Weekly Six Pack

This summer I was looking for a way to get out of the house more and get a chance to socialize more. One thing they never told me when I left college was that when you become an adult that you have to find a way to go out and make all new friends (but that’s a rant for another day).

So I joined an ultimate frisbee team which, where I live, is the most popular recreational activity by a mile. Just to recap what that experience was like, here it is; I wasn’t very good, I was clearly more out of shape than at least half of the competitors I was matched up against, but it was also a lot of fun.

Part of what made the experience fun was that our team always had a speaker with music on the sideline as well as a different person who was designated to bring at least a twelve pack of beer for the team to drink during the game. It was usually something cheap and uncomplicated like Miller High Life, Coors Light or something like that. When it was my turn, I elected to bring a twelve pack of Tecate. And what was surprising about that was that our team had never as far as I knew finished a whole case before the game was over. With the Tecate though, all that was left were crushed up cans and the sweet sensation of victory. Or maybe we lost. I can’t remember. But what it made me realize is that Tecate may very well be the best summer beer you can drink.

Some would argue that the best summer beer to drink would be something like a Session ale or a Czech or German style pilsner which are valid points and I like those beers, however you can often buy Tecate for a cheaper price both at the bar and at the store. It’s better than many of the other styles of beer that come out during the summer months; Hefeweizens (too heavy) and fruit beers (not a fan) and it’s better than many of it’s other Mexican peers. Corona needs a lime in it to even be passable to drink, and Sol and Modelo Especial are just Corona with better packaging.

So really when you get right down to it, Tecate really is the best beer for summer. It doesn’t need a lime to taste better, it’s relatively cheap to buy and it goes down smooth with a taste that is uncomplicated, just the way a summer beer should be.

Well folks, the summer seasonals are vanishing from the shelves only to be replaced by the next round of Oktoberfest and pumpkin flavored seasonal offerings.  As a side note, when did pumpkin flavored everything become par for the course when it comes to fall? (I’m looking at you pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks, seriously people lose their minds over this stuff.) Anyway, there’s no denying that fall is approaching so it only makes sense to go out and explore what many craft brewers have to offer. The beer I’ve chosen to try in spirit of the season is Ichabod Pumpkin Ale from the New Holland Brewing Company. They’re based out of Holland, MI and have been around since 1997.  They have 10 beers they make year round and seasonally which does not include anything in their Agribrew, Single Batch High Gravity, Hatter Day Hatters, and Cellar Series.  They also run a full scale distillery out of their Holland location but they only distribute their products regionally to 16 states, so that’s something to keep in mind if you decide to try and purchase a product from New Holland.

                                First Impression: The first thing that stood out to me was the name of the beer itself. It’s a clever nod to the classic tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman of the Hollow, which is a perfect motif to represent the fall season.

Pour: The beer is a clean deep amber color with very little head at the top once it’s poured.  When you put your nose to the glass you get a smell remarkable similar to pumpkin pie, with the cinnamon and nutmeg notes standing out distinctly.

Taste: It has a well measured pumpkin flavor which blends nicely with the spices that were brewed into it.  But you can also taste the barley on the back end which really helps to keep this beer from being too sweet and overdone.

Grade: A

This is a beautifully balanced beer that delivers great flavor without being too sweet and sitting too heavy.  A great seasonal choice perhaps for a costume party you might find yourself at this Halloween (bonus points if you dress as a headless horseman.)

Cheers

IBUs: 16

Authors Note: (The reason the formatting is different in this piece is because I am now also writing for a website called craftbeercritics.com. This will be my first featured piece on that site and I'd love for you guys to check it out.  So from now on, if you see a piece in this format it's for the site, and if you see a piece in it's original format that means you'll only find it here.  Moving on then.)

I'm hoping that this beer is special.  Since this is my first featured article that I'm writing for this site, I wanted to make sure that I didn't just choose the first beer I saw on the shelf.  So I sought the recommendation of my good friend Matt at Everett's Wine, Spirits, and Beers in South Beloit, Ill (shout out) and told him what I was hoping to accomplish.  He told me that the problem he's found with most beer review sites is that people are always looking to find the most obscure, one-off, single batch brew they can find and then sort of humblebrag about how good it is.  He said I should look for something local, easily available at least regionally and most importantly, something that's easy to drink for most people.  And thus my decision to buy Domaine DuPage was made.  Two Brothers Brewing Company is based out of Warrenville, Illinois just west of Chicago off the I-88.  They've been brewing since 1997 and have 20 beers total in production which includes all the year-rounds, seasonals, and what they call their Artisan and Project Opus beers.  Domaine DuPage is one of their year-round selections and is labeled as a French Style Country Ale. 

