It is about darn time that I posted this review! I had a most enjoyable 3 day weekend, but I left my camera cable at work, and I wasn't about to head into the office on a holiday weekend, just so I could retrieve some beer pics. I hope you all understand. Now, on the the beer! As you may remember, the Buckbean Brewing Company sent me some free beer. This was most exciting.
I also received a large "media kit," aka a folder full of official propaganda on the company. The gist of it was that people who adore beer start their own brewery, and decide that cans are much better for the environment. Probably cheaper too. They seem to only brew two styles/flavors of beer, and I got 2 of each. My husband Paul & I sampled the first two cans on Tuesday. My friend Sheri came over last week to help me finish reviewing the last 2 cans the Buckbean Brewery Company sent to me. I wanted to see if different people had different opinions. The bottom result was not really - Sheri, Paul & I all had similar opinions.
First up was the Original Orange Blossom Ale
The materials sent by the brewing company stated explicitly that this is not a fruit beer. It is made with orange blossom water, but not oranges. Both Paul & Sheri were a bit confused as to why it is not a fruit beer. It tasted like a fruit beer. It smelled a little reminiscent of BLVD's Lunar Ale, a little zesty, like orange flowers. When poured from the pint can into a pint glass, the first can had no head, and the second resulted in a thin head that ended up with minimal to no lacing down the sides of the glass. The taste was also zesty, fruity, a little hoppy, and very much like summery, chick beer. Paul preferred the other beer, so I drank the rest of this one on our first taste test. Sheri liked it a lot, so drank it during the second round. If I lived in Reno, this would probably be my favorite.
The second beer I received was the Black Noddy Lager. Poured into a pint glass, it was suprisingly dark for a lager. I KNOW it has Black in the name, but it reminded us of a Coke pouring out of the can. It smelled like dark caramel mixed with licorice. The mouthfeel was interesting, because due to the dark color, everyone expected it to be thick, but it is not. Very smooth, however. The taste was the great divider. It tasted like malts, and licorice. The after taste was odd and lingering, almost like Good & Plentys. Paul liked it, I thought the after taste was a little too chemical for me, and Sheri despised it, being a non-fan of licorice in any form. Anything dark & chock full of flavor like this works better for me when it is cooler out. The end of August wasn't probably the best time of year to try this one on for size, but all in all, it was still pretty tasty.
That means one of you, readers, will get to win some glassware. A set of 2 Tall Pilsner Glasses, 22 oz each, with the Piels brand name emblazoned on the side.
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