Archive for April, 2011
Rush River “Double Bubble” IIPA
Here is yet another brewery that I was not familiar with until spending some excessive time in the town of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I see quite a bit of Rush River around these parts, but I decided to take on the IIPA for my first dive into their catalog. This IIPA stands to be a bit more interesting (and boozy) as it is brewed with honey.
The pour of this is a surprisingly light golden color. Not quite cloudy, but not crystal clear, either – I’m guessing it is partially filtered. The head here is substantial but course, flaring up and then diminishing rather quickly. In the nose, I’m sensing an oddly nutty aroma. There is certainly a light sweetness from the honey and substantial hops, but the overall scent is more earthy than expected. In the mouth, as well, this beer is different than I had planned. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty tasty; but it isn’t what I expected. The initial flavor offers hints of ginseng – lightly earthy – before merging into flavors of bitter hops. The hops here aren’t entirely floral, tending more towards an English metallic hop style. Later in the mouth, I begin to sense the honey to a greater extent, almost as the beer is going down the throat. There is a sharp moment of sweetness before the honey diminishes into the background. In the aftertaste, I sense mainly metallic hop flavors. All in all, it is an interesting beer, but nothing I’d write home about. That being said, I’ve been hearing great things about Rush River from the locals, so I’ll likely try out some of their other brews.
Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty
This is the first beer I’ve had from Furthermore. I’ve in fact never heard of them at all, but I do like their labeling and good taste in styles. This, the Fatty Boombalatty, is basically an Imperial Belgian White. Being a huge fan of the classic white, Hoegaarden, I am quite excited to try this.
The pour of the FB is a cloudy deep golden full of effervescence, kicking up a pillowy white head that still maintains a thick cake on the top of the beer 5 minutes after being poured. In the nose, this has all the trademark aromas of a witbier in spades – lots of malt with a strong yeasty scent and light citrus notes. The flavor of this also leaves little to be desired. If you’ve had Hoegaarden, then you’ll recognize the general flavor here – but this is turned up to 11. Belian yeast takes center stage, providing lots of sweetness and some bubblegum flavor. On through the mouth we get some spiciness redolent of citrus and coriander. Down the throat, the coriander spice sticks around the middle of the mouth while that bubblegum flavor shoots up the nasal cavity, leaving a lingering sweet essence. Frankly, I couldn’t like this beer much more. It has the trademark flavors of a good summer beer, but it is rich and bold enough to nearly be a dessert beer. Refreshing and decadent in equal measures. It is probably good that this is as rich as it is because, at 7.2% ABV, you wouldn’t want to session too many of these. Overall, a fantastic beer, and I’m looking forward to trying more from Furthermore…
