Kentucky Ale Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale.

Posted on by Evan

Kentucky Ale Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale, 5.5% ABV pick up from Total Wine, is brewed in Lexington Kentucky and is 100% barrel aged. Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale pours a clean orange color with a one finger fizzing white head with sweet vanilla aroma with thin barrel oak that guides you into a sweet vanilla taste that washes quickly of your tongue with hints of a smooth sweetness with a lingering finish of vanilla that is soda like and a much similar aftertaste that lingers with vanilla with a medium mouthfeel. Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale has lots of sweet vanilla to it with very little barrel notes and I think its C-. The sweet vanilla flavor hold the beer to be average but not great. This beer has more of a vanilla soda like quality to it that is okay at best and I don’t think I would hurry back to have Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale again! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Throwback Thursday: Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer

Posted on by Evan

Orinally posted on August 27th, 2016.

Here we have an import beer from Scotland, Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer, 6.6% ABV. This beer is aged in an oak barrel for seventy-seven day before bottling. This Innis & Gunn pours a caramel color with a one finger white fizzy head that fade kind of quickly. The aroma is sweet with hints a light vanilla and caramel with a faint toasted oak note. Original Innis & Gunn does have a sweet start to the taste, with a slight vanilla and some caramel notes then you get a bit of toffee in the middle with the oaky flavor towards the end. The finish is smooth yet semi-sweet with a nice lingering after taste of vanilla toffee. Not a bad oak aged beer; I give this one a B+. You can really taste how the aging really smoothed out the beer, usually, this Scottish style is a bit harsher but this one isn’t, it’s mellow and smooth with a nice subtle sweetness. I recommend trying Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer. It’s a nice beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week’s news and events happening in the Charlotte, NC area!

  • Wednesday, October 7th. Hop for Homes. Birdsong Brewing Co. 5:30 pm-7:30 pm. Join us as we toast #HabitatCharlotte homeowners who have paid off their mortgage and support future homeowners at our #HopsforHomesevent! Our friends at #BirdsongBrewing are partnering with us in this new initiative and have helped us create a special recipe in honor of our 35th birthday! We’re calling it My House IPA and this small batch edition will be available for purchase at the event! Proceeds support #HabitatCharlotte as we continue to put a dent in the #affordablehousing crisis! Come taste and see why homeownership is so sweet! #BLDCLT #HeartsHandsHomes#cltbeer #ncbeer #Charlotte
  • Wednesday, October 7th. Hazecaramacchiato Frapamochachocochino – Pilot Batch Release. Triple C Brewing Company. 4 pm-9 pm. his Pilot Batch Wednesday, come to try out this Brown Ale with whole bean coffee & hazelnut added!
  • Friday, October 9th. Night Shift NC Welcome Party. SaludBeer Shop. 6 pm-12 am. Join us as we welcome Night Shift Brewing from Boston, MA
    We’re tapping
    Whirl Pool NE IPA
    Santilli IPA
    cases of Night Lite Lager
    Whirl Pool
    Santilli IPA
  •  Saturday, October 10th. Beer for Breakfast! A Donut & Beer Pairing. Pop The Top Craft Beer Shop. 10 am-2 pm. We’ve been holding onto a big keg of Skillet Donut from Burial Beer Co.and thought, let’s pair this amazing beer along with some other tasty beers for a Donut and Beer pairing. We’ll be opening up early at 10am and will provide FREE hand picked donuts from Your Mom’s Donuts for each beer. Best way to maximize your experience will be to get a flight of 4 and enjoy the start of your Saturday! Check out Pop The Top Craft Beer Shop for the list of special beer that will be on hand.
  • Sunday, October 11th. Fall Oyster Roast by Birdsong Brewing & Rappahannock! Birdsong Brewing. 1 pm-4 pm. Fall is upon us and we’re celebrating with an Oyster Roast! Our friends from Rocksalt Charlotte are bringing the oysters and the steamers down from Rappahannock River Oysters, LLC and Rocksalt Charlotte will be on site serving up their delicious oysters! Buckets of steamed/roasted oysters will be $15 & RockSalt will be shucking raw oysters to order for $15 a dozen!
    It’s Veteran’s Day weekend and we hope you can carve out a few hours from your busy schedules to relax with a few pints of delicious local beer and enjoy some super fresh oysters sold by the bucket! This event is family friendly, so all are encouraged to join! In honor of Veteran’s Day Weekend, we’ll be donating a portion of the day’s proceeds to Purple Heart Homes!
    11/11/18 1-4 PM.
    Rocksalt Charlotte, located in the Park Road Shopping Center, is our Oyster Roast event partner! They specialize in sustainable seafood and are proud to offer a variety of local craft beer and beverages as well. Check them out for daily oyster specials and more       

