Behind the Brew Day: Big Boots Brew 2017

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Every year, Pink Boots Society members come together to brew a beer to promote the education and furthering of women in the brewing industry. Last year, I was honored to be invited to help with the brew. Lineage Brewing hosted the 2016 brew day, and we brewed Mother of Summer, a delicious wheat beer with lemon peel, coriander, and black peppercorns. The brew day was a blast, and I learned a lot, both brewing in a brewery that I was not familiar with as well as learning from several local kickass women who are leading the craft beer revolution in central Ohio. Imagine my surprise when, back in early February, the emails started flying and I was once again invited to participate despite my then-unemployment. This year, Weasel Boy was hosting the brew day, and several other breweries and industry professionals were also invited to participate.

Pink Boots Society, as I mentioned above, is an organization dedicated to the education and empowerment of women who work in the brewing industry. The organization is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary in June, a pretty amazing accomplishment, if you ask me. Teri Fahrendorf founded Pink Boots Society and has engaged several other women who I admire to help their fellow brewsters. Every year, around March 8, International Women's Day, those of us who are local to one another get together to collaborate on a beer whose proceeds goes back to Pink Boots Society. This brew day is called Big Boots Brew, and Pink Boots will suggest a style as a base guideline, although it is by no means a requirement to brew that particular beer. This year, the style suggestion was Historic Ales (a broad category, for certain). We women in central Ohio decided to brew a grisette with local pawpaw fruit and spicebush berries. I'll delve more into what we brewed below.

This year March 8 happened to fall on a Wednesday. I awoke that morning extra early in order to drop off my child to school and head out to Zanesville, not quite an hour east of Columbus. If you aren't familiar with how collaboration brews work, the hosting brewery not only hosts brew day, but they also decide the beer to be brewed (while everyone contributes a bit to the recipe) and accommodate the fellow brewers and have to fit it into their brew and fermentation schedule amid the other beers they produce, as well as organize a release party. It is not a small feat. This year, in addition to the women of Weasel Boy and Lineage, women from Seventh Son and the head of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association agreed to participate. We had a stellar all-star cast to brew this year's beer. Have I mentioned how fortunate I am to be included in this? Oh, and by "women of Weasel Boy" I mean the incomparable Lori Wince. I'm a fangirl with no shame. Lori started Weasel Boy with her husband Jay nearly 10 years ago (their decade anniversary party is coming up in July, so make plans now to get your ass out there), effectively making her the grand dame of central Ohio breweries. She knows her shit, and she's one of the nicest people you will ever meet (although she's also tough as nails, so I wouldn't want to disappoint her. It would feel worse than disappointing your parents). 

Lori Wince of Weasel Boy and Mary MacDonald of Ohio Craft Brewers Association tending to the wort grant.

Brew day had started at 8:00am. I was unable to make it out there until much later that morning. When I got there, we were in the middle of the mash. Lori came right up to me and told me, "I have a job for you," and set me to helping monitor mash temp. Little did she realize that there is my weakness. I screw it up on pretty much every all-grain brew I do, somehow. Figure in that I'm on an unfamiliar system, and disaster seems certain. As the temperature crept toward 170, I got nervous. She had quickly shown me the hot and cold water valves, and I set into a staring match with the thermometer on the wall. We were hanging around a healthy range of 165-170. She ducked off to conduct some interviews, as there were a few media crews on hand. I stared at the thermometer. It stared back. Watching paint dry or grass grow seemed to be an interesting alternative. And then the temperature started to drop. I panicked, and Lori was talking to media people. I tossed a frantic look to Jess Byrne (of Lineage), who was monitoring the wort grant, a modified keg that recirculates the mash. Jess was also unfamiliar with the controls. "What the hell do I do?" I thought to myself as the temperature nose-dived. OK, it can't be that hard. Turn on the hot water to bring the temperature up, right? So I did just that. But then the temperature over-corrected and skyrocketed above the 170 ceiling we had discussed. So I turned on the cold water and the temperature nose-dived. This was a finicky system! Lori noticed the erratic temps a couple of times and came over to save me and the precious wort we were making. Thank goodness. 

 Mary MacDonald (OCBA) shoveling spent grain out of the mash tun

Once the mash was done (typically about an hour), we transferred it to the boil kettle. I also got to monitor that process. The fact that I was still allowed anywhere near the brew deck surprised the crap out of me, so I took this very seriously. Once the wort had been moved from the mash tun to the boil kettle, we broke for lunch. Pizzas and salads were offered. If you haven't had Weasel Boy's pizza, do yourself a favor and drive out to Zanesville for a couple of pints and a delicious pie. You won't be disappointed.

