Back at the Flying Saucer but now in Charlotte CAROLINA! I hit up ol' girl again, but brought along the baby. I decided I'll go with two flights as opposed to just sampling three beers. So I did the Carolina flight, then did another flight of beers of Carolina beers, and a couple others, including something from Brooklyn. The flights came in 5 ounce glasses, which I think is enough to make it work for my evaluation.
Beer Log, October 25, 2008
State: Chillin, eating a Chicken Ceaser Wrap
Red Oak
Tried this one again. No butter this time. Amber color with a low white head. It is sour at first, then bready. The mouthfeel is very filling, yet with low hops. 2 Star once again.
Cottonwood Pumpkin http://www.carolinabeer.com/
Once again something from Lake Norman area of Charlotte. I'm about to wrap up my drinking of oktoberfests and pumpkin beers, but I figured it's good to get a local one in there. Light haze to accent the amber color (they must love amber up here). I get a light rush of pumpkin flavor and nutmeg, very nice. Good mouthfeel with a low hops in the finish. This is one of the better pumpkin ales I've had in this season. Or it could be that Red Oak is messing me up. Either way, 3 Stars.
Rainbow Trout ESB
Back in the Foothills http://www.foothillsbrewing.com/brews.html with this one, and we're going bitter. THICK white head that managed to stick around in the sampler glass, yet it's amber again. This one has medium hoppage for an ESB, as I understand Extra Special Bitters are not all that bitter. Low carbonation and just a very good beer. Light malt I test in the beer. Goes down very well. Got to love it 3-4 stars out of 5 Stars.
Cottonwood Endo IPA
Another amber colored beer with a low head, but it tastes like a very good IPA. Excellent quality with the lingering Cascade hops on the aftertaste for 60 seconds. Well done on the strong malt as well. This one reminds me of the Broken Halo but with more citrusy hops. A good workhorse IPA I could see myself picking up all the time, 4 Stars.
Highland Oatmeal Porter
Totally turning tables, I get my hands on their Oatmeal porter out of Asheville. Dark brown color that is light brown in the light, go fig. Low offwhite head with a light malt smell. Decent malt backbone for this one that is kind of smokey and roasty. Got to love the full body. As it warms a touch, I'm getting a low-medium hops. It's ok. 3 Stars.
Now that we have gone through one sampler, some convo about real estate, and I feel like another 5 beers. Maybe not something so local. BROOKLYN STAND THE F8CK UP!!!
Brooklyn Grand Cru http://www.brooklynbrewery.com/
They say that Grand Cru is another style of Belgium beer. I am looking around and it looks like it could be, but the BJCP isn't helping me out. This one is light gold with that ol' bretamycin smell. I love that type of sourness. I could drink this stuff all night. Good fruitiness on this one, as in banana and that estery stuff. It has a smooth light carbonation and is also sugary sweet. A few days later, I figured they just took a regular belgian ale and fermented it at a warmer temperature, which would make MY belgian white beer closer to a Grand Cru as I have no temperature control in my homebrewing. 3 Star for my first Brooklyn. As I write this, I just found our local liquor store has two Brooklyn Beers a Pale Ale and a Lager. Certainly looking for more of it.
Highland Clawhammer http://www.highlandbrewing.com/
Amber color again for a Carolina beer. Light malt and medium hops. Some citrus in there and a nice bready aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel. This a good basic stable beer for everyday drinking... 3 Star.
Foothills Seeing Double
A Double IPA, one my first in a while. I smell those citrusy hops with that strong creamy whitehead. Very smooth and thick on the first taste. High malt and high hops, yet very balanced. Better than the Endo, but barely a 4 Star for me. Wish I could get more of this one in Texas.
Battlefield Bock
Switching gears to something different, this one is black-dark brown in color. Decent mouthfeel here. Not as much malt as I'd like. Not much going on with this one. Probably a bad idea to have this one after the Double IPA. 2 Star. These guys from Red Oak cannot catch a break.
Total Eclipse
Another Stout from the Foothills
Black and opaque with a tan head. They say this one is over 7% alcohol. Medium to high chocolate and malt. Full Mouthfeel. Nicely done. There is no smoke yet a light-medium hops in this porter on the back of the pallet. I'm starting to feel it now, and I need to change clothes before the reunion party. 3 Stars.
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2 comments:
dam that grand cru is only avaiable on tap and i live in ny and havernt had it yet .
oh yeah. It was very tasty. I'm looking for to trying more of the Grand Cru style. I saw a Grand Cru made by Avery. But at $15 for ONE twelve ounce bottle was a tough one to swallow. And this was at the store, not at the bar.
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