Blog

Booneshine Brewing Co. East Boone Pilsner

This Pilsner from Booneshine Brewing Co. has Pilsen Malts and Magnum Haltertauer hops brewed in Boone, North Carolina. This Pilsner is 5% ABV. I have been looking for and trying more Pilsners lately because the beer I see on store shelves is some sort of IPA. I still like IPA. But I’d like to keep this blog diverse. This Pilsner pours bright yellow with a two-finger white head that fades slowly. The aroma is crisp, lightly peppery, and clean. The flavor is crisp, peppery, clean, light-bodied, and has a very faint lemon note. The mouthfeel is light. Then, it has a crisp and clean finish and a refreshingly light aftertaste. This is a great beer that I give an A+. East Boone Pilsner is a beer that I recommend and drink over and over. The flavor is such that you could have an entire four-pack. Booneshine Brewing Co. is becoming one of my top breweries. They brew delicious beer that you should be drinking. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Birdsong Brewing Co. Peel Good Inc.

Peel Good Inc. is a sour ale with blood oranges from Birdsong Brewing Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. This sour ale is 5% ABV. I am a big fan of blood oranges. I love all kinds of blood orange beverages and the blood oranges themselves. This beer pours an almost yellow-light orange with a one-finger head. The head is gone as soon as it is poured. The aroma is tart blood orange with a hint of sweetness. The flavor is blood orange, tart, and sour. This is not too tart, but it has enough tartness. This has a light but tart mouthfeel. Then, it finishes with a tartness that fades into a light sourness. The aftertaste is orangey and tart and lingers for a moment. This is a good sour ale that is a B+. It could use a tiny bit more blood orange flavor. That would be my only complaint about this beer. Yes, you should be drinking this, but not a whole lot. The flavor would get overwhelming after three. I still like this beer from Birdsong. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Cool Little Thing IPA

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is making Cool Little Thing IPA for a limited time. This IPA is a Cryo Fresh hazy IP with Cryo Fresh Mosaic. It also has a trio of other subzero cryo hops like Crystal, Comet, and El Dorado. Cryo Fresh IPAs are beers made with Cryo hops, which have been processed using a patented cryogenic process to isolate the lupulin, the source of a beer’s flavor and aroma. The process uses cold temperatures and a mechanical sieve to remove vegetative matter from the hop cones, resulting in a lupulin-rich powder.  This IPA pours hazy yellow with a two-finger white head. The aroma is tropical fruits with bitterness/hoppy notes. The flavor is also bitter with tropical fruits (oranges) and creamy. This has a creamy feel in the mouth. This IPA does feel a bit heavy on the pallet. The finish is creamy, fruity, and bitter. It’s not overly bitter, though. The aftertaste is bitter tropical fruits. It does linger for a short moment. I picked this beer because it sounded interesting. I wanted to see what Cryo Fresh was about. It really brings out the flavors of the hops. This beer is an A+ and one beer you should be drinking. Please enjoy responsibly, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

NoDa Brewing Co. Cheerwine Holiday Ale

NoDa Brewing Co. Cheerwine Holiday Ale is a seasonal/holiday version of Cheerwine Ale. This beer is 5.2% ABV wheat ale with cheery and pineapple. This ale is supposed to be a beer version of Cheerwine Holiday Punch. This ale pours a light peach with a quick, fading one-finger white head. The aroma is wheat, cherry, and pineapple. The flavor is much like Cheerwine. There are cherry, pineapple, and wheat flavors with a mild sweetness similar to a sour ale. This has a light mouthfeel. Then, it has a sweet, fruity finish, like a fruity soda. The aftertaste is more fruity Cheerwine. This is not great, it comes to a C-. I feel this beer is trying to be three things at once, Cheerwine, Holiday Cheerwine, and a beer. It not doing a bad job, but it could be better. I bought this because it sounds interesting. It is not terrible. I wouldn’t buy this a second time. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Hi-Wire Brewing Company Elated Winter IPA

It’s been a while since I’ve had a Hi-Wire Brewing beer. This seasonal beer (September through December) is Elated Winter IPA, which is 6.2% ABV. This IPA has Michigan Chinook and Idaho 7 hops. This beer comes in sixteen-ounce six-packs, which is not seen at all. Usually, it’s sixteen-ounce four-packs. This IPA pours a copper with a one-and-a-half-finger white head that is steady to fade. The aroma is bitter, piney, and light caramel. The flavor is caramel, pine notes, bitter/hoppy, and light onion, and I got a bread flavor. This has a light to almost medium feeling in the mouth. It came with a nice piney caramel finish. This IPA had the right amount of bitterness. I think Elated Winter IPA is a B+. It has all the right winter IPA flavors that aren’t too bold and in your face. I wouldn’t pass on Elated Winter IPA. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brouwerij Huyghe Delirium Black Berrel Aged

