Just Beer Flip Flop Summer Ale
Buzzards Bay Brewing

 

Went to the brewery after spending the day at Horseneck Beach in Westport. What a beautiful town. The brewery is set far back from the street on a nice piece of farm property. Walk in the door and there are the tanks and the taps. We did the $5 tasting where you get to try 4 oz. of each beer on tap (4) and you get to the keep the pint glass. Great deal. This on was our favorite so we bought a growler of it. The guy who rated before me definitely had a bad bottle because this beer is fantastic.

A - Dark amber in color with a thick, off-white head. Nice change from the traditional summer ale.
S - Malt, fruit, flowers, earthy.
T - Lots of nicely roasted malt, fresh fruit, floral character, and a slight carbonation that balances well.
M/D - Great beer for the warm day that it was. Good balance of sweetness and carbonation. I would recommend this to anyone.

A: deep reddish brown hue. Excellent Clarity.

S: Faint aroma: hints of grassy citrus evenly matched with malts. Definitely lacking

T: Tastes of grass on first impression. Second taste confirms it. Flavor is bland and dull with little to no detectable malt profile and a grassy/herblike flavor

M: medium-low carbonation, with a noticeable astringency.

D: Couldn't bring myself to finish the glass. I'm praying this was a bad bottle. I bought the bomber from the brewery, stored it in the fridge for a month, but i'm hoping this was merely out of date beer, otherwise I can't see how anyone could drink this beer twice.

a: pours a crystal clear light brownish bronze color. one finger head that dissipates to a thin lacing...could be due to cold temperature.

s: nice floral hop aroma. hop oils are used perfectly in this brew, as is the amount of dry hopping. malts are noticeable but not as prominent as the hops.

t: deliciously hoppy. not IPA/bitter hoppy, but very floral and slightly piney. Subtle hints of lemongrass, but thats kind of streching. The malts in this beer keep things very well balanced. Very well done, in my opinion. A hoppy brew that isn't too bitter. This is something I wish more people brewed.

m&d: smooth mouthfeel. great drinkability.

NOTE: I categorized this as an American Brown Ale. I talked to the brewer, who told me that this was originally going to be their Big Mamie Ale, which was supposed to be a brown ale. He said he wasn't happy with the malt profile, so he decided to make lemonade out of lemons and used a big portion of Sorachi hop oils (and a few others) to make this an easy drinking summer brew. Don't go into this thinking "malty Brown Ale", because this beer is by no means a traditional brown ale.