Friday Craft Brew Series
Welcome back everyone to Week 7 of the Friday Craft Brew Series. This has been a hectic week for me so I was only able to review two beers in this post. However, one of the beers is on my list of all time favorites! Both of these beers are from breweries near me, so if you are ever in the Chicago area I highly recommend checking out both!
I will also be introducing the MK Beer Scale this week. This is going to be the rating that I would give this beer out of 100. Just another way for you to gauge how good this beer is in my opinion.
Now, Onto the Beers...
First up this week, Apex Predator by Off Color Brewing. This is a Farmhouse Ale, or as they like to call it a, Third Trophic Level Farmhouse Ale, coming in at 6.5%. I love everything about Off Color Brewing, they make some of the most delicious beers around.
Upon pouring, the beer has a gorgeous golden yellow color. It's opaque, filled with all sorts of delicious yeast! The head is foamy and medium in size.
The beer has a wheat and yeast smell to it, not overpowering, but perfectly advertising what is to come when you finally taste it. You can smell hints of honey and sweetness in the beer as well.
The first sip gives you a sweet wheat flavor. You can definitely taste the honey and yeast in the beer. It's fantastic. As you sip the beer you get the tiniest hint of hops, not a bitter flavor at all, just the fragrant flavor of hops instead. The hop flavor does go away quickly and you are left with that delicious yeast, wheat, and honey flavor again. The honey is light and just sits on top of the other flavors almost mimicking the sweetness of citrus.
The flavor of the beer doesn't last very long which is fine because it leaves you wanting more. This is a beer I would recommend to everyone, especially during the summer when a nice refreshing beer is what you want.
MK Beer Scale: 97/100
Next up, Margarita Gose by Maplewood Brewing. This is a Gose style beer (duh, it's in the name) coming in at 4.4%. This is a lower alcohol content beer than I have been interested in lately, but I just couldn't pass up a beer that supposedly mimics a Margarita.
Upon pouring, the beer is a rich amber color, almost orange like, in fact. The beer is semi-transparent and has absolutely zero head, literally none at all, even when I tried to create some.
The beer smells sour which is completely unexpected for a Gose style beer. After getting past the shock of the sour smell I do detect some sort of citrus, most likely lime.
The first taste tells me exactly why they call this a Margarita Gose. Man you can taste the salt and citrus. You can't get any closer to the flavor of a Margarita while still maintaining a beer flavor, than Maplewood did with this beer. The salt flavor lasts with you, and it is surprisingly pleasant. I'm not usually the biggest fan of a saltiness in my beer, but it works amazingly well here with the lime. The more I drink the beer the more I get hints of that sour that I smelled earlier. The sour doesn't hang around for long though and it is replaced by the salty flavor. The flavor doesn't last very long.
I like this beer. It's very different, and sometimes different doesn't work out, but in this case it all comes together to form a great beer. This is another great summer beer that I will highly recommend.
MK Beer Scale: 90/100
Thanks so much for reading everyone. Stay tuned for more craft brews each week, and the occasional random beer review throughout the week! If you have any questions about any of the beers feel free to drop me a comment, I am always happy to talk beer!
Part 6 - Bubbler, Hoptronix, La Seul X
This post received a 2.6% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @mk40! For more information, click here!
They both sound great! I want to try that Apex Predator though. Can you only get in in the Chicago area or do they distribute?
They only personally distribute in the Chicago area, but I have heard word of people that have found it from a few states over, in Michigan and Ohio. It's unlikely that you will find it outside Chicago, but never say never!
Am I reading your post right? 81 Upvotes, but only $1.97 in payout? Is something wrong with Steemit today? There are some whale/dolphins that voted for this post the payout should be much higher.
It all depends on the amount of voting power used in the upvote. Plus the price of steem dropping for the last week has lowered payouts tremendously.
Yea I guess you are right. I don't see those upper level voters use such little vote power that often. Oh well. Keep the great beer reviews coming!
Yeah, with the drop in Steem price I have seen a number of larger users that have had to up their voting power to make the same type of affect, but then that results in them having to dial it back down later.
Oh, I'll keep drinking 'em and writing 'em up. Best excuse I've had to drink a beer really :D
7 weeks congrats! I think this series is going to blow up my dog! I already have such a long list of beers I want to try already.
The apex predator has just went to the top tho! I was sold once I saw the sick label haha! Is that a mouse in it's belly?
Also you gave it a 97! Seeing as your who I go to for all of my beer advice, you know I have to try it now haha I'm excited to try it because I really like the taste of honey, and I'm curious on how it will taste in a beer.
Do you think I can buy a lot of these beer you talk about at my local Meijer?
Yeah man, that is a damn good one. You might be able to find some of them...maybe about 1/4. I have to head to my specialty beer shop for a lot of them, that or just the local breweries near me. You let me know what you're looking for and I just might be able to get it to you somehow!
I heard that beer prevents diabetics is this true?
I have never heard that actually. Doing a little searching though it does look like there are studies showing that drinking a beer can cut the risk of diabetes. Learn something new everyday!
niice post man !!
continue i support you.. @mk40
and good luck..
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed!
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So for the Gose, is that something you'd pair with food at all, or better by itself? And does the Farmhouse ale have a Belgian-y flavor? Both sound worth trying!
The gose would be great with food...something lighter like fish tacos would be phenomenal with the gose.
The Farmhouse definitely has a Belgian flavor to it, the yeast in it gives it that flavor. It is just a really good beer, flavors are all balanced perfectly in my opinion.
Wow that Apex Predator seems to have chosen you for the latest kill (opps I mean drink)!
XD It is such a good beer! I will be reviewing a couple more of their beers in the future for sure.
Man, I love sours and now... giving a thought haven't had sour in a while. I will go to the shop today and give a look!
Cheers
I need to make a trip to the store today to pick up some new ones too! I have a couple really good sours in mind. Right now I'm struggling to find any place around me that sells beers from Paradox Brewing...I tried one of their beers a couple weeks back and it blew my mind, been hooked on finding more ever since.