of a Belgian beer. If you blinded this and gave it to me, I would say it was a Belgian-strong, and I give this an A-. It is almost a good Duvel, probably the best, Belgian strong golden Ale. But I would pass on this one. It’s a good beer, and I will be on the lookout for more beers from Val-Dieu. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. X Gutmann Brauerei

Posted on by Evan

This Oktoberfest Festbier is a collaboration between Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Mills River, North Carolina/Chico, California, and Brauerie Gutmann in Titting, Germany. It is 6% ABV and has hops like Saphir, Spalt Slater, and Hersbrucker. It also has Pilsner, Wheat, and Cramunich malts. Sierra Nevada collaborates with different breweries each year. I think that is an interesting take on this style. This beer pours a deeper gold with a two-finger-steady white head. The aroma is bready, sweet, and malted. The flavor is light with a balance of sweet, malty, and bready notes. This beer is somewhat crisp. It has a semi-sweet finish and a nice light malted bread aftertaste that is gone in an instant. This is an A in my book. It is a solid Festbier and one you should be drinking. I like Festbier but I am not a fanatic for them. I just enjoy them as I enjoy this one. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Seven-Sixty Craft Works My First Love Song Munich-Style Dunkel

Posted on by Evan

Seven-Sixty Craft Works in Huntersville, North Carolina, makes My First Love Song, a Munich-style Dunkel. This beer is 5.5% ABV with Hallertau Mattelfruh hops. I had never heard of this brewery before, so this is my first Seven-Sixty beer. This beer pours deep brown with a one-finger light beige head. The aroma is of roast notes, malts, nuttiness, and toffee. The flavor is roasted, nutty, chocolate, and toffee with a light body. This has a light mouthfeel. This has a sweet toffee and malt finish that lingers in the aftertaste. This beer is good but too much on the lighter side for a Dunkel. That gives this beer, My First Love Song, a C+. It’s just above average. All the flavors were light overall. I will try more beers from Seven-Sixty Craft Works, but I will leave this one for a while. I don’t think it is good enough to go back to. Please stay safe \, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibility! Cheers!

Legion Brewing Company Sanctified Italian Pils

Posted on by Evan

I love Italian Pilsners. I have had a few that are slightly different for a Pilsner. They generally use German Noble Hops. This one, Sanctified, is from Legion Brewing Company in Charlotte, North Carolina. This beer is 5%, dry-hopped once with Sapphire and Lorien hops in a bright tank and uses traditional German hops. This beer is relatively new for Legion. This Pils pours yellow with a one-finger white head. The aroma has light, bitter notes and light sweetness. The flavor is soft, malted, hoppy, lemon, floral, and light-bodied. This beer has a light mouthfeel. Then this pilsner finishes lightly bittersweet, with a light floral/lemon aftertaste that is not around long. This is a good Italian Pilsner, A- from me. I think it shouldn’t be missed. It has a uniquely delicious and refreshing taste. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Allagash Brewing Company Haunted House Hoppy Dark Ale

Posted on by Evan

This is Haunted House Hoppy Dark Ale from Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine. This 6.6% ABV beer is a fall-only seasonal. It uses Allagash 2-Row Malted Barley Blend, Victory, Carapils, Raw Wheat, Roasted Barley, Blackprinz grains, Nugget, Cascade, Northern Brewer hops, and their house yeast. This dark beer pours black with a two-finger beige head. The aroma is roasted and hoppy, with light earthy notes and coffee. The flavor is also roasted, coffee, and hoppy with a nice smoothness. This has a medium feel in the mouth. It finishes smooth with a bit of bitter coffee roast. The aftertaste is a little bitter light coffee. This style is not made much, or I do not see much out there. I do like this beer. But the coffee notes are clashing slightly with the bitterness, which brings this beer to a B-. I would have this again, and I do recommend it. I really can’t name any other beers like this. I have not have not had many dark/black IPA-style beers. But this was interesting for sure. I can say the same for this style of beer. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer Extra Dry-Hopped American Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

This is an Extra Dry-Hopped American Pilsner. It is made with the finest malt and double dry-hopped with hand-selected El Dorado, Citra, and Nelson. It is finished with a dab of Citra Cryo. This beer is 5% ABV. Extra pours yellow with a light green tint and two-and-a-half finger white creamy slow head. The aroma is buttery, hopped, light and crisp. The flavor is buttery, light on hops, and crisp and refreshing. This Pilsner has a light mouthfeel. Then, it comes to a light, bitter, crisp, and refreshing finish. The aftertaste is lightly hopped with a light butter-crisp. Extra is a delicious Pilsner that is an A. I recommend you drink it. It is not overly hopped and bitter, just enough to add complexity to the overall flavor. I would go back to this again and again. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Booneshine Brewing Co. Hig Country Honey Amber Ale

Posted on by Evan

High Country Honey Amber Ale from Boonshine Brewing Co. is a 5.5% ABV beer with Pale, Munich, Honey, and caramel malts. It also has Cascade, Centennial, and Amarillo hops, clean water, healthy yeast, and local Sourwood Honey. I have recently come across Boonshine, and I never really heard of them till I found the last one I reviewed, Hatchet Coffee Porter. This Amber ale pours dark amber/red color with a two-finger beige quick fading head. The aroma is sweet, with light bread notes and malts. The flavor is lovely and clean, with light bread, malts, and honey. It has a smoothness to it with a medium feeling in the mouth. The honey here is not really dominant. Then it finishes with a malty sweetness and a nice malted aftertaste but not as malty as some darker beer. This is a deliciously pleasant fall beer that you should be drinking. I give this High Country Honey an A-. It has all the flavors with just the right amount of deliciousness. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Westbrook Brewing Co. Festbrook Wiesn-Style Gold Lager

Posted on by Evan

This beer, Festbrook from Westbrook Brewing Co. in Mt. Pleasent, South Carolina, is a Wiesn-style golden lager with CTZ, dry-hopped with Hallertal Mittelfruh hops, German Lager yeast, Munich, Pils, and Vienna malts. This beer is 6.5% ABV. This beer, according to the brewery, is great for drinking by the masses. This feist beer pours golden with a two-finger white semi-quick fading head. The aroma is sweet, with light banana, wheat, and malt. The flavor is malty, sweet, clean, dry, light banana, and light bodies. The mouthfeel is light. This beer finishes with a lightness that is dry with some sweetness. The aftertaste is refreshing with light semi-sweetness. This beer is so delicious and deserving of an A+. I always enjoy Westbrook Brewing beers, and this one is no different, and you shouldn’t miss out on this October seasonal. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly!