This is a great hopped up wheat pale ale. Each drink feels like it is loaded with cascade hops (although I don’t really know). The beer has perfect flavor but is quite clear. The clarity is perfect. This is a unique California ale. If you get a chance to try it make sure not to pass it up.
I was sitting in Pleasanton, CA enjoying the overcast fall weather and decided it was time to move to a darker smoother beer. After a summer of I.P.A’s the first drink is bland, but after a second sip this beer shines. I love the smooth malty carbonated body the isn’t overly filling but completely refreshing. It pours with picture perfect color, clarity, and head. Overall a perfect fit for the day and that is all one can ask for.
Harvest Dance is a Wheat Barley Wine style ale from Boulevard’s seasonal Smoke Stack Series. The label on this beer is the best beer label of any I have seen to date. A great start to this amazing ale. Brewed with mostly wheat malt this beer has a sweet barley wine taste. It pours with a nice amber color and is loaded with carbonation. It is a beautiful beer to sip on during the fall. Make sure to try one out and post your thoughts.
Other 5 Star Beers:
http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/harvest-dance-wheat-wine/
John Barleycorn is memorialized in English folk tradition as the personification of the barley plant, sacrificed at harvest time and then reborn as beer or ale. Our Harvest Dance Wheat Wine is a celebration of John’s Midwestern cousin, wheat. Beginning with a large portion of wheat malt, we add an equally generous helping of Hallertau and Citra hops and age the ale on both French and American oak. The result is a big, warming burst of tropical fruit flavors, highlighted by subtle wine-like notes, and rounding slowly to a long, dry, oaky finish.
| Color (EBC) | 23 |
| Bitterness (IBUs) | 42 |
| Original Gravity (Plato) | 19.4 |
| Terminal Gravity (Plato) | 4.2 |
| Alcohol (ABV) | 9.1% |
| CO2 – Bottles | 3.95 vol. (7.7 g/L) |
| CO2 – Kegs | N/A |
This is the second dark I.P.A. I have tasted. It has a nice roasted malt flavor with a blast of American hops courtesy of the Widmer Brewing Co.
http://www.widmer.com/age_gate.aspx?redir=http://www.widmer.com/default.aspx
Cost = $4.00
Summer Honey is a seasonal ale from the Big Sky Brewing Co. This particular ale is a cloudy light pale ale. It has a smooth tart taste that isn’t loaded with flavor but is light and fits the season. It is brewed with Honey and spices. Make sure to try out this seasonal 6 pack from a great Montana brewer.
Other 4 Star Beers:
http://www.bigskybrew.com/Our_Beers/Seasonals
Summer Honey
When the days get longer and the air gets warmer, we get outside quite a bit. And we build a big thirst. Summer Honey helps us shake off the winter and slakes our thirst for a refreshing brew.
Summer Honey is a full-flavored summer seasonal ale. Brewed with a unique, balanced blend of spices, Northwest Hops, and Montana honey. Summer Honey is brewed during the early days of spring and released around the first of May each year. Light colored, light bodied, and very drinkable, Summer Honey sacrifices nothing to create a flavorful beer that can be enjoyed during the height of the Summer. Summer Honey has 3.8% alcohol by weight, and 4.7% alcohol by volume.
A great tasting Hefeweizen. Gordon Biersch has these German beer styles figured out.
Tasted at the Gordon Biersch pub in the Oakland airport.
Cost: $7.75
Sixth Glass is a warming ale bursting with alcohol. I cannot distinguish the exact flavors as described on the Boulevard website. I am no cicerone the closest I come to tasting the chocolate is the smooth roasted taste from the dark malts. This is definitely a spicy winter warmer and always a welcome addition after a hearty meal on a cold night. I think the alcohol almost overwhelms the beers flavors. This is a great beer to pick up and save for a snowy night.
I love the bottle, champagne cork and devil label. A beautiful presentation from the wonderful home town brewers.
Other 4 Star Beers:
Good for a lager but not a very interesting beer to me.
Tasted at The Drover in Omaha, NE
This is a good E.S.B. That has a load of hops giving this beer a nice malty mellow taste. I can’t quite picture this beer served in England, but it is still a good ale. After going to the Nebraska Brewing Co this brew pub seems like Wal-Mart without the low prices. The waitress had no clue how to describe any of the beers on the menu. Additionally, I can’t understand why they came up with a different name for the brew pub (Lazlo’s). The whole place seemed to lack craftsmenship.
Other 4 Star Beers:
Cost: $4.25
This a a malty spicy summer ale. I was hesitant to come into this brewery located in the middle of a suburban strip mall. However upon entering talking to the brewer I knew this was an excellent decision. This is the best rye ale I have tasted with a perfect summer spice from the hops and rye. Don’t pass this treasure when traveling through Omaha.
