The Great Northern Brewing Company Wild Huckleberry Wheat Lager

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is The Great Northern Brewing Company Wild Huckleberry Wheat Lager. Here’s a beer I tried a sip of while visiting Glacier National Park.  When my family drove through Whitefish, MT we stopped at the brewery to pick up some reviewable materials and I had a couple pints. They only had one 12 oz. bottle left at the brewery so I grabbed that, but I knew I needed to bring more home for my wife. Nearly every store was out of this beer.  I did manage to find a single six pack to bring home (along with the bottle I brought home for review).  

From The Great Northern Brewing Company website: “A light lager blended with real Montana huckleberry juice. Not bitter or overly sweet; extremely refreshing.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance:  Pours a very pale golden color with a nice white head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Berries dominate with wheat and grainy malts.  Sweet smelling.

Taste: Slightly sweet berry flavors, a touch of tart berry presence with wheat and grainy malt sweetness on the finish.

Overall: Refreshing and very easy to drink, The Great Northern Brewing Company Wild Huckleberry Wheat Lager is very tasty.  The balance between the malts and fruit is very well done.  At 4.6% ABV I could see drinking a few of these on a hot summer day. This is one beer I’d seek and would enjoy having around the house.  Next trip to Glacier I’ll see about picking up a case.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Lewis & Clark Brewing Company Miner's Gold Hefeweizen

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Lewis & Clark Brewing Company Miner's Gold Hefeweizen. Yet another beer sourced from my latest road trip, my wife had this one on tap at MacKenzie River Pizza Co. (here) in Bozeman, MT. I enjoyed it so I bought a six pack to bring home (one for review, five for her).

From the Lewis & Clark Brewing Company website: “Our most popular beer is brewed as an unfiltered Hefeweizen in American Wheat Style this beer is light in body and very refreshing ready to quench even the most powerful thirst. This beer won a Gold Medal at the North American Brewers Association Brew Fest!”

Let’s get started!

Appearance:  Pours a hazy golden color with a thin white head and slight lacing sheeting down the glass.

Aroma: Wheat, citrus, yeast and a very slight banana scent.

Taste: Sweet, wheaty, citrusy, biscuit malts, yeast and a very faint banana flavor and more citrus in the finish.

Overall: Crisp and refreshing, Lewis & Clark Brewing Company Miner's Gold Hefeweizen is enjoyable and at 5.2% ABV it is highly drinkable. I enjoyed it on tap and in the can.  Good stuff!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Pine Street Brewery Atom Splitter Pale Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Pine Street Brewery Atom Splitter Pale Ale. I decided to deviate from the beers I sourced on my recent road trip to Wyoming, Montana and Oregon to review a local beer. Keeping it NorCal for an evening is a good thing.

From the Pine Street Brewery website: “Aggressively hopped pale ale, that offers a lighter body for easy drinking. Blend of centennial and cascade hops creates a citrus intense flavor profile.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance:  Pours a cloudy amber with a large cream colored head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Citrus and pine hops, sweet caramel and bready malts. Smells great!

Taste: Citrus and pine hops balanced nicely with caramel, toasted and crystal malts.

Overall: A solid and “aggressively hopped” Pale Ale, Pine Street Brewery Atom Splitter Pale Ale is easy to drink and enjoyable.  I’d enjoy knocking a few of these 5% ABV gems back and I look forward to this being readily available across the Bay Area.  I’m going to keep an eye out for their other offerings and you should too.  Well done gentlemen!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Big Sky Brewing Company Moose Drool Brown Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Big Sky Brewing Company Moose Drool Brown Ale. Yet another beer sourced from my recent road trip I had tried this beer many times in the past, always liked it and this is one of the few beers I’ll be reviewing that CAN be purchased in NorCal.

From the Big Sky Brewing Company website: “Moose Drool is one of the Nation’s premier Brown Ales. For a dark beer ‘tis extremely drinkable and an excellent complement to most foods. Four different malts are used in this brew. We also do four hop additions consisting of a combination of East Kent Goldings, Liberty, and Willamette.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance:  Pours a dark brown color with red highlights, a large tan head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Chocolate, roasted malts, nuts, toffee and caramel.

Taste: Sweet and nutty with roasted, caramel and cocoa malts with an ever so slight hop bitterness.

Overall: Malt forward, but balanced well, Big Sky Brewing Company Moose Drool Brown Ale is excellent. At 5.1% ABV throwing a few of these back is easy drinkin’.  I’m happy I had a chance to drink one of these again as it had been a few years.  I don’t think it will be a few more before I have one again.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Bozeman Brewing Company Bozone Select Amber Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

My family and I took an incredible road trip recently and with limited space in the vehicle I managed to bring home lots of beer - beer from Wyoming, Montana and Oregon (and several others I sourced while visiting those States).  I tried to only select beers that I couldn’t get locally and over the next few months I plan to review these beers. Tonight’s featured beer is Bozeman Brewing Company Bozone Select Amber Ale. I selected this as my first beer since Bozeman, MT hold a special place in my heart (personal reasons). I picked up a six pack at the brewery, but couldn’t stay to enjoy any of their other beers. We did enjoy their Plum St. Porter and Hopzone IPA while having dinner at Montana Ale Works (here).

From the Bozeman Brewing Company website: “The local favorite, this flagship light amber is all about balance, with medium body, a hint of hops, and a refreshing finish that leaves you beckoning for more.

