Pandemic beers. There have been too many.
New Image Palisade Peach Maceration
March 15, 2020
The label does not lie – New Image shot for fruit with sour beer added, not the other way around, and they do not disappoint. This sour achieves excellent balance because you cannot add too many Palisade peaches to anything, especially beer. Cloudy and almost chewy at times, like eating peach puree that sat in sour beer. For me, that’s delightful. The sour grows more prominent with each pass but maintains its balance. It’s refreshing and delightful, masking its 7.5 percent ABV with layers and layers of delicious fruit that evokes the warmer months.
Horse & Dragon Irish Red
March 17, 2020
The demands something malty and this Fort Collins brewer obliges with this 6.8 percent version. Slightly sweet from the red malts and with some good biscuit notes. Not something I can drink a lot, but certainly tasty for what it aims to be.
Elevation Beauty and Justice American-style Mild
March 17, 2020
American brewers fear mild ale, I have convinced myself of this. It isn’t extreme, but packs tons of flavor into its tiny ABV and is the ultimate session beer. Dark fruits and a little hop sizzle (very little) dominate the flavor profile. Mild is easy dark easy, stout for those who don’t want the heft of stout or porter.
Black Forest Brewing Elder the Berry Wheat
March 24, 2020
My first crowler of the coronavirus had to be this one. The berry character is big and textured, almost chewy at times. The elderberry throws off hints of many other bramblefruits and a distinct tartness on the finish. At 6.7 percent ABV, Elder the Berry runs stronger than most wheat beers, which the fruit masks beautifully. The berry character even runs through the cream lace. It’s a perfect porch sipper, even in March.
Metric Betty Wit
March 27,2020
While not a cloudy Belgian-style wit, Metric nails the flavor components from the moment I opened the crowler till the last swig. There’s coriander, of course, but plenty of fruit and herb note emerge on each pass. I got a surprisingly hint of vanilla at times. It’s pretty easy Belgian-style witbier, and it would be a nice quencher for the warmer months.
Paradox Macaroon and Chocolate Dessert Porter
March 28, 2020
This variation on the porters Paradox has been producing this winter struck me. It might not be my typical porter choice, but why not? This one runs a little too sweet for me. I know that now. Notes of coconut appear, along with ample moments of chocolate. The sweet has too much confectionary sugar presence for my liking.
Metric Red No. 5
March 29, 2020
A collaboration with Dueces Wild, Cerberus and Brass brewing companies, this hibiscus brett saison pulled me out of hibernation. I had avoided brett beers (those made with wild yeast brettanomyces) for years, largely due to the yeast’s ability to make beers taste alike no matter the ingredients. In the glass, Red No. 5 lives up to its name, resembling Kool-Aid. This is not a beer made with a handful of hibiscus petals. The brett’s signature dry sizzle is strongly present but does not linger. Notes of kiwi, tangerine, passion fruit and more emerge. It lacks the horse blanket notes often common with brett, and the sour moments are brief, and any earthiness is slight. This brett beer could bring back into my fridge.
Flanders Fred
March 29, 2020
Confession – I don’t remember buying this beer, although I got a little giddy finding it in my stash. A rerelease of a 2012 collaboration, this beer blends Portland’s Hair of the Dog Fred blended with a Flemish wild red ale. The sour notes are pretty mellow. The backbone of a larger, darker beer is definitely present, so Fred is not forgotten in the Flanders mix. This not the wild ale of amateurs, as De Prouf makes very strong and drinkable beers. Despite being a third-party brewer they produce incredibly creative beers, and this blend is among them. It’s surprisingly refreshing. There’s a little sour cherry on the finish, not enough to pucker, but enough to make you want a little more. Like any good blend, it has characters of both beers. There’s an assertive lemon note that runs throughout, never becoming overwhelming.
Paradox Passion Punch
April 4, 2020
Addition of passion fruit to a golden sour ale provides a delightful pucker. Paradox brews always bring some surprises, and this is a nice-barrel aged sour.