Liz Stout and Caitlin Davis, both of Seventh Son, cleaning out the mash tun.

After lunch, the wort approached a boil, and Nichole Endicott (then with Lineage, she announced her departure for BrewDog a week or so later) and Lori added the hops to the wort. A typical brew day fully within my comfort zone filled the rest of the afternoon: we hopped, we transferred, we cleaned, we loaded spent grain into a farmer's truck, we shot the breeze about everything under the sun. 

Nichole Endicott (Lineage) and Lori Wince (Weasel Boy) add the hops.

So, what was the beer that we produced, despite my apparent intentions to completely screw up this beer? Lori wanted to brew a grisette with locally sourced ingredients. Pawpaw and spicebush berries were added later to the beer, after fermentation was complete. A wheat malt from Haus Malts in Cleveland was procured. If you aren't familiar with a grisette, it's basically a table saison. Table meaning that it's rather sessionable, around 5% ABV or less. Saisons are a popular style currently. Most are rather light in color, and they can run the gamut from having all sorts of clove/banana/bubblegum flavors to being very neutral and almost champagne-like. They typically finish quite dry, and my favorites are rather refreshing on a hot summer day with subtle and restrained Belgian esters and phenols. Pawpaw and spicebush are Ohio native plants. None of us in the group were really familiar with spicebush, although a bit of research before brew day indicated that it is very similar to allspice. Lori had taken some of her blonde ale (a rather neutral beer) and had dosed it with a spicebush berry tincture so that we could all get an idea of the flavor. My palate detected that it was, indeed, very reminiscent of allspice berries. 

 Jess Byrne (Lineage), Jessica Page (Lineage), and Mary MacDonald (OCBA) share a laugh toward the end of brew day.

We also made plans that day for release parties, although without knowing precisely when the beer would be finished, final plans could not be made on brew day. Everyone departed as the taproom opened. Lori kept us all apprised as to the progress of fermentation throughout the process. She pureed and added the pawpaw once primary fermentation was complete, and added the spicebush berries to the brite tank, right before kegging the beer. 

      Nichole Endicott (then of Lineage, now with BrewDog) cleans the boil kettle at the end of brew day. 

One reason that I always really enjoy this brew day is because it's challenging to me. Thus far we have brewed beers that are outside my typical repertoire. I've only brewed one other wheat beer, and one saison. In fact, before this year's beer was released, I had only had a grisette one other time. And that grisette was completely different from the one that we brewed. I admire every woman in this brew crew, and every one of us brings a different skill set to the table. The camaraderie is also evident whenever we gather. 

 Nevertheless Persist, enjoyed on Weasel Boy's patio overlooking the Muskingum River

In mid-April, the beer was released. Mary MacDonald had suggested that we name it Nevertheless Persist and we all fell in love with the name. Lineage held their party first, and the following night several of us went out to Weasel Boy for the release party there. The final party was held at Seventh Son the following week, although Liz was busy working in the brewhouse throughout the party. 

Jess Byrne (Lineage) and Lori Wince (Weasel Boy) look on during the Nevertheless Resist release party at Lineage.

So, how was the beer, you ask? In a word, delicious. It ended up at 5.6% ABV. Hmm, maybe my messing up the mash temp worked in my favor, although Lori wanted it to end up below 5%. As you can see in the picture above, it was a lovely golden color with a fair amount of haze and cloudiness. There were plenty of esters and phenols, both from the yeast as well as from the pawpaw and spicebush berries. The pawpaw softened the beer a bit and lent its own unique flavor to the beer. The spicebush added so much interest, it was a really thoughtful addition, and I want to use it in another beer. This style and these ingredients are so outside my comfort zone, but I really enjoyed the finished product. Another thing that we all noted was how much the beer changed as it warmed. I preferred it, as I do most of my beers, a little warmer. The banana, bubblegum, and clove notes that were there became less harsh and mellowed out as the beer warmed up. The pawpaw and spicebush berries came to the forefront. Great mouthfeel and moderate carbonation made it tickle the tongue.

Jessica Page (Lineage) gets ready to transfer the beer to the fermenter. 

If you are worried that you may have missed out on this beer, it is still on tap at a few places around central Ohio. There is a little bit left in the taproom at Weasel Boy, and the following places still have a keg of it: 

• Barrel and Bottle in the North Market
• Prost in Reynoldsburg
• Westend Ciderhouse in Athens
• World of Beer at Easton  

So go get yourself a glass of it while you still can, before it is gone! 

