Give-Way
Stillwater Artisanal Ales

I am CANtinuing to clear out my backlog of beer, especially of CANs, since a) The CANQuest (tm) is paramount & b) the bottles have been pretty well brought under CANtrol.

From the CAN: "'I don't understand that guy's problem with "Yacht"[.]'"; "'I think it's a case of burdened vessel syndrome[.]'"; "Hop Bursted Session Ale".

I was a little CANcerned when I Bursted open the vent & I immediately got some foaming action! No problem, as I have dealt with this sort of thing inna past. The priority was to begin a slow, gentle Glug to alleviate whatever was causing this to ocCANur. It repaid my favor by forming two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head on its own without any coaxing from me. It hung in briefly & then gave up, leaving some nice lacing in its wake. Color was a slightly-hazy Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4). Nose smelled like hop tea: very fragrant with notes of grapefruit & orange, but also very mellow. I have made hops tea before & it has a definite mellowness. The taste was much like the nose - very mellow, light bitterness, kinda citrusy, but nothing spectacular. Finish was dry, citrusy, very mellow & easy-drinking. Zzzz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a clear, straw color. 1/2 inch head of a white color. Slight retention and slight lacing. Smells of floral, citrus, yeast, wheat, piney hops, hint of earthiness, and pale malt. Fits the style of an American Pale Ale. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with an average carbonation level. There is also a distinct bitterness. Tastes of piney hops, citrus hops, floral, yeast, slight pale malt, and slight wheat. Overall, weak appearance, decent aroma, blend, body, and complexity.

 

From a can, this brew is clear, extremely carbonated, and has a brilliantly white head. The aroma is hoppy, fruity (a mix of citrus and stone fruit), and has an earthy must quality. The taste is balanced...if not just slightly dry, but the malt flavor is really pronounced in the front. In the mid-taste, an intense hop flavor and bitterness comes out, which stays through a lingering finish. Drinkable and with a medium body. Nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

another good hoppy beer from stillwater, a session ipa of sorts, very light yellow in color and just a little chill haze to it. gorgeous tall white head lifting up over the edges of my globe half an inch or more, but not spilling down the sides. fine retention. smells like citra and maybe nelson, its got an awesome hop aroma, southern hemisphere tropicality and some nice citrus notes. the malt base may have some wheat and some belgian pils, but either way its very very light, almost watered down tasting and feeling, but i think its a more than appropriate vehicle for these hops, which really is the point of this one. first sip makes me think citra and nelson again, the two are so distinct, but seem well mixed here. wheat for sure in the base, confirmed instantly by the first sip. it has a wonderful milky sort of creaminess to the feel and my suspicious of it being watery is put to bet straight away. the hops are awesome in this, flavorful and juicy and summery and only a little bitter in the end. carbonated well enough and lingering long on the palate. overall an impressive beer from these guys, seems like they are getting away from the saison game a little bit, and their hoppy stuff has all been very good lately. the can is weird, but the beer is dank!

Can from Belmont Station.

An almost clear yellow with a dense, white head with excellent retention and lacing, this looks great! The nose is a bright, fruity delight, with grapefruit, tropical fruit (peach, mango, a little passionfruit), a little floral (Centennial hops?) and no malt character. What sets this beer apart from other session IPAs is its sense of proportion - unlike others that are just overdone with the hops, this one is both, forceful but deft. This becomes apparent on the palate, where the balance of bitterness and hop flavor work nicely with the minimally malty, lightly cracker-like backbone. Lemony and snappy with the tropical fruit and grapefruit leading, there's a little of water cracker-like malt character present. Drying, mildly bitter, mildly resiny on the finish, this beer is quite excellent.