Barrel Brothers Morello Barrel Aged Sour 5/3/21
Hi everyone! Sorry about the gap in reviews. Life has been hectic between the many aspects that rotate through every day, and I've slacked on my NA fans and news of some of the tastings I've had. I'll make it up to you throughout the next couple of weeks. Today, I want to focus on a beer style I've been waiting to try, and finally had the opportunity. A barrel aged sour non alcoholic offering. Those of you that know me well know that sour beers were my jam. On facebook, there's a whole page I started with my close friend Gil years and years ago dedicated to Sour Beers (called just that), with pictures and words about some of the more rare beers we could get our hands on. So naturally, as I embark on a journey with NA beers, I was excited when I saw this particular can. To say it didn't disappoint is an understatement. A huge understatement. My first thought was "I'd put this up against any kriek out there," before Lou Pepe and Drie Fontenien slapped my memory around a bit. But I stand by the idea that it's as good as most that I've had. It's complexity, sourness, and barrel characteristics were on par with any kriek I've had that contains alcohol. Nothing was stripped from it's flavor in my opinion. There must be something in the water up in Sonoma Valley, because their neighbors make a couple of decent sours over at Russian River. (And yes, that's meant to be very tongue in cheek. Vinnie is in a class reserved for very few brewers in my mind). To the beer: It poured a dark brown with beautiful deep red edges in the light. It's base beer is a sour brown ale that was barrel aged for 3 years, sampled and only pulled from 4 barrels, which were blended and conditioned further on 1 lb of cherries per gallon of base beer (that's over 200 lbs of cherries, according to my calculations). After this, they use a process called vacuum distilling, which pulls the alcohol out, but leaves a lot of the complexity and flavor that other methods of removing alcohol tend to scrub out of the final product. At the end of the day, it made for a clearly labor intensive, wonderful addition to the NA catalog. I'd wondered how someone would achieve this style with depth of flavor and no alcohol, as simply barrel resting the liquid adds alcohol, and a very light base beer is going to take on unwanted flavors due to it's lack of defenses. Vacuum distilling seems to be the answer here, and being the first brewery I've tried that uses this process, I'm excited to try others both by them and other breweries that are utilizing this method. I highly recommend trying this, and as of now, it's available on the Bitter Brothers site to ship out. Until next week, I hope you're all doing well. Happy May the 4thing, Cinco de Mayoing, and Mothering your days as this week rolls along. Cheers!
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4/8/2021: Surreal's Chandlier Red IPA
Hello folks! This week I tried a new NA beer that I hadn't previously noticed at stores: Chandlier Red IPA. The label struck me as interesting with the giant famous sequoia Chandelier as the centerpiece. I've been hit and miss with Red IPAs in the past. I'd say the first I truly enjoyed was Red Chair by Deschute's many, many years ago. I'd throw some older versions of Celebration Ale into this category, and that was by far one of my favorite offerings of anyone anywhere. Most recently, I helped brew Unicorn Stampede at Fall Brewing, and really enjoyed that. But a lot of times, I find the malt characteristic and the hoppyness of the two styles to conflict, or just become a muddled flavor that I can't really dig. Just to put prior thoughts I have out there before getting into this one. Chandelier poured dark brown in the Duvel artistic glassware. Upon raising it to a background lighting, the red hues shone through a bit more where there was direct light, but it was darker than I'd expected for sure. In the case of this beer, I didn't get a muddled flavor or conflicting styles trying to come together as a unified beer. In fact, I barely noticed the hops. As far as a red malting flavor goes, it was mild. The can suggested that it is best served at cellar temp, which I found odd for the style of beer, but I gave that a go. It ended up being slightly soapy and not as good as it was cold from the fridge. Looking at the artwork on the can suggests winter, and the website of Surreal says that they've been shut down for some time, and shows this beer as out of stock. So given the lack of hop flavor, deadened malt characteristic, and soapiness, I'm going to guess that it's an older batch. Plus, purchasing from BevMo! means that it was stocked on shelves, not cold storage, which is something I've never loved about them, but that's a discussion for another day. All in all, meh is mostly what I have to say about this. And I hate to even be meh because I know what goes into making small batch beers, and this is from a new all NA brewery that I really wanted to like. I hope to try a more fresh version in the near future and revisit this review. So til next NA time, I hope these words find you well, and you're grateful for the ability to enjoy your day with a tasty beverage of your choice by your side. Cheers! Lagunitas IPNA Non-Alcoholic IPA
Happy weekend, folks. Today I wanted to do a review of the first beer I saw that really piqued my interest in the NA beers a while back. I think it's probably the most accessible of the NA beers in stores (both Athletic and Gruvi will ship to you, but can be difficult to locate on a whim). This one was purchased at Ralph's near my house, and I've seen it at multiple grocery stores. The beer pours a pretty perfect copper color. Bits of gold shine through a color that showcases the variety of slightly darker malts used in the beer, and despite the frost in the picture, the effort in filtration shines (literally) in the clarity. It tastes like most big market IPAs, which is to say the hops don't pop like a smaller batches, but they're certainly there. It's more approachable and balanced with the malt also playing a big part in the flavor profile to go with the Citra, Mosaic, and CTZ dry hop. In an effort to keep the pictures as fresh as the beer, I hope you enjoy the background on this post. Have a wonderful afternoon, and check your head. Cheers! 3/22/2021: Gruvi IPA
