Monday, December 19, 2016

December 19 - Siren Craft Brewing/Stillwater - Smoke Signals

You'll see...I apologize in advance

The ugly Christmas sweater is coming together nicely.  I had some help from a co-worker to fabricate some of it today.  It appears it will have a functional train after all!  I also just got home from purchasing more knick-knacks to add to the décor for Thursday's unveiling.  I'll be sure to post it numerous places so you can see it.  Only a video may do this thing justice.

Progress so far...this will be suspended from my sweater

In any event, I need some sleep tonight so I reached for the lightest thing in the fridge tonight (4.4%) that appears to be a collaboration by Siren Craft Brew from Berkshire, England and Stillwater Artisanal from Baltimore, MD called Smoke Signals.  If you click on the Stillwater link and flashing lights make you feel sick, you've been warned.  It made my eyes hurt seeing the page for a few seconds.  There is an interesting backstory there that you can read, but I don't have the time tonight.  Maybe I'll go back and read it another day.



I picked tonight's choice up about a year ago in New York at Halftime Beverage in Mamaroneck.  A buddy and I took a 4 hour ride up there only to get some beers that we couldn't find at home and pack back up and return.  We probably spent a legitimate 2 hours in this place.  It was pretty cool, and pretty big!  I was looking at the homebrew equipment and accidentally broke a graduated cylinder, but since we purchased so much beer, they let it slide.


(L to R) - My haul, a bottle of Utopias that stayed on the shelf at nearly $300, and the aisles of beer!

Right at the checkout counter, this particular beer caught my eye.  It was probably a little too pricey at the time, but a smoked sour wheat beer sounded too strange not to try.  I had just gotten my feet wet with some other sour beers, plus I always have been a sucker for a Rauchbier or other smoked choices.  I figured, "what the hell?  It can't possibly be awful at that price point, right?"

I read up on this beer while I was drinking it and it appears it's along the style of a Gose, more appropriately called a Lichtenhainer.  If you care, you can read about it here.  Also, these guys used Brett to ferment out this light ABV brew.  It definitely gets some funkiness from the bacteria here, for sure.



I could beef up on some beer style history here, but maybe another time.




As for the beer, it poured a hazy golden with a nice head of larger bubbles on the top.  Now for the kicker...



It smelled like a Band-Aid.  I mean it wasn't a Band-Aid or made with them, of course.  It was probably the combination of sour, smoke and citrusy hops, but my brain stuck with Band-Aid.  I couldn't get my mind off it the entire time I drank this 22oz. glass.  There is, again, some definite funkiness coming from the Brett along with a taste of sour lemon and lime with just a hint of smoke. 

For the record, I'm not a scholar on beers made with Brett yeast, but I'd definitely like to expand my palate.  As for this beer, in the future, I'd pass on it if I were you.  It's a combination worth trying if you're up for a sour, smoked wheat beer, but you still can't get past the Band-Aid, can you? 



Believe it or not, I'll still give this a 3 out of 5 since I think the brewers got exactly what they wanted to out of this beer.  With what I've seen here online tonight while drinking this beer and writing this blog post up, it seems they're spot on.  It's not something I'd seek out again, but at the same time, I'd try another sour smoked beer, just not this one.





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