I try not to be too political on this blog. Opinionated, yes, but I try to keep the outside world outside this blog. But when commerce collides with politics, even craft beer becomes involved.
But with a political season in full on wacky mode, I find it hard to divorce the two. So this month, I will combine them but like church and state, they will be separated. I will first touch on a political topic in a state and then we can cleanse our palates with a look into a brewery from that state. Sort of a good news-bad news type of post.
Astute readers will probably notice that I am not a fan of Republicans and may notice a streak of Libertarianism that I inherited genetically from my Dad. That leads us into North Carolina where apparently people are afraid about peeing. To me, this seems to be a whipped up controversy in response to federal marriage laws. The equivalent of losing a ball game but instead of taking the ball away, you take away the bathroom for the players to use. Frankly, I prefer to take a bathroom break in peace from EVERYBODY because a bathroom break is just that. A break. But now, due to politicians, the bathroom apparently is to be scary because we don’t know who the hell is in there. I don’t want government in the ‘loo but others seem to like Big Government telling people where to do their business. Fear of the different is as much a part of America as apple pie and is alive and kicking in 2016.
Those are my views, now, lets go to Charlotte and have a beer and maybe a polite exchange of ideas too.
We head to Wooden Robot now to check out their offerings.
Here are my choices for a taster tray. (Hard choices to make just to get down to five!)
Universal Automaton Sour Farmhouse Ale
“Universal Automaton is the first release that has completely fermented in our 30 BBL oak foeder. Brewed with local malts from Riverbend Malt House and fermented with our house mixed culture, this beer displays notes of tart citrus, decadent stone fruits, and a dry, slightly funky, finish.”
Extra Good Gluten Reduced Pale Ale
“Extra Good starts off with a similar malt bill to Overachiever Pale Ale. We then hop it generously with Citra and Equinox in the kettle and fermentor. This beer is treated with an enzyme to reduce gluten, resulting in a deliciously hoppy brew for everyone, whether you’re sensitive to gluten or not!”
Paranoid Android Deux Farmhouse IPA
“A collaboration with our friends at Bird Song, Paranoid Android Deux is our second version of our Farmhouse IPA. Paranoid combines citrusy and fruity American hops, with light malt backbone from 100% local malt, and a funky, spicy hop character from Wooden Robot’s mixed farmhouse yeast culture.”
Good Morning Vietnam COFFEE VANILLA BLONDE ALE
“A collaboration with our neighbors at Charlotte’s own Enderly Coffee. We combined fresh roasted Madagascar vanilla beans to produce an eye opening, enjoyable ale.”
Hop Boulders Sour Double IPA
“The bigger boulder version of our Return of Hop Rocks Sour IPA. Hop Boulders takes the tart, grapefruity hop character of it’s little brother, and turns it up a notch.”
PS – I do not know the views of Wooden Robot. So maybe they don’t want to be drawn into it. Don’t complain to them. Direct questions to me.