6.05.2010

New Beer Friday @ Hurricanes

Ok, so I just got back from Hurricane Wings, our local beer haven here in Vero. Today Howard, the manager, just tapped two new beers, the Rastafa Rye from Blue Point Bewing & the Iniquity, a black IPA from Southern Tier. I had a pint of each.

The Rastafa Rye was the best rye beer I've had since I moved out of Miami. It is favorably similar to the Captain Smith's Rye Ale from the Titanic Brewery in Miami, which I consider my favorite rye beer so far. Light and simple, it goes well with food as neither the rye, the hops or the body of the beer are too heavy handed.

The Southern Tier Iniquity is an amazing brew, a blend of roasted malts and strong hops. The black IPA is a new category in the beer books and this is a lovely example of the style, a perfect dessert beer for a hop-head. If a dry stout and a west-coast IPA had a baby this would be it.

We also had the pleasure of sampling two other beers, the Lips of Faith Biere De Mars, an American ale from New Belgium that uses wild Belgian yeast, and the Old Foghorn Barleywine from Anchor.

The Lips of Faith was an interesting brew, fruity yet dry and a bit tart, it was light and would be incredibly refreshing on a hot summer day. My girlfriend said it tasted like band-aids and grass, I somewhat agree but found the beer to be a quality brew that has its place in certain situations. I was told it was based on a French farmhouse ale and shares characteristics with a Flemish Ale.

The Old Foghorn barleywine was the low point of the night, only because I am not a fan of English Barleywines and this is a pretty good example of one. Although it finishes a bit dry and slightly bitter, it is too sweet and just not hoppy enough for me. Specially since my only two other barleywine experiences were with Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Ale (2010) and Avery's Hog Heaven. Quality for sure, just not my cup of tea.

Sorry for the lack of pictures but I just wanted to recap my night of beer before I crashed out. Goonight.

No comments:

Post a Comment