                            First Impression: The label seems to live up to the namesake of being called a French Style Country Ale.  It uses different hues of warm colors and has a small picture of what appears to be a French Chateau in the left center part of the label.  It gives off the appearance of being friendly and inviting.   

Pour:  It has a color similar to what you would find with an amber ale, very bright and lively and the head is the color of pale khaki but disappears pretty quickly once it's poured into the glass.

Taste:  You can smell the malts and the earthiness that accompanies a beer with a malt based profile.  It smells a little bit sweet with just a tinge of citrus. On first sip you can taste that little bit of citrus and also yeast. The yeast has a pretty strong presence in the overall flavor.  To me it tastes like a combination of an amber ale and a summer wheat seasonal.  All in all, it's a smooth, easy-drinking beer that has a nicely balanced flavor profile to suit any occasion, whether that be with a meal or just a night in with your friends. 

Grade: B

ABV: 5.9%

Hey everyone,

The 50 beers/50 states tour heads back to New England and more specifically the state of Vermont.  Magic Hat in many ways takes me back to my days in the fraternity.  When we weren't drinking swill like Natural Light or Labatt Blue out of a keg (if we were feeling fancy), we turned to #9 as our unofficial craft beer of choice.  I'm actually looking forward to featuring this on the blog because it's been at least two years since I've had it and I don't remember at all what it tastes like.  It gives me the opportunity to get into the way back machine with a whole new palate and see what's what.

                                       Magic Hat Brewing Company is based in South Burlington VT and has been making beer since 1994.  They have 31 active beers including all the year-round choices, seasonals, and one off batches.  #9 is probably their most recognized product and serves as sort of the unofficial flagship beer.  It's self described as a not quite pale ale with attributes such as "dry, crisp, and refreshing."  That sounds more like advertisement for champagne than a beer.  So I guess all that's left to do is unravel the mystery of flavor that is Magic Hat #9.

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour:  It has a full bodied amber color that resembles apple juice but a couple of shades darker.  The head is somewhat thin and colored like cotton.

Smell:  Powerful fruit notes hit the nose immediately, which is followed up with a light bouquet of hops.  It smells very sweet and almost nutty.

Feel:  It has a mouth feel similar to an IPA.  Starts off very thick and bubbly in the mouth and then seems to get thinner as it goes down the throat.

Taste:  It has very prominent fruit notes of apricot, peach and just a hint of citrus.  The hops flavor is very minimal and it's virtually impossible to detect malt or yeast.

Rating:  3.8 out of 5 Pints

Make no mistake; this is not a pale ale.  It has basically none of the hallmarks of smell or taste one would associate with a pale ale.  This is a fruit beer in the same family as something by Leinenkugel or Abitas. That being made clear, the fruit flavors in this beer are well balanced and slightly complex, which is just enough to keep it interesting.  So if you're a fan of beers similar to Summer Shandy or Shock Top, I would definitely give this a try and add some variety to your summer lineup.

Cheers,

The 50/50 tour continues to the east coast in the state of Maryland.  A place probably better known to most for things like The Wire and the Baltimore Ravens, there is also a wide selection of craft beer to choose as well.  Some others from around the state include: Burley Oak, Eastern Shore, Full Tilt, Mully's, Shorebilly, Union Craft and many others.  Not a bad list considering Maryland is one of the smaller states in the continental 48.

The Flying Dog Brewing company is based out of Frederick MD and was founded in 1990.  The company was originally founded in Aspen Colorado but in 1994 they moved into what was then a new state-of-the-art brewing facility in Maryland and they've been there ever since.  They have 19 beers in production between year-round and seasonal selections and 12 others they've made as limited releases.  Snake Dog IPA is one of the year round choices and according to the brewers has a big hop aroma, a big citrus palate (grapefruit more specifically) and also comes in with a nice caramel finish at the end. Having a big citrus flavor in an IPA isn't a very common thing that I've seen, lets just hope they've done this right.