-Jennie
 

Behind The Tap's Top Ten Beers of 2014

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Enjoy this review with Frank Turner & Jon Snodgrass "Happy New Year"

As we draw to the close of another year (thank goodness it's almost here!), we bring you our favorite beers that we drank this year. There were quite a few great brews to choose from, but these were the ones that stand out in our memories. Also, because we let the blog lapse for so long while my father's health was declining, there will be a significant amount of honorable mentions that were enjoyed and yet not reviewed.

Jennie's Favorites of 2014 (in no particular order):

Fat Heads Hop Juju
The mere, distant memory of this beer has me salivating for spring, when I will run all over Columbus in search of this. That chase will be well worth the effort in order to obtain this elixir of the gods.

Bell's Black Note Stout
This beer is as elusive as the Hop Juju, if not more so. An annual release that is a bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout, it reminds me exactly why Bell's is my favorite brewery. Boozy yet not too much with the bourbon, deep and dark with beautiful roasted and chocolate notes. I'm looking forward to having this again soon.

Jackie O's Paw Paw Wheat
While not a new beer in 2014, it was new to us, and so good that it earned a spot here. It's almost wine-like in its composition, delicious and bubbly and everything you would expect from a brewery with a cult following. And yes, I enjoyed it even more than Oil of Aphrodite, Dark Apparition, and barrel-aged Wood Burner (which, to be fair, was the most exquisite smoked beer I have had). This is light, refreshing, and quite possibly the best wheat beer I have ever had.

Toppling Goliath PseudoSue
A magnificent pale ale from a remote location in Iowa, Toppling Goliath has knocked it out of the park with PseudoSue. No wonder this beer is a hot commodity on the trade market. Any beer that causes Nathan and I to discuss divorce and him to get a job with Toppling Goliath in order to sleep in the stockroom must be worthy of a solid spot on our year-end list. (We didn't review Assassin, but we did have the good fortune to taste some of that deliciousness. It is every bit worthy of being on this list, as well, if only I had taken better notes!)

Weasel Boy Barrel-Aged Anastasia
Another offering from a fantastic stout night back in February, this beer was better-priced than most of the other "whales" we enjoyed, and if possible, even better tasting than most. I recall it being quite silky and with just the right amount of bourbon against a fantastic stout base. No wonder it has been awarded so many medals in the major competitions. I look forward to having this again very soon, especially if it means heading out to Weasel Boy (who also makes a mean rye beer, Wolverine).

Nathan's Favorites of 2014 (in no particular order)

Zaftig ZBS
A newer brewery in Columbus (opened in January) that puts out stellar beer. This is their BA Stout, and when it's available, it goes fast. This is a tap-room only release, so follow them on Facebook and Twitter to find out when it will be released (along with their other limited batches). This was- need I repeat it- KBS Killer.

Homestead Artists Series Vol II: Time (The Revelator)
You don't think with us being the founders, nay, discoverers of Hopsus that this would be a stout heavy list, did you? It's pretty balanced this year though- 4 stouts, 4 IPAs 1 pale ale and 1 wheat. Regardless, this locally made IPA was stellar enough to still long for this 11 months after first consumption.

Deschutes Chasin' Freshies
A juicy grapefruit, pine, and tropical hop bomb with an amazing aroma. We just started getting distribution of Deschutes this year and I look forward to trying more of the selections.

Flying Dog Kujo
Another fine selection from our epic stout night at World of Beer. One of my favorite beers of all time (ssssshhhhh! Don't tell the hops!). An amazing coffee stout that's 8.9% and tastes like a fresh cup of joe. This beer is what gave us the nickname Keg Killers a few years back.

Barley's Bourbon Meyer Buckeye Stout
A peanut butter chocolate stout that's bourbon barrel aged.... Let that sink in while your breathing increases and heart rate raises... Bourbon Barrel Aged Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout... It's available from time to time at Barley's Ale House. Follow them on Facebook to find out when those releases are.

Honorable Mentions (reviewed):
While narrowing down the 50-some-odd brews we reviewed this year, some just couldn't make the cut to the final 10. These are great beers and you should go find them.

