Yeah yeah yeah...SUPER late. So throw me in a barrel and cover me in honey!
Life's been busy and I'm starting to crack into my stockpile of beers, get over it! It's nice to have seasonal beers off-season anyway, so suck it.
Sierra Nevada Glissade 2011 brew. Glissade apparently means a slow controlled descent down a slope on a climber's feet or backside using an ice axe to control the speed, or a gliding step in ballet, this beer is supposedly meant to help the beer lover glide into spring. Not only that, but it sure as shit glides into my belly damn easily! 6.4% ABV and 42 IBUs in a maibock style, this one got enough to bridge those summer beers with the lighter spring and summer brews. In fact, it was fully brewed to be a lighter version of German Bocks that are super popular in the springtime. Faintly malty and hints of caramel mingle with some muted citrus and light fruit notes and a very very subtle hop aroma. But the purpose of this beer is clearly its taste. Unbelievable smooth, toasted oats and grain contribute to the creamy malts with sweetness from toffee and caramel. That gets balanced out by a slightly bitter, earthy hop finish. Not enough hoppiness to linger, but just enough so its neither malty nor hoppy. Swirling in the finish is mixed spice, grass and a creamy sweetness that just screams of the melting ice and warming weather. Well done, SV, well done!
A recent spring classic, but because it's a recent addition to the Sam lineup, I'll review! Behold, Noble Pils! A pilsner style brewed with all FIVE Noble hops: Hallertau Mittelfrueh, Tettnang Tettnanger, Spalt Spalter and Hersbrucker Hersbrucker from Germany and Saaz from Bohemia in the Czech Republic (Thanks beernews.org!) And for you Sam fans out there, Hallertau and Tettnang are used in Boston Lager...trust me, you get hints of that in this brew! 4.9% ABV and estimated 34 IBUs. This replaced the White Ale as their spring seasonal last year and, similiar to the Glissage, combines hops with a nice malty backbone to transition into those long sunny spring days. Surprisingly faint in the aroma, floral hops come through and some light grains. No doubt a super hoppy beer from the use of all 5 noble hops, however not in the sense of a super hoppy IPA. Somewhat muted, the hops are more present in their citrus, grassy and floral..no bitterness at all! The hops here are all about the characteristics of each noble hops, not the bitter taste usually associated with them. It takes time, but sip slowly and savor...each sip will produce a slightly different hop profile. Almost far too complex to describe! Finishing this beer off is a nice creamy malty sweetness, slightly caramel, a bit toasted malts. For Sam Adams, its a good brew, fairly unique...overall it's nothing super special, but a nice, widely-available spring brew. Maybe more spring beers next year......?
O'Hara's Irish Red! Not necessarily a 'spring' beer..but Irish..St. Patty's.. spring time? Yeah..it's a bit of a stretch..but it works! Shut it! I found this at a well known packie that was unloading a shit-ton of 4pks for like $4.99 each..that = steal which in turn = me buying! Brewed by Carlow Brewing Company in County Carlow, Ireland! Bam! 4.3% ABV and 25 IBUs..a deep copper pour that the picture does no justice to. A super malty nose, wholly caramel and rich grains with a little orange or other citrus hidden behind it all. Surprisingly light and fairly carbonated..toffee and caramel-esque malts reign supreme in the start. The carbonation serves a breakpoint which leads to slightly richer, smokey malts in the finish with a hoppy note that pokes its head up from intermittently. The end is fully a raw, grainy yet creamy malt. Much ligher than a typical Irish Red, yet smooth and far more flavorful and complex than most as well. A steal of a beer that goes down far too well!
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