Chimay (White) Cinq Cents
The Chimay Cinq Cents, with its golden hue, offers a rare balance of mellowness and bitterness. (Description provided by company)
I arrived at Old Town Beer Exchange in downtown Huntsville eager to find a good beer to review. My malty sweet tooth was in control, so when I saw Florence's Singin' River had a doppelbock out, I immediately knew I would be taking a crowler of Orchestrator home with me.
Shortly after getting home, the crowler was popped open and the clear copper brew was poured into a glass. I may have been a bit timid with the pour but I expected a little bit more than the very thin cap which never quite melted away. It seemed to be mostly made up for the fact that it left plenty of white lacing on the glass.
I got a general sweet smell when I first brought the pint glass to my face. As I drank more, I could discern caramel and a bit of booze. I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of aroma. I decide to leave the crowler on the counter to warm up in hopes of eliciting a stronger aroma on my second glass. Sure enough, the aroma bloomed as it warmed. The caramel still dominated, but I started to pick up some vague dark fruit aromas (kinda plum-ish) along with a char affectation to the caramel sweetness. The warming definitely helped. It wasn't a night and day difference, though. The second glass seemed like a more fuller experience.
Beer is made of these core ingredients: barley/malt, hops, water, and yeast. In this blog post, I'll be writing about malt and some of what I've been reading in Robert Moser's Tasting Beer. First off, barley is the grain of choice for making beer, although other options exist. But regular old barley isn't in a good condition for releasing starches for making alcohol. Barley first needs to be malted.
First, barley is soaked in water for about 24 hours, or until it reaches 45% water content. The grain is pulled from the water and allowed to cool and dry. During this process, the grains will start to sprout. This growth and cracking of the shell is vital to getting what brewers want from the malted barley. The grain is then kilned to complete the drying process and to roast the grain to the desired darkness. It is possible to create two different malts of similar color but different flavors by varying the moisture content during kilning. If roasted dry, there will be a sharp, biscuit-like toastiness. If roasted moist, there is more of a toffee-like richness.
The Chimay Cinq Cents, with its golden hue, offers a rare balance of mellowness and bitterness. (Description provided by company)
Lil’ Raspy is a little sensitive. He’s low ABV, got a soft, white, fluffy cap and the raspberry puree he’s brewed with gives him a pinkish hue. And that makes people think he isn’t tough.
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We try to come up with names and imagery that are memorable and descriptive of the beer, and feel that Unimpeachable Pale Ale is both. (Description provided by company)
Hof ten Dormaal owns a big collection of barrels from all over Europe. We try to make sure the barrels we buy are in the most fresh condition as possible. That's how we can bring the best flavours in our blond en dark beer with 12% alc. By vol.
A unique beverage experience...fresh clean semisweet, hopped cider. (Description provided by company)
Our take on the classic Bavarian Style utilizes traditional German malts and yeast to create a balance of Clove and Banana characteristic of the style.
In celebration of Straight to Ale's sixth anniversary, our brewers went above and beyond to create this dark sour aged on tart cherries. Roasty, tart, and sweet making it a complex brew to be enjoyed with friends. (Description provided by company)