Fake Mustache
Santa Fe Brewing Company

 

i think this beer is really neat, love the idea of having a low alcohol option these days, and like truly low alcohol, without the lack of personality so many of the truly nonalcoholic beers have, this is real beer still, but approachable enough for the alcohol cautious to engage, flavorful enough for to be beer nerd approved, and it kind of plays in a unique style space where its not just a session ipa, its a malty beer before its a hoppy beer, but it has great balance, and actually is somewhat robust in flavor, unexpectedly for its abv anyway, something that will be cool in warm weather, a session beer of course by another name, i think this is a cool recipe and its good business. it smells a little muted, even mellow, some toasted grain character but it doesnt present as sweet, and some almost generic hoppiness befitting of a maltier pale, nothing really from the ferment which i think works in its favor, and while i like my low alcohol beer to be saison or grisette or something that is fermentation forward, this does have old world appeal in another way, almost english mild or something in the glass here, nutty, biscuity, quick for what it is, and the flavor definitely follows the nose, maybe fresher and a little more expressive, but doing the same thing, leading with grain that has a little richness to it, finishing with a fresh crisping hop hit that doesnt make this too intense or anything, and i think the water chemistry, the clean ferment, and the fact it still has some body are all flattering. a neat concept and pretty good execution really, curious to see how the people respond to this, its flavorful but its also something i could have ten of, and its cool they are packaging it too. if this is a trend that takes off in craft, i am all for it, i love drinking in volume and this really facilitates that without feeling like a sacrifice. not saying its epic, but it really is a neat thing to pursue...