Beer Review – The Tap Takeover

Beer Review: Founders Backwoods Bastard (2016)

Name: Backwoods Bastard
Brewing Company: Founders Brewing
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Style: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
ABV: 11.2% (2016, but it ranges from year to year)

From the beer’s description on Founders’ Web site:

Expect lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrels, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts, a bit of earthy spice and a scintilla of dark fruit. It’s a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate.

Scotch Ales are one of the beer styles less consumed than say, an IPA or a Stout. The style has been around since the 19^th Century and is known for being malty, dark brownish in color, with a sweet almost caramel-like flavor profile. It is also a style that I’ve come to really enjoy over the past year or so as I’ve had a small handful of well-made beers in this style.

One of Founders’ year-round styles is their Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale. The style has proven popular enough that Founders puts the beer out in 12-packs of cans. What they’ve done here with Backwoods Bastard is, in a word, sublime. Taking that already malty beer and aging in bourbon barrels weaves a magical spell over a beer that has an existing taste profile that is quite tasty and well regarded. As much as stouts benefit from the barrel aging (see Founders Kentucky Breakfast stout), the Scotch style ale may benefit even more as the profile of a Scotch ale may be more complementary to the refinement in bourbon barrels.

This was, I think, the second major Barrel Aged release from Founders when it was first released in 2007. They have since implemented a year-long “Barrel Series” of 6 beers which began in early 2017 with Frootwood (a Cherry/Fruit beer aged in barrels that at one time held both maple syrup and bourbon). When it releases in November 2017, the four packs of Backwood Bastard will be joined by a 22oz bomb.

Beer connoisseurs talk about the “nose” of the beer, which is basically the aroma. I can’t recall having a beer with such a wonderful nose to the point where I’d almost want to bask in the aroma and not drink the beer. That may be a bit of a stretch, but breathing in the complex aroma, a blend of caramel and bourbon, produced by Backwoods Bastard is a sensual experience that hints at the deliciousness of the beer itself. For as much attention as Founders receives for Kentucky Breakfast Stout (and it is well-deserved attention), Backwoods Bastard is a beer equal in complexity and taste.

I split a four pack with a friend/co-worker as we were both unsure what to expect from the beer. After consuming both bottles (a few months apart), this beer is quite firmly in my top 10 of all time. I had one in November shortly after getting the beer and I let the other one sit until April of this past year, which I think made the beer even better. When I get the four pack in November, I think I’ll let one of the beers age for at least a year to see how that changes the taste. In November, I’ll be getting at least a four-pack of my own.

Highly Recommended, link to Untappd 5-star rating.

Beer Review: Two Roads Brewing Honeyspot IPA

Beer Review

Name:Honeyspot IPA
Brewing Company: Two Roads Brewing Company
Location: Stratford, CT
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.0% / IBU: 55

From the beer’s description on Two Roads’ Web site:

The Two Roads version of this traditional beer style takes a road less traveled. It’s unfiltered and uses wheat as the dominant malt backbone. The result is a slightly cloudy, pale IPA with a softer mouthfeel that accentuates the citrusy Pacific Northwest hop character.

IPA (India Pale Ale) is the most popular style in craft beer to the point people who aren’t beer drinkers sometimes think they are one and the same. There are quite a few breweries (at least here in NJ and many outside of NJ, I’m sure) that seem to brew -only- IPAs. That said, IPA is one of my least favorite styles, I usually won’t go out of my way for one and will usually avoid them if other styles are available. The hoppiness just doesn’t work for me nor does the grapefruit taste the hops evoke as I find grapefruits vile.

Sure I’ve had quite a few IPAs if you go by my untapped IPA badge count (of about 50 different IPAs over the past few years), but like I said, IPAs are unavoidable. I’ll drink a few IPAs voluntarily, like Founders All Day IPA, Demented’s Dementia or a couple of the popular IPAs with a fruit infusion, but that’s about it. I do enjoy Black IPAs, but that’s a beer of a different kettle, so to speak.

Then I tried Two Roads’ Honeyspot IPA; I was very impressed.

I thought I might like this one for two reasons.

I haven’t had a beer from Two Roads I’ve disliked. Most of their beers, for my palate, are at worst very good while others are great.
Honeyspot Road uses Wheat as the malt. As I have pointed out previously, I love me a wheat-based beer.

The beer pours a bright yellow from the 12oz bottle and maybe because of wheat base, it looks almost like a Witbier. The hop hits the nose, but not in an overpowering way and it continues through drinking the beer. But the unfiltered wheat is a perfect balance against the bitterness of the hops, it softens the character of the hop flower. The IBU on this is low to the middle of the road at 55 IBU. Put it this way, I’ve had IPAs with lower IBU that left more of a bitter, hop aftertaste. Maybe it is the wheat base that cuts the bitterness or makes it more palatable.

I kept thinking how balanced this beer is and how easily I could throw back a few of these over a warm afternoon or a long Sunday. Most IPAs have an ABV over 6, the Session IPAs are lower than 5%, like All Day IPA which is 4.7%. Honeyspot is exactly 6% so it isn’t quite a Session beer, but it won’t knock you out like a lot of other IPAs will, many of which are 7% and above.

Honeyspot IPA is a delicious beer and one that seems to be perfectly geared for beer drinkers like me who don’t typically gravitate to IPAs while also please IPA drinkers.