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour:  It has a deep but bright amber base with some other hues of copper and red.  The head is small but a bright clean white that likes to cling to the edge of the glass.

Smell:  Very floral and spicy which is to be expected with an IPA, and just a slight hint of yeast, but it's a very brief note and hard to detect.

Feel:  It has the feel similar to a pilsner, in that it's very light and even though it has an appearance closer to a wheat beer, it feels smoother and slightly more effervescent than I was expecting.

Taste:  The hops certainly stand on the forefront of your taste buds and linger there considerably.  There are some toasted malt notes and it finishes crisp, almost dry.  There really isn't any distinguishable citrus flavor however which miffs me a bit if I'm being honest.

Rating: 4.4 out of 5 Pints

It does annoy me considerably when a brewer will say you'll experience a certain flavor with their beer but then it never shows up.  However it is a moderately complex beer in flavor palate and the ingredients work together well to provide a pleasurable IPA experience.  But if I'm being honest, I think I'd rather have a Smuttynose IPA from a neighbor to the north in New Hampshire if given the choice.

Cheers,

The tour is back on the road everybody. I've been able to resolve the technical issues plaguing me (sort of) and so we continue in the well known brewing state of Missouri.  I'm surprised it's taken me this long to feature a beer from here considering the sheer volume of liquid gold that comes from this place as well as being close enough to where I live regionally that most craft brews would find their way onto retail shelves here.  Well no matter, we're here so lets see what there is to enjoy.

                               The Boulevard Brewing Company is based out of Kansas City and has been around since 1989.  They have a total of 28 beers in production with some of those being limited releases and single bottle productions. The unfiltered wheat that I'm drinking is one of the year round selections.  According to the website, it's the best selling craft beer in the Midwest (I have no way of verifying this so I will accept it as fact) and won a Great American Beer Festival gold medal back in 2008.  It's 4.4% ABV and costs $7.99 plus tax for a four pack of aluminum pint bottles. I'm running out of clever transition sentences so let's just get to the drinking.

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour: The color is a soft glowing yellow and there is no head at all once it's poured into a glass.

Smell:  It has very little smell at all.  You get a slight hint of the yeast as well as the faintest essence of citrus but that's about all.

Feel: The body feels heavier than I was anticipating and carries just the slightest bit of effervescence.  Even though it feels heavy, it doesn't sit any more than a domestic light beer would.

Taste:  It has some really engaging citrus notes of lemon and even apple.  The hops come through on the tongue every so often and it has a really nice yeast backbone throughout. 

Rating:  4.2 out of 5 Pints

It's not a particularly engaging beer in smell or in taste, but it's pretty simple, clean and easy to enjoy.  Because it comes in an aluminum pint it makes a great beer to tailgate with or go to a concert, but I would recommend pouring it into a glass as drinking it from the bottle has a tendency to change some of the flavor notes.  

Cheers,

Hey everyone,

Wanted to give a quick update and let you know I've been having some technological difficulties and thus the weekly update is going to be a few days late.  Sincerest apologies and you'll hear from me very soon.

Cheers,

The 50/50 tour continues in the very flat but surprisingly entertaining state of Iowa.  I say entertaining because I took a trip there recently and had a wonderful time.  More specifically, I was in the city of Des Moines which is the largest city in the state and also serves as the seat of government.  When you visit, you can tell that it's fallen on some hard times in recent history but there has been a lot of redevelopment and there are some really cool things going on there.  If you ever get the chance to visit, you definitely should.

                                   However the beer I'm drinking this week is not from Des Moines, it's made in Davenport, Iowa and comes from the Great River Brewery.  They started out in 2004 as a brew pub in Iowa City, but a few years later decided to move cities and expand the operation.  They've only been distributing beer since 2010 and each beer is packaged into 16oz pint cans and sold in fours, much like the 8-bit pale ale that came from Kansas.  I wonder if the four pack thing is a trademark of beer that comes from the plain states? Anyhow it's classified as an American Amber style ale and is characterized by a rich malt background with some hints of caramel and smooth texture while drinking.  It's 4.8 ABV and costs around $7.99 for a four-pack. But enough talk amiright? Let's drink.

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour:  It has a deep reddish hued copper color but no head at all to speak of once it's poured.  Seriously, it just disappeared as soon as beer touched glass.

Smell:  It has a sweet, almost fruity profile when it comes to smell and in a weird way reminds me of the smell of a gentle breeze on a Caribbean island.

