Boulevard Brewing Company Tell-Tale Tart

There are beers out there that don’t fall under a specific style. Some may fall under two or more styles. That is what makes beer interesting. Boulevard Brewing Company Tell-Tale Tart, 6.2% ABV, which the name derives it’s name from Edger Allen Poe’s classic tale of madness and murder. This is a slightly sour ale Boulevard states on the label.  Tell-Tell Tart pours sort of a clean copper color with a slightly fizzy two finger head that fizzes away at a steady but quicker pace with very little left behind. The aroma is tart with fruitiness, more along the lines of an apple or pear. Tell-Tale Tart is what the name implies, tart. But it’s tart like an apple or pear and I found it not to be as tart as Boulevard would suggest it to be. Not much else is going on with the taste, which the subtle tartness covers over. The mouth feel is light and this beer finish slightly tart and with a little fruitiness. Which does carry over to the after taste with the faintest of pear. I have had similar beers and now that I’ve had Tell-Tale Tart isn’t as good as others. I give it a C-. If you want a better but similar beer then go for Bell’s Oarsman. Tell-Tale Tart was sort of okay yet refreshing, but I think it need to just take everything up one notch to get it to be better. If I haven’t had Bell’s Oarsman before I ever had Tell-Tale Tart this post might be different. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Sycamore Brewing Southern Girl American Blonde Ale

It is always cool to drink beer from a brewery that brews in your own town. It makes you feel good know that the beer you are having is brewed in the same place that you work, live and play in. This is a Sycamore Brewing Southern Girl American Blonde Ale, 5.1% ABV. This is one of three beers to be first canned by Sycamore here in Charlotte, NC. Southern Girl is brewed with Heirloom Barley and unique hop variety. This is one of their year-round offerings. Southern Girl pours a crisp golden color with a fizzy one finger white head that fizzy away rather quickly with nothing left behind. The aroma is pretty straightforward. It’s amore is much like any other Blonde Ale, there is a crisp aroma of subtle barley with a like cracker scent. Nothing out of the ordinary stands out here. The taste on Southern Girl is slightly crisp and clean up front with a subtle but faint apple in the middle of the mouth with a bite of a bitterness on the end that isn’t pleasant, but not terrible. The short summery on the side of this tall blue-green can make this beer sound better then it actually is. The mouth feel is light and crisp with a slight bitter finish and an after taste of bland cracker a faint bitterness. Over all this beer fell short of what I was expecting so this Sycamore Brewing Southern Girl American Blonde Ale is a D+. It was the bitter bite at the end that really made the beer no so great. It was average tasting until the end then just when downhill. I also thought the hint of apple described on the side was more of low, faint whisper and wasn’t there. I will say that this beer is easy to drink. But that is all I can say in favor of this beer. It is not terrible it is just not good. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Foothills Brewing Hop of the Month Mandarina Pilsner

It’s time again for Foothill Brewing Hop of the Month, Mandarina Pilsner, 54% ABV with 42 IBUs. Mandarina hops only available since 2002. The German Mandarina Bavaria is derived from the Cascade Hop, and is know for its distinctive tangerine, pineapple, and lemon notes. Mandarina Pilsner pours a crisp golden yellow color with a huge fluffy white four finger head that sticks to the top like glue. It looks like marshmallow fluff on top. The aroma is crisp and straw like with a little lemon aroma. Not much pineapple on the aroma. This Pilsner has a crisp taste of light lemon up front with a subtle yet faint tangerine in the middle with a little spiced bit of pineapple on the end with a hop twinge to it. The mouth feel is light with a crisp refreshing light fruity finish and an after taste that is much the same as it finishes. I thought this was particularly good Pilsner and well thought of idea for a good pilsner. Foothills Brewing Mandarine Pilsner is an A-. The spice at the very end held it back just the slightest bit, but it was good otherwise. This mighty Pilsner was crisp and refreshing and easy drinking.  I do thinking that Pilsners are overlooked when it comes to craft beer, and I also believe that Pilsners are harder to brew well compared to say a Porter or Stout because you can hide any imperfections in a Stout/Porter behind the big bold flavors, where as in a Pilsner everything is out in the open for your taste buds to find. Foothills has brewed a great Pilsner here. This new series is really starting to be as great as the last IPA of the Month. Foothills brewing is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries out there. I can say enough about them and their beers. This one you should defiantly try for yourself. I recommend that you do! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

New Belgium Brewing Citradelic Tangerine IPA

I am not a fan of New Belgium Brewing IPAs. I don’t like Ranger their original IPA. Well that changed when I had Citradelic Tangerine IPA, 6.0% ABV with an IBU of 50. This IPA is brewed with Citra Hops and Tangerines. Now these two things sound like they go well together in an IPA. Citra Hops give a citrus flavor and well Tangerines are a Citrus fruit, so how can they not go well together.  Citradelic pours a crisp golden color with a bit of an orange twinge to it and a two finger bright white head. The head quickly fades to about one finger then slowly fades into nice ropey lacing that is on the thinner side. The aroma is tropical with citrus fruit like tangerines, oranges and some faint grapefruits. There is a little bit of a subtly earthy aroma as well. This   is one good smelling tropical IPA. The taste is juicy with nice Citra note up front with some real nice tangerine flavor kicking in in the middle of the mouth that really build up a great tropical taste. The mouth feel is on the lighter side with a nice half sweet finish of earthy pine tangerine. The after taste is a bit hop with tangerines and faint subtle grapefruit notes. This beer surprised me with how good it was. I was going in to this IPA thinking it was going to be okay/average, and be a little to hoppy and have a little bitter fruit. Well it was not! I give this an A-. Citradelic was all about one hop and one added ingredient, which wasn’t bad. I enjoy it, but I really prefer a more round flavorful IPA. Not to say that Citradelic wasn’t flavorful. New Belgium nailed the tropical tangerine flavors on this IPA! This is a great IPA a great for warmer weather IPA or anytime of the year. This IPA is tropical and sweet with out being to sweet. It is also easy to drink and refreshing. I highly recommend New Belgium Brewing Citradelic Tangerine IPA. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Otra Vez Gose-Style Ale

There are so many different styles of beer out there. Some tend to be more popular and also tend to leave other styles behind that then become forgotten. Gose is one style of beer that is a nearly extinct style. But thanks to the many craft beer brewers out there is it making a come back. Sierra Nevada Otra Vez, 4.5% ABV is Gose-Style Ale brewed with prickly pear cactus and grapefruit. Otra Vez pours a crisp golden color with the slightest of haze to it and a one and half finger of brilliant white foam up top. The aroma is tangy with some sweet notes of fruitiness and grapefruit. Smells refreshing. The taste is slightly tangy up front that comes from the prickly pear cactus then you get a tart flavor in the middle with a quick subtle watermelon then on the end you get a wash of grapefruit for a moment. Taste refreshing too! The mouthfeel is light with a nice tart finish and a sweet citrus aftertaste. Many this on good beer, but in the whole Gose style Westbrook is still my number one. I give Otra Vez an A. This is a solid drinkable refreshing beer. I recommend trying Sierra Nevada Otra Vez for yourself. Everything about this beer is well balanced and taste great. But there is one small negative though; this beer should be just the slightest bit more on the tart side, but still good. This is my second best Gose. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!