I don’t usually write harsh reviews. Mostly because I am pretty damn picky about the beers that I spend my money on. But I do have breweries whose beer I think is over-over rated and there are others whose beer just underwhelms expectations.
And unfortunately, Saint Archer has twice fallen into that latter category.
Recently, I had a taster flight plus 2 of Saint Archer beers at Beer Belly. I set aside my previous experience with the Pale (which I did not cotton to) and the Blonde (which I really quite enjoyed) as I had heard that quality had improved over time. Which I have found to (sometimes) be true as brewers dial in the recipes. And since Saint Archer along with Modern Times have been blitzing the L.A. market, I felt the time was ripe to re-evaluate the line.
The Blonde was just as good as I remembered so I started hopefully moving down the taster line. The Pale was better though not lip-smacking good. Middle of the Pack. Which isn’t bad in a crowded hop field. Then I got to the IPA which was incredibly soapy to me. I was glad that I didn’t get a full glass of it. Not much bitterness either. The last of the taster was a Scottish Ale that was fine but it did have a touch of wort-ish, not quite done-ness to it at the back.
While waiting for a fellow beer gourmand to arrive, I overheard that the Nitro Coffee Brown was tasty, so I ordered one up. And what I got was certainly a distinct take on the style. It was just not what I was expecting. It was the coffee bean all right but the peppery, unroasted type. So you got much more of that green pepper taste than coffee. Which was a direct counter to the coffee aroma. I can see how others might like it but it just didn’t work for me because of the switch from aroma to taste.
I finished with the Double IPA which much like the Pale was good but not Wow! Good. It was fine but in comparison to the hoppy creations of El Segundo that I had tasted the night before, it just paled in both strength and hoppiness. Maybe my hop palate has an uber high tolerance level but it just didn’t have an effect on me one way or the other.
This experience got me to thinking about expectations. How much of my disappointment is based on the track record of the brewers behind the brand. There are good people at the mash tun so it certainly is a factor. Or is it a comparison to Modern Times whose beers seem on track? Was I hoping for more than a standard product line of blonde to stout ? Or is it just what I expect from San Diego beer in general? Only a psychiatrist could probably find out what percentage of my review can be attributed to those points.
As for now, I can heartily recommend the Blonde but I would suggest stopping there unless you want to do your own analysis.