For this #beerSaturday post I'm going to showcase a few beers that I've tried over the past few weeks, starting with my favorite of the lot,
Sultana Gold
Style: Blond Ale
Abv: 5%
IBU: 15
SRM: 3
This was my first time trying the beer and I was quite impressed by its fresh taste and crisp mouthfeel.
Marketing: A forested label evoking images of northern woodland camping.
Named after the legendary Sultana Gold Mine on Lake of the Woods. The mine, which was located on Sultana Island, prospered for over a decade and eventually flooded in 1902. The gold may not have panned out, but this clean, crisp sessionable ale certainly did. Stake your claim to a true northern beer and bring home the gold.
That was written in the can itself. What a great little blurb for the beer. Full of puns and delightfully tacky. Well done Lake of the Woods Brewing Company.
Color: golden brown, slightly coppery, cloudy with visible particulate suspended in the liquid. I'm guessing that it's an unfiltered beer though it doesn't say so on the can.
Nose: Malty, some bread coming through.
Taste: Fresh. very mildly sweet, almost dry. Some light citrus notes. All around good taste.
Mouthfeel: Sharp on the tongue, smooth and velvety underneath
Fat tire
Abv: 5.2%
Style: Belgium Ale
Orgin: Colorado, USA
Marketing: mid century, small town America coloring and imagery.
Color: a very pale light amber color, pinkish hue reminiscent of a rosé wine. A filtered crystal clear liquid with an off white head of foam.
Nose: sweet and grassy
Taste: Malty, sweet, with a fruity taste that reminded me of nectarines
Texture: Sharpe and crisp
Beau's Lug Tread Lagered Ale
A tribute to Kölsch beer of Cologn Germany. An excellent beer.
Style: Kölsch
Abv: 5.2%
IBU: 21
Marketing: Tractor and Farming imagery insinuating that it's for the working class, a beverage for the people.
From the company website:
A hybrid style, Lug Tread is top-fermented (like an ale) and then cold-aged (like a lager), giving it light ale notes complemented by a lager-like crispness.
Well that explains the contradictory lagered-ale description. Still unclear if they used kager yeast in the process.
Color: golden hay with a billowy, fluffy white head.
Nose: citrus and grass
Taste: dry and bitter
Mouthfeel: tiny Sharpe bubbles, light watery palat.
Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale
Style: Irish Red Ale
Abv: 4.3%
My favorite part of any nitro beer is the initial pour - like a creamy rippling waterfall of deliciousness. An exciting presentation before you drink.
Color: Coppery brown with a reddish hue and a cream colored head of tightly packed nitro bubbles.
Nose: light bread aroma
Taste: A pronounced bitterness is the first thing that I notice when taking a drink. Not much else comes through for me. There is a slight stateless, probably because of preservatives used to maintain it when shipping. Not much taste overall. Somehow it's still enjoyable to drink despite the above.
Texture: Small light bubbles that hit the side of the tongue. Light on the palet. A bit of a watery mouthfeel.
A Brief Ranking
Sultana Gold was by far the best beer of the lot in my opinion. Beaus Lug Tread would be next for me then Fat Tire. Kilkenny comes in last overall.