Well, this review is coming out better late than never! Anyway, to make a long story short, after I watched the NC State Wolfpack get the better of the Duke Blue Devils, I had an appointment to keep for a brewery tour at Mystery Brewing in Hillsborough, NC (http://www.mysterybrewing.com). Mystery doesn't exactly offer brew tours, but this was a special offer through LivingSocial, and I thought it would be nice to check it out. The brew tour itself wasn't much of a tour..got some souvenir glasses, some tokens to turn in for some beer samples, and a quick "tour" followed by some Q&A. Not that I'm complaining or anything; everyone there was in it for the beer, all the other stuff was just filler.
I tend to drink beers either through what's on draught, or what's in a bottle. Mystery's primary means of distribution are growlers, which is one of those things I don't buy. Since I'm the only drinker in the household and I don't drink that often, I'm afraid of getting something so big, only to have to waste the majority of it. I'll need a party and some of my helpful buddies to take care of one.
So onto my first review of the 4 beers that were being offered during my tour. We'll start with Ballantrae, a Scottish Ale offered by the brewery. The ale had a nice reddish bronze color (forgive my poor color descriptions, it was a little dark in there). Light head, decent retention, no noticeable lacing. Not a lot of hop aromas coming out of it, more of a malt base coming out of this. Sweet aromas, toffee, caramel, that sort of thing.
The taste was solid, had a slightly bitter note that lingered at the end for some balance. A smooth, light bodied, easy to drink beer. Nothing that stood out or wowed me, however. I'd find a lot of Mystery's line to be pretty good, and you'll see those reviews coming up in just a bit.
Grade: C+
Price Paid: Free (7 oz draught)
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