Founders KBS 
Schlafly Tasmanian IPA 
Seventh Son Humulus Nimbus
Bell's Hopslam (draft-- because it is such a different beer on tap than in the bottle, different enough to still qualify for Jennie's favorite beer.)
Fat Heads Hop Stalker

Honorable Mentions (not reviewed):
We are sorry to these breweries that with the year we had (read: death, death, death, depression) we did not have the opportunity to fully review your beers. We did, however, enjoy them and thought enough of them to give them an honorable mention.

NoDa Hop, Drop, and Roll
Yup, hops. Copious amounts of hops. We obtained this from a friend/fellow beer writer after her visit to North Carolina. We should have thoroughly reviewed this as we thoroughly enjoyed this. Hopefully, soon, we'll obtain more and give it te proper Behind the Tap treatment.

Homebrew: Peter Schroder's Fired Up Angel (Eximius Brewing)
A beautiful stout with vanilla and scorpion peppers. I have often joked that the scorpion peppers must have been handled by angels, because their presence is so smooth and subtle. There is a lot going on in this beer, but between the silky mouthfeel and the hint of heat set against a beautiful stout, this beer still rings closely in my tastebuds' memories. If I am still talking about it a month after drinking it, it is certainly good enough to be a commercial brew. Actually, let's take that further: I would put this up against any commercial brew and it would outshine them. I had the honor of entering this into a competition for Peter, and the unanimous mutter around the table and in every conversation head since is that this is the best use of pepper ever in a beer. The beer took second place in the competition, but man oh man, I wish I could put this on my list of beers actually reviewed for the year, because if it wasn't my favorite beer of the year, it was right up there.

Seventh Son Humulus Nimbus

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So to start off, yes, we've quasi-previously reviewed this at the Fiery Foods Fest back in February. With the palate shot then after a still-memorable inferno pizza, I don't believe we did justice to the 6% ABV, 53 IBU fantastic brew. It's still shocking to me that we haven't done as many local breweries as we should, as we have a fantastic brewing community that gets along all while producing fantastic brew. We've met a good portion of the professional brewing community here in town and I cannot speak ill of any of them. They're all good people and there's no animosity between any of them. To quote Frank Turner, "Colleges and friends condensed with a smile, yeah, but this is my culture, man, this is my home." The community is another reason I want to quit my factory life and get into the brewing scene. Even helping out different breweries with festivals or canning/bottling days, they treat their customers like they are part of their family.

So tonight, we thoroughly review a highly touted local beer; soon, we get into a highly touted brew that we obtained in a beer trade (Matt, we had every intention of getting to it tonight, I swear!). Seventh Son's website has this:
"A pale golden ale that is both super crisp and super hop forward with a refreshing mouthfeel and a summer friendly 6% abv. Mosaic & simcoe hops lend tart blueberry and fragrant pine to a pleasingly bitter dandelion finish. We wanted the hops to be the star in this seasonal offering taking its name from both the hop plant, Humulus Lupulus, and its light color and cloud-like feel, nimbus."

The color is, well, a perfect golden color. Good carbonation, leaving a nice white, foamy head that sticks around. The aroma on this.... yeah. Their website nailed most of it with blueberry and pine. I'm also picking up notes of almost mango-like notes. Amazing aroma.  The flavor on this is a wild trip of what you got in the nose, plus a whole lot more. It starts off with the blueberry, mango combo, and kicks in with some orange, all with a juicy blast that quenches your thirst. Midway through, there's some bitterness that starts to appear, with some faint earthy notes giving way to the pine notes that take hold at this moment, faint tea notes come through for a second. The hop stickiness is definitely making itself noticed by the time you get to the finish, which I will argue with their website's description. You get the dandelion in the finish, but there's so much more. The tropical fruits make a reappearance along with some faint grapefruit and orange notes. This finishes sticky from the hops. I don't really get much malt flavor from this throughout the entire thing. It's a great showcasing of the hops without overdoing it. Colin and Max rock.

4.8/5 caps

-Nathan-

Mmmmm. Mosaic hops, currently at the top of my hops list (no worries, Simcoe is on that list, too). They lend such a lovely, complex note to each beer to which they are lovingly added. At the North Market Microbrew Festival, I recall immediately identifying them in the flavor profile of a couple of IPAs (Truth from Rhinegeist and Musk of the Minotaur from Hoof Hearted come to mind, as well as a fantastic offering from Wolf's Ridge). Funny, as often as I have had this extra(ordinary!) pale ale, I have never picked up on Mosaic in here. It's most definitely time to remedy that.

Also, let me just mention how much I love Seventh Son's Seventh Son American Strong Ale. It's hoppy, yet lovely and just enough boozy. It was their flagship, and how I fell in love with Seventh Son.

