Magic Hat Encore

I want to apologize for the lack of blogging lately. I've been uninspired lately, for lack of a better word. Beer, while still my drink of choice, was just not making me want to scream from the rooftops about it lately. It has been a very sad two months of uninspiring and lackluster beer. Fortunately, all that changed two weeks ago when I went to visit a couple of my friends up in Vermont.

My friend Tom deserves a lot of credit for this blog because without a lot of his pestering, I wouldn't be drinking a great deal of the beers that I have tried. I'm sure of this because I really hated hops not too long ago and now I think they're all right, most of the time at least. I went and stayed with him and Jess exactly two weeks ago and we went to Burlington to visit Magic Hat in Burlington, VT. The brewery is fantastic, I highly recommend a visit. I did not bring my camera with me, and I wasn't particularly looking to review the brewery at that time with the lack of inspiration and all; but if you get the chance, don't pass it up. You get four free samples and that choice was one of the hardest I've had to make in awhile.

When I was there they had their Encore on tap. Encore was one of their IPAs on tour and made with the ever hard to find Simcoe hops. I've said it once and I'm sure I'll say it until it's no longer true, I don't like beers that are too heavy handed on the hops. I have a hard time with very bitter beers and was extremely hesitant to try it given that it's even dry hopped. That being said, I bought a six pack to bring home and formally review before I left the state.

The name of this beer was most certainly deserved. It needs an encore for its encore. The beer is a wonderful blend of both genres it represents. It is an American Wheat IPA. It is simultaneously hoppy and yeasty which generally seem to be contradictory flavors in most beers. I brought this beer home because I knew my dad would enjoy it and tonight was that night.

The beer poured a rich, deep gold color that was a bit cloudy. The head was white and had very good retention throughout the course of drinking the beer. The nose has a lot of good hop notes to it but there is a bit of a bready undertone to it as well. Overall, both are very subtle and not very scary in the least. The flavor is the most remarkable part of this beer. It is a bit hoppy but in a way that doesn't make the beer inaccessible to people who don't like that quality in a beer. It isn't bitter, there are little to no pine notes which generally are what drive me away from a beer. There is a hint of mango, which I was told by one of the gentlemen at the brewery and will freely admit that I probably would have been driven mad by the unnamed flavor in the beer. This note, I was told, comes from those Simcoe hops that are so desired by brewers. The finish is bright and leaves you wanting more.

This beer is truly a delight in every way. The price of $8.99 for the six pack was more than doable considering the quality of the beer. I do feel the need to say that the best part was what was under the caps. I hadn't noticed it on the first one I had of the six pack but when I uncapped the second I saw a saying on the cap so I arranged our caps for a photo op. I'll be sure to update this when I uncap the other two from the pack.

So happy 2012, everyone! Raise your glasses to a bright new year!

Hell or High Watermelon

So it turns out, when you start writing about beer, your friends start thinking of you when they try new and/or weird beers. That's how I came across this beer here. I was at a friend's house one evening and she remembered she had something for me. As she ran to get it I remember her saying, "It's really awful but we thought you should try it." That's something to really strive for, in my opinion at least.

It was 21st Amendment Brewery's Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Ale. As we've seen, I do enjoy trying flavored beers. It intrigues me to see how a brewery gets certain flavors into their beers and how well they actually succeed. Watermelon is a particularly tricky fruit which you'd know if you'd had anything artificially flavored like watermelon. Sometimes, it's fantastic...others not so much.

Unfortunately, this beer fell firmly in the latter category. The beer was a straw color that was slightly cloudy which disappointed me a bit as I was hoping there'd be at least a slight pink hue to the beer given the color of the fruit. The nose then gave away what I was in for. It had a sickly, sweet watermelon smell to it that I could barely get past. The flavor was similar to someone dropping a watermelon Jolly Rancher in a beer for only a few moments so that the flavor was just enough to ruin the beer. It was very watery and not very appealing at all. Overall, it was a grand disappointment. As I got the beer as a gift, there was no cost for me.

Southern Tier's Hop Sun

I bring to you today, a beer that is very unique. It is the summer seasonal beer from the Southern Tier Brewing Company called Hop Sun. It is a relatively young brewery being in operation since 2002, located in Lakewood, NY. Despite it's recent start, it has already garnered national attention and is distributed to many states.

Look at the pretty bottle!

I can't, and won't, take credit for picking out this beer. My sister noticed it on my first trip to my favorite beer store so I bought it. It is listed as an American Wheat Ale on Southern Tier's website but it is unlike any other American Wheat Ale I have tried. The box boasts that it's brewed with three different types of malts but based on its appearance, you wouldn't know it.

Pretty gold color hiding delicious malts? 

This beer doesn't fall into my typical category either. Because while it has a delicious malt taste at the beginning, the finish is all hops. The finish is not too bitter though which is something I find to be characteristic of hoppy beers which is why I think I enjoy it so much. The beer itself is sweet and citrusy with a good amount of carbonation. The head was good with the pour for dissipated fairly quickly. The hops finish lingers in the mouth a long while making the beer last. Aside from the finish, however, you wouldn't be able to tell the color of this beer just by the taste I think.

The price isn't too bad either. For a six pack, I paid $9.99. Taking into consideration this is a seasonal brew, I find the price to be completely reasonable. It's a little more expensive than other similar styles of beer but considering the complexity, I'd say the price increase is well worth it.