Birdsong Brewing Co. Dressed to Chill

Posted on by Evan

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Birdsong Brewing Co. Dressed to Chil, White Ale 5.0% ABV with Tangerine, Essential Oil, & Spices. is a Witbier style purchased from my local Harris Teeter grocery store and is brewed here local in Charlotte, NC. Dressed to Chill pours a semi hazy yellow color with a bright two finger white head that leaves behind decent lacing and gives off a floral-like aroma that is very similar to a room deodorizer, there is a little faint banana citrus spice whiffing into your nose. Taste is flowery with a bit of citrus tangerine spice that finishes with a floral citrusy potpourri finish that carries into the aftertaste with a nice faint spiced with a medium mouthfeel. This has a floral potpourri taste to it that holds it back and gives in a B-. The tangerine character of this White Ale does add a good aspect to the overall flavor but does not really interact with the essential oil, which sounds like a nice idea but isn’t terrible is okay at best. Overall Birdsong Brewing Co. Dressed to Chil, White Ale is the worst beer I’ve had. Please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!    

 

21st Amendment Brewery Monks Blood

Posted on by Evan

21st Amendment Brewery Monks Blood, 8.3% ABV purchased from the local Total Wine is a Belgian-style dark ale brewed in San Leandro California with cinnamon, Vanilla, oak chips, and dried figs. It has been a long while since I’ve had a beer from 21st Amendment Brewery. Monks Blood pours a deep brown with somewhat red edges and a two-finger tan khaki head with sweet candy sugar like aromas with some cinnamon and very light fig notes. Taste is much like a Belgian-style dark ale with a nice bit of sweetness upfront with nice light cinnamon and vanilla with a gracious licorice flavor and there is a bit of a strong nature to Monks Blood with a semi-sweet finish and a licorice aftertaste with a medium mouthfeel. Not a bad Belgian-style dark ale, I would say that 21st Amendment Brewery Monks Blood is a B-, the overall flavor of this beer is not as full as a true Belgian dark ale. But it’s otherwise good and something worth trying. Please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Wilmington Brewing Company Jason, Stop Texting Your mom.

Posted on by Evan

Wilmington Brewing Company Jason, Stop Texting Your Mom New England Style IPA, 7.6% ABV purchased from Pop The Top which was brewed pretty fresh (8.15.19) and is brewed with Pale, Pilsner, Wheat, and Oat malts. Cashmere and Ekuanot hop in the Whirpool is a common method used in commercial breweries to separate hop pellets and trub from wort after the wort boil. Essentially the wort is pumped into the whirlpool vessel at a rapid velocity, usually about 15 feet per second, to cause the wort to start spinning like a whirlpool. Dry-hopped with #1 and #2: Cashmere and Ekuanot.  Jason, Stop Texting Your Mom pours a hazy yellow with a three-finger white head that slowly fades into massive whips of lacing with tropical pineapple aromas that a bit piney yet juicy. Then comes a tropical juicy pineapple flavor hitting your taste buds with a nice tingle of piney notes with a very faint underlying sweet note that is faint at best, then Jason, Stop Texting Your Mom finishes with a nice piney fruity, and hoppy with a tropical hoppy pineapple with a fuller mouthfeel. Wilmington Brewing Company Jason, Stop Texting Your Mom New England Style IPA is big on the pineapple juice with a nice flow of flavor complementing one another nicely to make Wilmington Brewing Company Jason, Stop Texting Your Mom New England Style IPA an A. I think this has one fruit flavor note to it which makes it nice and not seem so stereotypical New England IPA, because I do like this NE IPA style it just that it seem like every beer out there is a NE IPA and it’s overshadowing everything else. But I do recommend Wilmington Brewing Company Jason, Stop Texting Your Mom New England Style IPA. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!      

Throwback Thursday: Deep River Brewing Co limoncello Tart Ale

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted April 8th, 2017.

