It’s been almost 2 weeks since the American Craft Beer Festival up in Boston and I’m finally getting around to my little writeup. I’m going to keep it spare (since I’d never be able to accurately represent the 15-20 brews I got to try) and split up the good and the bad into 2 posts. So here’s the bad news first.
I had seen Brooklyn’s BLAST! on the list but hadn’t heard about it previously, which is odd for a hometown brewer that I keep an eye on. Calling your beer a “San Diego Style IPA” is pretty bold, which is never a problem for Garrett Oliver, but delivering on such a claim is a whole ‘nother thing. I was definitely psyched to check it out since Green Flash’s IPA has been in heavy fridge rotation for me lately, but sadly this guy didn’t come close. There was enough hop aroma on the nose for sure, but mostly piney, and there was a woody and musty undertone that was immediately unsettling. Hop flavor was piney as well and very bitter, not balanced at all by any malt sweetness, and there was a bit of sourness to the brew as well that didn’t play at all. Total bummer vibe.
Another interesting item on the brew list for me was Magic Hat’s “experimental” Berliner Weiss, which they were serving with a squirt of either raspberry or woodruff syrup. I’ve been trying to get a handle on this style lately so I was definitely interested to see the perspective that an American craft brewer could bring to it. I tried it first without the syrup and had to take 3 sips to be sure I tasted anything. It did smell a bit sour, but the flavor was insipid, mildly wheaty if anything. The woodruff syrup wholly obliterated any flavor that might have been present and didn’t add to my enjoyment of the brew at all. Oh well, back to German Berliners.
I decided that giving the previously reviewed Southern Tier Cherry Saison another shot on draft would be a good way to see if the other brew dogs’ opinions about this one still held true. They did. On draft the oddness of the cherries on the nose seemed to be magnified. Flavor was still pretty straightforward saison, but I couldn’t get past the nose. Perhaps it was mental, but now that I’ve given this one it’s fair shake I’m ready to move on in the Southern Tier world. (Perhaps to this years Uber Sun, where is it guys?)
Stay tuned for the good stuff. And damn was there some good stuff.
One Comment
Stoked to hear about the good stuff. Too bad that your impression of the Cherry Saison came off the same as it did to us in the bottle. Not surprised but disappointed about the BLAST! but glad you tried it anyway!
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