Boone was amazing this weekend, though a bit chilly. It was nice to get out of the house with the wife and the dogs and really feel like I was home. Even though I was on a bit of a vacation. And, lucky me, I got to raid Harris Teeter's supply of the Boone Brewing Co. Blowing Rock High Country Ale. Let's get to the review of this local brewery's flagship brew.
Being touted as a craft brewed ale with a roasty malt base, the High Country Ale truly lives up to it's name. The amber ale was cooled to about 40 degrees and poured into a brandy snifter. The beer is filtered and clear and nice honey color. The head of the brew lasts for a bit and is nice and creamy with some lacing when drinking the beer. Appearance score 4 out of 5. Good things to come.
The nose of the brew is quite malty with toasty notes of caramel. Hops come through just a bit with a sweet floral scent. Not much odor from the yeast, but the alcohol seems to come through just a bit. The aroma could be categorized as noticeable. Not a huge scent. 8 out of 15
Tasting the beer is almost a mirror image of the nose. The malts are the key player showing through with some bitter notes overplaying notes of caramel and nuttiness. A clean lack of yeast flavor works well with a light floral taste of yeast. Again, the alcohol tiptoes into the picture as well, but doesn't take a leading role. A strong showing for this malt-mastered ale - 19 out of 25.
The mouth-feel of the beer is lacking for me. It has a crisp consistency, almost like a lager. The carbonation within the beer is a bit creamy or round. The medium body leads way to an "average"/ wet finish. Nothing spectacular 3 out of 5.
This malty ale is not a bad brew, but could fair well with a revamp in recipe to add a bit more hops to help balance this brew out. I recommend checking out the beer if you live in the North Carolina area, but I have to give the beer an over all score of 34 out 50. Support this great local gem.
Coming up, I am going to begin giving great beer recipes and reviews of area pubs and bars. Let me know what you want to see. Also, I am in the process of gathering equipment to be making my own home brew and I will most definitely keep you updated on that. In the mean time, check out past reviews and let me know the BEST BEER YOU EVER HAD and what made it so awesome. For now, I am going to finish off this six pack, so: Drink on Beer Drinker. Drink on!
Being touted as a craft brewed ale with a roasty malt base, the High Country Ale truly lives up to it's name. The amber ale was cooled to about 40 degrees and poured into a brandy snifter. The beer is filtered and clear and nice honey color. The head of the brew lasts for a bit and is nice and creamy with some lacing when drinking the beer. Appearance score 4 out of 5. Good things to come.
The nose of the brew is quite malty with toasty notes of caramel. Hops come through just a bit with a sweet floral scent. Not much odor from the yeast, but the alcohol seems to come through just a bit. The aroma could be categorized as noticeable. Not a huge scent. 8 out of 15
Tasting the beer is almost a mirror image of the nose. The malts are the key player showing through with some bitter notes overplaying notes of caramel and nuttiness. A clean lack of yeast flavor works well with a light floral taste of yeast. Again, the alcohol tiptoes into the picture as well, but doesn't take a leading role. A strong showing for this malt-mastered ale - 19 out of 25.
The mouth-feel of the beer is lacking for me. It has a crisp consistency, almost like a lager. The carbonation within the beer is a bit creamy or round. The medium body leads way to an "average"/ wet finish. Nothing spectacular 3 out of 5.
This malty ale is not a bad brew, but could fair well with a revamp in recipe to add a bit more hops to help balance this brew out. I recommend checking out the beer if you live in the North Carolina area, but I have to give the beer an over all score of 34 out 50. Support this great local gem.
Coming up, I am going to begin giving great beer recipes and reviews of area pubs and bars. Let me know what you want to see. Also, I am in the process of gathering equipment to be making my own home brew and I will most definitely keep you updated on that. In the mean time, check out past reviews and let me know the BEST BEER YOU EVER HAD and what made it so awesome. For now, I am going to finish off this six pack, so: Drink on Beer Drinker. Drink on!
I'd like to hear about some of the brews from Natty Greens the brewpub in Downtown Gboro. Pretty sure they sell them in local Harris Teeter's.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see what you think of the Old Speckled Hen brew. I thought it is pretty awesome when I had it at an english pub in Minneapolis. It was on tap there but I think it would still be a good one for the blog.
ReplyDeleteYour friend,
Tater