Golden Hour
Natural Selection Brewing

really neat concept here, this natural selection brewing, which i learned is a collaborative venture between stewart brewing and graduate students from a local university studying brewing and distilling, and each year those students create and brew and market and launch a beer under this label, which is rad. i was super stoked on this beer too, frankly one of my favorite beers from our entire visit to scotland, and there were copious brews consumed! this is a blonde ale, more english than american to me, infused with rooibos tea, way cool! pretty brew from the cask engine, light copper to deep golden brassy toned, with a frothy near inch of white head that leaves web lacing in the wake of each sip, soft and creamy. the tea is subtle in the aroma, a little bit of that red berry thing, dried goji and even strawberry to me, with the herbal aspect there in a sort of hop-like role, relatively fresh, mineral forward, and with a honey to graham cracker malt personality, mild bready fermentation character as well, light but interesting, immediately aromatic at this temperature, white florals, mild sweetness, very intriguing. the flavor is a journey, amazing, it starts off sweet and grainy, fuller bodied and english ale vibes, well refined and kind of delicate, but when the tea starts to come on in the middle it totally transforms, pink berries, jasmine, pea flower, just mowed turf, dehydrated lemon zest, melon rind, warming fall spices, and some honey from the malt, subtle still overall, but just positively packed with nuance from the tea, very well dosed and integrated into this beer, its distinct and obvious, but it doesnt dominate even a pretty light base beer, beautifully done there and this seems super expertly composed overall, like being a student implies one is still actively learning, but for a beer made by students, this is professional and masterful. i love it having a bit of body for the style, and i like the soft sweetness through it. delicious beer overall, brilliant use of the tea, sexy cask conditioning, really a marvel.