Amber (Dry Hopped With Cascade)
Saint Arnold Brewing Company

A-Clear orange in the glass, not much carbonation one finger head.

S-Caramel and other malt, like an amber. Some grassy hops but still malt forward

T-Starts with a caramel and toffee. Malt forward, some spice. Some hop presence, but unsure if faded or just not that much.

M-Medium bodied, a tad sticky but not much carbonation.

O-A rather boring beer, not much stands out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serving: 22 oz bottle poured into a Saint Arnold tulip pint glass.

Appearance: Clear, pale, golden amber. Tall, rocky white head; recedes slowly with good lacing.

Smell: Mild, bready malt with lightly floral and citrus hops.

Taste: Lightly sweet, malty body with citrus fruit and bitterness. Less sweet that either the regular Amber or previous Liberty release.

Mouthfeel: Light, smooth body and carbonation.

Overall: Hops aren't as bold as in the earlier Liberty release, but the citrus, spice and bitterness balance the malt nicely and restrain the sweetness that otherwise dominates the regular Amber.

 

 

22oz Brown bottle with pry-off cap featuring "Be Hoppy" text and bottled on 08/11/2014. Poured into an imperial pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a golden amber with 1 finger of head

Smell: Caramel malts and piney, earthy hops

Taste: Pine hop bitterness up front with underlying malt with a balanced finish

Mouthfeel: Creamy and well carbonated

Overall: Another amped-up version of Saint Arnold amber that features much more hop bitterness while still maintaining a very balanced finished.

 

A: Pours a clear copper/orange color. A thick, creamy white head rises to over two fingers with good retention. Plenty of sticky lace is left behind.
S: Caramel sweetness up front with a bit of biscuit malts. Then the hops take over. Very floral, with some orange rind and bitter grapefruit.
T: Like the nose, caramel sweetness and biscuit malts. Orange rind, pine, grapefruits hops come next. Though nothing is out of balance.
M/D: A medium body with crisp carbonation. Very clean and so easy to drink. Goes down in big gulps, and very moreish. If this was in six packs, all day.

The base Amber comes through with the sweetness, and then of coarse the extra hop kick. Regular Amber already has Cascade, just more of it with this release. So it works well, and really well balanced. Nothing hits you in the face, just subtle and enjoyable.

I feel about the same for the cascade version as I did the liberty version from last month: an improvement over the original as I like the hop flavor provided and how it cuts some sweetness. I'm not a huge fan of ambers anyway these days, so a little hoppier is better for me. This is nothing extreme, just a subtle twist to a Houston classic. I like the Saint Arnold is doing this series as part of their celebration of their 20th anniversary. Mosaic version will be coming out next.