Overnight Sensation
Griffin Claw Brewing Company

Pours a dark red with a white foam head. Aroma is raspberry and bread. Flavor is similar, semisweet. Well-carbonated. A simple fruit beer, and a pretty good one.

 

 

I picked up a can of Griffin Claw's Overnight Sensation Raspberry Ale a couple days ago for $2,09 at The Lager Mill. It's been a little while since I've had a new beer from Griffin Claw and I'm interested to see what they can do with this style, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage. Poured from a tall 16oz can into a imperial pint glass.

A- The can looks nice, it's got a nice design to it and it's a little eye catching. It poured a dark red color that didn't change when held to the light and it had two and half fingers worth of slightly creamy and slightly fizzy off white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left a little bit of spotty lacing behind. This is a pretty nice looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the raspberries being the first to show and they stick out the most while impart some nice raspberry jam like aromas. Up next comes a slight bit of doughy yest that leads into the malts which are on the light side and impart a pale malt, light grainy and sweet malt like aromas. This beer has a pretty nice aroma, the raspberry is highlighted nicely.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma, but lighter and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the raspberries still being the first to show up and it imparts more of a fresh raspberry aspect this time, but it's a decent amount lighter than it was in the aroma and it's followed by a little bit of a watery flavor. Up next comes a slight bit of doughy yeast which leads into the malts which are pretty much just as light as they were in the aroma and they impart all the same aspects. On the finish there's just a slight amount of bitterness with some more sweetness and it had a raspberry and slightly watery aftertaste. This is a solid Raspberry Ale, but it's on a little of the watery side for the style.

M- Smooth, a little watery, a little crisp, medium bodied with a slightly lower amount of medium carbonation. THe mouthfeel is nice, but i wish it didn't have that watery aspect.

Overall I thought this was a nice beer and I thought it was a solid example of the style, it wasn't bad, but it had a couple aspects that made it a little rough around the edges and that held this beer back from being as good as it could be. This beer had ok drinkability, one is enough for, the flavor doesn't really make me want to come back for more than one. What I like the most about this beer is the appearance and the aroma, they were nice and the highlights of this beer. What I like the least about this beer is the wateryness and the drinkability, those two aspects could use some work. I don't think I would buy this beer, I would rather have a Rubaeus and I can't say that it's a must try. All in all I liked this beer, but I didn't love it and I think with some work on the taste and drinkability and this could be a pretty good beer. It's not a favorite Griffin Claw beer and it's just a little above average for the style. Solid work guys, but this one has the potential to be better.

16 ounce can into pint glass, canned on 6/23/2017. Pours lightly hazy deep ruby red/light copper color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big juicy/jammy/lightly tart raspberries, fruit skin/seeds, pear, apple, red grape, wheat, cracker, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of honey, caramel, nuttiness, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of raspberries, bready malt, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/jammy/lightly tart raspberries, fruit skin/seeds, pear, apple, red grape, wheat, cracker, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of honey, caramel, nuttiness, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/grassy bitterness and tannic fruit tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of juicy/jammy raspberries, fruit skin/seeds, pear, apple, red grape, wheat, cracker, toasted biscuit, light honey/caramel, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of raspberries, bready malt, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/tart/bitterness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Slight dryness from bitter/tartness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/acidic/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 6%. Overall this is an excellent fruit beer! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of raspberries, bready malt, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and refreshing to drink with the mildly tart/bitter finish. For a maltier fruit beer this really hits the spot. Super juicy/jammy fruit with perfectly balanced malt flavors; never overly sweet/heavy feeling. A really enjoyable offering.

 

 

Poured from crowler to tulip glass. Liquid is a deep, luscious garnet woth a finger or two of pinkish foam. Head settles quickly, no lacing. Big aromas of juicy, tart raspberries, fresh picked. Sweet jam. Floral. Flavor isn't as bold as the nose. Floral, crisp, crackery, and raspberries, in that order. Sharp and dry. Very nice fruit ale.