The Unknown Brewing Company Rye Felicia Open Fermented Brett IPA

I have a local beer from The Unknown Brewing Company here in Charlotte, NC. This is Rye Felicia Open Fermented Brett IPA, 5.4% ABV. This beer is fermented in an open vessel allowing the air where that vessel is to collect in the beer. Rye Felicia is brewed with a strain of yeast known as Brettanomyces. This is a non-spore genus of yeast referred to as Brett. Brett was typical viewed as contaminate and made off-flavors in beers. Usually this yeast is used in some Belgian style beer as well as American craft beers. Rye Felicia pours a hazy orange color with a big three finger off white head that has great retention, with spicy grapefruit aromas on the nose with a slight candied spiced orange. Rye Felicia as a big bold flavor of rye spices up front with some spiced grapefruit right behind that with some bitter orange on the back with bitterness, and a bitter hop finish that fades into a big spice funky after taste. The mouth feel is fuller and that might be from the yeast strain. The Unknown Brewing Company Rye Felicia Open Fermented Brett IPA is not something I am love with and I give it a C+. At first I found Rye Felicia to be a little harsh but as you drink it grows a little bit on you. So by the end of the sixteen-ounce pint can it was better then when I took the first sip. Definitely an interest beer and take on the IPA style. I don’t know if I would come have this again and would be my first choice at a bar, it will kill you taste buds making all other beers taste off or have very little to no taste. I will tell you to try Rye Felicia Open Fermented Brett IPA just cause it interestingly different for an IPA. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Sugar Creek Company and Reids Fine Foods Beer Dinner

Last week I spotted on Facebook that The Sugar Creek Brewing Company and Reid’s Fine Foods was going to have a four-course dinner plus dessert and each course was paired with a different beer. I went for it cause the food looked really tasty, as did the beer. First course was chilled raspberry chamomile soup, citrus coriander crème frache, mint paired with Sugar Creek Raspberry White Ale, 4,4% ABV. These two paired well because of the main ingredients of raspberry, and were both light tasting and very refreshing. Think of Sugar Creek Raspberry White Ale as a craft version of Hoegaarden with raspberry. That beer need to be canned, it a warm weather drinking beer for sure. Second course, fried oyster, arugula, radish, cucumber, pickled onion, pistachio, and goat cheese, roasted shallot vinaigrette paired Sugar Creek Saison 6.6% ABV, this was the one beer of the night that wasn’t bottled. The fried oysters where amazing, I haven’t had fried oysters like that and the batter played well with the complex funky flavors in the oyster as well as the bitterness in the radish. Saison are good beers to pair with a hearty salad. Third Course, charred octopus, chorizo, confit purple potatoes, harass (a hot chili pepper paste) but was mild at best. This was paired with Atmosphera Tripel, 9.7% ABV the highest ABV beer of the night. That beer was dangerous! It was very flavorful and effervescent and if not for the high ABV would be drinkable, it was a beer that you want to keep going back for had a slight banana flavor to it. Paired well with the roasted notes in the octopus and it spices.  Third Course, sticky pork belly, crispy rice, Brussels sprout kimchi, embered vegetables, benne paired with Sugar Creek Dubbel, 6.6% ABV. This was more of Korean style dish but a southern American take and the pork belly (tasty thick fancy bacon) was excellent with the Belgian style Dubbel. I always think Belgian Dubbel taste like they should pair well with hearty meat of some kind. Well they did just that, and it was great. For dessert, Espresso Beignets (French style donuts), dark chocolate sauce, paired with Sugar Creek Mocha Java Porter, 5.2% ABV. If you aren’t deep into craft beer then you are probably think why dark beer with a sweet dessert and the best way to describe it is for you to have a sweeter style porter with a dessert and you will understand. Now the coffee flavors of the porter played nice with the espresso Beignets and the chocolate sauce. This was a $55.00 affair. All courses and beers were wonderful; well the entire dinner was wonderful and great job by both Reid’s and The Sugar Creek Brewer. This was an A+ experience. I would do this again and will! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Southern Pines Brewing Company Tropicalismo Pale Ale

