Last Year's Was Better
Country Boy Brewing

 

Trying to replicate old recipes are hard! Even for professional brewers, the endevor can lead to a lot of questioning, second guessing, and looking for lost records. But it really doesn't matter, because as any seasoned craft beer drinker will attest- last year's was indeed better.

The brewers of Ethereal and Country Boy give in and label their second installment exactly that. Last Year's Was Better pours a golden orange with an eye catching diffused glow. Its creamy eggshell froth sends swirling all the aromatic perfumes of citrus, tropical and herb with a soft sprucy scent in the background. Caramel and honey frame the sweetness that plays out on the front of the tongue while a light cashew and tarte flavor offers a tad more.

As the ale opens up, the middle palate is awash with brazen red grapefruit, tangerine, mango, apricot and a hint of pineapple. As other fruit flavors stew, suggestions of lemon, kiwi and cantaloup come calling as the sweetness finally begins to trail off. Finishing with a smooth grassiness, pine and sassafras herbal nature, the late taste trends curiously of hemp and chive.

Smooth in bitterness, the medium full ale favors the hops without necessarily favoring its bitterness. Malty dry and moderately resinous, the beer lingers with fruit peels of both citrus and tropical variety and along with those echoes of dank grassiness and herb.

Collaboration with Ethereal Brewing (Lexington KY). Served on tap in a shaker pint, it's a balanced assault of dank and citrus, with a clean, lightly bitter finish. Very enjoyable.