Feel:  It's very lightly effervescent and has a slightly watery texture to it but these features also make it easier to drink and sit lighter on the stomach.

Taste:  Right away it has very powerful malt notes that resemble something a little spicier than you would expect and the very slightest bit of fruitiness.  But it finishes rather bitter and there aren't really any other flavors to speak of.

Rating: 3.1 out of 5 Pints

It's a basic beer with a basic smell and taste profile, there really isn't much more to be said.  It's easy to drink and comes in a pint can so it might be good at something like a backyard barbeque to earn some craft beer cred with your friends but they might be slightly disappointed once you've given them a taste. Not a bad beer, but also nothing very wow or exciting.  If you're looking for an Amber ale that'll sure to please any audience, just get Fat Tire instead. 

Cheers,

This week the tour is back on schedule and making its next stop in the state of New York.  I have to admit that I'm running out of clever things to say about each state that I've tried a beer from.  I mean there was this one time I drove along the entire southern half of New York from end to end, but I was going through it to get to New Hampshire.  Don't have anything bad to say about it really; nice state, has some nice mountain areas I wasn't expecting, but that's not very funny or entertaining.  We're gonna just go ahead and move on then, cool? Cool.

                                           The Southern Tier Brewing Company is based out of Lakewood, NY which is located way over in the western corner of the state.  They've been around since 2002 and distribute beer not just in the United States but in other countries like Australia, Japan, Denmark, Singapore, the UK and more.  They've had to build additions onto their facilities twice to keep up with demand and just recently finished their latest project in 2011.  They have a total of 24 beers in production with seven of them being offered year round.  The beer I'm having is one of the year round choices and another American style Pale Ale.  What can be expected is a beer with plenty of hop spice but a little more balanced and muted than its IPA counterpart with malts and yeast.  It's 5.5% ABV and being made available for the first time ever in the year 2013.  A very recent release then, time to sort it all out.

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour:  The color is that of a light tangerine with some hues of copper and it has a thin but dense head that stays on top which has the color of clean linen or a marshmallow.

Smell:  It's very floral, almost pungent with spicy notes similar to that of pine. The smell also reminds me of when you pick dandelions as a kid and the smell that the stem leaves on your hands.

Feel:  It has a thicker feel that's similar to an IPA but feels a lot less effervescent than other Pale Ales I've tried.  Goes down very smooth.

Taste:  The taste is a lot less pungent than the smell would suggest.  It does have some notes of pine and the hops are very present but the yeast provides a nice canvas to experience the other flavors this beer has to offer.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Pints

I think in the end this was a very good beer and a very well balanced effort.  I just don't know that I like it as much as other pale ales that I've tried, namely Dale's Pale Ale and Victory Headwaters.  However if this is your style of beer and you're looking for something you've never tried before, I would definitely give this a look.

Cheers,

The weekly six pack is comin to you a little late this week and I apologize.  I know the last couple have been late and I need to get back on track with my schedule and get these beers out on time.  So without further adieu, lets hop back on the hamster wheel and turn this thing out.  The 50 beers tour is making its next stop in the well-known for craft brewing state of Oregon.  In fact if I'm not mistaken I believe it's in the top 10 for most craft brewers across the country (wanna verify that? Google it. I'm not your personal search engine.) Anyway I've always imagined Oregon, and more specifically Portland which is where the stuff I'm drinking is made, is a place that doesn't play by the rules. A place where the unconventional is accepted and to be different is everything. So now it's time to see if this beer lives up to the imagined standards I've put in place for it. 

                                 The Bridgeport Brewing Company is based in Portland and was opened up in 1984 which according to their website and other sources makes it Oregon's oldest craft brewery.  They appear to have eight beers that are currently in production but according to beeradvocate.com, they have 20 active beers. While their website has some cool interactive features, it's a real pain in the ass to try and find any real information on anything.  I normally don't make a comment on a brewer's website but I'm just giving you a heads up if you decide to visit their site.  The beer I'm drinking is an American Amber/Red Ale style and is characterized mostly by its malt profile with a range in power from hops. Another style I've had recently that's noted for its balance in flavors so now it's time to see what the quirky, daring, hipster capital of the world has come up with.

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour:  Well it's an amber ale so it's the color of amber unsurprisingly, but it also has some undertones of orange and has a decently thick head the color of ocean beach sand.