Fossil Second Running Belgian Single
April 11, 2020
Unlike the other beer styles made famous by Belgium’s Trappist monks, Belgian single is highly sessionable, as it is the beer the monks served at meals in Trappist monasteries. The coriander and lemon are mild but there’s a nice mellow citrus middle that I enjoy. There’s a little fist of lemon zest on the finish. Tripel is a favorite beer style, but it’s a tough one to drink regularly. A beer like this brings the flavor and a more accommodating alcohol content.
Paradox Skully Barrel No. 58: Arno Pommer
April 18, 2020
There’s still a nice lemon pucker from the Lemon Drop hops approximate the lemonade and iced tea mixture. The sour is everpresent but not overpowering. It fades quickly as the lemon and tea flavors swell. A nice sour/wild ale for any occasion, even better when in the summer months, I would imagine.
Paradox 2016 Cerveza Provisional (Saison with lime and sea salt aged in Mezcal barrels)
April 19, 2020
Nominally a saison, there are elements of a Belgian rustic beer as well as lime and sea salt still running strong. The influence of the Mezcal barrel is subtle but not as strong as a tequila barrel. The lemon zest character of the saison slips too easily into the lime – those flavors don’t always mix so simply. This was also a 2016 release, so some mellowing seems appropriate. But it isn’t like any other Belgian saison – all the touted flavors arise, and the Mezcal barrel might not impart the smoke and bite some expect, but there’s roundness that matches with the sharpness of the other flavors. Worth a second pass, although I don’t know that another opportunity on a four-year-old beer might arise.
Wolf’s Ridge Nipper English-style Barleywine
April 22, 2020
Very traditional in style, big notes of chicory, toffee and molasses burst off the dense body. Wolf’s Ridge does not very into a hoppy American version; this British—style take could have sat for another decade and suffered no loss of flavor. It’s still bright and full of dark fruits.
Storybook Brewing Fall Off the Mayflower (American Sour Ale
aged on fruit)
For sour beer bottled less than a month ago, Fall Off the Mayflower is surprisingly mellow for a sour, letting the fruit textures and notes The bottle and brewery website don’t mean what fruit – at first I thought blueberry, then leaned raspberry and finally split than the difference with boysenberry since it is not overly tart like or sweet. The fruit character is strong, and the sour never bursts into a pucker. It’s assertive but not overpowering. At times it near jamminess but doesn’t quite go over that edge either. Fall Off the Mayflower could easily have been called Exercise in Restraint since it has all the characteristics of good sour yet refuses to let any of them run wild.
Ommegang Game of Thones Winter is Here (Double White with sea salt and white pepper)
April 27, 2020
I finally found a store where the staff broke open the Game of Thones gift packs so I could try Winter is Here without paying for two beers I really didn’t want. Not often an issue with Ommegang, but some of its GoT brews sound unappetizing to me. Winter is Here presents an interesting profile. Strong wheat ales are not especially common, but I have never tasted an unpleasant one. The lemon-orange profile of a flavorful Belgian white is elevated by the additional wheat malt and higher ABV. At times it tastes close to a tripel yet manages to display different character. It has a delicate, creamy finish with faint hints of crunchy herbal, possibly spearmint and parsley. As for the adjuncts, there’s a brush of sea salt on the front end and a little fist of white pepper on the edge of the cream. It’s far too easy for a beer of this strength. The worst thing about gift pack beers is if one is worth a second pass, it’s not often worth the expense. I would take another round of Winter is Here anytime. Having not finished GoT due to the virus – I’m stuck at the end of season 7 – I have to imagine this beer ends better than the rushed final seasons.
Paradox Blood and Sand
May 2, 2020
The nose is all Laphroiag barrel – Islay peated smokiness runs wild. The Beer resembles a Manhattan thanks to the Scotch barrel-aging and the addition of coffee cherries. The resembles a tart cherry sour, but the Scotch barrel influence shoves it in unique directions. The unmistakable peat and iodine combination makes for a cocktail taste in beer format. A tart cherry flavor lies between. But the cascara cherries offer a far different fruit profile. Along with cherry, it tosses out notes of raspberry, strawberry and a sharp lemon line on the back end. The sour smoke lingers beautifully, merging on the end of the palate.
