Thursday, March 28, 2013

Four beers in four minutes


I love it when a beer run leads to a beer tasting. This was one of those trips with a bonus waiting for me right inside the door. 

Berkshire Brewing Company was set up with several bottles of their beer chilling in a bucket of ice.  Did I stop to give them a try?  You bet your sweet bippy.

Colin, the BBC representative, was knowledgeable and professional.  he described the different beers as I tasted and we discussed my thoughts and opinions of the various brews. 

Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale (5.3% ABV) Extra Pale it is.  The aroma is very fruity and malty.  Based on the smell, I was looking forward to my first sip.  The flavor?  A huge let-down. The tasted of this beer is empty and featureless.  Bland. It really has almost no flavor at all.  Disappointing.

Lost Sailor India Pale Ale (5.5% ABV) a British style ale.  The aroma is very malty.  The taste is somewhat light. Malt is what comes through first with some hoppiness on the back end and it finishes dry.   This beer is good but not great.  Pretty much a middle of the road IPA.  Overall:  good.

Maibock Lager (6.5% ABV) Now this is more like it.  The aroma is malty and fruity.  The taste is rich and pleasantly sweet; loaded with caramel malt, bready yeast and a whisper of vanilla.  The sweetness is nicely balanced with a touch of bitter hops.   There is a boozy quality, but it is fairly well concealed and doesn't detract.  The mouthfeel was especially pleasant,  it is somewhat heavy and creamy on the palate.  If it's any indication of how much I liked this beer, I bought a bottle.  Overall: Very Good.
Dean's Beans Coffeehouse Porter (6.2% ABV) is a damned good porter!  The aroma is like a fresh cup of coffee.  Yeah, just like that and very enticing.  The flavor met every expectation the smell stimulated.  Loads of roasty coffee flavor with hints of cocoa and vanilla.  Bitter hops balance out the malty sweetness.    The mouthfeel is heavy but the carbonation lightens it up.  I bought two bottles of this brew because I liked it so much.  Overall: Very Good.

Based on this tasting experience, my opinion is that BBC does much better with their heavier, darker beers.  The light ones I sampled were okay, but nothing special.  I look forward trying more of their brews in the future.

Visit Berkshire Brewing's website for info on their other beers and "like" them on Facebook.

2 comments:

Mr. Sharky said...

where was this? looks like a decent selection. Loved BBC when I went to their brewhouse/restuarant, btw. I thought the Steel rail was much better than you experienced...

Brauista said...

My go-to beer store is Total Wine & Spirits at 177 Cherry Street in Milford, CT. - the staff is helpful and knowledgeable and the beer selection is amazing. That's my first stop anytime I'm looking for a brew.