We’re on vacation and on our way to Disney World. Today, we left central IL and drove to Atlanta to visit (and stay with) my friend Joe and his family. Like a great host, Joe immediately offered me a beer after arriving from a 10 hour drive. I happily took this local beer to add to the list.
Location: Poured from the bottle into a Mizzou pint glass at Joe’s home in Atlanta, GA.
Numbers: 5% ABV, 24 IBUs, ~ 160 Calories
Ingredients: Grains: 2 Row, Munich, 40L, 70/80, Carapils, Chocolate, Black; Hops: Columbus, Willamette
Appearance & Aroma: It’s brown in color with some dark red-amber hues, especially when held up to the light. It had a pretty thick off-white head when I first poured it, and it fell after a few minutes to a thin layer of creamy bubbles across the top. There was a nice, roasty, nutty, and dark bready aroma as well.
Taste & Feel: The body is light, and the mouthfeel has a little bit of a carbonation crispness. It’s got a brown sugar, caramel and lightly nutty sweetness up front, which grows a bit in the middle with more toastiness coming through. It finishes with the sweetness at its peak with a good mix of warm, sweet flavors – caramel maltiness and toasty nuttiness with dark bready flavors in the background. There’s a very slight bit of cocoa-like bittereness in the finish as well. The aftertaste is mostly the sweet, caramel maltiness, which lasts for a minute or so.
Food Pairing: This has a good amount of caramel maltiness and sweetness, making it a perfect complementary beer for southern BBQ, including ribs, brisket, and pulled pork. I might also enjoy this beer with a mushroom and swiss burger, as I like the caramel sweetness with the mushrooms. However, BBQ is really the solid way to go with this brew.
Overall Impression: After a 10 hour drive, this beer really hit the spot, with a lot of comforting caramel maltiness and a good, complex mix of dark bread, nutty and malty flavors. This beer almost made me crave some BBQ to go along with it, as I can’t think of a more perfect pairing for this beer. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I should have brought some back, as I think it’s flavors also pair perfectly with cool fall days.
My Rating: 