From Melle, Belgium, Delirium Black Barrel Age by Brouweij Heuyghe is Delirium Nocturnum aged in oak bourbon barrels for nine months. I have only seen this bottle in Belgium, but I finally saw it at my local Whole Foods. This beer is 11.5% ABV. This beer pours a deep brown with a two-finger beige head That head is slow to fade. The aroma is of vanilla, bourbon, alcohol, and spices. The flavor is vanilla, almond, bourbon, and light-tasting dark fruits (some raisins). This has a somewhat full mouthfeel. Then, it comes to a woody bourbon and caramel aftertaste. This barrel beer finishes with a woody vanilla and caramel boozy flavor. This beer is a good barrel-aged beer that is not overly heavy and alcoholic. The Delirium Black is an A. This is definitely a beer worth drinking and sharing. It has such a great balance between the delicious flavors. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Lawson’s Finest Liquids Little Sip IPA

Little Sip IPA is my first beer from Lawson’s Finest Liquids. It is 6.2% ABV and from Waitsfeild, Vermont, brewed at Two Roads in Stratford, Connecticut. Little Sip pours a very light orange/yellow color with a two-finger head. The aroma is tropical fruit, grapefruit, and pineapple. The taste is bitter, tropical, juicy, grapefruit, and pineapple. This beer has a lighter feel in the mouth. Then, it has a bitter, tropical finish. The aftertaste is bitter, grapefruit, and pineapple that lingers for a moment or two then slowly fades. Little Sip is a good IPA that is reminiscent of classic west-coast IPAs. This is an A, and you should be drinking this. It has great fruity flavors with just the right amount of bitterness. I recommend this one for sure. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Victory Brewing Company Merry Monkey Belgian-Style Ale

Merry Monkey is a Belgian-style ale with cranberry, orange peel, nutmeg, and Cinnamon. This beer is 10% ABV and is from Victory Brewing Company. This ale also has Cascade and Tettnang hops with Pilsner and roasted malt barley. This beer is part of Victory’s Monkey beers, but this particular beer is only available during the holidays. It’s a Christmas beer, after all. This beer pours copper with a one-finger white head. It says for a short while, then fades. The aroma is Cinnamon, nutmeg, and some orange. It does not really smell of cranberries The flavor is of cinnamon, nutmeg, orange, light cranberries, and a bit boozy. This does taste like a Belgian Christmas beer. The mouthfeel is more on the fuller side. Then, it finishes with an alcoholic hit of cinnamon and nutmeg. There is a bit of a fading cranberry note on the finishes. The cranberry fades away on the aftertaste with some cinnamon and nutmeg-covered orange that lingers. Merry Monkey is an A. I am not a cinnamon fan, but it had a tolerable flavor here. This beer has a well-brewed flavor profile, making it a delicious beer you should have. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Lenny Boy Brewing Co. Spaghetti Handshake Italian Style Pilsner

This Italian-style Pilsner Spaghetti Handshake is from Lenny Boy Brewing Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. This beer is 5.4%, dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc and Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. This pilsner pours bright yellow with a one-and-a-half fizzy/bubbly white head. The aroma is lemony, crisp, and light. The flavor is lemon and crisp, and it has a light body with a light twinge of bitter hops. This has a light feel in the mouth. This beer finishes with crisp lemon. This is good, but I have had better Italian pilsners, like Dissolver Cold Caprese Pizza and Legion Brewing Sanctified. This is a C+, better than average. The lemon note takes away from the crispness. That lemon flavor is a bit on the strong side. I would recommend this beer; it was good, but I won’t rush back to this. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. Hatchback, Golden Ale with Hatch Chili Peppers

Hatchback from Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. is a golden ale brewed with Hatch Chili peppers from Lewis Barbecue Hatch Chili Roast. This beer is 4.5% ABV. I love pepper/spicy beers, and I saw this and picked it up. This beer pours golden with a one-finger, thin, clear/white head. The head fades as soon as it hits oxygen, it’s gone in a second. The aroma is vegetal, spicy, Jalapeño, and somewhat crisp. I am unsure if this brewery removes some of the chili seed when brewing this to keep it from being overly spicy. The seed of a pepper is where the heat or capsaicin resides. The flavor is jalapeño, peppery, spicy, vegetal, and a little crisp. This has a light feel to the mouth. This beer is not overly spicy, it’s somewhat mild. Then, it has a spicy jalapeño finish. The aftertaste is a little jalapeño heat and some vegetal notes that linger for a while. This is a really delicious beer that is an A+. But I had two. After the second, the flavor was slightly too much. But I still enjoyed them, and I recommend that you try Hatchback. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly. Cheers!