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! 

Hopfly Brewing Co. One More Bite (OMB) Fruited Sour

Posted on by Evan

I purchased Hopfly Brewing Co. One More Bite (OMB) Fruited Sour, 6.3% ABV from Pop The Top because of the label mostly and a little because of the contents. One More Bite is brewed in Rocky Mount, North Carolina with Strawberry, Vanilla, and Lactose. Judging this beer by its label I think they are going for a strawberry shortcake here. One More Bite pours light orange color with a faint red tint to it and with a two-finger fizzy head that fades into a light right with minimal lacing throughout. The aroma is nice with a strawberry sweetness, adding sweet aromas from the vanilla, OMB has more of a Fruity Pebbles aroma to it. There is a nice sweet strawberry flavor to it upfront with a little light tartness, the vanilla and the lactose cut the tart fruity flavors. The fruity sweet finish is good with a nice Fruity Pebbles cereal aftertaste is awesome all with a lighter mouthfeel. Hopfly Brewing Co. One More Bite (OMB) Fruited Sour is one good fruited sour beer, well deserving of an A+. It’s not really a strawberry shortcake, more of a fruity sugary cereal which is great and something very interesting to try. I recommend trying Hopfly Brewing Co. One More Bite (OMB) Fruited Sour Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. Sour Cherry Pineapple

Posted on by Evan

This Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. Cherry Pineapple, 6.5% ABV is an American Sour Ale from Charleston, South Carolina I picked up from Pop The Top Craft Beer Shop. Sour Cherry Pineapple pours a Robitussin bright red color with a thin one and a quarter pink head that quickly fades into itself, with big sour tart cherry fruits. Smells okay but no pineapple. The flavor is similar to the aroma with tart and sour cherry with a very light/faint tropical note on the middle of the tongue still no pineapple then you get a sour cherry cough medicine that slowly fades into an effervescent tart Maraschino Cherry finish with a tart sour sugar cherry aftertaste and a light mouthfeel. I found Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. Cherry Pineapple to have a weird cherry flavor without getting any pineapple with a medicinal quality to it. I give Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. Cherry Pineapple a D-, I did finish this and it was not very heavy or way too sour, but not very good otherwise so do not try this! Please enjoy responsibly!

Flying Fish Brewing Co. Salt and Sea Session Sour Ale

Posted on by Evan

Brewed with strawberry and lime Flying Fish Brewing Co. Salt and Sea, 4.3% a session sour from Somerdale New Jersey, which Flying Fish claims to have enticing aromas of saltwater taffy. Salt and Sea pours a light golden color with a one half finger white head and with sour, tart, fruity aromas with faint semi-sweet notes as well. Taste is similarly the aroma with tart fruity sour notes of light strawberry and lime with nice salty touches, but is it like saltwater taffy? Well a little but not entirely. Salt and Sea finish tart with light fruity sour notes with a medium salted tart aftertaste with a light mouthfeel that is all refreshing. Flying Fish Brewing Co. Salt and Sea is well deserving of an A. I found Flying Fish Brewing Co. Salt and Sea to have enough flavor to convey what’s they were going for, and yes I would recommend it. It is well balanced, refreshing and easy to drink. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

D9 Brewing Company Wild Things Le Peche Mode

Posted on by Evan

D9 Brewing Company Wild Things Le Peche Mode, 7.5% ABV is purchased from Total Wine is a sour beer, brewed with peaches and vanilla, and is part of D9’s (Cornelius, North Carolina) Wild Things series. Le Peche Mode pours a slightly hazy yellow color with a one and a half finger of quickly fleeting white head that leaves no traces of itself behind. The aroma is sweet, bubble gum like sweetness, fruity with nice peach notes with a tartness wafting into the nose with hints of a faint yeast note. Taste is somewhat similar to its own aroma with a nice fruity peach sweetness at first then fades into more of slight vanilla notes with tart sour fruited notes on the middle and the back of the mouth, that finishes with a light sweet fruity tartness and a very faint peach vanilla tart aftertaste and a light mouthfeel. D9 Brewing Company Wild Things Le Peche Mode has a little flavor that reminds me of a Gose style but a just a very faint flavor. Le Peche Mode is a C+. The vanilla is light as the peach is more dominant and I like peaches a lot but I think that the vanilla flavor needs to be taken up a notch for this to be any better, it’s just slightly above average and this is not something you should stay away from, it’s nice and refreshing. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Westbrook Brewing Company Fruit/Wood/Time Passionfruit Rum Barrel Finish

Posted on by Evan

This Westbrook Brewing Company Fruit/Wood/Time Passionfruit Rum Barrel Finish, 6.6% ABV is part of the breweries Fruit/Wood/Time series, this particular beer is a blend of mix fermentation sour beer from two oak foudres. The blend is racked into six 400 liter Barbados rum puncheons and refermented with passionfruit for six months before bottling according to Westbrook. Passionfruit pours a bright yellow with a quickly fleeing thin one finger white head. The aroma is tropical fruity, tart/sour bright with some light alcoholic notes with a sour/tart tropical fruity flavor with some rum notes on the back of the mouth and finishes with a big mouth puckering sour note and a tropical fruit and rum aftertaste. Now I don’t think you need to have more than just one, a lot of sour flavor going on in this beer. I don’t dislike this beer but I wouldn’t say I love it, it’s interesting and different. With that said Westbrook Brewing Company Fruit/Wood/Time Passionfruit Rum Barrel Finish is a C. Towards the end of the bottle it slowly becomes too much flavor but okay. I think It needs more sweetness to balance it out. If you think this sounds interesting like I did then by all means go and try Westbrook Brewing Company Fruit/Wood/Time Passionfruit Rum Barrel Finish. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Stillwater Artisanal Action’s Bronson’s 7000 Dry-Hopped Sour Ale with Muscat Grapes

