Craft Beer Review: February
One of my New Year’s blogging goals is to post a review of craft beer at least once a month. My husband and I drink and enjoy craft beer all the time, so this should be an easy goal to achieve! Last month I reviewed a variety pack from Muskoka Brewing.
Two of these beers came from my husbands craft beer Christmas delivery, where I ordered him a “two-fer” from the Canada Craft Beer Club. I knew he would share with me! We only stuck with the beer club for one month because it’s a bit expensive and the delivery method is inconvenient. Because it is alcohol, you have to be home to sign for the package and they only delivery before 4 pm on weekdays, which is when we are at work. And since we weren’t going to be home at the delivery time, we had to pick it up on the east side of Edmonton… and we live outside of Edmonton, to the west… so it was quite a process to get these two beers! In the end, we received two large craft beers that I will get on telling you all about!
Craft Beer Review for February
Elysian – The Immortal IPA
Elysian Brewing is based in Seattle, Washington and was founded in 1995. The Immortal IPA came to me in a 650 mL bottle at 6.3% alc./vol.
A – a dark yellow, amber pour that is a little hazy, with a moderate amount of thick, lacy head that lingers along the glass for what seemed like forever! Nice!
S – Light citrus notes with big floral fragrance
T – smells of floral follows to the mouth, big bitter floral hop presence, light moderate malts to sweeten – honey notes
M – moderate carbonation, lingering floral hop bitterness with sticky honey mouthfeel
O – overall a decent, well-rounded IPA with great floral hops balancing with the honey malt sweetness
Ommegang Brewery – Hennepin
Ommegang Brewery is built on 136 acres of land that used to be a hop farm in Cooperstown, New York in 1996. First off, this beer comes with a cork, not a bottle cap, which for some reason I was super excited about! It was one of those champagne corks, where you have to twist off the metal and pop the cork! Felt festive and fun! The Hennepin Farmhouse Saison is 7.7% alc./vol. and came in a 750 mL bottle.
A – pours a straw yellow with some haziness to it. Big head that dissipates quickly into a white bubbly line.
S – Citrus notes, maybe some coriander, lots of ripe banana peel
T – banana peel follows to the mouth, some citrus bitterness, more spices – coriander, ginger, clove – a hint of vanilla
M – high carbonation – prickly to the mouth. Light bodied.
O – overall a really flavourful beer that I could see myself drinking all summer long. It has a lot of spice and sweetness to it that balances out the subtle citrus hop bitterness. The alcohol content is high, but you can’t taste it!
Tree Brewing – Knox Mountain Brown Ale
Built in Kelowna, British Columbia, Tree Brewing started in 1996. (Seems to be a good time for craft beer breweries!) The Knox Mountain Brown Ale came out of a variety pack called the Season Pass. It is an unfiltered dry hopped brown ale at 5.6% alc./vol. in a 355 mL bottle.
A – dark caramel brown pour, some haze, with big, puffy, thick, beige head
S – malts, caramels, nutty, some bitter coffee, maybe more like burnt coffee grounds
T – wasn’t expecting the citrus hoppy bitterness here! Some nutty malts with slight caramel sweetness
M – medium bodied, bitter hops lingers for quite a while and then the sweet nutty malts kick in
O – overall all it wasn’t what I expected at all! I was picturing a malty, nutty, sweet beer and instead had a citrus, hoppy, bitter beer with some malts to balance it out.
What craft beer are you drinking this February?
Did you like this review? Here are other craft beer reviews I have done: