Drink Up the Summer

This week with summer winding down I thought it would be a good time to take a look at Bell's Oberon Ale.  This is a wonderful summer beer offering from Bell's, even though right now on the East coast it does not feel very summer like at all!   So if you are still in the Summer mood than read up and even better, drink up!

Bell's Oberon Ale Review

New Belgium Gives Pumpkin Beers A Kick

Pumpkick Combines Traditional Spices with Cranberries and Lemongrass

 
Ft. Collins, Colo., August 5, 2013 – Adding the unexpected kick of cranberries gives New Belgium Brewing’s 2013 fall seasonal the kick it needs to take the traditional out of this pumpkin beer. Pumpkick Ale is brewed with plenty of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, but it is the healthy dose of cranberries that will have you sipping for more.
 
The aroma is full of spicy pumpkin, with a hint of cranberry and even lemongrass – another unexpected, but delicious addition to the beer. New Belgium added some oats to cream up the mouthfeel and the finish is quick and dry.
 
This fruity and malty sweet beer is complex, but not overwhelming and has a hefty dose of crisp tartness, making it a great complement to pumpkin pie this fall. It pours a rosy orange glow with light haze and cream-colored foam. Pumpkick is 6% ABV and 18 IBUs. 
 
“Tis the season for baked goods, so why fight it, just pair it,” said New Belgium’s Master Blender and Sensory Specialist, Lauren Salazar. “The cranberries absolutely make a difference in this beer and is another great example of how we’ve used our Belgian roots to give a traditional style a different dimension.”
 
To find out if Pumpkick is sold near you, use the New Belgium Libation Location tool: http://www.newbelgium.com/beer.aspx. Pricing varies by location. You can also follow New Belgium on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/newbelgium and Twitter @NewBelgium.

Over 10 Years and It’s Still Ruined

 

Well today is National IPA day and I can not think of a better way to celebrate than with any of the fantastic IPA offerings from Stone!  This week I took a close look at Stone's RuinTen!  Last year this was the official 10 year anniversary of Stone's Ruination and the anniversary beer that they brewed up was such a huge hit that they have re-released it, and I have to say I am VERY happy that they did, this is truly a fantastic and well balanced beer, maybe slightly towards the sweet side of things, but I enjoy my IPA's this way instead of those enamel melting kinds that are just hop bombs.

Anyway... read about it for yourself and hopefully you can find a bottle in your local area!

Stone RuinTen Review 

Terrapin Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale

Brewer- Terrapin Beer Company

Beer- Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale

Style- Saison/ Farmhouse Ale

ABV- 6.00%

Description- Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale pours a a clear straw like yellow with a HUGE billowing white head that does dissipate down to a thin line that does not leave much lacing on the glass.  The aroma is dominated by what you would expect, peaches, along with hints of a tart wheat and subtle aroma of saison yeast.  The taste is also dominated by peaches and has a bit of funk backing it up, but the standard saison taste, which I personally love, is a bit hidden in the mix and thus makes this beer a bit less interesting.  Also, the beer is highly carbonated and makes the beer itself a bit thin and unable to handle the body.  However, this beer is still very refreshing and I think with a bit of tweaking to the recipe this beer could be absolutely fantastic.

Food Pairing-  This light and crisp beer lends itself perfectly to salads.  Also, anything with peaches would highlight the tastes within (of course) a nice appetizer of tortilla chips with mango peach salsa is a dream with this beer.  A main course entree of salmon with lemon pepper on the grill would balance nicely against this highly carbonated beer.  This is a beer that I recommend having at least one by itself though.  The thin body can cause it to be lost in the mix quite easily so experience this one alone to truly understand what is going on within the beer.

Is it worth trying?- Yes, but if you are a huge saison fan you may be disappointed by this offering.  I really hate to say that too as I am a huge fan of Terrapin.  However, this is far from a "bad" beer so do not be put off entirely by this review.  Summer is a time that the market is flooded with fruit styled beers and some have become staples to me (see Dogfish Head review of Festina Pêche) but many are not highlights to me as they can become overly sweet very quickly.  Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale is somewhere in between the two, not overly sweet, but not blended seamlessly into the profile of the beer, but still a beer certainly worth trying!

Rating-

Where Can I Get It?- This is pretty widely available throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.  I picked up a 4 pack in Kingston at Goldstein's Deli, but it is also available at Wegman's- Dickson City and Wilkes Barre, and I believe Krugel's Georgetown Deli in Wilkes Barre has some as well.  Terrapin is only available in 10 states (Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia) so we need to consider ourselves lucky to have such fantastic breweries available in our area!