As Nathan so well described, this pours a perfect golden color, with just a slight haze (and this has been sitting awhile). In the aroma, I pick up more grapefruit, but yet it's also blueberry and piney, with just a hint of mango and cracker. I am completely in love with this aroma. I want to swan dive into it. Alas, as my human form will not fit into a pint glass, let's reverse engineer this and force it into my body, instead of the other way around. Taking a sip, I would swear there were fresh grapefruit peel in here (proper subjunctive, bitches). Eh, fuck it, Nathan's description of it perfectly describes the roller coaster in your mouth, so go re-read his portion (if you have even made it thus far). Plus grapefruit zest. And just a hint of crackery malts hanging around in the back end. This is also perfectly carbonated, and leaves such a happy feeling in my mouth that I can't help but smile with each sip.

Do you remember the image of Snoopy doing his happy dance? That is what this beer evokes from me. Every happy moment I have had in my life flashes before my eyes as I drink this.

4.999999/5 caps

-Jennie

Food Pairing: Barbecued chicken, Wargoland style.
Cheese Pairing: Irish cheddar -- and this part is important -- on a Dill Triscuit
Music Pairing: "I Am Disappeared" Frank Turner (yeah. I know, I talk a lot about Frank Turner, but seriously, go listen to his music!)

Fiery Foods Fest 2014

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We returned to the North Market Fiery Foods Festival this past weekend. This marked our second time there (see previous Fiery Foods Festival post for reviews on beers from Elevator and mead from Brothers Drake). The Wargos and our family decided to tag team the event again. We picked up 3 hot sauces, a hot pepper jam, and talked with Ed Currie, the mad scientist who created the current world's hottest pepper (Carolina Reaper).

After having some gut wrenching, painfully hot pepper and cheese pizza, we decided to mellow out with some good beers.

Seventh Son
Humulus Nimbus Pale Ale

Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of this. The mind was not working with a gut full of pain. We picked this up at the festival (they were the only brewery who was in attendance, for some reason). They had two selections, a brown ale and a pale ale. I figured, having a stomach full of intense pain, a pale ale would be easier to drink and more soothing. Mind you, sometime soon, we'll have to redo this review, as at this moment, my senses were askew, due to the heavy onslaught of habanero, ghost, scorpion, and other hot peppers. [Side note: Nathan entered the hot pizza challenge, which entailed eating an entire pizza that was made of crust, cheese, and really hot peppers, such as bhut jolokia, Trinidad scorpion, and possibly Carolina Reaper. He made it through 4 pieces before he tapped out. To be fair, Jennie had two bites of this vile concoction and was sidelined for two days.] This poured a nice golden, amber color with decent amount of white head. A faint aroma (again, possibly because of the flogging my senses recently lived through) of hops and caramel. This was smooth drinking (and helped sooth the beast that was wreaking havoc on my previously iron stomach). Hop heavy, being grapefruit and tropical flavors with a nice caramel backing that blended perfectly, not too hoppy, not too malty.  Medium body, with a light lingering of hops on the backend. A slightly sticky finish that didn't linger. We're definitely interested in trying more of their brews (especially as they're local. And trust us, try the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, their American Strong Ale. That deserves some love from Hopsus).

Suggested Pairings:
Music: White Stripes, "Ball and a Biscuit"
Cheese: Monterey Jack. Just not pepper. Please, dear cheese gods, no peppers required after that hellacious pizza experience. Crackers, minimal cheese, and copious peppers do not equal pizza. Please find Mikey's Late Night Slice for their ghost pizza challenge next year.
Food: Shrimp California Roll. Eat the pickled ginger. Trust us on this, especially if it's at the Fiery Foods Fest.

4.2/5 caps

After we finished our Annual Assault of Capsicum, we decided to head over to Barley's Ale House (across the parking lot from North Market) for a beer. Well, as is tradition between the Wargos and our family, one pint turns into more.

Barley's Ale House
Bourbon Meyer Buckeye Stout

(Barley's Bourbon Meyer- Photo by Nathan Shadley)

 Angelo is a God among men for concocting this beer (well, this and Beastie Boysenberry.... but that's another post that has not been written). As we walked in, he happened to notice us as he was filling a pint and we were waiting to be seated. He asked if we had tried this yet; well, needless to say it ended up being our first beer there.