Smell:  It smells very light and almost fruity with some spice notes from the hops right at the end.  The malt smells are a lot more subdued and masked than I was expecting.

Feel:  It feels a lot thicker than the average ale and tips the scale more towards a lager or even a porter.  The density of the head also adds to the effect of a thicker beer.

Taste:  The hops are very pronounced at the beginning but not overly spicy. You get some brief notes of fruit and at the end you start to taste the toasted flavor of the malts.  There isn't a whole lot of earthy or yeast flavor which might be due to the type of hops used but it's worthy of note.

Rating:  4.6 out of 5 Pints

Not much to say on it other than it's a very enjoyable beer.  It is incredibly well balanced while having a lot of different smell and taste notes that just seem to fit like cogs in a machine.  A top notch effort and further evidence in the case of Oregon being a great brewing state, if there was ever any doubt that is.

Cheers,

And now comes part two of the double header this week as the tour takes me all the way back west to the state of Idaho.  I don't have anything clever to say about Idaho really, minus maybe a pretty bad potato joke so I won't even take a crack at it.  I will say that I was glad to find a beer that came from this state. Considering how embarrassingly little I know about this place, I can now at least say that they have some craft beer that you can go purchase and enjoy.  

                                  The Grand Teton Brewing Company is based out of Victor Idaho and has been around since 1988.  They are also a regional brewer with their beer only being available in 15 of the 50 states, most of which are located out west (except for South Carolina, strangely).  They produce 10 beers in total, five of which are brewed year round and the other five are part of what they call the Brewer's series which are beers they make in larger bottles and are also available year round.  Bitch Creek is a type of beer known as an extra special/strong bitter, which I've never officially had before.  This style of brew is known by having a balanced approach to its hop and malt profiles and has similar taste characteristics to a porter.  I'm normally a fan of darker beers so I'm looking forward to tasting an unknown offering from an unknown state (at least to me).

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour:  The color is similar to that of a porter with this beer having some hues of dark copper and deep red.  There is virtually no head much like the beer from earlier this week because of its overall low carbonation.

Smell:  It has a deep, earthy profile that could almost be mistaken for chocolate from the malts being used and just a little bit of floral notes peeking through from the hops.   

Feel:  It has a thicker feel than most porters or any other dark beers like brown ales or amber lagers.  It feels more closely associated to a stout but doesn't sit as heavy.

Taste:  It has a nice toasty profile that doesn't taste burnt, but in place of that burnt sensation you might have been expecting is the little bit of spice and bitterness you get from the hops.  Neither of these taste characteristics are overpowering of the other and you can experience both almost simultaneously.  

Rating:  4.5 out of 5 Pints

I managed to pick two good ones in a row after a brief string of frankly disappointing efforts from previous weeks.  The type of beer suggests something more similar in taste to an IPA but that is quite misleading.  It is noticeably hoppy but you also get great flavors of toasted malt as well.  It's a very well balanced beer and I can guarantee that if you enjoy darker beers, you'll enjoy this one among your usual favorites as well. 

Cheers,

As promised, this is the first beer of the double header that's coming your way this weekend and has taken me all the way out to the little state of New Hampshire.  I'll be honest for a moment, with this one I'm charting into some unmapped waters.  You may or may not have noticed that of all the different beer types I've chosen to highlight in this blog, I've never done an IPA and there's a reason for that; I simply don't like them.  Every IPA I've ever tried has always seemed bitter for the sake of being bitter and not really focusing on any other element.  It always seemed to be about who could be the most extreme instead of making an IPA that was well balanced.  But for the sake of expanding my own horizons as well as continuing to highlight as many different beers as possible in my writing, I'm willing to venture into the fire one more time.

                                  Smuttynose IPA is made by the Smuttynose Brewing Company based out of Portsmouth New Hampshire.  They've been around since 1994 and are currently in the process of building an entirely new brewing facility.  They are a regional brewer and according to their website, they serve beer all along the east coast and as far west as Wisconsin, so I guess I got lucky.  They produce 24 different beers with 5 of them being year round.  They also do something called a short batch series where they will only make 20 to 30 barrels of brand new recipes and then they're gone which I think is kind of unique.  The finestkind IPA that I'm having is one of the year round options and is described by the brewers as being lightly bodied, nicely balanced with it's hops, and a golden color that becomes hazy as they bottle it unfiltered.  It's 6.9% ABV and has gotten incredibly high ratings from the people over at beeradvocate.com.  Nothing left to say now but down the hatch.