Creativity is key to brewing and producing craft beer. Brewers get creative with ingredients, can and/or bottle type or even with the name and artwork on the label. One example is Deep River Brewing Co. Limoncello Tart Ale Brewed with Lemons, 5.4% that is produced in Clayton, Johnston County, North Carolina. Limoncello is sour blonde ale that is brewed with Sarachi Ace hops, a boatload of lemon, not sure how to measure a boatload, and fermented with a proprietary yeast strain that was developed with technology at NC State University. Limoncello pours a darker yellow color that has a bit of a brown murky hue to it with almost no head. The aroma is quite pleasing with fresh tart lemons and lemon peels with the lightest hint of a sour note. The flavor is at first slightly tart with lemon but is refreshing at the same time. Toward the middle of the mouth, Limoncello becomes a bit more tart and the lemon come through more, and on the back, the sourness shines a bit brighter without overpowering the tart lemony flavors there. The mouthfeel is light with a bit of thickness as you swallow. Limoncello finish tart, slightly sour with a nice refreshing quality. After taste lingers with tart lemon/lemon peels but doesn’t linger too much, and doesn’t pucker up the taste buds in the after taste. This beer is very good, it deserves an A. I found that none of the flavors clashed or overpowered one another, they all got along well and formed a wonderfully refreshing beer. I not the biggest fan of fruit beer, I like them enough and some fruits are not what I would say are good to brew beer with. But lemon in beer, now that is a good choice. I think lemon can enhance a beer or add another layer of flavor without making it into something not enjoyable. So you there should go and try Deep River Brewing Co. Limoncello Tart Ale Brewed with Lemons, I recommend you too. Cheers! Please Enjoy Responsibly! 

Commonwealth Brewing Company Limoncello

Posted on by Evan

One of my favorite liquors, Limoncello Italian lemon-flavored alcohol, and the locals sometimes home make it. This. Commonwealth Brewing Company Limoncello, 3.9% ABV, brewed in Virginia Beach, Virginia is a Gosé style ale brewed with Lemon Beebrush, Lemon Balam, Lemon Zest and Lactose. Lemoncello is Commonwealth Brewings interpretation of Italian Limoncello. Limoncello pours a yellow color with a two-finger white head that fades steadily and has sweet lemon aroma with a pinch of saltiness to it. The flavor is not as I expected with a nice semi yet sweet lemon at the front with a little salt in the middle of the mouth with a little twinge of bitterness at the back, with a smooth finish of sweet/semi-salted lemon and a slight tartness that has a lemon balm and slightly sweet aftertaste with a light refreshing mouthfeel. The Gose aspect of Limoncello is muted and sometimes nonexistent, but overall Commonwealth Brewing Company Limoncello is a C+, a little above average but I have had better Gosé Ales and a better Lemoncello Style beer. Deep River Brewing Limoncello is a better Lemoncello beer. Commonwealth Brewing Company Limoncello is not the worst but it’s interesting enough for a try! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Beer & Chips Pairing: Trophy Brewing Co. & Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Waffle Cut Sea Salt

Posted on by Evan

Trophy Brewing Co. Foam Party Pilsner, 5.0% ABV & Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Waffle Cut Sea Salt for this Beer & Chips Paring. I have previously review Foam Party Pilsner not too long ago. These Cap Cod Chips from Hyannis, Massachusetts are a deeper yellow color with a tight lattice cut to them and are similar to a waffle fry but not as thick, there is a potato aroma with a nice touch of sea salt and a faint crispy almost burnt aroma as well. The chips have a nice medium crunch with a nice amount of potato flavor that is salty but over salted. Foam Party Pilsner does cut some of the salt flavors and complements the somewhat greasy potato notes and together they finish nicely with a good amount of malty potato and an aftertaste of slight salt and nice greasy potato. This is a good paring of Trophy Brewing Co. Foam Party Pilsner, 5.0% ABV & Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Waffle Cut Sea Salt, pilsner goes very well with salty potato chips. This Beer & Chips Paring is a B+. The salt flavor is there but not so in your face kind of there, it has more potato flavor than anything else but these chips are a nice and welcome addition to the beer! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!       

Trophy Brewing Co. Foam Party Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

Trophy Brewing Co. Foam Party Pilsner, 5.0% ABV purchased from Pop The Top Bottle Shop is brewed on a larger recipe off Trophy Brewings 20 barrel system designed for maximum foam and crispness using a technique called ‘spunding’ which Trophy has allowed for some natural carbonation to build up during fermentation creating a higher level on the finish for supreme head retention. Foam Party pours a golden yellow color with a three-four finger foamy white head that sticks around for a while leaving good lacing behind. There is a crisp malty aroma with light sweet notes wafting into the nose with a nice crisp semi-sweet malted flavor washing over your tongue with a brightness to the overall flavor. Foam Party Pilsner finishes bright refreshing with a nice malty sweetness and an aftertaste that is a little bready/biscuity with a light mouthfeel. Trophy Brewing Co. Foam Party Pilsner is a great example of a taste Pilsner, one that is an A. I recommend trying this as I will over and over again. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!      

