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Fonta Flora Lake James Rind Lager Beer

Posted on by Evan

This beer Lake James Rind Lager Beer, has local barley, heritage corn, local water Melon, fresh lime, and Tajin. This Lager is from Fonta Flora Brewing in Nebo, North Carolina. It comes in an easy drinking 3.8% ABV. I got this from Whole Foods. This beer pours a light pale yellow color with a taste and fizzy one-finger thin white head. The aroma is of watermelon, lime, and biscuits. The flavor is similar to its smell with watermelon, lime, light spices from the Tajin, and light biscuit. This beer is also clean and refreshing. The mouthfeel is light, and it is almost nonexistent. Then you get a watermelon/lime finish. The aftertaste is a short linger of watermelon and lime. Fonta Flora Brewery is hit or miss, some of their beers are good, and some aren’t. This lager is good. I give Lake James Rind Lager Beer a B. The overall beer is light and easy to drink. I’ve had watermelon and lime beer with bolder flavors, but I recommend this one. It is good and would be better on a hot day after yard work, a lawnmower beer. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to always enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Stillwater Artisanal & Filson Maritime Gose

Posted on by Evan

This beer is another Stillwater Artisanal 7 Filson Collaboration beer celebrating the 125th anniversary of Filson. This beer is Filson Maritime Gose. This beer is Stillwater’s take on the Americas’ idea of a traditional German Gose beer. This beer comes in a 6% ABV. This beer was given to me by Backbone Media. This beer pours a yellow color with a three-finger white head that fades into a thin cloud of white. The aroma is salty, citrusy lemon, and sour/tart. The flavor is lemony, salty, sour, tropical fruit, light pine, and tart. The mouthfeel is light. Then it finishes salty and lemony. The aftertaste is tart, salty, and lemon, This at first was okay, but then it got better, so much so that I had another. It has a nice tart lemon flavor that is different from most Gose beers. I found that to be a nice touch. I give Filson Maritime Gose an A. I recommend it too. It has all the good refreshing flavors. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Heist Brewery Druid Pils South

Posted on by Evan

Druid Pils South is German-style Pilsner and the younger brother of Druid Pils, both by Heist Brewery here in Charlotte, North Carolina. This beer comes in at 4.5% ABV. This beer pours a typical yellow pilsner color with a thin one-finger fizzy white head. The aroma is semi-sweet and crisp. There is not much going on with the beer aroma. The taste is semi-sweet, crisp, and light white bread notes, thin and light. I did get a slight off-flavor of hoppy peppery notes that wasn’t so great. The mouthfeel is thin. There is not much there. Then comes a bitter finish. But it is a mild bitterness. The aftertaste is much but a crisp bitter cracker. This beer was not so great. I’d say that Druid Pils South a D+. Halfway through this beer, I might have given it a C-, but it got slightly worse through the second half. I don’t recommend you drink this. One off-putting flavor can take a beer down and make it less enjoyable. This beer is an example of that. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Hi-Wire Brewing hi-pitched mosaic IPA

Posted on by Evan

This beer, hi-pitched mosaic IPA is dry-hopped with Mosaic & Centennial hops. This IPA is from Hi-wire Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina. This beer is 6.7% ABV. Hi-pitched pours a copper color with a three-finger white head. The aroma is floral, hoppy, citrus fruits, and bitter. The beers flavor is bitter, orange citrus, floral, and hoppy. The mouthfeel is medium and nothing special. Then this beer finish with a bitter flavor that comes as a surprise. Then you come to the bitter citrusy aftertaste. This hi-pitch is not that great. I’d give this a D. The citrusy flavor is not good, it is almost mild at best. The bitterness feels like it is an off-flavor. It’s not a great floral flavor. This beer is more like a weed. I did finish this beer without wanting to pour it out. So, no I wouldn’t recommend this beer. I would not have it again. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Stillwater Artisanal Filson Gold Rush Rustic IPA

Posted on by Evan

This beer, Filson Gold Rush Rustic IPA, is made by Stillwater Artisanal in conjunction with the one-hundred twenty-fifth anniversary of Filson outdoor clothing. This beer is 6.5% ABV from Grand Mound, Washington. This beer was given to me by Backbone Media. There is another Stillwater/Filson beer. This IPA pours a yellow color with a fluffy three-and-a-half-finger white head. It dissipated slowly, leaving behind thick lacing. The aroma is like a traditional IPA; grassy, hoppy, bitter, and citrus fruits. The taste is dank, grassy, bitter, hoppy, and citrus fruit (oranges). The mouthfeel is juicy and medium. Then it comes to a nice pine bitter finish that is lithely citrusy. The aftertaste is bitter citrus and grassy but lingers just enough to know that it’s there. This beer is how IPA was twenty-two years ago, before the explosion of west-coast IPAs, New England, and all the other sub-styles of an IPA. It’s just an IPA, a good IPA. I’d give this an A+. It is refreshing to go back to the roots or the beginning of IPA. The whole style/sub-style of IPAs has become too much, and I still like all IPA. I am getting tired of every beer out in stores being an IPA. This IPA has a classic IPA flavor and taste. I highly recommend this. It’s fantastic, and it will keep you wanting more. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Westbrook Brewing Co. Gose

