Skip to main content

Beer Digest II: Sly Fox Grisette, Flying Fish FU Sandy, Weyerbacher Eighteen

Happy Friday!  Hope you're all having a great summer, full of lots of great craft beer!  It has been a busy summer of beer here in NJ, with lots of great news and events.  I attended a summer cask fest at Uno Chicago Grill in Metuchen, where lots of great cask beer was had by all.  Some of the participating breweries were Bolero Snort, Kane Brewing, Carton Brewing, Climax Brewing and of course the brewery at Uno Chicago Grill.

Some other news, a few weeks ago I joined the great team over at New Jersey Craft Beer as a regional representative.  New Jersey Craft Beer aims to provide craft beer fans in New Jersey with a resource for finding current beer happenings.  They also have a membership club, where members can save money at 310+ participating businesses in and around New Jersey.  I will periodically mention and talk about New Jersey Craft Beer here, such as recaps of events the group participates in.  

Here are some beers I've enjoyed the last week or so!

Grisette
Sly Fox Brewing Company
5.6% ABV
Sly Fox Grisette Saison/Farmhouse Ale
Sly Fox Grisette Saison/Farmhouse Ale
I picked up a small growler of Sly Fox's Grisette while Sly Fox was having a tap takeover at Central Liquors in Flemington, NJ.  Grisette was a tasty, peppery Belgian style beer, which I had assumed was a saison.  A little research into the beer informed me Grisette is actually a style of beer, similar to a saison.  Below is what Sly Fox has to say about the beer and the grisette style.

From Sly Fox's website, 

"Grisette is a Belgian style ale which was originally brewed in the Hainaut province to be the beer of the miners in the area, just as Saison was the beer of the farmers.  It was lighter than Saison and frequently contained wheat as well as barley malt (as does the Sly Fox version).  The name is derived from the French word for "gray", referring to both the drab factory frocks worn by the young women (the grisettes) who doled out pints as the men exited from the mines, and also the color of the cobblestone rock being mined."

Forever Unloved Sandy
Flying Fish Brewing Company
Wheat Pale Ale
6.2% ABV
Flying Fish FU (Forever Unloved) Sandy
Flying Fish FU (Forever Unloved) Sandy
Flying Fish originally released FU Sandy as a keg-only release last February, and were able to raise and donate more than $45,000 in Superstorm Sandy relief efforts.  FU Sandy was so popular, Flying Fish decided to give it another run, and this time put it in kegs AND bottles.  I was excited to find one of the 25 oz. bottles at my local Wegmans, and I wasn't even there looking for it!

Flying Fish used a unique hop in FU Sandy, called ADHA 483.  Apparently, it was never used in a beer before.  In FU Sandy, it comes off with some tropical fruit flavors, and makes the finish a bit spicy.  Or maybe the spice is from the wheat, not totally sure.  Either way, FU Sandy is a tasty brew, and brewed for a good cause.  If you see some around, pick it up!

Eighteen
Weyerbacher Brewing Company
Weizenbock
11.1% ABV
Weyerbacher Eighteen Weizenbock
Weyerbacher Eighteen Weizenbock
Gotta admit, I was surprised when I heard that Weyerbacher's 18th anniversary beer was going to be a weizenbock.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I love their Slam Dunkel, so I know they can do the style well.  I was just caught off guard, I guess.  Either way, as soon as I saw this on the liquor store shelf, I grabbed some to bring home with me.  

Be forewarned, if you drink this, it's bottle conditioned.  I didn't check first, and poured all of the sediment into the beer.  I don't really think it affected the flavor in anyway, but if you're not into the sediment in your beer, give it a gentle, slow pour.  Eighteen's aroma and flavor are full of alcohol and dark fruits.  Maybe a little banana too.  Very good beer, definitely a sipper.  I drank one, and put the 3 other bottles in the cellar.  

Have you had any of these beers?  What did you think of them?  Let me know in the comments!

Find Mould’s Beer Blog on these Social Networks!








Labels:

Comments

  1. Oliver Gray July 12, 2013 at 10:47 PM

    I'd really like to try that Eighteen. I think, like homebrew, the sediment won't hurt the flavor, it's just a little odd in terms of texture. Nice post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJuly 12, 2013 at 11:30 PM

      It was good stuff, pretty unique. Well, unique to me, as I don't see too many dark roast, high alcohol weizenbocks around here. Does Weyerbacher distribute near you?

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  2. Professor SudzJuly 13, 2013 at 9:07 PM

    That's awesome, congrats on the new job. Beer rep sounds like the life for me, hope you enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJuly 15, 2013 at 9:27 AM

      Thanks Prof! It's a volunteer position, to help spread the word of craft beer in NJ. I wish it could be full time!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dogfish Head Positive Contact

Frankenstorm is on it's way.  Bread: Check.  Candles: Check.  Ice: Check.  Beer: Check!  The big storm is supposed to strike land here in NJ late Sunday night into early Monday morning, and last until late Tuesday.  Kerry and I live in the western part of NJ, so we should be safe from most of it, except for local river flooding.  Tonight I'll be reviewing Positive Contact from Dogfish Head.  This is their collaboration with Dan the Automator (who I honestly had never heard of before this collaboration). I poured Positive Contact into my Yards Brewing tulip glass.  It poured a pale orange, golden color with a two and a half finger width head.  Apples, bananas and peppers hit my nose right away.  The smell is incredible and strong.  The Positive Contact is full of flavor, and reminds me of a smooth drinking Belgian tripel.  It tastes immediately of fruity esters, mainly banana.  The finish is peppery.  I'm ...
Post a Comment
Read more

BJCP: Strong Scotch Ale (9E)

This is the first article in a new series of posts, where I will periodically choose a section from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines , write about the style, and then drink and publish my tasting notes from some of the commercial examples given by the BJCP.  Now, I'm not sure if I will ever actually take the exam to become a beer judge, but I think this will be a fun exercise to learn more about beer! Fair warning, I will not be doing the sections of the BJCP style guidelines in any sort of order.  Whichever kinds of beer I am craving is what I will be writing about! Strong Scotch Ales (also known as Wee Heavy) comprise sub-category 9E in the BJCP style guidelines.  They range between 6.5% and 10.0% ABV, and have a light copper to dark brown appearance.  Obviously, strong scotch ales are all about showcasing the malt.  While studying this style, I found it quite interesting that the brewers ferment out the wort at cooler temp...
15 comments
Read more

Beer Digest: Mission St., Hitachino, Weyerbacher

I've had some really great and interesting beers over the last week.  In this new post series, I'm going to highlight my favorite beers from the last week or so.  Hope you enjoy reading!  Suggestions and comments are always welcome! Mission St 2013 Anniversary Ale (Trader Joe's) Steinhaus Brewing Co. (brewed at Firestone Walker in Cali) 8.5% ABV I wasn't really sure what to expect from this beer, but it took me by surprise.  They say it is is blend of three different brews, and when it all comes together the final product is an imperial brown ale.  There was lots of malt, a little roast, and a full, creamy body.  I was surprised how fast I made it through the whole bottle.  There wasn't the slightest hint of the 8.5% ABV.  If more brown ales tasted like this, I would probably drink them more often. Mission St. 2013 Anniversary Ale from Trader Joe's Hitachino Nest XH Kiuchi Brewery 7% ABV Kiuchi Brewery's Hitachino Nes...
2 comments
Read more