Recommended, link to Untappd 4.00-star rating.

Beer Review: Westbrook Brewing Key Lime Gose

Beer Review

Name: Key Lime Pie Gose
Brewing Company: Westbrook Brewing Company
Location: Mt Pleasant, SC
Style: Gose
ABV: 4%

From the beer’s description on Westbrook Brewing Company’s Web site:

Our classic Gose infused with the delicious flavors of key lime pie.

Westbrook makes very well regarded beers and if you like the sour Gose style, then you are probably aware of their Key Lime Pie Gose. They make an outstanding Gose, but adding the Key Lime Pie notes brings the beer to an even higher level.

Gose is an older style of beer that has been growing in popularity over the last few years since it was “rediscovered.” The most striking characteristic of a Gose (pronounced GO-ZUH) is the tartness/sourness, and many breweries will add a fruit to either enhance or balance the zing. The grain used in Gose is wheat, but the other ingredients that help give it the character are coriander and salt. Into that mixture, Westbrook added Key Lime to enhance the tartness, but to also sweeten the base.

The beer pours a yellow that is slightly hazy/cloudy, but also bright yellow from the 12oz can. The aroma does give off hints of Lime, not a go-to flavor for me, but a fruit flavor I do enjoy. The lime hits initially, but the salinity is a pleasant undercurrent, too. The first can I had I was sitting in my yard on a warm late afternoon/evening while my dog lounged under a tree and barked at people walking across the street. Seems a great way to enjoy this one as the fruit flavors are really nice on a warm day. The second one I had was also a warm evening and I enjoyed it is much as I enjoyed the first can.

This beer has great character and I understand why it such a sought after variation on Westbrook’s popular Gose. I visited the liquor store where I initially purchased the beer about two weeks later and no 4-packs of the beer remain. From my understanding, this beer doesn’t stay on shelves very long.

It isn’t as sour or tart as many sour beers, so it would be worth trying almost as an “entry-level” beer if you want to get an idea of what a really well crafted Gose can taste like. Westbrook’s standard Gose is also excellent, so check that out, too.

I haven’t had very many Gose beers (only about a dozen or so unique Gose beers compared to the 200+ unique stouts) because stouts are more popular and there are more variations on the stout style. That having been said, I am growing to like the style a great deal, and this is one of the best I’ve had.

Westbrook distributes this sour, tasty beer on draught in 4-packs of 12oz cans.

Recommended, link to Untappd 4.25-star rating.

Beer Review: Vila Wit by Demented Brewing

Beer Review

I was trying to decide which beer would be the first I review here on The Tap Takeover, but given the time of year, I decided to go somewhat seasonally appropriate with a local beer I had about a month ago and enjoyed a great deal.

Demented Brewing is less than 5 miles from where I work, I’ve visited quite regularly, and the fast growing, well-received brewery celebrating two plus years of crafting “insanely flavorful ales” was recently named NJ’s best craft brewery by famed NJ Food writer Pete Genovese.

On to the beer…

Name: Vila
Brewing Company: Demented Brewing
Location: Middlesex, NJ
Style: Witbier
ABV: 4.8%

From the beer’s description on Demented Brewing’s Web site:

As the warm weather starts to arrive, our palates start craving a light refreshing drink. Our Belgian Wit blossoms classic esters & lemony flavors rounding out a unique experience. Enjoy this beer with poultry, fish, and when you need to reward yourself.

Witbiers, a Belgian style wheat beer with a long history and cousin to the German Hefeweizen. Where the German style is often unfiltered and leans towards banana and yeast hints, the Belgian style is a bit more crisp and leans towards citrus and coriander hints. Let’s face it, if you like beer at all, love it or hate it, you know Blue Moon’s Belgian White. If Blue Moon’s is the best-known Witbier, then Allagash White is easily the epitome of American Craft Beer take on the classic Belgian style and one of the landmark beers of American Craft Beer.

Demented has been brewing beer in NJ since late 2015 and they’ve grown very impressively in that time. Their range of styles on their chalkboard menu any given day is impressive and each beer I’ve had from them has been quite good.

Vila…Vila is something different. I stopped in for a flight and a growler fill one day on my lunch break thinking I might get the Vila since the refreshing, light profile of a Witbier is perfect for warm/spring weather. I didn’t expect this beer to be so perfectly matched for what I sought. I was expecting a tasty refreshing beer, but Vila exceeded the already high expectations I had for something brewed by Demented. The sample was enough to convince me to fill up my growler. The next day I had some friends over and it was a tad warmer and Vila went down perfectly and very quickly.

The beer pours a bright yellow with a lovely white head that epitomizes the style so well, and screams Drink Me Now. With the crisp, citrusy flavor profile, finishing one beer only makes you want to pour yourself another. With a relatively low ABV of 4.8%, you can throw back a few pints on a warm spring or summer day and still have your (pun lightly intended) wits about you to lounge in the pool. (Of course, if you are driving, still be sure to hand over those keys)

With Demented canning more of their beers (three at this point), Vila seems a logical choice to can and distribute. If for no other reason than I can grab several packs to keep in my cooler when my pool is open in the summer.

I’ll close out this review with a request to the fine folks at Demented Brewing: please add Vila to your canning program!

Recommended, link to Untappd 4.25-star rating.