Friday Beer O'clock Selections

 

Ithica Excelsior! White Gold - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 2-11-2011

2011-02-11_20-08-40_38

This week's Friday Beer O'Clock Selection hits us from Ithica Brewing Co. Ithica NY. Excelsior! Series White Gold.

From the Bottle:

The Excelsior! Series is our premium lineup of hand-crafted specialty beers, issued in extremely limited runs. They meld complimentary flavors while defying existing style guidelines. We search the world for the finest ingredients, and lovingly use them with both ancient and cutting-edge techniques in the most artistic and exacting way. These beers are unfiltered, hand-packaged and bottle-conditioned. Each one is alive, has a unique personality and may be cellared indefinitely. Cheers!

Rustic Pale Wheat Ale - A Belgo-American ale brewed with domestic barley and French wheat malts, the finest continental and US grown hops, and fermented with Belgian, English and Wild yeasts.  Enjoy the glowing opaque appearance, fruity and herbal aromas, zesty mouthfeel and bone-dry finish.

Batch# E!025

ABV: 8%

Appearance: Poured with a light golden stream forming 1-2 finger head that was short lived, but left an nice thin froth layer with thick collar with heavy thick lacing that coated the sides of the glass. Turbidity is high, with an opaque cloudiness. Held up to a light reveals a good amount of bubbling.

Aroma: Immediately hit with strong wheat and white grapes on top with a grassy vanilla and citrus hops undertone. Overall, a sweeter aroma.

Taste: Sour apples/grapes up front but with some sweetness, Malty lemon zest and wheat in the middle and Tart on the back. Finishes with a slight sweet/sour bitterness on the roof. Very different from what I expected. Alcohol presents itself here a tiny bit.

Feel: Crisp and clean mouth. A medium body with a bit of chewiness, good carbonation and dry finish.

Drinkability: I'd say this has good drinkability. The crisp clean feel gives it a refreshing character, but some might be turned off by the tartness.

Overall, this is a unique brew with lots to explore. Characters open up as the brew warms and presents more of a spicy hop flavor. To be honest, I'm a bit thrown off by teh tartness and I'm not sure how to describe this one accurately. In the end, I guess it almost reminds me of a tart tripel. 

If you've tried this one, what do you think?

Filed under  //   Ithica brewing co   english pale ale   wheat ale  
Posted February 11, 2011 by Ed Stafford 
 

Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection for 7-23-10

Beer O'Clock is back.. Well it really never left. Truth is, it's been happening all along. I just have not been very good at getting the selections posted in recent weeks. But today, that all changes (and I'll also start back posting some of the past selections that have been neglected).

 
This week's selection is a treat, at least for me. Why you ask? Because this week's selection combines two things that I LOVE!! Beer and Monty Python. Yup, that's right, and the selection is called Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale - "tempered over burning witches" according to the label which is also adorned with the distinguishable images and illustrations popularized by Monty Python. The GR in Grail is crossed so ail = ale. Get it? Clever huh? So when my new bff Shirley brought me in a couple bottles to sample, my eyes went wide and I screamed with excitement like a little girl at a Jonas Brothers concert (or whatever Disney pop band little girls are screaming about these days).
 
Now that that's out of the way, lets have a look at it.
 
Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery (UK)
ABV: 4.70%
 
Appearance:
The brew poured with a medium brown-golden-ish color. More brown than golden. The head formed nicely and for a few seconds looks nice and full but dissipated quickly leaving very little lacing behind. There is also a consistent stream of carbonated bubbly.
 
Aroma:
It smells very good. Light, sweet, and clean. I pick up some earthy, grassy hop scents, but mostly malty sweet fruits (pear?) and caramel.
 
Taste:
Yup, tastes just like I expected it to based on aroma. Certainly not bad overall, but missing that "something". Does have a decent hop and malt balance but the malt does take over the bitter a little too much. Much the same on the front and back.
 
Feel:
On the wetter side. There is some carbonation and I can feel a slight bite, but there is a syrupy feel that gives it more of a flatness. A bit more carbonation wouldn't hurt. 
 
Drinkability:
The lower AVB makes this a session beer. One could certainly enjoy several in a sitting. It's light and refreshing and easily consumed.
 
Overall, I did like this even with it's shortcomings. Syrupy feel and that something missing in the taste aside, it really is not bad at all. I won't go out of my way to find it, but if freely available, I won't turn my nose up to it either.

Filed under  //   Ale   english pale ale  
Posted July 23, 2010 by Ed Stafford