So, Jennie had a conversation on Facebook awhile back (that she doesn't fully recall) whence it forthcame. It seemed to be early fall, and several people had chimed in about peanut butter porters and stouts. Two homebrewers and a professional brewer professed to brew their own idea of what this should entail on their next brew venture. One ended up being Jennie's Birthday Brew, a peanut butter porter. The other that we've seen come out of this ended up as Bourbon Meyer Stout.

This poured a deep, rich, opaque brown with a small amount of creamed coffee head. The aroma was fantastic! Peanut butter-heavy with some oak, vanilla and bourbon notes lending a welcoming addition. Mike and Trish wanted to drown in the aroma (our words, not theirs, but theirs were quite similar... Mike actually did take forever to smell his portion and waited to actually drink it for a long time, which, if you know Mike, is rather unlike him. Trish waited even longer. Peanut, at our side, just complained about how Jennie had overly hopped the porter for her Birthday Brew, even though he only has tasted -- and will taste -- the wort). The flavor is almost like the aroma. Peanut butter-heavy, with gentle flavors of cocoa, wood and bourbon. This isn't overly boozy, which we find rare with barrel-aged brews. This drinks smooth with very light carbonation. A nice dry, woody finish tops this off to make something all other barrel aged stouts should be judged against.

Suggested Pairings:
Music: The McCoys, "Hang on Sloopy"
Cheese: An entire cheese plate, replete with grapes and strawberries to recollect your favorite PB&J
Food: Sauerkraut balls from Barley's Ale House #1

5/5 Caps

We decided to stick around for another one, and the Wargos ordered the Christmas ale.

Barley's Ale House
Christmas Ale

(Barley's Christmas Ale- Photo by Nathan Shadley)

It's February. It's cold. We've hit a record number of snow in Central Ohio (as of the 15th, it's the 4th snowiest Winter on record with 45.8 inches so far, 5 inches behind the #3 spot, which was 1909-1910). With that being said, it's still a good time for a Winter Warmer style. Me (Nathan) personally, I'm not a huge fan of the WW style; it's too overdone nowadays. But regardless, when a beer is placed in front of me, I will not complain.

This poured a deep garnet color with a small amount of white head. The aroma on this is deep and complex. Malt-heavy with the typical WW spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, being the most common) lending a nice addition, but not overwhelming. The flavor is similar to the aroma, being malt-driven with hints of the spices. The spices don't try and overwhelm this (a problem I have with most Winter Warmers), which was pleasant. This is one of the best Christmas Ale/Winter Warmer styles I've had.

Suggested Pairings:
Music: Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite"
Cheese: Butterkasse
Food: Ham with pineapple. Or a turducken. Because why the fuck not?!

4.6/5 Caps

As we were leaving, we decided to pick up a growler for later on in the evening. I tried the Aphrodite, but thought it would be too much clove for Jennie's liking (I love clove; Jennie's not a big fan). I decided to go with a classic.

Barley's Ale House
Centennial IPA

(Barley's Centennial IPA in Growler- Photo by Jennie Koeper)

We took this growler of Centennial IPA back to the Wargos where we had dinner (pretzel burgers and a salad). The stomachs were still reeling from the atrocious pizza from earlier, so we decided to tame the lion, so-to-speak, with some more good beer. Good people drink good beer, eh, Hunter?

This poured a gorgeous copper color with decent amount of white head. The plastic, summertime themed cups we poured this in made me forget that it was bitterly cold outside. Damn deception. An
IPA in a summertime cup is a warm feeling.... Damn this winter. Hopsus, we supplicate you to please --PLEASE!!!!!!! -- save us and bring us into Spring, with new life forming and the bitter cold fading away. Regardless, I seem to be getting sidetracked. The aroma on this was nice earthy and citrus tones with a very dank note. The flavor is fantastic. Caramel and biscuit malts lend themselves perfectly to the herbal, earthy and citrus notes from the hops. We're familiar with the Centennial hop strain, but the hop characteristics being so complex must be from the blend of Williamette and Fuggle being in there as well. This is fantastic. This is smooth drinking with decent carbonation (even after 5 hours in the growler). This has a nice balance to it that leaves the tongue longing for more. There is a slight resiny feel to the finish. According to Barley's website, this is 7.6% ABV with 71 IBU.

Suggested Pairings:
Music: The Damned Things, "We've Got A Situation Here"
Cheese: Wisconsin sharp Cheddar, as long as they're not beating the Buckeyes in [insert sport here]
Food: The beer cheese dip with pitas, available at Barley's Ale House #1

4.8/5 Caps