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour:  It does have a nice golden color with just a minimal glow of orange to it.  The head is thin and the color reminds me of a slightly off-white card stock.

Smell:  There is a nicely balanced floral aroma that feels surprisingly multi-dimensional.  On one hand, it smells a little spicy but also quite light and a little bit sweet with just a hint of fruit all simultaneously.

Feel:  It didn't feel as light bodied as I was expecting it would.  It feels very similar to many of the other American pale ales I've tried but is nicely balanced in weight and bubbles.

Taste:  Spicy right as it hits your tongue and then the bitterness from the hops starts to rush in right behind it.  Then you start to get some of the other taste notes as you continue onto your second and third sip with the little bit of citrus essence and it finishes just a little bit dry.  Overall you get the feeling of balance and ever so carefully measured ingredients to get these taste effects.

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 Pints

I was nervous about giving the IPA another try but I seem to have found a definite winner.  It certainly isn't a beginners IPA and if you're looking for something that's on the lighter side I wouldn't start with this but it's so incredibly well balanced in both flavors and the way it smells that it all comes together to make a truly enjoyable beer.  The Bros on beeradvocate rated this beer as world-class and I gotta say that it's hard to disagree with that assessment.

Cheers,

First of all, I want to apologize for the lateness of my update this week/last week.  A combination of laziness and being sick has gotten the best of me, but I will soldier on and deliver to you what it is you come here for.  In fact, as punishment for my sloth I will pull double duty and present two beers to you by the end of this coming weekend.  So stay tuned for that, but we continue our tour in the state of.... well actually I'm not sure.  You see the reason for my confusion is because when I went to open up the first bottle, it had the name of four different cities on it, and all in different states to boot.  It claims that it's from Kona Hawaii, Portland Oregon, Woodinville Washington, and Portsmouth New Hampshire.  But because this is not a democracy and is in fact a dictatorship, I'm going to claim it to be from Hawaii.  Don't like it, read the name of the beer and tell me that doesn't sound Hawaiian.

                                           The Kona Brewing Company is based in Kona Hawaii and has been around since 1994.  According to their website, they say they brew over a dozen different beers but only package certain kinds to ship to the U.S and Japan.  So as far as I can tell, they only deliver six different kinds of beer to the continental 48.  The beer I'm drinking is called Wailua Ale and is part of their aloha series, or seasonal selections.  It's described as"a refreshing, citrusy, sun-colored ale with the cool taste of Hawaii."  But the real claim to fame for this beer is that it is brewed with tropical passion fruit.  It has won four different awards in U.S beer competitions since its creation, is 5.4% ABV and comes it at $7.99 a six-pack.  You may recall that I recently had a beer that was brewed with berries and it turned out somewhat disappointing.  Let's hope this selection from Hawaii doesn't meet the same fate.

Nuts & Bolts:

Color & Pour:  The color is very lively and bright, much like the sun which they promised, so good mark for them there.  It has a head that disappears almost immediately and I honestly couldn't tell you what color it was because it vanished so quickly.

Smell:  It smells very light and yeasty.  You can get some very specific notes of wheat and slight earthiness with just a tiny touch of fruit at the end.

Feel:  It feels very light and even almost watery like the purple haze I tried last week, but what makes this one different is it's very bubbly in your mouth kind of like champagne.

Taste:  The base of the flavor is very wheat-like and you can notice that very prominently once you've swallowed a couple sips.  The passion fruit flavor itself is there but not as strong as I would have hoped.  Other than that, it's crisp, minimally sweet and even slightly dry on the back end.

Rating: 3.7 out of 5 Pints*

The reason for the asterisk on the rating for this beer is that since I'm still coming off of being sick, my senses aren't at 100%.  So think of this more in terms of a 3.7 to 4 in terms of a final rating.  But from what I can tell you right now, I wish the flavor of fruit were more prominent since that's the ace in the hole they like to use when advertising it.  But it was more complex than I was expecting with the wheat base and the crisp dryness at the end and I'll admit I'm a fan of unexpected complexity.  And since it's pretty affordable at $7.99, it's certainly something you can consider buying with a little bit of confidence.  

Cheers,