Homegrown Beer No. 8
Bale Breaker Brewing Company

16oz can from Boise Co-op. Clear golden pour with a tight, creamy head. Grassy, hoppy aroma, mellow. Taste also focused on the hops, presented here softly, allowing you to revel on the fresh hop flavors. Grassy, earthy, green.

Unfiltered golden body. Medium caramel, bright floral and resinous notes. A bit effervescent minerality as well as some grapefruit. More floral bitterness on the finish. Medium lighter body and carbonation. Solid.

Look: Nearly clear light orange with a nice eggshell head that holds for a bit before receding, leaving great lacing behind
Aroma: Pine, rube-red grapefruit, Cara Cara oranges, Cannabis, raspberries, diesel, and a little malt underneath it all
Taste: Whoa, a huge rush of sticky pine sap, weed, and citrus floods the palate on the first sip and slowly bleeding in are light berry notes and diesel terpenes. Malt is present but very much in the backdrop and closes how it started
Mouthfeel: Full, a little slick, medium-high carbonation, and mild dryness on the finish
Overall: This is some tasty stuff. I’ve always jived with these folks’ beer, especially their hoppy stuff, so not surprised I liked this. Well made and a nice expression of Simcoe hops with plenty of pine/grapefruit/Cannabis in the mix and all held together with good supporting malt and a nice feel to boot

downright fabulous, i think my favorite from wet hop season so far this year, and i think its super cool they are growing their own ingredients for this series, it literally doesnt get any fresher than this from a wet hop perspective, and the quality is through the roof, i am falling in love with simcoe all over again here, really one of the best bale breaker beers i can recall ever drinking, which really is saying something because they always crush. lovely golden clarity and sparkle here, a high white head from the can, and i am immediately wishing i got a couple of these four packs, especially when my wife discovered how fantastic it is too! i could have had ten of these last night. big piney nose, but some cool new simcoe nuance too, ripe strawberry, juicy orange, and a noble-like grassy layer, as absolutely fresh as it gets, but not overdone in the least, moderately bitter but almost more in the pale ale range to me, approachable and so clean, its crazy. the flavor is just as good as the nose, no fall off at all, bright citrus, grapefruit forward now, minerals, pleasant mild pale malt character with some terroir to it, a perfect foundation, a hint of pineapple juice, sticky buds, and even floral honey, this covers a lot of ground in terms of flavor for something quite simple really. a true sense of time and place in a beer, hard to do with something hoppy, and this is on fire. super tidy, expertly refined, lioght and crisp and effervescent to drink, almost lager-esque. as fresh as beer gets, and something i will absolutely look forward to drinking again. this might be their very best work!

Can Date: 9/4/21
Palate Contaminants: none

The color is a clear, medium-light gold. Good amount of fine head that sticks around for a while and leaves some nice lacing.

Light pineapple and a good amount of pine sap on the nose. Pink grapefruit and freshly cut grass. So, those are all stereotypical, but it does come across as fresh, and they're all distinct.

The taste is surprisingly malty. And the sweetness actually seems to come from wheat or corn, though. Grains, grains, all around, I suppose. White grapefruit flavor. Moderate-heavy bitterness, and that seems to be tied to the sweetness. So, the flavors mesh together really well, even though the overall flavor is less than its peers.

Lots of very well integrated carbonation, and it's smooth. Like I mentioned, the flavors do mesh surprisingly well, maybe because it's a wet hop brew. Not much aftertaste, just lingering mild bitterness. There seems to be a lot more sugar present than is actually in the taste.

16oz can courtesy of Kemoarps. Canned September 16, 2021, per the stamp on the bottom of the can.

Poured into the glass, this was a clear, coppery amber color, with a good sized off-white head. Lots of lace.

Aromas of wet Simcoe hops, grapefruity and a little bit stone-fruity. Sweet and bitter and spicy smelling.

Taste is like the nose, but with even more depth. Pithy grapefruit notes, some sweet almost strawberry-like flavors, and a bitter pineyness on the back end.

Medium bodied, with a slick, oily, resiny mouthfeel.

Man, what a great beer! My thanks to Kemoarps for dropping it off on my doorstep.

 

 

Crystal clear light lemon yellow brew; good head production with decent retention. There's a bit of particulate from the bottom of the can; if you decant the beer, it's absolutely pristine, but the sediment itself is only a minor detraction in this case.

Pleasant, resinous and grassy aroma with a touch of citrus and just a bare hint of tropical fruit. Pine, mandarin orange, lemon, resin, mild dankness, grass, crackery pale malt, mango, peach.

Very crisp and lively on the palate; a little light, drinking almost like a session IPA despite the ABV. Oily finish.

Flavor has plenty of pale crackery malt, along with a touch of pepper, accented by resinous, piney, and citrusy hops. Mild dankness that shows more on the back half. Lasting lemon and lemongrass on the finish. Moderate bitterness, verging on the lower side of high. A very good showcase of Simcoe.

Canned Sep 17, 2021 and brewed with Siimcoe hops according to the label. Clear pale yellow with abundant foam in the Blanche de Chambly glass. Sudsy and sharp on the tongue. Aromas of alfalfa, straw, and a touch of tangerine. Light malt and a nutty flavor with just a hint of citrus. Moderate bitterness.

I like this as well as most of the 2021 crop of fresh hop brews. It's a little sharp but the flavor is interesting. From the 16 oz can purchased at Central Market in Mill Creek.

 

Can from Uptown Market.

A clear yellow with a dense, off-white head that falls off rapidly leaving little lacing, this looks solid. The nose shows off the hops first and the fresh hops second, an intriguing change to this years' lineup of FH beers for me. Clean, pure, citrusy hops with orange, grapefruit (is that the Citra?), along with an earthy fresh hop character, mildly chalky in a way that makes me think Cascades. Minimal malt, though a light sweetness is present.
The palate opens firmly bitter with grapefruit, grapefruit zest, orange, a little melon and a mild fresh hop character. The mid-palate has a light sweetness present. Drying, bitter on the finish with a uniquely Simcoe finish. Lovely mouthfeel too. Great stuff.

 

2021-09-19
16oz can served in a stemless wine glass. Bought it at the Ballard taproom yesterday. Packaged SEP1621.

Pours clear light brassy/gold or slightly dark yellow, medium sized head. Aroma pops as soon as you crack the can. Green and resinous, floral and bright.

Taste is right along the same lines. Maybe a bit heavier on the grain than I would have liked, but not lacking in hops and pretty balanced overall.

Mouthfeel is light and clean. Overall, very good beer.