For the most part many of the Idaho brews I've had haven't captured some of the punch I get from the let's say more flavorful entries that some Washington and Oregon breweries offer up. To be sure there are some examples of some some more complex and harder beers but not a lot. One that seems to be getting closer to it's neighbor states is McCall brewing with a fair amount of the beer they offer that I have had. For this one I chose their winter beer which is labeled a English Style Ale, which for the most part of a lot of other southern Idaho beers I've had makes many of the others look like they've been caught pulling their pants up and hurriedly scurrying off in the morning like a classic walk of shame. Which the label kind of alludes to which looks like a turn of the century pictorial of England with a sloppily drunking man trying to stagger upright, a kid who looks like a monkey, and an old hag which shows the remarkable abilities that have made the British dental system the superior force that it remains to this very day. The visual does intrigue and gives an inviting feel to with a wink in it's eye that makes you think it'll be a good beer, and it truly is. The name is very undescript as there are many English style ales, I believe this one was shooting towards that of an English Style Old Ale, which are awesome and for those unaware think of it as a bold malty type of barleywine as a comparator. This one comes close to actually achieving the British style alcohol level sitting at 8% which in comparison would be close to say Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine. When you get a that opening whiff of the beer upon opening and a couple swirls you'll get that sweet punch to the nose that comes from a brown sugar or molasses. The flavor is a nice bold malty ale that leaves that sweetness sticking on your tongue and giving you a fairly balanced look of being not to sweet like some of the harder style barleywines. It warms the belly nice, and won't knock you over in one shot like Old Schoolhouse Barleywine will. It has a nice brash maltiness I love in these beers that I think get's lost in the translation sometimes with the incredibly smooth examples such as North Coast's Old Stock Ale. A bit more slightly carbonated to, which slows down the tasting experiences and allows the sweetness to kind of linger on the palate, it warms right up and after a thrilling experience sticks around and cuddles your mouth to satisfaction. I'm sure in a bigger market like Boise it costs a whole lot less, in Pocatello here though it got a little pricey at 9$ for the bottle which for the money back home equal up to some other great beers for that price, but I'm just happy it's here for me to buy! On their own description of the bottle they say the beer is balanced with hops for a nice floral and sweet offering. I don't know if that was the weed they were smoking at the time but they may need to lay off the pipe because it's about as warm and floral as a Hippo. Another reason I write these just because you add a floral hop to the brew and expect a floral sensation, and trick your mind into it, doesn't mean it happened. That being said awesome beer that I'd be happy to spoon with again anytime, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice molassey, winter beer. In actuality I hope they never try and balance it more, that would make it a more west coast style barleywine, and if they want that then they should just let their testacles descend and make one in the lineup, their other beers are very enjoyable I'm sure it'll be a wonderful offering to that anyone will love to get ahold of down one of these meaty 22 oz long necks. Your on your way Idaho keep going, the little kid in the bunch is growing up and pretty soon that voice will quit cracking.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Tanglefoot English Style Ale
For the most part many of the Idaho brews I've had haven't captured some of the punch I get from the let's say more flavorful entries that some Washington and Oregon breweries offer up. To be sure there are some examples of some some more complex and harder beers but not a lot. One that seems to be getting closer to it's neighbor states is McCall brewing with a fair amount of the beer they offer that I have had. For this one I chose their winter beer which is labeled a English Style Ale, which for the most part of a lot of other southern Idaho beers I've had makes many of the others look like they've been caught pulling their pants up and hurriedly scurrying off in the morning like a classic walk of shame. Which the label kind of alludes to which looks like a turn of the century pictorial of England with a sloppily drunking man trying to stagger upright, a kid who looks like a monkey, and an old hag which shows the remarkable abilities that have made the British dental system the superior force that it remains to this very day. The visual does intrigue and gives an inviting feel to with a wink in it's eye that makes you think it'll be a good beer, and it truly is. The name is very undescript as there are many English style ales, I believe this one was shooting towards that of an English Style Old Ale, which are awesome and for those unaware think of it as a bold malty type of barleywine as a comparator. This one comes close to actually achieving the British style alcohol level sitting at 8% which in comparison would be close to say Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine. When you get a that opening whiff of the beer upon opening and a couple swirls you'll get that sweet punch to the nose that comes from a brown sugar or molasses. The flavor is a nice bold malty ale that leaves that sweetness sticking on your tongue and giving you a fairly balanced look of being not to sweet like some of the harder style barleywines. It warms the belly nice, and won't knock you over in one shot like Old Schoolhouse Barleywine will. It has a nice brash maltiness I love in these beers that I think get's lost in the translation sometimes with the incredibly smooth examples such as North Coast's Old Stock Ale. A bit more slightly carbonated to, which slows down the tasting experiences and allows the sweetness to kind of linger on the palate, it warms right up and after a thrilling experience sticks around and cuddles your mouth to satisfaction. I'm sure in a bigger market like Boise it costs a whole lot less, in Pocatello here though it got a little pricey at 9$ for the bottle which for the money back home equal up to some other great beers for that price, but I'm just happy it's here for me to buy! On their own description of the bottle they say the beer is balanced with hops for a nice floral and sweet offering. I don't know if that was the weed they were smoking at the time but they may need to lay off the pipe because it's about as warm and floral as a Hippo. Another reason I write these just because you add a floral hop to the brew and expect a floral sensation, and trick your mind into it, doesn't mean it happened. That being said awesome beer that I'd be happy to spoon with again anytime, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice molassey, winter beer. In actuality I hope they never try and balance it more, that would make it a more west coast style barleywine, and if they want that then they should just let their testacles descend and make one in the lineup, their other beers are very enjoyable I'm sure it'll be a wonderful offering to that anyone will love to get ahold of down one of these meaty 22 oz long necks. Your on your way Idaho keep going, the little kid in the bunch is growing up and pretty soon that voice will quit cracking.
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