Baobiere
Montclair Brewery

This was the second beer that I had from Montclair as their version of the All Together was the only other one that I've seen for sale around here recently. I found this at the Bottle King in Livingston and thankfully, it was available via the single can. That's not to say that this was bad (it certainly wasn't) but I prefer my "crap shoots" to be that way but I'd reach for this again if I was able to get my hands on it.

Plenty of honey in the hue as this was uniform in appearance, mildly radiant, and topped off with a thin cap of soft foam. That didn't translate into a lot of lacing as my pint glass was nearly clean once I worked my way through this, save for a thin hint of a ring about a quarter of the way down it. Not a strong aroma to this but what was present was a mix of bitter and tropical along with some exotic fruit and crispness reminiscent of an apple or something just picked off of a tree. A bit of pear, funky field, and fruit patch entered the mix once this fully warmed up as this was unfamiliar, but oddly comforting and inviting at the same time. This was new and different, but relatively easy to quaff as it turned out to be a nice, full-bodied example of this style with enough crackery and malty bite to keep it from feeling weak or completely one-dimensional.

This even felt like a session beer although that certainly wasn't the case as the heft was noticeable by the time I had my last sip. No date was written on the bottom of the can but when there's no sediment to be seen or skunk to be felt, that was almost an afterthought. Yes, I never had anything from this tree and can't completely compare this to any other beer that I've ever reviewed on here but this was a good example of the style that was easy to like and even easier to kick back with on this mild October night. The artful label an award at the New York International Beer Competition were just the icing on the cake!

Much better to start the night off with this 16 oz. can rather than Black Tuesday. My judgment is improving!

Looks like a NE IPA: orange juice with a ton of floaties (fruit, I hope) that settle slowly. Smell is of light, indistinct fruit, not much going on.

Baobiere is tame, tame, tame. Touch of citrus, touch of lemon, touch of yeast. That’s it.

Very simple, very basic. The creativity is there with the unusual fruit but the base doesn’t seem to have done is justice. Very average beer.

Fascinating to have a baobab fruit in a beer, love the creativity! Cloudy amber with white webbing and collar. Tastes has the fruit in a moderately juicy fashion with some bitter skin and hops to balance, tropical and brightly malty overall. Nose is a more delicate and somewhat floral version of taste. Feel is bright, light, gets slightly watery yet refreshing, but does has the cutting bitterness on the finish

 

16oz can from Tavour. Hazy golden amber pour, foamy head fades away. Malty aroma, faint fruity notes. Taste is sweet, malts sink back behind what must be the baobab fruit, almost a tropical flair to it. Thick and chewy, light bitterness at the end. Refreshing, too!

Very pleasant and smoothe. Smells slightly fruity but drinks like an easy fruity cream ale. Aftertaste lingers pleasantly. Great for a spring skiing day.