Posted on by Evan

From Oslo Norway Stillwater Artisanal Action Bronson’s 7000, 5.0% ABV is a collaboration between Stillwater Artisanal and rapper, celebrity Action Bronson and is a dry-hopped sour ale brewed with Muscat Grapes, yeast, wheat, and barley. 7000 pours a light orange color with a thin one and a half finger white head that quickly fizzy away giving off slight musty grape aroma with sour notes following it. The flavor is light with a dry musty grape sour note with some citrus notes fading in with a nice tart sour citrus grape finish with a tart citrus aftertaste that kings till the next sip, with a light mouthfeel. Stillwater Artisanal Action Bronson’s 7000 is very easy drinking, crushable with just enough flavor to get the dry-hopped sour beer point across your taste buds. I found that this is like a fruit wine and that’s not a bad thing, I give Stillwater Artisanal Action Bronson’s 7000 an A. This is one of those beers for when you want something, a beer, that isn’t beer and 7000 is going to really fill you up as some beer do. It’s light on filling. I would recommend Stillwater Artisanal Action Bronson’s 7000 and will be having this many more times. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Victory Brewing Company Charlotte Brew’d Juice Boost Dry-Hopped Sour Ale

Posted on by Evan

Victory Brewing Company Charlotte Brew’d Juice Boost Dry-Hopped Sour Ale, 7.2% ABV. I had this is a Charlotte Brew’d Flight at Victory and Southern Tier Brewing Companies Charlotte brewery, Brewers at 4001 Yancey, so I bought a four pack. Juice Boost pours a golden apple juice color with a one and a half finger white head with fruity aroma of citrus and faint grape wafting from it with a bit of a slight hop note. Taste on Juice Boost is fruity on first contact with orange some grapefruit that is followed by a faint hop note that is tart and carries itself to the middle of mouth with a slight dry note on the back of the mouth and continues on with a fruity dry citrus finish with a slight hoppy dry orange juice aftertaste with a light mouth feel. Victory Brewing Company Charlotte Brew’d Juice Boost Dry-Hopped Sour Ale is easy to drink and with an ABV of 7.2% is slightly dangerous but overall it’s refreshing and I give this Sour Ale a B+. The sourness could be a little more pronounced on this with just a little more hop note as well, but Victory Brewing Company Charlotte Brew’d Juice Boost Dry-Hopped Sour Ale is not a bad beer and one that I would recommend. Cheers! please enjoy responsibly!

Birdsong Brewing Co. Good Feeling Fruited Kettle Sour

Posted on by Evan

Picked up Birdsong Brewing Co. Good Feeling Fruited Kettle Sour, 5.6% ABV from Pop the Top Bottle Shop here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Birdsong Brewing Co. Good Feeling Fruited Kettle Sour is brewed with cranberries and oranges, pours a light orange color with a one finger fizzy quickly fading white head that gives off tart fruity aromas with a bit of a sweetness hitting your nose that then takes you to a tart, sweet orange flavor with some nice tart candy like flavors with hints of a bit of sourness with a fruity tart semi sweet finish and a orange and faint cranberry after taste with a bit of sourness with a light mouthfeel. Birdsong Brewing Co. Good Feeling Fruited Kettle Sour overall is a good sour beer I don’t get to much of the cranberries but I g et more orange off this beer. I’d say that this Birdsong Brewing Co. Good Feeling Fruited Kettle Sour is an B+, it has a lot of similarities to most of the kettle sour beers out now but it still a good beer, but it just taste like a good sour beer nothing really outstanding with this beer but very good non the less. It is however a beer that I recommend you should try and one that I would definitely have again and could probably drink a few in one sitting. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Tool Beer Ms. Velvet 2018 Edition

Posted on by Evan

Tool Beer Ms. Velvet 2018 Edition, 9.0% ABV, from Denmark and brewed in De Proef Lochristi Belgium I picked up from Pop The Top Bottle Shop here in Charlotte. Ms. Velvet is blackcurrant & plum triple ale that pours a red/purple color with a one and a half finger thin white head that fades into a little halo with some lacing, with aromas of bright fruity notes, mostly dark fruits with some slightly alcoholic notes that take you to a dark fruit flavor with slight sour alcoholic notes with some bitterness on the back with a dry dark fruit finish and lingering sour/tart dark fruit dry aftertaste with a medium mouthfeel. I like this but I think it’s good as a sour fruit beer and okay just as a Belgian Tripel, I give Tool Beer Ms. Velvet 2018 Edition a B-. The tart dark fruits give this a nice refreshing quality and get through the 9.0% ABV but just a little. I would recommend this but after 3 or four pints you’d be over the fruit and the 9.0% ABV, But it’s a good beer for, just one or two. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly