Blue Reserve 2009
Blue Mountain Brewery

 

Had this on draft at the brewery on 2010-02-18

A - Clear, pale gold with a short white head

S - Unusual with hints of bread, floral, candy

T - Bread, vegetable, sugar, floral. Not very bitter. Well-integrated alcohol. A different tasting brew. I enjoyed it.

M - Light-medium body and low carbonation

D - Sure, a couple 10oz glasses of this would hit the spot.

On tap at Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, Virginia.

Appearance: pours a golden, honey-toned amber, with a thin, almost pure white head. Beautiful lacing.

Smell: Extremely floral with some light fruit notes--alcoholic apples and pears. There's also some white pepper evident and slight clove spice. Grainy malts add some sweetness.

Taste: Compliments the smell. Alcohol is obvious (there's a little bit of heat here) but fits the style. Manages to combine the apple and pear malt notes with the spicy pepper from the hops quite nicely.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with a near-perfect carbonation level and nice spicy aftertaste that works nicely with the heat.

Drinkability: They've done a really good job with this one--it's well crafted and easily drinkable for the style and ABV.

Served on-tap in a clear glass 10oz goblet at Blue Mountain Brewery (Afton, VA) for $5.

A: Honey-golden with thin cap of bubbly, off-white head which leaves a delicate meshwork of lacing mainly at the top but down the goblet as well to a lesser extent.

S: Highly pefumed and floral with a big fruit punch with pears, melons, and apples flavored with a generous dose of pepper. The malt has a very light grain edge and hops are herbal and very spicy.

T: The flavor echoes the aromas very nicely with big fruity malt sweetness dashed with pepper and finished with spicy hops. Alcohol is well-hidden but is detectable with spicy heat.

M: Thick, full mouthfeel says a lot about the prodigious malting of this beer. Carbonation is active and the aftertaste is spicy.

D: A really good Belgian ale from an exceptional brewery. It makes me wonder which direction Blue Mountain will go next -- they have been pretty good at whatever they've tried so far. This is another big winner.

Blue Reserve, 9.5% - four yeast strains, four fermentations, brewed with pilsener malt, Belgian sugar beets, and Goldings and Saaz hops for a 45 IBU brew.

Appearance: A crisp and clear gold-bodied brew, relatively scarcely carbonated - only a few lazy streams are evident when held up against the (admittedly dull) light. The head arrives at its full height, about half a finger, more indicative of a good pour than anything. Retention is good, above average, though perhaps not "four yeast strain, heavily hopped" good. Fades to a thick, spongy sheen with an initial fair sheeting of lace.

Aroma: Sweet fruits - or rather, not sweet fruits, but semi-sweet fruits, with almost an almost green, sort-of-unripe undertone - with a drizzle of white pepper.

Taste: A very crisp and simple malt backbone is the most noticeable thing about this beer initially. It's so clean that it probably shouldn't be noticeable - I guess I should say the lack of any strong malt presence is immediately noticeable. This provides the (neutral, white) canvass upon which an interesting array of flavors is painted upon. Spicy phenols are large upfront - peppery, clove-like, perhaps with slight ginger - and accompanied by a slew of fruits, ranging from kiwi to plum to cherries to pears. Alcohol burn and taste are hidden completely beneath the spice.

Mouthfeel: Good, well-integrated carbonation, leading to a fluffy, light, crisp, large, and relatively even brew. It's not quite Belgian "melt in your mouth/evaporate off your tongue" good, but it's solid.

Drinkability: Ok, it's a little too spicy, a little too estery, perhaps, but it's a damn good first stab at a Belgian beer from a great brewery and a really solid beer over all. So while it definitely has room for improvement and I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt in a few places, this bodes well for the future of Belgian beer in Afton, VA - I'll be back for both this one and the next ones.