At least for a little while anyway.
First of all let me say I can't believe it has been so long since I posted anything about the brews I've been sampling. It's not as if I haven't been imbibing. I have been.
Sure I took a little time off while working on getting into summer and/or beach shape. Mission definitely NOT accomplished there. Good enough to be on the beach. Not good enough to turn any heads, expect maybe away in disgust.
But here we are past Labor Day already. The Octoberfest and pumpkin-flavored beers and ales have been on the shelves for over a month it seems. Count me as definitely in the camp of not wanting to see those brews this early. I do not touch the Octoberfests or pumpkin beers until October. Okay, maybe late September if it turns colder. But it's approaching 90 degrees here today so somehow the time doesn't seem quite right.
So there are plenty of tasting notes I have piled up over the spring and summer from breweries both local (Connecticut and Western Massachusetts I would count as local for me) and far from here, such as California. During the summer we spent a weekend in Burlington, VT which has a tremendous craft brewing scene going on. We sampled quite a few offerings there, both from store purchases and on site.
For my first returning post let's revisit one of the more interesting brewers operating in Connecticut currently, Shebeen brewing. You always need to approach their brews with an open mind as they offer up very unique examples of the brewers art. The beer we'll consider today is not as far off the beaten path as some of the other offerings from Shebeen, but it is still something you don't see all the time. Today we are looking at Shebeen's Signature Single Hop India Pale Lager.
First of all let me say I can't believe it has been so long since I posted anything about the brews I've been sampling. It's not as if I haven't been imbibing. I have been.
Sure I took a little time off while working on getting into summer and/or beach shape. Mission definitely NOT accomplished there. Good enough to be on the beach. Not good enough to turn any heads, expect maybe away in disgust.
But here we are past Labor Day already. The Octoberfest and pumpkin-flavored beers and ales have been on the shelves for over a month it seems. Count me as definitely in the camp of not wanting to see those brews this early. I do not touch the Octoberfests or pumpkin beers until October. Okay, maybe late September if it turns colder. But it's approaching 90 degrees here today so somehow the time doesn't seem quite right.
So there are plenty of tasting notes I have piled up over the spring and summer from breweries both local (Connecticut and Western Massachusetts I would count as local for me) and far from here, such as California. During the summer we spent a weekend in Burlington, VT which has a tremendous craft brewing scene going on. We sampled quite a few offerings there, both from store purchases and on site.
For my first returning post let's revisit one of the more interesting brewers operating in Connecticut currently, Shebeen brewing. You always need to approach their brews with an open mind as they offer up very unique examples of the brewers art. The beer we'll consider today is not as far off the beaten path as some of the other offerings from Shebeen, but it is still something you don't see all the time. Today we are looking at Shebeen's Signature Single Hop India Pale Lager.
Thought the glassware was apropos given this is an election year. The glass contains both a donkey and an elephant, symbolizing how the two parties actually came together to abolish prohibition back in the 1930s. Hooray!
The can is certainly striking in its own right. At this point I cannot recall if I noticed the word "LAGER" in larger letters on the can, or simply saw India Pale and mentally stopped there. Either way by the time I had opened the can and was ready to taste it I understood that this was a lager, not an ale.
First you will notice from the cloudy appearance that this is unfiltered. The head was pronounced at first, but did seem to fade quickly.
I did find the characteristics of an IPA and a lager co-mingling in the brew. There was a hint of citrus in the aroma resembling an IPA. On the other hand reminding you this was a lager, the maltiness of the beer was more pronounced in the taste than you would expect to find in an IPA.
There was a foamy sensation in the mouth with each swallow and at times a slight prickliness on the tongue. The body was definitely lighter than an IPA, but it also had a silky smoothness to it when in the mouth. The taste was also lighter than you would get from an IPA, but it still delivered plenty of taste and "oomph". I was not surprised at all to find the IPL had 6.8% alcohol content. Definitely lighter than an IPA, but the flavor filled your mouth, and it was in no way shy or retiring.
I give Shebeen Signature Single Hop IPL 7 mugs out of 10.
As long as the warmer weather hangs in I'll continue sampling the "non-autumnal" brews and filling these pages with the notes from my summer catalog of notes. Until then, have a good one!
The can is certainly striking in its own right. At this point I cannot recall if I noticed the word "LAGER" in larger letters on the can, or simply saw India Pale and mentally stopped there. Either way by the time I had opened the can and was ready to taste it I understood that this was a lager, not an ale.
First you will notice from the cloudy appearance that this is unfiltered. The head was pronounced at first, but did seem to fade quickly.
I did find the characteristics of an IPA and a lager co-mingling in the brew. There was a hint of citrus in the aroma resembling an IPA. On the other hand reminding you this was a lager, the maltiness of the beer was more pronounced in the taste than you would expect to find in an IPA.
There was a foamy sensation in the mouth with each swallow and at times a slight prickliness on the tongue. The body was definitely lighter than an IPA, but it also had a silky smoothness to it when in the mouth. The taste was also lighter than you would get from an IPA, but it still delivered plenty of taste and "oomph". I was not surprised at all to find the IPL had 6.8% alcohol content. Definitely lighter than an IPA, but the flavor filled your mouth, and it was in no way shy or retiring.
I give Shebeen Signature Single Hop IPL 7 mugs out of 10.
As long as the warmer weather hangs in I'll continue sampling the "non-autumnal" brews and filling these pages with the notes from my summer catalog of notes. Until then, have a good one!
RSS Feed