Fresh Prince of Belma
Melvin Brewing

On tap in Caldwell; chill-hazed light copper with with good lacing. Malty, earthy, light nose from a cold pour…lemongrass, toasted toffee, citrus, mild pine/resin…clean, smooth, and lighter than most ambers. Pretty refreshing.

hoppy red ale here featuring belma hops, a hop i have come to love, and its great in this one, but the beer is a little confused, with a lot of influence from across styles, but not overly cohesive to me on the whole. the pour is a little paler than expected, lightly copper toned but short of the rich red i was expecting, and its got some haze too, maybe an early pour off a recently tapped keg or something, but even with a nice inch of white head, it doesnt look all that refined to me. the nose is great though, soft fruity hops, strawberry and ripe sweet raspberry, and a little biscuity thing from the grain, but dry too, no real bitterness to the hops it doesnt seem, and nothing harsh or green or overdosed at all either, hops sort of in the pale ale range. the flavor is great, i get lemongrass and strawberry jam, with just a little orange citrus too, some light sweetness in the middle and an oily resinous west coast sort of feel, but its not heavy, not bitter, not really sweet either later on, and real nicely balanced. i dont know about the haziness, but it makes this almost have a creamy texture, dont hate it with the berry forward hop profile. this is strange overall, but more than anything its super unique in what is generally a rather unexciting category. i was quite pleased with this overall, and i am loving all the new stuff coming from melvin recently!