So, as promised, here's the review from what they offered at Peoria, where I watched the Padres play the Dodgers in a Spring Training game over the weekend. Only... they don't have any NA beer at the games this year. This was the first live baseball game I've seen since 2019, and I was let down a bit (both by the Padres this particular game and the lack of a NA selection), but I had a great time still. Something about a bad baseball game beating a great day of work, or something. I think that saying's usually used for fishing, but I can tell you first hand, I've been on fishing trips that didn't beat a great day of work. I'm getting sidetracked. Instead of beer actually at a ballgame, you get me enlisting my teenage daughter's photoshop skills, and a review of a beverage I had at my friend's house: Gruvi IPA. This was a unique offering from what I've experienced so far in the NA world. One thing, 0% rather than the "Under .5%" that is usual for the cans. Secondly, it's the first NA beer I've tried from Canada. I'd have to venture that it's one of the few craft beers I've had from our neighbors to the North. Third, the can. It's bright green. There's dots over the u. To the beer. Sadly, I didn't take a picture in a glass, so you'll have to take my word for it. It pours a bright, straw color that is very clear and translucent. The mouth feel is exceptionally light, and if I'm being honest, made me question if I was going to like this offering on first sip. I truly thought it was a "cheater" beer that wasn't hops, but actually grapefruit extract instead. Upon further investigation, it's galaxy, citra, and mosaic hops. That's a sexy hop lineup if I've ever seen one. Are those old school now? Is my Khalil Greene jersey old school? I guess it depends on your perspective, but they're hops I know and know that I like. The fact that I mistook them for actual grapefruit extract is testament to a well balanced IPA dry hop. Gruvi markets this as a light offering, and it is. I'd still enjoy a little thicker feel to the beer to take away a feeling that something's off, but they did exactly what they set out to do: Made a light, refreshing NA beer that I think you could even sneak past someone who doesn't like traditional beer flavors. I'm walking away happy, and will be having this again. Oh, and along with baseball and Gruvi in the heart, Saturday marked the beginning of Spring for those of us on the upper half of the Planet. So happy Spring, friends. Til next review... Cheers! 3/18/21: Athletic Brewing Coffee Porter (Pilot Program)
Happy Thursday everyone! Yesterday, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day the way we always do: Went to my Mother-In-Law's house for what has become one of my favorite meals of the year. She never disappoints with corned beef and cabbage, along with a plateful of Irish cheeses to pair with a nice dark stout. Last night, I had the pleasure of opening a Pilot series beer from my friends at Athletic, their Coffee Porter. Certainly not the traditional Irish style stout you'd usually find on the table with this serving, but from my experience: The beer is on point with look. Dark, roasty malts obviously at play in the recipe. Where this guy differs is the flavor. BIG coffee flavor. BIG dark baker's chocolate flavor. I love when breweries go big on special releases, and this certainly did just that. I still have yet to try a NA stout that has the viscosity that I'm used to in other "normal" beers... but this isn't a stout. And honestly, to it's style, Athletic really nailed it with this one. I'm a big fan of dark, bitter coffee and chocolates. If you're looking into this beer, know it's about that experience. Up next we're heading out to Arizona for Spring Training, so be on the lookout for whatever is offered in Peoria (and if' you've been already this year and know a booth that has better NA offerings than others, please let me know in the comments!) Til then, enjoy and Cheers! 3/12/2021: Athletic Brewing Co. Pilsgnar Pilsner
The sun is shining and the weather is sweet... Spring's in the air. We've had some rain lately, and it's been much needed, as is the sunshine which has followed it. Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but let's get into a lighter, warm weather beer today. I mean, I wore a hoodie this morning what am I thinking? Well, it's still "dress in layers" weather. But right now, it's beautiful outside. Let's do this! A cool thing about Athletic is that from their website, you can order two six packs and they ship for free, and it's the same cost (or sometimes a buck less) that the six packs go for in Liquor Stores I've seen. So if you can't get your mitts on their releases, use the internets and find you some. This is my first time trying this particular style from them. As you can tell by the picture, it's bright and crisp, as a pilsner should be. The nose holds biscuit notes with big, grassy aromas. Gets me excited for baseball. The flavor shows where those grassy aromas get their roots. This beer has a big hoppiness to it. If I'm critiquing, I'd say that the bittering hops are a bit overpowering and take too much of the stage from this beer. But overall, despite the slight unbalance in my opinion, it's a good take on a hoppy pilsner from this brewery. Cheers! Purchased: 3/7/21, Chula Vista, CA BevMo!
Serving: 12 oz can into tulip glass Today, I'm going to review Brooklyn Lager's Special Effects. On first look, the artwork is cool. Trip out dude, we're in for a treat. No real info on the box other than the fact that it's a non-alcoholic hoppy brew. I checked the website, and it's listed as an amber. It's light on the body, and a lighter side of an amber color with a lit background. The flavor doesn't have the nutty, caramel characteristic I'm used to from the style, not a ton of the crystal malt sweetness. It's more of a dry flavor with a strong hoppy backing. More of an old school hop characteristic, it brings a good bitter balance to the palette, and I'm a huge fan of old school hops, so I can respect this. All in all, this is a very good representation of a NA beer that can bring flavor you're going to enjoy if you're looking for the taste of craft in something without the buzz. Being my first review, I'm not sure how I'll proceed with the ranking or scoring, or if I even will. For now, I'd say give this a try., It's great to see well established, prominent breweries dipping their foot into this market, and Brooklyn certainly didn't disappoint with this release. Cheers! |
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