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Two Tigers from Auburn University, Chris and Stephen Bivins are the folks behind the Torched Hop Brewpub.
Here is what I would put into a taster tray if/when I make it to Atlanta…
Anthem of the Angels – a Porter with coconut & cocoa nibs
Southern Haze – a Hazy Pale Ale
Once You Go Nelson – a 100% Nelson Hopped IPA
Cinnamon Golden Crunch – a Cinnamon Vanilla Cream Ale
Raspberry Lucy – a Berliner Weisse w/ Raspberries and Blackberries
I complete the troika of beers from Atlanta’s Monday Night Brewing with Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale. Personally, I am glad to see a Scotch ale and I saved this one for last because it was the one that I was most excited about. With my last review of the Eye Patch IPA, I tossed out what I was listening to and reading and I thought I would do that again just for fun. I have some new Sigur Ros playing on the iTunes and I have a lively and funny Daily Show type of depressing book by Jess Walter on the nightstand called the Financial Lives of the Poets. Read into those choices what you will.
Here is the review: Nice big pillowy head on this dark cola colored Scotch ale. Smoke on the nose as well as caramel. There is some rauch going on here. A touch of caramel as well. Good fizz to it as well to keep the beer moving and not become too cloying. I actually get a hint of cherry coke flavor as well. Nice third wave of flavor.
I received a lovely care package from Monday Night Brewing in Atlanta and I have moved onto their Eye Patch IPA. Oh and just to add a little context to my mindset while reviewing, I am listening to Line of Fire by Junip and reading Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. Not at the same time. Not a multi-tasker am I. Anyhoo, on to the review…..
I like the eye patch guy on the label. It is a really good design from the front logo to the back which includes a Mark Twain quote, what to pair with the beer glyphs and which hops and malt were used. Nice packaging. Eye Patch pours a light orange. Aroma is akin to peach skin to me. Faint but nice. Taste is again fairly mild for my West Coast IPA sensibilities but the taste is quite nice. Slight citrus notes and lots of bready notes that normally get buried under an avalanche of hops in many IPAs.
Out of the blue, I was e-mailed by Monday Night Brewing and now I have the great pleasure of sampling three of their beers. First up is a ginger spiced wit bier. (A reminder: any beer I review, no matter how much I pay for it, gets the same treatment)
Here is the description of Fu from the Monday Night website, “A bright, spicy Belgian-style wit. An effervescent, easy-drinking wheat beer, brewed with Belgian yeast, German hops, and a whisper of ginger from the Far East. This mustachio’d Belgian-style wit believes that good beer defies borders. The name Fu Manbrew was crowdsourced with some help from our friends at Scoutmob. They call the mustache a “Flavor Savor” for a reason.”