Carton Brewing (2019)

Wish it was just different hops. Not sure why everything needs to be a double or imperial.

 

yeah I was bummed when I saw it got bumped up to 8.5%.... looking for less doubles for summer drinking...

 

I agree as well, not the biggest fan of this whole "lets make it an imperial" movement I feel is taking place.

 

I agree with you guys. However, let’s not forget they’re also still brewing regular The Hook as well.

 

Yeah, as much as I agree that I can only have so many 8%+ IPAs in my fridge, Carton is definitely not one of the "let's make imperial everything" breweries. They continue to put out low ABV stuff on a consistent basis alongside their boozier offerings. While some of their prior beers had aspects of "one of those" typical high-gravity NEIPAs, this to me is their first true one so I'm happy to see it. As with anything at this ABV, this will be a single 4pk for me, though.

 

I'm not sure that's true. Most of their variations of non-sour beers seem to be just that. Boat -> SS hief, hook -> imperial hook etc. Kane does it too a lot. I'm not saying it's wrong to do it that way but beers like the hook, sneak box seem to be an under represented range for beers. Hoppy pale ales.

 

I’m not sure that what you’re saying is true. Yes, they do some imperial versions of hoppy stuff and make high ABV coffee beers, etc. they make a LOT of low ABV Weiss-type beers, plus Boat, Beach, Hoppun, Hook, and they just DE-imperialized Regular Coffee with Light & Sweet.

 

Exactly my point. I think Carton really hits the ABV range quite well across the board. They have offerings from 4-12% across a ton of styles. I would agree that the world needs more mid-range (4-6%) hoppy pales, but I think Carton represents pretty well in that category too.

 

I'm saying their variations of pale ales seem to be make them imperial. Would be nice to have a different hopped boat or hook not imperial.

 

Speaking of variations in ABV for Carton beers, and low ABV summer drinking, right about now would be a perfect time for some Canoe and Rabaska.....

 

Perhaps the counterpart is able to moderate some of the sweetness, but it's looking like a pastry, cream ale is in scope

 

and dune! When those 3 drop I'll be on the ferry to stock up for vacation

 

Did the last Rub release mention natural flavors? Not that it matters, just wondering.

 

Definitely not. It just said "Dry Rubbed Smoked Porter". That's really interesting to me as "natural flavors" implies the compounds used to flavor things like seltzers. Makes me wonder if they are using any of those this go around.

 

perhaps it just referring to the other ingredients (i.e. the various spices) that contribute flavor? maybe @augiecarton can clarify.

 

depends which TTB person approves your label and how much they understand food, some of them make you write that on any beer with an ingredient not on their list of approved brewing ingredients. its never worth a fight. there is nothing (outside malt, hops,yeast, water)in that beer outside the recipe list on the side, but whoever at TTB got the file probably said something like "onions isn't on the list you must right natural flavors on the style section" it's only funny because a different TTB approver would have said "oh garlic" and moved on. you deal with what you deal with when you play with things like astronaut ice cream and elder flowers and go for proper federal approval.

 

Has anyone tried using the rub recipe (not the beer) and posted about their experiences? I know folks have cooked with the beer to great success.

 

don't use that recipe to rub, use it to brew your version of rub.
i had to adapt my version of Joe Carroll's rub to work in the beer.
for wood smoked meats you need a lot more of the spice by percentage. for my actual rub, basically get joe's recipe, make the dark brown sugar light and cut it in half, double the cocoa powder. up the cinnamon by 50% reduce the cumin by 60% and double the cayenne.and i use maple and cherry woods with some oak, but after reading joe's book you will pick your own woods too. its a good book (the Cornell chicken alone is worth the money)