 

Boulevard Brewing Co. The Sixth Glass Quadrupel Ale

Posted on by Evan

Boulevard Brewing Co. The Six Glass Quadrupel Ale, 10.2% ABV picked up from my local Total Wine comes from Kansas City, Missouri and is a Belgian Style Quadrupel Ale with 22 IBUs (International Bittering Units) pours a deep brown color with a one and a half beige head that slowly fizzes down to a nice halo giving you aromas of sweet dark fruits, plums and raisins with alcoholic boozy notes that takes you to the flavor of more dark fruit taste with a strong note of boozy alcohol with touches of sweetness coming through with a nice sweet boozy dark fruit finish and aftertaste of boozy dark fruits with a fuller mouthfeel. The Six Glass Quadrupel Ale is slightly thinner tasting than some other Belgian Quadrupel Ales, still a good one but I think there are better ones out there so I give Boulevard Brewing Co. The Six Glass Quadrupel Ale a B. The mouthfeel could have been a little fuller and there could have been more robustness in the dark fruits but not a bad Belgian style Quad. Something that I would recommend? Yes, this is one that you should try, it nice to see how an American craft version of a Belgian Quad stacks up to a real Belgian Quad, and it to okay but not better. Cheers! please enjoy responsibly!

Moody Tongue Steeped Emperor’s Lemon Saison

Posted on by Evan

Moody Tongue from Chicago Illinois, Steeped Emperor’s Lemon Saison 6.3% which I think is using Meyer lemons in this Saison, which pours an orange color with a two finger quickly receding white head that gives of a lemon effervescent with hints of sweet but slightly tart aromas with a flavor of some sour lemon notes with a touch of sweetness with a bright effervescent that causes the beer to turn from tart to sour in a bad way, then finishes with a faint lemon dish soap like flavor with a bitter sour off-putting lemon aftertaste with a lighter mouthfeel. This beer was terrible and the lemon flavors were more of a sour bitter mess then pretty much anything else. So Moody Tongue Steeped Emperor’s Lemon Saison is an F+, I did finish all twelve ounces but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed it nor would I recommend it. The lemon aspect was just not something resembling the taste of nice lemon and the Saison aspect wasn’t very Saison at all and when you put two bad things together it comes out to Moody Tongue Steeped Emperor’s Lemon Saison. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Throwback Thursday: Duvel Belgian Golden Ale

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted on December 23rd, 2013

Belgium is one of the best and oldest beer brewing countries in the world and produces some of the world’s best beers and most popular styles. One brewery in particular is Duvel Moortagt, which as been brewing since 1871 and has made a family brewery. This Is Duvel, Belgian Golden Ale (bottle Conditioned) 8.5% ABV. It comes in 11.2 ounce short stubby bottle. Duvel pours a bright golden color with a three finger bright white foamy, rocky head that sticks around for a quit while and leaves behind some thick amazing looking lacing. I found plenty of light streaming through the glass with decent amounts of carbonation. The aroma on Duvel is bright with a pineapple scent and nice hints of grainy, grassy notes. I also found a boozy aroma but none to heavy. The taste on this is big, with a nice light pineapple and a faint grassy note. Towards the back of the mouth I found it to be slightly boozier and stronger than the start with hints of carbonation. The mouth feel is medium with a boozy texture and finishes crisp and slightly boozy. The after taste on Duvel is nice faintly sweet, strong, and boozy with hints of hoppy yet grassy textures. Overall Duvel is a great beer so I would give this an A+. This is a great example of bottle conditioned Belgian golden ale. Duvel goes well with any season, and occasion. I found this beer to be very popular with concerning beer drinkers. I recommend that you try this and share it with you friends; you’ll look like a real beer connoisseur. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week’s new and events in the Charlotte, NC area!

