Another Thursday Tasting at The Growler Station

Growlers ready for the tasting to begin. From a previous evening.

Getting to be a regular event with me and the frau, free tasting of selected three new beers (for me anyway) at The Growler Station here in Greenville. Last night was no exception with Big Jon (name and description!) offering up three brews to try.

Big Jon describes some of the flavors to look for while tasting.

First was Oberon, a wheat ale from Bell's Brewing, in Michigan. This is a refreshing beer, light to medium body, slight banana/clove in the nose, with hop flavor subdued but balancing the malt sweetness to make a dry finish. Here's how the brewmaster describes it:

"Bell's Oberon is a wheat ale fermented with Bell's signature house ale yeast, mixing a spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas. The addition of wheat malt lends a smooth mouthfeel, making it a classic summer beer."

Photo: Lone Star Beer Co website

Second to taste was a Hefeweisen from Lone Rider Beer Co., from Raleigh, NC, with the delightful name of Shotgun Betty. Described by Jon as a German style Hefe with a pronounced aroma of banana in the nose, light bodied with a lively carbonation and a dry finish with an appropriate amount of yeasty clove flavor after taste. At 5.8% ABV, definitely a summer refresher.

This German-style hefeweizen features a rich, banana-clove nose and refreshing dry finish. 5.8% ABV - See more at: http://www.loneriderbeer.com/beers/shotgun-betty/#sthash.MVFYumDc.dpuf

This German-style hefeweizen features a rich, banana-clove nose and refreshing dry finish. 5.8% ABV - See more at: http://www.loneriderbeer.com/beers/shotgun-betty/#sthash.MVFYumDc.dpuf

This German-style hefeweizen features a rich, banana-clove nose and refreshing dry finish. 5.8% ABV - See more at: http://www.loneriderbeer.com/beers/shotgun-betty/#sthash.MVFYumDc.dpuf

This German-style hefeweizen features a rich, banana-clove nose and refreshing dry finish. 5.8% ABV - See more at: http://www.loneriderbeer.com/beers/shotgun-betty/#sthash.MVFYumDc.dpuf

 Our third beer to taste was an old favorite, Westbrook IPA (year round) which I am accustomed to seeing in cans. This time, having it from a freshly poured growler (this place is a growler station, afterall), the beer almost seemed like completely new animal! From the hoppy nose to the very satisfying dry, slightly bitter but well balanced finish, this a brew we really enjoyed and will have again, especially when we see it on draft.

Here's the description from Westbrook's web site:

"A base of pale, Munich, and Carapils malts is just enough to contain the massive hop flavor and aroma packed into this highly drinkable IPA. A blend of four American hop varieties is added four times in the kettle and twice in the fermentor for a complex and layered hop experience. Best served at 45-50˚F in a tulip or English style pint glass."

All this hop intensity and still only 6.8% ABV. 68 IBU.

After the tasting was completed, time to enjoy a pint of our choice from the terrific selection available. Kay chose Victory's Hop Devil IPA, one that we consistently like and is a good representation of the style.









By the way, one of the reasons Big Jon knows so much about beers and how to describe their flavors and style components is that he is a Certified Cicerone Server after completing the first stage in the Cicerone program (for which yours truly is also preparing). If you are not familiar with this certification program (and every beer server should be) read about it here:
https://cicerone.org/content/certified-beer-server

Congrats to Jon for his achievement. Not an easy test, I know.

All in all a fun and educational evening and I'm already looking forward to next week's event.

Cheers!