Burial Beer Co. & Alvarado Street Brewery Endless Surfer Dry-Hopped Pils

Posted on by Evan

Burial Beer Co. & Alvarado Street Brewery Endless Surfer Dry-Hopped Pils, 4.8% is a collaboration between the two and brewed at Burial in Asheville, North Carolina with malt from Admiral Malting and double dry-hopped with Alvarado Street Brewery’s (Monterey, California) hand-selected Motueka and Aramis hops. Endless Surfer which I purchased from my favorite local bottle shop Pop The Top, pours a light hazy lemon-yellow color with a dark hue to it and a big four finger bright white head that fades slowly into thick whips of lacing throughout the glass giving you a light/faint lemon aroma with a nice bit of biscuity malt that’s aromatic with a very faint vegetal notes that beckons you into a light lemon biscuit flavor with soft but subtle malt notes hitting your tongue with a nice little hop note jumping in the end/back of the tongue/mouth with a nice refreshing finish that has a little hoppy note and a nice lemon breaded biscuit aftertaste with the slightest touch of a hoppy notes with a light mouthfeel. Burial Beer Co. & Alvarado Street Brewery Endless Surfer Dry-Hopped Pils is an interesting take on a Pilsner that has a good balance of soft hoppy flavors that are light as not to overpower your tastebuds, and yes this is a sessionable beer that I give an A too and highly recommend you try it. I have yet to have a bad Burial Beer Co. beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Arrogant Consortia Enter Night Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

Arrogant Consortia (Stone Brewing) Enter Night Pilsner, 5.7 ABV is a collaboration between Arrogant Consortia and the heavy metal rock bands Metallica. That is not the usual type of beer collaboration you normal find but I think that it’s interesting and it may boost beer sale. Enter Night Pilsner pours a darker golden color with a two and a half finger white head with good retention and nice lacing is left behind with a little hoppy clean-ish bitter aroma on the nose. Taste is like a nice German Pilsner up front but strong and with a quick crisp note in on the middle of the tongue and a slight bitter hoppy note on the back that grows into the finish of a hoppy cracker and a slight linger of a bitter note in the aftertaste with a lighter mouthfeel. This is what you’d expect Arrogant Consortia (Stone Brewing) to do with a Pilsner beer it has their signature hoppy notes in there but they do it without ruining the fact that it’s a Pilsner beer. I give Arrogant Consortia (Stone Brewing) Enter Night Pilsner a B- it starts out nice and slowly goes down from there but not too far, and yes this interesting beer is worth checking out and trying. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Throwback Thursday: Oskar Blues Brewing Mama’s Little Yella Pils

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted February 6th, 2014.

Canned beer is making a popular comeback these days. Can are a little more versatile than bottles. You can take cans of beer on a picnic with have to worry about what to do with a whole glass bottle. Can stay colder longer than a bottle, and are easier to transport. Plus can are much easier to open and recycle. There are number breweries that can beer and there are some that only can their beer. Oskar Blue Brewery is on that only cans all their beer. Originally started in Lyons Colorado, and recently built a brewery/taproom in Brevard North Carolina. So depending on what part of the USA you are would determine which brewery you beer comes from. Here is on of Oskar Blue’s year round offering, Mama’s Little Yella Pils, 5.3% ABV, a Czech Pilsner. Mama’s Little Yella Pils pours yep you guessed right, a yellow, light gold color with a big rocky three finger foamy bright white head that seem to stay forever, and from thick foamy lacing around the glass. I found decent amounts of light streaming though a healthy amount of carbonation bubbles. The aroma on Mama’s Little Yella Pils is a little breaded with nice pale biscuit scents. The aroma is altogether big and bright. The taste is clean, crisp, and easy drinking with nice clean breaded biscuit flavors. As the beer becomes a bit warmer the German Specialty and Saaz hops shine through. The mouth feel is light and crisp, with a clean refreshing finish. The after taste is just a pinch of a very faint hoppy taste with a nice semi faint biscuit flavor. Overall this is a wonderful, refreshing, clean, crisp, and easy-drinking pilsner! Oskar Blue’s Mama’s Little Yella Pils get an A+ here. I really can see this beer as an everyday beer. Mama’s Little Yella Pils is one well-crafted Pilsner, and I like the fact that it’s in can, that’s a little different. So I do highly recommend Mama’s Little Yella Pils. So go out and try Mama’s Little Yella Pils and see what you think of it! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!