All the beers that sustain me

Hot summers lead to frequent samples. The last of the Columbus beer disappeared, as did a few local delicacies acquired at brewery releases. 

North High Jalalima Ale
 June 13, 2018
 Oh my. Fruity summer session beers are all the rage, but North High nails their specimen with the addition of jalapeno. The pepper added some vegetable qualities, including a crisp pepper flesh feel and some heat on the front end and the finish. But anyone fearing the sear of habanero or serrano should not worry – the pepper heat is ambient and gentle. The lime is not overpowering and doesn’t need to be. For a straightforward beer, it’s complex and intriguing. I should have bought more in Columbus.

Post-Ride Snack (Maine Beer Company) 
June 14, 2018
If only I had actually taken a ride before sampling this hoppy number. These hops are still piney but lighter and grassier. Call this one a pleaser, not a bruiser.

Whitewater Farmer’s Daughter Blonde Ale 
June 15, 2018
This is from the brewery closest to my friend’s family cabin. This easy-going blonde doesn’t push any boundaries. Farmer’s Daughter presents a tiny bit of hop strength and some clean, fresh-baked biscuit flavors from the malts that I enjoy. There’s a little bitterness at the end. This blonde ale runs around any pitfalls sink most blonde ales– watery, lifeless ales that are abound. It has enough complexity to be interesting but quenches nonetheless.

Yazoo ETF reSOURces
 June 16, 2018
They call it tart saison aged in red wine barrels. I agree about the tart but keep grasping for any barrel influence. There’s some rounding to the mouth-puckering tart fruit flavors that dominate, but little character from a red wine barrel. Still, you cannot argue with the pucker, loaded with kiwi, grapefruit an tangerine. It’s intense and does not fade. On an oppressive Middle Tennessee summer day, it accomplishes too disparate goals – easy drinking and amazingly complex. I’m just stuck searching for that wine barrel.

Mr. Robot Blackberry Lemon Sour
June 17, 2018 What a delight – this Georgia beer nails both flavors, and they work together perfectly in a session sour ale. I don’t even care if it’s kettle soured because it tastes that good.

Trader Joe’s Providential Ale 
June 17, 2018
I’m not sure which Unibroue beer has been relabeled for Trader Joe’s purpose, but it’s easily the best $6 750 ml of Belgian-style beer anywhere. There’s definitely wheat in the mix, with banana-clove-orange combination loaded with creamy lace. All beers should drink this easy, especially those at 7.5 percent. I seem to remember a wheated triple in the Unibroue lineup. Anyone with inclinations toward lighter-bodied Belgians should load up at Trader Joe’s.

Upper Pass First Drop APA 

June 25, 2018
The double-dry-dropped (DDH) revolution has turned everyday American pale ales into turbo-charged hop monsters. At just below 5.9 percent, First Drop is at the edge of the session range but it’s a flavor beast. I detect plenty of muddled orange, lemon zest, sprigs of pine, hints of pineapple, pear and clove. The finish is bitter but rounded – the hops almost taste leafy on the palate, the joy of DDH. There’s a sharp biscuit dryness. It’s a swirling cloudy masterpiece from a small-batch Vermont brewery. That isn’t a new story, but more great beer from Vermont is a story I’ll always embrace.

Trader Joes Audaciter Belgian Golden Ale 
July 3, 2018
This is a Unibroue beer relabeled for Trader Joes, and I couldn’t care less because I don’t taste nearly enough light-bodied Belgians this good. Belgian-style Blonde Ale in a 750 mL bottle for $6 is impossible to top. The citrus and ester flavors are sharp and crisp – not hoppy, but the yeast and pale malts have a knife’s edge to them. A banana-clove character indicates wheat in the mix, and it fits the complexity.

Founders Mango Magnifico 
July 15, 2018
Mango and habanero blend nicely in a sauce, and Founders discovered they do pretty well in a strong blond ale like this. The mango sweetness rides strong up front. As the 10 percent ABV is about to rear up in a peppery retort, the habanero cruises in and lays down an ambient but assertive heat. Although thin, the habanero outlasts the beer with a bone-dry spiciness. This is a beer that demands food. You might drink it once on its own, but a food pairing with similar ingredients seems like a no-brainer.

Beau’s Brewing Saison 
July 18, 2018
At just 4.7 percent ABV, I half-expected this Ontario brewery to call this petit saison or session saison. It’s low alcohol and bone-dry flavors make it a perfect summer sipper. Lots of lemon zest, Belgian yeast esters and some herbal vivaciousness. The dry herbal finish has hints of basil, rosemary and parsley, ingredients that might end up in a traditional farmhouse ale. This is a solid classic saison that is an even bigger winner due to preserving the dry flavor complexity at a low alcohol content.

Rogue Paradise Pucker 
July 19, 2018
Rogue could have called this number POG sour and been close to the actual product. The collection of tropical fruits is reminiscent of the seminal Hawaiian fruit drink (papaya-orange-guava) with an assertive sour foundation. Rogue uses passion fruit, orange peel and guava to great effect. Papaya would have been nice, but that’s splitting hairs. The sour does not wear out its welcome. It’s a good, refreshing sour for a hot day. A Rogue bomber bottle is all you would need or want.

Highlander Brewing Co. Blacksmith Smoked Porter

July 22, 2018
A little break in the weather makes a dark beer more quaffable. A those wonderful roasted and smoky flavors rise to the fore – chocolate, toffee, almonds, caramel. Highlander gets the porter equation correct, which is even more important. It’s a heavier dark beer that no one would confuse with stout. On Blacksmith runs close to the best of the style – think Alaska Smoked Porter. The balance of silkiness and smokiness builds on the flavor complexity. There is a bit of flavor dip near the finish but there are too few canned porters out there.



Bearded Iris Chaos Theory
July 29, 2018

It’s been a few months since Bearded Iris dropped a new IPA, and this one does not disappoint. A new hop strain, Idaho 7, is used along with citra and mosaic. A noise of peaches and some strong pine notes rises from the glass. Unlike their usual NE IPAs, Chaos Theory is not cloudy at all, and this IPA shows a bitter side, with good notes of tangerine, lemon zest and some muted grapefruit. Some resin textures appear throughout, boosting the bitterness. Fortunately, Bearded Iris knows how rein in the bitterness and a make a balanced but intricate IPA. Mosaic adds some grassy notes that I always enjoy. Just a complex as their cloudier IPAs, Chaos Theory is surprisingly easy to imbibe. Chaos Theory is no session beer (6.8 percent ABV) but a fine edition of Bearded Iris’s IPA experiments.

Southern Grist Thrice Berry (Hill Series) 
Aug. 4, 2018 
The berry flavor on this one is quite intense, just like other Southern Grist kettle sours I have tasted. Immediately memory of the boysenberry sour rushes forward. With strawberry, blackberry and blueberry this must be said immediately – they form a triumvirate and all three exert ample force on the direct of this sour. Notes of all three are present throughout, especially on a palate that knows what to search for. The sweetness is inescapable but not cloying or overpowering. Until the sour character kicks in, the fruit is not unlike an alcoholic fruit juice. That’s fine with me, especially for a beer that rushes the souring process (It’s a concession to the market, and I have grudgingly accepted). Thrice Berry is among the densest sour beers I ever drank, but it excels in delivering complex flavors of its three fruits. Seriously, the beer almost has a pulpy mouth-feel at times. Call Thrice Berry dessert beer if you must, but accept it might be a great dessert beer. The Hill Series beers are meant to be drank quickly after canning, and Thrice Berry is simply exquisite in its young stages, thick with fruits that augment a sour beer.