Riding Easy
Oliver Brewing Company

 

Welcome back for Round 3 of New Oliver, The Belz Are Ringing Beer Sunday (Week 710) brought to you by Peter Belz of Shangy's Distributing in Emmaus, Steve Jones of Oliver Brewing Co. in Baltimore, MD & The CANQuest (tm)! Today is going to be a great one for drinking & reviewing a horizontal of Oliver BC CANs.

From the CAN: "Let It Ride."; "This easy drinking Blonde Ale bites back with an assertive hop bitterness that's balanced with hints of tropical fruit. Oliver Brewing Co. has been proudly brewing craft beer in Baltimore, MD since 1993."

I had a nice, tall Pilsner glass standing by so following my Crack! of the vent, I went with an inverted Glug to see what would happen. It foamed up quickly and immensely as the answer to that non sequitur. Wow! I ended up with just better than two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with good retention that left decent lacing in its wake. Color was an oh-so-slightly-hazy Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4), but was it due to low filtration (good) or a chill haze thanks to my reefer's low temp (not bad & easily explained)? I will keep an eye on it as I drink. Nose had a distinct grapefruit citrusiness & my attention as a result. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was crisp, biscuit-y from the malt with a lemony-grapefruit citrusiness. "Tropical fruit"? Not really what I was tasting, but that is the brewery's description, not mine & not really aligned with the style since there was no fruit added as far as I CAN tell. I could tell that it was not going to clarify as it warmed so I am going to chalk it up to a low amount of filtration. No problem. What it loses visually, it makes up for in taste which begs the next non sequitur - are you after looks or taste? Given the current plethora of hazebro milkshake AIPAs, I am guessing that "Look" is of low importance. Finish was citrusy, bitter & dry. Me likee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picked up a sixer locally here in Gaithersburg; a new brewer for me, al;though according to the can, this brewer has been going since 1993. That's the year I graduated high school, for context.

Assertive citrus hops for a blonde ale, this tastes and drinks more like a pale ale but goes down super easy at 4.4%. I will definitely be trying more ofg these guys brews in the future.

Had this from the can while tubing down the Shenandoah River in VA/WV border on 100 degree July afternoon.

I couldn't give a fair look rating since I drank for the can, so I gave a standard 4. Didn't really enjoy this beer that much honestly. It was very metallic and bitter in the finish. Nothing really tasteful in a positive way for a beer. It was cold and liquid so for the situation I still had no trouble drinking it quickly on the river, but not interested in revisiting.

 

 

Poured from a can into a shaker pint, the beer is a hazy, pale yellow coloring, with a low profile, filmy, clingy white head. Aromas of grassy and piney hops, toasted grains, and subtle fruity notes. Flavors are bitter and grassy forward, with a quick follow of grapefruit, berry esters, and a cracker backbone. The body is light and crisp, with an aftertaste predominantly fruity, with subtle bitterness. The finish is light, soft, and fairly clean. Good summer sipper.