I have here another beer that was delivered via Brewpublik (www.brewpublik.com) here in Charlotte, NC and they do have an operation in Raleigh/Durham as well, this is Southern Pines Brewing Company Tropicalismo Pale Ale, 6.1% ABV and an IBU of 54. Tropicalismo is brewed with loads of late addition Mosaic, Simcoe, and Amarillo hops in Southern Pines North Carolina. Tropicalismo is a summer seasonal beer; it pours a clear golden color with a one finger white head that is quick to dissipate. Tropicalismo gives off a fruity juicy aroma of tropical citrus notes with some light floral scents. The taste is nicely filled with fruity flavors like slight Guava, grapefruit and orange that lead to the back of the mouth where you find a bittering note. The mouth feel is light and refreshing, with a bitter juicy fruit finish and a bitter sweet after taste that lingers in your month. This beer is a good summer drinker, easy and refreshing. It gets a C+, it just that the tropical fruit flavors weren’t as strong or pronounced as I would have liked them, but they were okay. The hop flavors were slightly less then I like as well, so the overall flavor of Tropicalismo was not bold enough for me to rate this Southern Pines Brewing Company Pale Ale higher. I still enjoyed this beer. Tropicalismo Could be a bolder flavored beer in my opinion. I kind of recommend Tropicalismo, it’s not such a bad beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Boulevard Brewing Co. Show-Me Sour Barrel Age Ale

I like the idea of barrel aging beer, it can add complexity to a beer with new and inviting flavors, but it can be the opposite end as well, turning out to be not so good. Boulevard Brewing Co in Kansas City Missouri, Show-Me Sour Barrel Age Ale, 4.3%, is aged in Whiskey Barrels for a short time, for how long? They just say a short time. I’m thinking six months to year if I had to guess. This sour beer is blended back, with fresh beer after aging. Show-Me Sour pours a deep black color with dark brown edges and a little cap of white bubbly foam on top that fades into a white halo.  Aroma is a big grape notes with some bits of light smoked whisky. Taste is pretty grapey and slightly sour up front and in the middle with a little whisky notes on the back. The taste is more grape than anything else. Mouth-feel is thin and medium with a weird whiskey grape sour finish that is pretty much the same on the after taste with some tartness there. I though this beer was going to be more the just whiskey and grape/sour grape, and give Boulevard Brewing Co. Show-Me Sour Barrel Age Ale a D. This beer smelled and tasted one sided and was thin tasting and have not much complexity I was hoping. This beer was a let down. One thing it did have going for it was it was easy to drink, as I was drinking it I though this beer is a push over. I am not a huge fan of grape juice flavors especially in a beer. Grape doesn’t go well in beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!     

Mikkeller Hallo ich Bin Berliner Weisse Passion Fruit

Yeah I got this one, Mikkeller Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Passion fruit, 3.7% ABV in a home delivery from Brewpublik, www.brewpublik.com. Mikkeller is a Danish beer brewer that doesn’t have a physical brewery; they are what you might call gypsy brewers. They basically go to brewer’s brewery and brew their own beer there. Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Passion fruit pours bright neon yellow color with a slight haze and a big three-finger white quickly fading head that leaves behind thick whips of lacing. The aroma is sweet with tropical fruit tartness and a bit of wheat. Reminds me of tart and fresh tropical fruit juice. Taste is pretty good, you get nice tart tropical fruit right up front with some sweetness, and in the middle of the mouth you get more of a big tartness that grows as it washes over the back of your mouth with nice passion fruit notes. The mouth feel is medium and the after taste is refreshing, tart and tropical with a nice tart passion fruit after taste that coats your mouth and linger there a while. Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Passion fruit is a surprisingly good beer and it an A for sure. The passion fruit really melds well with the Berliner Weisse and has great balance. I love how both the fruit and the Berliner Weisse shine though without over powering each other. Now this beer does come in other fruits, raspberry, peach, Cherry, and plain Berliner Weisse. I will try to review the others at some point. But I recommend Mikkeller Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Passion fruit. It’s a good warm weather beer that you won’t forget! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!