Pale Ale

This post is from August 29th, 2014

Some beers are harder to find than others and that could be due to where that beer brewery is located or that they just do not distribute beer out of their local area and/or state. That could be cost or other reasons. Some beers might just be a seasonal release and some seasons are shorter than others, like fall. Well, I came across a seasonal brew from The Unibroue brewery in Canada, Raftman, 5.5% ABV, a Belgian Pale ale brewed with Peat smoked Whisky malt and also brewed with spices. Unibroue Raftman is brewed in memory of those bygone masters of the forest who were always amenable to settling their differences over ale and a shot of whiskey. I always enjoy Unibroue’s labels, they are always very interesting and they look like they tell some sort of story. Raftman pours a copper brownish slightly murky color with a big three and a half rocky white head that sticks around for a good while and fades into some nice white lacing. I found minimal light coming through the glass with little carbonation due to the murky like coloring. The aroma has the slightest smoky malt scent with a little yeast. The taste on Raftman is smoky like the aroma but just enough to let you know that there are smoked whiskey malts. I also get a little bit of a pepper spice on the middle of the mouth that really goes well with the smoked whiskey malts, and really lifts it taste up. On the back of the mouth, I get some nice slightly sweet vanilla flavors. The mouthfeel is full bodied with some richness to it, but not a lot. Raftman has a nice smoky finish that lingers into a nice slightly spiced and smoked aftertaste. This is a really an interesting take on a Belgian Pale Ale, I give Unibroue Raftman A+. I really like the smoked whiskey malts on this beer. They really did it well, it isn’t overdone or strong and it’s easy to drink. I highly recommend trying Unibroue Raftman, so go out and get some of it and try it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

This beer, Parkway Brewing Co., Get Bent Mountian IPA, 7.2% ABV and 67 IBUs from Saleem Virgina which I received from a Brewpublik delivery. This beer uses lots of citrusy hops according to its label.  Get Bent Mountian IPA pours an orange color with an almost two finger white head that fades rather quickly with nothing left behind it, and gives off a grapefruit and orange aroma with plenty of earthy earth, and hoppy notes. Taste is big on the bitter grapefruit with a big bitter hop note with some earthiness and piney notes and has a bitter finish with touches of bitter orange and a lingering of a bitterness with some pine and earthy notes and a somewhat of a full mouthfeel. This beer was more on the bitter side and that was a bit much for me so I give Parkway Brewing Co., Get Bent Mountian IPA a D+. It was a beer that I could finish but not one that I like nor would go back to it again. Too much bitterness and not enough citrus flavors. I think Parkway Brewing Co. needs to turn down the bitterness on this beer for it to be somewhat good. But I don’t think you should try this IPA. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! 

Yes here is another beer from a recent Brewpublik delivery, Great Lakes Brewing Co. Burning River Pale Ale, 6.0% ABV, with 45 IBUs. This Cleveland Ohio beer is referring to the Cuyahoga River and the when it caught fire. Burning River pours an orange color with a two finger head that has not much retention to it but gives off a  malt aroma with a little faint earthy resin hop note. Taste is slightly sweet on the front with what seems to be a malt flavor and on the middle, you get a little grapefruit with some bitterness on the back of the mouth. This all then finishes with a bitter note with a slight earthy note and the aftertaste isn’t much but what I did get was a slight bitterness that sort of fought a sweet flavor. This beer wasn’t so great but was finishable, so I sayGreat Lakes Brewing Co. Burning River Pale Ale is a C-. The flavors don’t really blend well and seem like they are sperate from one another and are bland at best. I don’t think this a one to go back too, so I don’t think you should try this one. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

I have not had many beers from Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Healdsburg California. I think I’ve only had like two previous to this, Grand-Am American Pale Ale, 6.0% ABV. I received this from a not so recent Brewpublik delivery. Grand-Am pours an orange color with a two and a half finger white head with some sediment floating in the glass, I don’t know if that is normal or if it’s just this bottle Grand-AM gives off slight orange bitter aromas with a slight yet faint sweet malt character. Taste is much the same as it smells, you get a little bitterness upfront with an orange pine note in the middle with a slight malt flavor, more bitterness on the back with the orange, pine and more malts on the finish with a little hop note. The aftertaste is a hoppy malted orange. The mouthfeel is medium. I found Grand-Am to me middle of the road, or boring. So I give this American Pale Ale a C. Not so such I would come back to this beer. It was finishable though, not a drain poor. I found Bear Republic Grand-Am American Pale Ale to be boring and average. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!     

I picked this up at Laurel Market, The Unknown Brewing Company 2.5ish Anniversary Ale, 9.0% ABV, the 2.5ish being the amount of years that The Unknown Brewing Company has been in business here in Charlotte, NC. This beer is a blend of two beers, yeast aged in Bourbon Barrels with cherries, apricot, and blackberries. 2.5ish pours a hazy light amber color with a huge fluffy five-finger light beige head that seems to never want to go anywhere. But it does leave behind thick ropey lacing. The aroma is fruity and slightly yeasty, you get a bit of the apricots on the nose, with a very faint blackberry as well, but not much from the Bourbon barrel. 2.5ish has a slightly similar taste to the aroma with more of the cherries with the black berries and apricots with slight a yeasty character. There is a faint sweetness (some vanilla) that comes in on the middle of the mouth but is going as quickly as it comes along with a little alcoholic note, and 2.5ish finishes strong with some fruity characteristics and a yeasted note and has a slight strong alcoholic fruit after taste. But as 2.5ish warms the alcohol comes through more. The mouth-feel is medium on 2.5ish. Overall 2.5ish Anniversary Ale is not a bad one; it’s a B. Strong ABV comes though as it warms and overwhelms the other flavors a bit with hold it back slightly. I think it an interesting beer and one that is worth trying from the awesome Unknown Brewing Company. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!