Pressing Matters: Riesling
Southern Grist Brewing Co.

 

 

 

As the flavor infusions of IPA sees no lacking of imagination, the brewers at Southern Grist turn to their sister alcohol producers, wineries, for inspiration to fuse aspects of vino into beer. Riesling grape juice added to an otherwise stellar hazy IPA layers onto Azacca, Haulertau Blanc, and Vic Secret hops beautifully as an asset the to the fruit and spice of both hops and grape.

The Riesling edition of Pressing Matters pours with the common hazy appearance of many Southern Grist IPA. Golden, yellow and tarnish, the matte finish floats a creamy, lathery froth. Fruit aromatics abound, ranging from citrus to tropical, to melon, to stone fruit and finally a spicy vinous twinge. As the lightness of sourdough applies a nearly cereal character on the noses, the taste starts off light and croissant-like with a doughy starchiness and a whimsical sweetness of honeysuckle.

The sweetness simmers on the middle palate with a soft and creamy tone; perfect for the blooming hop flavor that reveals flavors of white grape, lemon, lime and white grapefruit for a winey and citrusy taste. Hints of pineapple, peach, and apricot provide a more hop driven pitted fruit and tropical sense before a moderately bitter flavor hits the late palate. Lemongrass and citrus peel lay a light and peppery set of resins on the throat with balance and complexity.

Medium bodied and creamy throughout, the starchiness of grain additions keep the bitterness smooth and the fruit highlighted. Its wine character is slightly more prominent than the hop character as the ale trails into a medium length aftertaste of peppercorn, a parsley grassiness and an overall botanical spice of gin.

Interesting, this one. You can definitely taste the grapes, though subtly. The first couple of times I tried it, I thought it was pretty thin. The third time, as a sort of nightcap, I kind of appreciated the different flavor. It's very mellow, but I don't think it's for everyone.

 

 

 

This beer would have been just fine without the riesling added to it, Overall the grape detracts from the ipa as the taste lingers far to long after the sip

 

 

 

 

Canned 9/6/18 (16 days ago)

L - 1-finger sparse offwhite head atop a murky yellow body.

S - grape juice, grapefruit, a bit of funk.

T - white wine layered with grapefruit, bread, and pungent spicy hops. Some noticeable sourness in the middle, otherwise clean. A little hop burn going down. Low bitterness. Low sweetness. Low booziness.

F - medium-full, creamy body with below average carb.

O - different, but in a delightful way. So much going on in this one.

 

Poured from a 2-week old can into a tulip glass.

Look is a cloudy, apple-orange juice body with a nice pillowy white head of perfectly uniform bubbles, which falls fairly rapidly but provides streaks of sticky lacing down the glass. Not the prettiest coloring in the world, especially pouring out of the can -- kind of pale and chalky until it settles in the glass -- but very juicy looking.

First hit on the nose is Chardonnay, followed by mashed green grapes and a strong dank quality. Some sweet citrus, a little doughy white bread, a touch of green onion, and a healthy dose of lemongrass. Very bright and unique. It definitely still comes off as "beer," but there's a lot going on here, some of which is very non-beery. The Riesling components obviously make themselves very well known. And the dankness is extremely unique, bordering on funky. Fascinating.

Very grassy and fruity (in a cidery way) up front. Combination of dark berries and white grapes, with just a little bit of pithy citrus, mostly lemon and lime. Light cracker, a touch of tartness, a hint of sour, and maybe a little bit of pine resin on the back end. Finish is very dry and crisp, with a little bit of residual sweetness. Again, strong wine attributes (as advertised) that work extremely harmoniously with the NE IPA base. I get a little big of astringency, but here you can connect it directly to the grapes versus many other NE IPAs that just taste green. Very easy drinking and the waves of different notes washing over the tongue is quite enjoyable.

Feel is extremely soft, smooth, and well-carbonated, but a touch thin for a IIPA. Not sticky at all, and zero alcohol burn.

Really interesting beer, with the Riesling juice working extremely well off the NE IPA base. Very curious to see what else they come up with in this series, though logic would suggest that they may have peaked with the first offering.