Black Forest Konigweisse
May 11,2020
BF’s spin on a classic German hefeweizen hits all the marks and does not have the dense, wheat-laden body. Banana-clove-orange flavor is nice and strong but the somewhat lighter body is appreciate
New Image 01.01.2020 IPA
May 16, 2020
New Image’s first release for the new decade was made using new brewing techniques in an effort to produce a balanced hazy IPA with big notes of tropical fruit. They hit that mark superbly. I detect notices of kiwi, papaya, tangerine and more. But this IPA isn’t a huge chunk of haze, it has a lighter body while still appearing hazy, and that makes all the difference.
Silver Moon Raspberry Porter
May 16, 2020
As if I could dream of skipping this beer. Raspberry layered atop an oatmeal porter is a combination that could not wait for dessert. The silky porter establishes a dark foundation but also gives the fruit ample space to shine. There’s a sharp line of raspberry on the finish that sells the combination so well.
FH Beerworks Paperwork Brut IPA
May 22, 2020
Not a style I seek out, FH has a good track record, and the complement of hops sounds interesting – Denali, Cascade and Lemon Drop. The tropical feel is unmistakable, with solid citrus and tropical fruits throughout. The end as a spectaarly bitter citrus feel, not unlike a kumquat, rind and all. It’s unusual but memorable in a good way.
Paradox Divide Ethos Winter 2016 Coolship #001
May 24, 2020
A year of Colorado living rates a special beer, and Divide’s finest was kind enough to release beers from its cellar throughout the taproom shutdown. This was the one I could not pass – their first beer made through spontaneous fermentation. Using a coolship, a vessel with windows open to the outside, the beer ferments through yeasts and microbes carried in the air. Some breweries have run into issues with their first coolship beers, but four years after its debut, this barrel-aged beauty has a bright sour complexity and feels like a local version of a fine Belgian gueuze. Nose layers on some nice tart citrus and it delivers the same on pass after pass. There’s an uptick of sour character late but it does not sear the palate. It’s mellow but still assertive. Through all the brut cider characteristics, there’s an intriguing creaminess reminiscent of meringue. But the sour funkiness endures, and the beer has aged wonderfully.
Paradox Café Verdad
May 30,2020
Dark ale brewed with coffee 2015
The coffee has definitely mellowed but has a good soft texture.It feelsnlike a flavor that was stronger upon brewing and barrel aging..
Storybook The Last Straw-Berry
July 3, 2020
Storybook makes a tasty wheat, and they way they revolve fruits shows some genuine skill. The strawberry honey wheat easily vaults above the blackberry wheat in my rankings. It’s smooth and quenching, with the strawberry embracing its starring role. Tartness rises, with the honey to soften its harder edges.
Pondaseta Brewing I-40 IPA
Sampled: July 5, 2020
My last cans from the Panhandle, this is a good old West Coast IPA, with Columbus, Cascade, Chinook, and Simcoe hops to lead the way. The citrus is assertive but not overpowering. Subtle pine notes run throughout. It has a distinct dry finish that owes more to the pale malts. It’s a crowded class of beers, but Pondaseta does the WC IPA pretty well. If passing Amarillo again, stopping at Pondaseta won’t be optional.
Lunch IPA (Maine Beer Company)
July 6, 2020
I had not seen the white label in many years, but there it was in the cooler. I had to try one. I went with Lunch, named for a whale with a damaged tailfin seen along Maine’s jagged coast. Dank, orange and tasty. Not searing with its hops, but they are there in large numbers.
Paradox Passion of the Fruit (golden ale aged in wine barrels)
July 10, 2020
Think an old fashioned – there’s barrel influence and a lot of muddled orange flavor. Sour character is assertive but fades on the finish. Before that it climbs pretty steeply form bitter orange to rugged sour. But a strong vein of grapefruit-lime flavor emerges on repeated passes. Quite earthy and would please most cider and sour fans. You’ll have to try hard to get me to speak ill about Paradox beer, and Passion of the Fruit changes nothing.
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