Big Boss Hell's Belle

I was very pleased to discover, on a recent trip to Tryon, NC, that the local IGA carries Big Boss (@bigbossbeer), among several other great craft brews. Big Boss only distributes from Raleigh west, and only in North Carolina, so it is good to know that the distribution area includes at least one city that's an easy drive from upstate South Carolina. Keep it coming, Big Boss.

Now, about some beer- I picked up a sixer of Hell's Belle, an easy-drankin' Belgian-style ale. It's light on carbonation, but has a great body, and features both Belgian yeast and malt. I'm not up on my Belgian malts, but I will check on it. Hell's Belle is 7% ABV, and to be so light, it still has punch. A great inclusion in any ice chest as you head to the lake this spring and summer.

New Belgium La Folie

Since New Belgium is opening a facility in Asheville, we can now consider NB a southern brewer, and hence La Folie a southern beer. I know the new plant won't be open for a couple of years, and that there are no plans to produce La Folie in North Carolina at all, but you still need to know about this beer, so I'm giving it a pass.

La Folie can be described as a Flemish Red, a Flanders ale, a wild ale or a sour brown ale. Whatever you call it, La Folie is one of just a few North American-produced sours. It's aged in French oak barrels, and NB has a separate area in its current brewhouse for La Folie production and aging, to ensure that the beer does not become inoculated with yeasts used to make NB's other beers.

La Folie pours a translucent red-brown, with just a few bubbles at the top of the pour. Mouthfeel is exceptional, with carbonation throughout. Flavors of Granny Smith apple, a bit of barnyard funk and tart berries are evident. The body is thin, and the finish is dry, in keeping with the style. If you've never tried a sour, La Folie is an excellent introduction, comparing very favorably with 'real' Belgian sours, like Vichtenaar.

One comment on price: at The Community Tap (@communitytap), I was surprised to find a 22oz. bottle of La Folie priced at $13. However, a growler of La Folie is only $16. When I asked about this, I was told that NB sets the pricing this way, and that an NB rep said that the company didn't think that customers buying 22s would really notice the price differential. When 22oz. only costs $3 less than 64oz., I tend to notice. NB needs to fix this. For the time being, if you can find kegged La Folie, buy it that way. If there are no tap shops in your area, I would still drop the $13 for a bottle, just to be able to try it.

Mini-Review: Westbrook Covert Hops

Sorry about the crappy lighting on this photo - it's the label of @westbrookbrewing's new black IPA, called Covert Hops. There is some debate about whether the 'black IPA' is really a separate style, or is just a hopped stout. Covert Hops is a point for the 'separate style' crowd. This beer pours an impenetrable dark black/brown and is certainly full of roasted malt aromas, but it is a dark ale, through and through. Though it pours without a great deal of head, lacing is excellent (even on Day 2 of an unsealed growler).

According to Westbrook, four pounds of hops are used in every batch, and it's easy to confirm this by taste. Covert Hops has a crisp hoppy finish that is decidedly un-stoutlike, in that it leaves you with a resiny bite at the end, rather than a creamy note. It's available in March and April only, so jump on it.

... and a Tale of Two Porters

Last post we dove into Foothills' (@foothillsbrew) old and new IPA offerings. Now, let's talk porter, one a souped-up version of the other. First, Foothills People's Porter. This English-style porter gives you just about everything you could want in the style - beautiful dark brown color with reddish highlights; and a great mix of chocolate and coffee flavors with just a hint of toffee.

 

As you can see, People's Porter offers a decent head and great lacing, too. I had mine in a Duvel tulip, which allowed my ample proboscis plenty of room to get right in on the beer and take in all the yum aromas. What to do to improve such a libational gem, you ask? How about giving People's Porter a long nap in bourbon barrels? That's right - meet Bourbon Barrel-Aged People's Porter, the Kentucky cousin of the original:

 

Different kind of glass, but same head and perhaps a mellower shade of brown. Speaking of mellower, the bourbon wood does just what it's supposed to do here - take the original flavor combination and add a bit of bourbon nose and smooth new element to the finish. Kegs only on this one, so get thee to your neighborhood beer bar (and in Greenville, that means Barley's), and hie thee hence, ere this very successful twist on an already excellent porter is gone.

 

 

 

A Tale of Two IPAs

Winston-Salem's Foothills (@foothillsbrew) has had, for a good while now, a perennial winner in Hoppyum.

A red-gold beaut made with Columbus, Simcoe, Cascade and Centennial, Hoppyum packs 70 IBUs and comes in at 6.2% ABV. Not quite a session beer, but that depends on what kind of session you're looking for, doesn't it? I had a chance to try a new and different Foothills IPA the other day at Barley's (@barleysgville), called Jade. As you can see, it's a shade or so more orange than Hoppyum:

Dr. Dan (@drelwell) had the reaction many of you may have had - "why two IPAs?" The answer is in the hop profile. Jade uses Citra and Cascade, but adds dry-hopped New Zealand Jade to the mix. The result is a nose full of citrus and almost-spruce. Jade has more bitterness than Hoppyum (85 IBUs), and will definitely satisfy any hopheads who can find some to quaff. That last bit may be tricky, though. The batch Foothills brewed was allegedly just 14 kegs, so Jade is hard to come by and disappearing fast.

Mini review - Skull Coast Scallywag

Tried this ESP on a Carolina Pint Sunday at the Saucer. It's easy-drinking, and has a good combination of malt flavors. This beer won the Gastonia Beer Festival, too. May be less appealing to true hop heads, but remember, it's not trying to be an IPA. It's 5.4% ABV, so it won't make you want a nap after lunch. Skull Coast Brewing (@skullcoast) is in Ft. Mill, SC, so stop by if you're around Charlotte.

Also saw this tap handle, which is just funny:

 

 

 

Mini review - Westbrook Lichtenhainer

 

Got a 22 of Westbrook Lichtenhainer to try. I love Westbrook's IPA and the farmhouse ale. The Lichtenhainer is described as a take on the German Weissbeer style - wheaty and light.

This beer is also smoked, and the combination of smoke, sourness and wheat rendered a taste like rancid bacon. There, I said it. Maybe I'm just not a fan of the style, and maybe my palate doesn't appreciate weissbeers, but I couldn't power through this one. Westbrook (@westbrookbeer) makes a lot of great beers, but this one wasn't for me. Now pass me an IPA.