Early in August, I went on a road trip with family and friends to go see the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Of course, if we were going to drive the 7-8 hours to get up there, we were going to make a weekend of it and cram in some other events. So including the Football HOF, we decided to go to a Cleveland Indians baseball game and a Pittsburgh Steelers pre-season football game. While we were watching the Indians lose to the LA Angels, I wandered around to get a craft beer (and it took about 15 minutes and we passed the stand twice), and ended up getting a Great Lakes Burning River APA as a result.
The beer was poured into your standard 20 oz plastic cup. I was able to get one finger of soapy off-white head and had light retention, and little to no lacing, although I imagine that I would get something different if I was the one doing the pouring. The beer had a copper color to it, with solid carbonation from the movement in the glass. I detected aromas of biscuit, caramel, brown sugar, grass, pine, and orange zest.
The beer starts sweet with the caramel coming through first, then the hops rush in, more pine and grass than citrus. It finishes dry, with a light lingering bitterness that fades fast and makes you want more. The malt is a little more forward than I've been used to, but that's not a bad thing at all. It's absolutely a good thing. Medium body, with a moderate to high amount of carbonation, confirmed from the beer's initial appearance. This is a very good representation of the APA. I guess for my palate, it suits me just great. For others, it may not be as hop forward or the malt might come on too strong. Still, if you like APA style beers, you should give this one a shot.
Grade: A-
Price Paid: $10.50 (20 oz draught) (Gotta love those stadium prices..)
No comments:
Post a Comment