  • Wednesday, October 31st. King-O-Ween. Brewers at 4001 Yancey,. 6 pm -10 pm. Pumking and his crew are getting ready to celebrate Halloween. Join them! On October 31st at Brewers at 4001 Yancey, we’re hosting a Halloween costume party fit for the king and his court…
    We’re partying SILENT-DISCO style and we’re taking music requests in the discussion leading up to next Wednesday. Come dressed as Pumking or one of his friends and you could win some pretty dope prizes. If we can give you one piece of advice…take Thursday off from work. GONNA BE LIT.
  • Wednesday, October 31st. New Beer Release: Pumpkin Saison. Pilot Brewing. 4 pm-9 pm. Celebrate Halloween with us with the release of our Pumpkin Saison. A Saison brewed with pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. This yummy traditional Saison has received a Halloween twist which will be the best treat you receive!
  • Thursday, November 1st. Day of the Dead Fiesta. The Unknown Brewing Company. 6 pm-10 pm. We have an incredibly special event lined up to celebrate the Day of the Dead. The event is complete with live music, face painting, “Day of the Dead” themed food and the release of “Horchata Lotta Lovin” beer! “Horchata Lotte Lovin” is an autumn seasonal ale this beer brewed in Celebration of loved ones past. We brewed this beer with cinnamon, almonds, milk sugar, rice, and barley to make it a sweet malty treat!
  • Thursday, November 1st. Seaboard Beer Release – Veterans Orchard IPA Release. Seaboard Brewing Taproom and Wine Bar.  5 pm-11 pm. Tickets at Eventbrite.com.  Seaboard Brewing has released several versions of the Hazy new England style Orchard IPA, first starting with single hop version Eldorado, then Mosaic, next up was the Galaxy and our most version was the Hallertau Blanc. We made this specifically to coincide with the Patriot Gala held at Quail Hollow Club on November 3rd as well as Veteran’s day November 12th.
    Now up, it’s our Veteran’s Blend Orchard IPA! 2018 Veterans Blend was hand-selected by a group of veteran-owned breweries from across the US, (Full disclosure Seaboard is not a veteran-owned brewery but we do support all branches of the military) representing multiple branches of the US Armed Forces. The blend is comprised of five different Pacific Northwest-grown varieties, providing a beautiful mix of tropical, citrus, and herbal aromas. The Veterans Blend version is a unique annual blend, dedicated to providing a fiscal donation of $3 per lb sold to a new veteran-support organization each year. This year’s donation will be made to the Semper Fi Fund, which is dedicated to providing urgently needed resources and support for post 9/11 combat wounded, critically ill and catastrophically injured members of the United States Armed Forces and their families.
    FEATURED HOPS
    CASHMERE
    MELON • LEMON • LIME • SPICE
    ALPHA ACIDS: 7.7 – 9.1% • BETA ACIDS: 6.4 – 7.1% • TOTAL OIL: 1.2 – 1.4 mL/100g
    CENTENNIAL
    LEMON • FLORAL
    ALPHA ACIDS: 7 – 12% • BETA ACIDS: 8.5 – 9.8% • TOTAL OIL: 1.5 – 1.9 mL/100g
    EKUANOT® BRAND HBC 366
    MELON • BERRY • LIME • APPLE • PAPAYA • GREEN PEPPER
    ALPHA ACIDS: 13 – 15.5% • BETA ACIDS: 4 – 5% • TOTAL OIL: 2 – 4 mL/100g
    MOSAIC® BRAND HBC 369
    BLUEBERRY • TANGERINE • PAPAYA • BLOSSOMS • ROSE • BUBBLE GUM
    ALPHA ACIDS: 10.5 – 14% • BETA ACIDS: 3 – 4.5% • TOTAL OIL: 0.8 – 3 mL/100g
    SIMCOE® BRAND YCR 14
    PASSION FRUIT • BERRY • PINE • EARTH • CITRUS
    ALPHA ACIDS: 11.5 – 15% • BETA ACIDS: 3 – 4.5% • TOTAL OIL: 0.8 – 3.2 mL/100g
  • Friday, November 2nd. High Branch 3rd Anniversary Pre Party with Salud and Friends. Salud Beer Shop. 6 pm-10 pm. Friday, November 2nd – join us for a pre-party to kick off High Branch turning 3! Over the short time we have been open we’ve met many new people and have made a bunch of new friends. To celebrate we’ve invited some of our Charlotte brewery friends to help us take over the taps at Salud Beer Shop!
    We’re so honored that the following CLT Breweries have agreed to join us (you know they’ll be bringing something tasty!):
    Salud Cerveceria
    Free Range Brewing
    Divine Barrel Brewing
    Wooden Robot Brewery
    Birdsong Brewing Co.
    Heist Brewery
    Resident Culture Brewing Company
