This week we are highlighting American craft brews. In the spirit of Easter and all things Spring, we got beers that looked like we could serve them with Easter dinner. We try to have a wide variety of beverages on holidays, so of course we have wine and soda and iced tea, but what seems to be unusual to many is that we always choose at least one local craft beer to serve as well. Ham, Turkey and a plethora of side dishes don’t need to be hogged by wine, pairing beer with food is a great way to experience different tastes, not to mention a great way to start a conversation. So my suggestion for you this holiday weekend is, pick up a local craft brew and serve it alongside the wine. Do a little research and let the beer be a topic of conversation, find out about the brewery, look at what they used to make the beer unique, you don’t have to be a brew master to know what’s in your beer
From the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins, Co. We have Vrienden; which is apparently Flemish for Friend. A collaboration beer with Allagash, this beer is 8.5 Alc./Vol. and brewed with Hibiscus.
Taste: The hibiscus was very prominent. This was a clean and crisp beer, with a hoppy aftertaste.
Musings: Both Blake and I really enjoyed this beer. The fruity/flowery taste was refreshing. So far we have enjoyed the beers we have tried from the Lips of Faith collection. The bottle is funky and fun which encapsulates the flavor of the beer. This is one beer we will be getting again, I think it would be perfect at a summer BBQ or a bon fire, but be careful, at 8.5% alcohol per volume this beer can sneak up on you.
From Two Brothers Brewery, right here in Illinois, we have Reprieve which is 5.5 alc./vol. This brew is a limited release and is a Bohemian Pilsner with German malts.
Color: Black
Taste: Chocolaty and nutty yet surprisingly not heavy, with a nice hoppy third note.
Musings: Blake really like Reprieve which is surprising since he doesn’t normally like dark beers. I LOVED it. It was not your normal Pilsner. The German malts were defiantly present in the beer, but not overwhelming. I am glad that we took advantage of the sale and bought two bottles, because I will definitely be cracking open the second bottle on Easter to share. The name Reprieve was very appropriate as this was totally a reprieve from heavy, overly hoppy black beer.
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