Posted on by Evan

Gose is an almost extinct German style that usually uses coriander and salt. This particular Gose is Westbrook Brewing Co. Gose. It is 4% ABV from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. This one does use coriander and salt. The beer pours yellow color with a one-finger fizzy and thin white head. The aroma is salty, sour, tart, and lightly fruity. The taste is tart, salty, and sour. The best way ti describes this beer is it is like a margarita. Then it finishes with a tart and sour flavor. Then you get a salty, tart, and sour aftertaste. The sour note lingers. The mouthfeel is light. This Gose is one of the, if not the best American craft Gose beers. I give Westbrook Brewing Co. Gose an A+. I highly recommend this Gose. If you have not had this beer, then you are missing out. This beer is a good beer you can have over and over, in moderation. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Fonta Flora Brewery Nebo Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

This beer is named after the town in which it was brewed. Nebo Pilsner comes in a 5.2% ABV. This beer is from Fonta Flora Brewery. This Pilsner is fermented cool, conditioned cold, and lagered for no less than eight weeks. This beer pours a golden yellow color with a two-finger fizzy white head. The aroma is sweet, crisp, and with a bread flavor. The flavor, however, is a different story. It’s crisp with sweetness, then peppery for some reason, which is uncommon for a pilsner. It is black pepper. Then this beer finishes with a creamy black pepper note. Then you get a lighter-pepped aftertaste. This beer wasn’t good, and I’ve never tasted a pilsner like that (peppery). I give Nebo Pilsner an F+. I don’t know if it’s terrible or, if I got a bad batch or something. This beer is not one I recommend at all. The pepper notes make it nearly unable to be finished. This is the first Fonta Flora beer that I have not liked. All the rest are good so far. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Hopfly Brewing Company Houndstooth Double IPA

Posted on by Evan

Houndstooth Double IPA is made in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Hopsfly Brewing Company. This double IPA is double dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops. It comes in at 8.4% ABV. Houndstooth is part of Hopfly’s Textile Series, named because of all the textile manufacturing here in North Carolina, or at least there was. This beer pours a hazy yellow with a bright white three-finger slow and steady fading head. The aroma is bitter and sweet from the Citra hops, and you get some orange notes. The flavor is of orange and bitterness. It’s sweet and creamy. It’s on the lighter side of sweet. The mouthfeel is medium. Then it finishes with a bitter fruit note with hints of alcohol notes. Then this beer’s finish is creamy with a bitter fruit note. This beer is strong. But it does not hold its Houndstooth back too far. I’s say Houndstooth is an A-. The light alcohol notes on the aftertaste are like a small bump in an otherwise smooth road. It’s just a big IPA overall. This IPA has lots of flavors going on. I would recommend Houndstooth. It’s an excellent double IPA. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Sycamore Brewing Caribbean Stout

Posted on by Evan

I am not a fan of Sycamore Brewing. I’ve had more than a few of their beers. I find them to be bland. But I think they have a great brewery space and beer garden. I’m trying Caribbean Stout because it looks interesting. So I guess I am giving Sycamore another try. This beer is brewed n Charlotte, North Carolina, and is 7% ABV. This stout pours a black color with a four-finger brown/beige head, which doesn’t move. The aroma is herbal, bitter, roasted, chocolate, and a bit of coffee. The taste is bitter-roasted coffee, malty, and chocolate. It has a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Then it finishes with a bitter-roasted note. Then you get an aftertaste of nice bitter cocoa. This stout is not terrible. I’d say it’s a B-. It’s better at the first taste than the aftertaste. It has a little too much herbal bitterness of a stout, but I can taste what Sycamore is doing. If you like dark and slightly bitter beer, then you will like this. I wouldn’t rush for it. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Burial Beer A Desolate Divide on the Eastward Metamorphosis India pale ale

Posted on by Evan

This beer from Burial Beer in Asheville, North Carolina, has quite a long name. A Desolate Divide on the Westward Metamorphosis India pale ale. This IPA is 6.5% ABV. This IPA is a collaboration with bike packing.com. It has Cryo, and Incognito hops in the whirlpool. Then it’s double dry hopped with Cashmere, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. Then a finishing dose of Cryo hops. It also used Burial Heavy Resin treatment. This beer is a one-off and will not be around again. This IPA pours a bright hazy yellow color with a three-finger bright, thick white head. The aroma is piney, juicy, citrus, and hoppy.

The taste is similar to the aroma. There is a citrusy, juicy, piney, and hoppy flavor. The piney notes stick around and are bolder than the other flavors. The mouthfeel is medium to almost full. Then this long-named IPA finishes with a piney bitter fruit flavor. Then you get a piney aftertaste that fades into a hoppy, juicy note that lingers just enough to enjoy. This IPA has a lot going on. This IPA has lots of bold flavors here. I give this IPA an A. Burial always does a great job with their beers, and this is true to that. The piney fruit flavor is just perfect, as is the amount of bitterness. I recommend this or any Burial Beer offerings. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!