    Salud Beer Shop plans to have their pizza oven up and running so be sure to have dinner with us!
    Stay tuned to see what beers will be available for the festivities!
    NOTE: We will still have our anniversary party at High Branch on Nov 10th. We’ll be releasing new beers and have a great time planned!
  • Friday, November 2nd. Apologize Less 5: Can Release (Birds Fly South Al Project). Salud Beer Shop. 12 pm-3 pm. Hey Charlotte, we’re coming for you. A special package release of Apologize Less: 5 is happening this Friday, Nov. 2nd at the Salud Beer Shop. This hazy IPA is citrus-forward with a soft mouthfeel and a subtle bitterness. We’re landing with just 10 cases of the newest batch in our Double Dry-Hopped series, this time brewed with Apollo, Comet, and Ekuanot. Available in 4-packs of 16oz cans starting at 12pm.
  • Saturday, November 3rd. White BlazeWinter Ale Release. Triple C Brewing Company. 12 pm-10 pm. Our popular Winter Ale – White Blaze returns on Saturday, Nov. 3rd in the taproom on draft and in cans!
    Golden Naked Oats give this amber ale a rich coconut malt flavor that combines with organic Ceylon cinnamon to make the perfect cold weather beer!
    Stayed tuned for more details!
  • Saturday, November 3rd. Can Release: Sherpa Winter Porter. Blue Blaze Brewing. 2 pm-7 pm. We are releasing Sherpa Winter Porter in cans for the first time and on draft in an exclusively small batch! Outside of the available kegs, we will only can one round of Sherpa Winter Porter in the amount of roughly 70 cases.
    Sherpa Winter Porter is a light-bodied brown porter style with very light hop flavor and aroma. We’ve introduced subtle notes of your favorite winter tastes: vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, tiramisu, and hazelnut along with light sweetness, caramel, and chocolate.
    Also, ask about our nitro draft option for Sherpa Winter Porter!
    Live Music – Matt Minchew
    Food Truck – A Worthy Dog
  • Sunday, November 4th. Fall Brunch at Sycamore! Sycamore Brewing. 10 am-1 pm. Join us for a Fall Brunch at Sycamore! TIN Kitchen serving brunch and Front Porch Sundays going on next door! Live music by The Clydes and ScOOt Pittman!
  • Monday, November 5th. Beer 101 Education Night. Pilot Brewing. 4:30 pm- 8:30 pm. The craft beer world has a wide variety of styles which run the gamut of flavors. Navigating through some of these styles can be a bit overwhelming.
    Join us for our first Beer 101 Education night, hosted by two of our Certified Cicerone, Jen Blair, and Rachael Hudson!
    Not only are Jen and Rachael Certified Cicerones, but they also come highly experienced in the beer Industry, and are award-winning brewers. Jen is also the president of the Carolina Brew Masters, sits on the governing committee for the American Homebrew Association and the Director of the Craft Maltsters Guild. Rachael has 7 years of professional brewing experience from breweries such as Hardywood Park, Left Hand, and NoDa Brewing Co.
    Throughout the evening, we will host 4 mini Beer 101 sessions in our brewhouse. Sessions will begin at 4:45, 5:45, 6:45 and 7:45, and will last promptly 45 min. Cost for the class is just the purchase of a pre-determined flight for $8. The flight will include four basic styles of beer in which we will guide you through the taxonomy, terminology, ingredients, and flavor profiles of each.
    This is part of our commitment to community involvement and craft beer education. 
  • Thursday, November 6th. Great Lakes Christmas Ale First Tapping Pint Night. The Casual Pint (Rivergate). 6 pm-8 pm. Santa will be delivering the first Great Lakes Christmas Ale of the season, tapping the keg and enjoying a pint!!! Buy a Pint and get a free Pint Glass, commemorative Christmas Ale mugs available while supplies last.
  • Tuesday, November 6th. NoDable Release: IPA with YCH Veterans Blend. NoDa Brewing Company. 4 pm-9 pm. Every single week, we release a brand new “NoDable” beer on Tuesday. This week’s brew is a delicious IPA with YCH Veteran’s Blend. While you’re here, be sure to try a few of our 25+ brews and some TIN Kitchen for dinner. And, don’t forget you can take this week’s NoDable and many of our other beers to-go in a crowler!

Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat Special Edition Tripel Hop

Posted on by Evan

I have had my eye on trying Brouerij Duvel Moortgat Special Edition Tripel Hop, 9.5% ABV, which I pick up from my local Total Wine very recently. This import comes from Puurs Belgium and is brewed with Experimental Hop HBC 291, instead of Citra hops or other more commonly used hops, and pours a deep yellow/golden color with a big pillowy three finger white head that slowly recedes into a white foam giving off light sweet lemon pepper aroma with hints of a very faint hop note that all culminates in your nose as a flavor of lavender lemon notes hit your taste buds on the front of the mouth, then a mild sweetness washes over the middle mouth and flows over into the black with a spiced pepper notes with a nice peppery finish with hints of a floral lavender bitterness that carries over to the aftertaste with the sweet notes have a more faded taste all with a semi-light mouthfeel. Brouerij Duvel Moortgat Special Edition Tripel Hop was really surprising and not at all what I was expecting, but it was very delicious and surprisingly refreshing but a little of the strong side but not heavily, and I give this Brouerij Duvel Moortgat Special Edition Tripel Hop an A-. I don’t think that you could have more than a pint of this beer, the flavor would start to become too much a quarter of the way into the second pint, but I do highly recommend Brouerij Duvel Moortgat Special Edition Tripel Hop, it’s good! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Triple C Brewing Co. Grill Friend Cherry Wood Smoked Amber Ale

Posted on by Evan

From my local Harris Teeter comes local Charlotte, NC Triple C Brewing Co.Grill Friend Cherry Wood Smoked Amber Ale, 5.5% ABV and Triple C uses Cherry Wood that you might find on a good smoker type of grill. Grill Friend pours a deep red/brown color with a nearly two finger beige head that slowly fades into a nice creamy top with wafting aroma of smoky cherry wood with hints of sweetness melding in with a faint bitter note that lead into a sweet yet light barbecue smoked flavor with a malty notes that is followed by a light and faint bitter note that finish with a nice smoked barbecue flavor and a nice semi sweetness and bits of nice smoked woods with a nice medium mouthfeel. Triple C Brewing Co. Grill Friend is a good be to have with barbecue meats, steaks or any hardy meal and is an A beer. I like the nice amount of smoky flavor on this, it isn’t overwhelming and tasting like your too close to the campfire. Grill Friend has just the right amount of Cherry Wood smoke to it so you can enjoy the beer while enjoy all the flavors. Yes I recommend Grill Friend. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Throwback Thursday: Triple C Brewing Co. Smoked Amber

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted on March 15th, 2015

A few years ago I stumbled onto the Smoked Beer style and found that I really like it. In Germany, it is known as Rauchbier. Some smoked beers can be really smoky which some would say it is like breathing in a campfire, and others are not as intense. Smoked beers come in a few sub-styles, like wheat, Marzen, Amber, and bock. This smoked beer is a local beer, Triple C Brewing Smoked Amber, 5.5 ABV, and 29 IBU. This is another beer delivered from the great people at BrewPublik (www.brewpublik.com). Triple C Brewing Co. is located here in Charlotte North Carolina. Triple C uses cherry wood smoked malts on this amber. Smoked Amber pours a deep hazy brown color that is a bit murky, with a two finger off-white head that dissipates at a steady pace and does leave behind some lacing. I found no light coming through the glass nor could I make out any carbonation bubbles. But the bubbles are there. The aroma on Smoked Amber is yes smoky like a barbeque. I found not as intense as some smoked beer are. I found a bit of caramel sweetness there as well. The taste is first malty and sweet with hints of caramel and nice accompaniment of smoky flavors. It reminded me of nice barbequed meat. Smoked Amber has a very faint smoky coffee flavor on the end. The mouthfeel is medium with a nice smoky, malty and sweet finish. The aftertaste is more reminiscent of a light smoky sweet coffee barbeque flavor. I know that those two kinds of flavors don’t go together but the barbeque flavor is more predominant than the coffee. I really enjoyed this beer a lot it is an A+ in my book. I really loved how every flavor worked well with one another. It was a well-brewed beer. I love the smoked beer style and I really enjoyed Triple C Brewing Co Smoked Amber. I really recommend trying this one for yourself. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!