Re-posted from my blog: Malted Musings.
Stopping in at Eli Cannon's Taproom the other night, I figured it was high time I hunted down some of the spring offerings from the craft beer community. As expected with this bizarre weather we've been having, though, as I was searching for beer to celebrate the return of warm, fair weather with, it suddenly began down-pouring outside; lightening flashed as cracks of thunder echoed and a chilly cold breeze blew in through the bar's doorway. But I was motivated! I have to believe that if I believe strongly enough that spring is on the way, then so shall it be. As such, I eschewed the mighty fine looking stouts and porters on draught at Eli Cannon's (those beers are too 'winter'!) and went for the spring-iest beers I could find: the Berkshire Brewing Company's Maibock and the Sixpoint Apollo.
I started with the BBC Maibock. This beer pours out a dark amber tone with a light, bright head on top. The smell is sweet, very light malting, and a hint of citrus. This beer tastes light at first with a sweet slight malting. The flavor from here moves quickly to a more medium malting that has a hint of bitterness which mingles with the citric taste to give a pleasing warm sweetness that doesn't overwhelm the palate. The taste profile finishes with a smooth, sweet & rich malting that rides out with a slight bitterness and hint of spices. This is a light to medium beer that has a great balance of sweetness, malting, and bitterness that builds to make a great German-inspired beer (which is reminiscent of a lighter farmhouse style) that lingers on the palate with sharp hoppy citrus and smooth, slightly spicy malting. This beer is sweet and has a great light-ish body which lends itself to warm weather, but enough of that biting Noble hops tone to create a beer that's great for all kinds of spring weather (whether warm, cold, or thunder-storming).
Next up in my spring beer sampling was the Sixpoint Apollo. This beer pours out a translucent, golden amber color. This beer has a great nose to it: dense wheaty, spicy (cloves), and the smell of potent warm malts (Belgian style). At first sip this beer has a smooth, easy body that quickly builds to a dense, burnt wheat malting that then reaches a point with sharp, Belgian spiciness. This flavor lingers and then draws out with that spicy tang on the back of the palate. Throughout the entire sip this beer is tinged with great body-building carbonation. Overall this beer is light, but spicy! It is a great mix of Belgian-style malting and distant spices that make this summer seasonal great even in the cold spring we've been having. Sixpoint makes beer with very creative, well-merged taste profiles, and this beer is no different. Wheaty, yet smooth, sweet, yet spicy, this is a multi-faceted beer that should have something for anyone this upcoming warm season!
Be sure to check out Sixpoint's website for a cool video about Apollo, and check out the BBC site for info on the brand and seasonal entries. Follow me on on Blogger, Twitter, and Facebook for more spring beer points of view, coming soon!
