Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
It has taken me awhile to trying the Wild sibling of Sierra Nevada’s Little Things lineup but I am embracing the color red now. This pours a pink color tending towards red. Even the foam is pink. The nose is very much candied strawberry. This has a soda pop flavor to me. No real sour or tart notes here. Getting that fruit punch flavor as a co-star with the berry. It’s only so-so to me. Not much beer here.
Our second beer from Paperback Brewing is Fancy Pants Kolsch.
That is a crazy design for the crowler, though I really do like the sign that doubles as the beer description, that is quite clever. This Germanic beer has a fancy name for a time when most people are wearing shorts. It pours a bright and clear yellow. The taste is crisp with a bit of salty minerality to it. The aroma has a nice corn and grain sweet note to it. Not fizzy but forceful, I just wish it was a little less salty.
Very pulp, horror, racy dime store novel label from Paperback How they got away with the actual F word is beyond me. The IPA pours a bright, clear orange color. Aroma is very minimal to me. I took multiple sniffs and did not get much. Flavor wise, getting a mix of candied orange and pine. A little bit of a juicy note as well. Tastes bigger than 7%. An above average first IPA take for a new brewery.
We are at the end of the five part series of reviews of Partake Brewing, and we close with the Stout.
This beer garners the silver medal even though it is more a porter or brown ale. It has good flavor and is less watery than the rest. There is a bit of coffee taste as well as a slight tinge of cola. A bit of minerality in the finish that could be toned down but overall decent.
The penultimate in the five part series of reviews of Partake Brewing is the IPA. Let’s see how hoppy this N/A beer is.
Initially, this did not taste great. Had a weird aftertaste. As it warmed, it improved. More grapefruit pith notes came out. It is still a pretty thin and watery beer. Practically indistinguishable from the Pale. But I expect something more from IPA because you can use the hops to create vibrant palates. If this was labeled as a Pale or Session, I would review it more favorably.
Next up in the five part series of reviews of Partake Brewing is the Pale Ale. Check out the first review of the Blonde Ale which was an inauspicious start to the five beer reviews.
The Pale Ale is much better. Firstly, the aroma pops off with light grassy and pine notes. The body is a little watery but has none of the weird “underdone” notes that the Blonde had. There is a refreshing smack of bitterness here and it is quite nice. A bit one dimensional but that dimension is solid.
We start the Partake Brewing roll call with their Blonde. Before I start though, you should read the interview posted earlier with Ted Fleming from Partake to get some backstory.
The Blonde Ale pours a dark orange color. Smells and tastes of wort. Very bitter but not fun hop bitterness. Just has an unfinished beer taste to it. Quite watery in the mouthfeel. It does not come close to a typical blonde ale. The malt isn’t there and neither is the silky smoothness of the style.
First off, I really hope there is a funny joke / story about Mr. Lincoln because this is a weird label. Like a dripping popsicle or something. In regards to the beer, I could tell straightaway that this was a Strand Brewing beer. It has their house character. Almost British in style. Close to a Barleywine but it edges back away at the end. Grassy hops, a little woodsy and a faint berry note lie inside too. Had a bit of slickness in the mouthfeel. It leaves me on the fence. It needs a little something added but I can’t put my finger on it.
Gonna review a pair of beers that I bought at the Glendale Tap which has been selling beer from it cellar since the taps are shut and first up is a winner…
Call me jaded but it takes something for a beer to make me sit up straight (I am a natural slouched), and from the moment I popped the cap of Apical Dominance from Russian River, I took notice. The aroma just rolled out. Grapefruit primarily. Then I took a sip and it was magical. All the grapefruit and citrus from hop HBC-692 melded onto a lager. Best IPL hands down. Crisp and bitter.
I don’t believe in “signs” but this a fun IPA series idea from Chapman Crafted. Pisces pours a hazy light orange. If it weren’t for a bit of wood chip type bitterness, could be mistaken for a witbier. That bitterness grows with successive sips. Getting a bit of peach / apricot aroma. Gives off a little fuzzy feeling in the mouth.