Bozone Select Amber Ale is the flagship offering from Bozeman Brewing Company, made with Montana grown and malted Pale barley, as well as Crystal and Vienna malts. Hopped with a blend of Magnum, Columbus, Santiam, and a late kettle addition of Cascade hops for a pleasant aroma. This is a truly quaffable session beer.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a nice off-white head and great lacing.

Aroma: Caramel, pale and toasted malts, citrus and pine hops.

Taste: Caramel, biscuit and toffee with just a slight citrus and pine hop bitterness.

Overall: Super easy drinking and very enjoyable, Bozeman Brewing Company Bozone Select Amber Ale is an excellent malt forward Amber Ale.  At 5.4% ABV I wish this was locally available as both my wife and I like it.  I only bought a six pack and I’m down to my last one.  I guess another trip to Bozeman is in order!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale Barleywine Style Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale Barleywine Style Ale. Bottled in 2006 I was very fortunate to get this bottle from a friend of mine.

From the Brooklyn Brewery website: “Brooklyn Monster Ale is a classic barley wine, a style of ale originally brewed by the butlers to the English and American aristocracy. It is brewed from three mashes of heirloom British malt and spiced with aromatic American Willamette, Cascade and Fuggle hops. After four months of aging, it has a magnificent burnished copper color, an aroma redolent of sherry, citrusy hops and fruit, a soft, warming, complex palate, a spiritous finish, and a strength of 10.3%. It is vivacious when young, but will age gracefully for many years, becoming more complex over time.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a reddish brown with the thinnest off-white head and great lacing.

Aroma: Caramel, pine, citrus, brown sugar, dark fruits, toffee and toasted bread.

Taste: Sweet caramel malts, citrus and pine hops, toffee, raisins, toasted biscuit malts and brown sugar.

Overall: Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale Barleywine Style Ale is incredible.  Balanced, smooth, complex, and dangerous at 10.1% ABV, I WISH this beer wasn’t retired.  I feel very fortunate to have gotten the chance to try this 2006 vintage. I almost felt guilty drinking it…almost…

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company Half Dome California Wheat

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company Half Dome California Wheat. I visited Yosemite the weekend after the 4th of July and picked up this beer along with a few Mammoth Brewing Company beers that I had yet to try (or review). I hadn’t heard of Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company, but I was looking forward to trying this one.

From the Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company website: “Half Dome is a zestfully refreshing wheat ale brewing with San Joaquin Valley-grown lemon and orange peel to make a uniquely crafted unfiltered session beer.  A blend of two distinctive wheat ales, along with local fruits and exotic spice, gives our Half Dome the signature of an ideal California Wheat.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a hazy, but bright yellow with a thin white head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Wheat and bready notes, clove, banana, lemon peel and orange peel.

Taste: Like the nose with the lemon and orange peel up front, wheat and bready malts, slightly sweet, cloves and banana are in the background, but noticeable.

Overall: I completely enjoyed Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company Half Dome California Wheat.  The initial fruitiness makes this 5.3% ABV beer extremely easy to drink and refreshing. I bought two bottles, but I’m wishing I had bought more.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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New Glarus Brewing Company Spotted Cow Farmhouse Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is New Glarus Brewing Company Spotted Cow Farmhouse Ale. This is another beer gifted to me by a good friend.  It is always great to try beers from different parts of the country.

From the New Glarus Brewing Company website: “Cask conditioned ale has been the popular choice among brews since long before prohibition. We continue this pioneer spirit with our Wisconsin farmhouse ale. Brewed with flaked barley and the finest Wisconsin malts. We even give a nod to our farmers with a little hint of corn.

Naturally cloudy we allow the yeast to remain in the bottle to enhance fullness of flavors, which cannot be duplicated otherwise. Expect this ale to be fun, fruity and satisfying. You know you're in Wisconsin when you see the Spotted Cow.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a hazy tangerine color with a thick off-white head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Sweet malts, corn, citrus, vanilla and a little yeast funk.

Taste: Fruity and funky with sweet and biscuit malts, corn, citrus and a little spice.

Overall: Sweet, yeasty and refreshing New Glarus Brewing Company Spotted Cow Farmhouse Ale is delicious.  At 5.1% ABV I can see drinking a few of these on a warm summer day.  The drinkability is off the charts.  I wish this was available locally.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Mammoth Brewing Company Tuolumne Meadows IPA

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Mammoth Brewing Company Tuolumne Meadows IPA (which is the same beer as their Epic IPA). This is yet another beer I picked up while visiting Yosemite.

From the Mammoth Brewing Company website (their Epic IPA description): “Hopped at two pounds per barrel, our IPA unites a strong malt flavor with a wonderfully intense aromatic finish. A favorite among the staff at the brewery so make sure you can get your hands on it before they do!”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a dark copper color with a nice fluffy off-white head and excellent lacing.

Aroma: Pine, grapefruit, grassy and earthy.

Taste: Pine, grapefruit and grassy hops balanced well with sweet caramel malts.

Overall: While drinking this one I kept thinking it tasted a lot like their Epic IPA and my tasting notes were nearly identical and then I found out that they ARE the same beer, but I figured I’d post this anyhow. I bought a single bottle of Mammoth Brewing Company Tuolumne Meadows IPA for review.  At 6.5% ABV I would definitely consider picking this beer up again (or their Epic IPA in the can).

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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