I ignored the Szar's requests to review Miller High Life Lite and Kalkweizen (a lime wheat brewed by the Szar and yours truly that went horribly horribly wrong) and instead I proceeded on my wayward sons (and daughters - we're not sexist here at PM, even if we are as*holes). Today we will march into the obscurity of a Colorado brewery held fondly in my heart and off the beaten path, though only two minutes off I-70.
Welcome to Palisade Brewery where the popcorn is alway fresh, the views of Mt. Garfield and the Grand Mesa are never hidden, and on any given time of the week you might find a delicious array of Carolina Pulled Pork or a random dude playing the guitar. Palisade Brewery, located in Palisade, Colorado, a mere 10 miles form Grand Junction's city center, is a fairly small brewery trying to live up to a very large dream. Its situated across a parking lot from Peach Street Distillery making some of the finest sweet corn Vodka, Gin, and Bourbon one could hope for. Ok, so the Bourbon still needs a little refinement.
Any way.... where was I? Oh right - Palisade Brewery features four main line beers: Orchard Amber, Pal (a pilsner), Red Truck IPA, and Farmer's Friend. There are usually varieties of other forms of small batch beers brewed and kept on tap locally, some of which may be found at a beer festival near you! Perhaps one of the most intriguing beers to come out of Palisade was the black cherry porter. Having many fruit flavored beers, I must admit this was the first time I had tasted the dark malt of a porter clashing with the deep sweet of a black cherry. First sip thought "strange." Second sip though "strange." Third sip thought "DELICIOUS!!!!!" Ask where I could buy a ton of this and the answer was they only made two kegs.... sad.
Other interesting creations to come out of Palisade included their peach IPA and their Double IPA. Both of which were almost too overpowering for my taste, but both carried an alcohol content of aroun 9.8%.... in the beer world thats big.
Ok, so coming off the brewery and focusing on one beer, this week I picked Farmer's Friend. I am suprised by the fact that more people don't fancy this beer. Farmer's Friend totes itself as an Irish Ale, but is in no way to be confused with a Caffreys and should be pushed more towards a Smithwicks, but keeping a slightly pale ale boast to it. Palisade brewery loves its hops in almost all its beers - save for the Pal, which tastes like water.
Ok, its an ale, its a bit hoppy, its a bit of dark amber in color, its got about a pinky thick head after resting a moment, and loses all of its head by half way through. The smell coming immediately after pour is like pine nuts, roasted almonds, and a floral aroma associated with hops. The taste may be thought of by many to meet its smell, but the taste of this beer is what I think a beer should taste like. You might at first think your drinking a porter tasting a roasted malt sweetness roll off your tongue, but then you will get the kick of hop bitters after swallow. The hops aren't too strong, but if you don't think about it, you will consider you may have had a sip of pale ale to drink. A sniff of the beer and second sip will open up a much deeper malt flavor, which will slowly over take the hop after taste. In my opinion the alcohol by volume to the sweet medium-dark malt flavor have found a balance that will make you smack your lips and declare that you are definitely drinking a beer.
The tannin level at first glance of the tongue indicate a desire to reach that of a week port, but they are quickly rinsed away with the smooth drinking of a good ale. Also of note, some people mention that they can taste a bit of iron or a metallic taste in the beer. I've always found that I cannot quite detect a small amount of iron in food and enjoy a slight metallic taste to some degree, but in this beer I do not taste it. It goes down the hatchet with very little wince-factor (applied to hard to drink beers based on non-familiar or unwanted taste).
This beer doesn't exactly have a lot of frills, but the interesting balance of hops and sweet malt to its alcohol content will keep you wondering whether this is a true Irish Ale or perhaps more of a new hybrid Irish-Pale-Ale. I definitely like this beer and will keep drinking it on the road to heaven. Therefore I give this beer:
5.8 out of 7 pickled footballs!
Welcome to Palisade Brewery where the popcorn is alway fresh, the views of Mt. Garfield and the Grand Mesa are never hidden, and on any given time of the week you might find a delicious array of Carolina Pulled Pork or a random dude playing the guitar. Palisade Brewery, located in Palisade, Colorado, a mere 10 miles form Grand Junction's city center, is a fairly small brewery trying to live up to a very large dream. Its situated across a parking lot from Peach Street Distillery making some of the finest sweet corn Vodka, Gin, and Bourbon one could hope for. Ok, so the Bourbon still needs a little refinement.
Any way.... where was I? Oh right - Palisade Brewery features four main line beers: Orchard Amber, Pal (a pilsner), Red Truck IPA, and Farmer's Friend. There are usually varieties of other forms of small batch beers brewed and kept on tap locally, some of which may be found at a beer festival near you! Perhaps one of the most intriguing beers to come out of Palisade was the black cherry porter. Having many fruit flavored beers, I must admit this was the first time I had tasted the dark malt of a porter clashing with the deep sweet of a black cherry. First sip thought "strange." Second sip though "strange." Third sip thought "DELICIOUS!!!!!" Ask where I could buy a ton of this and the answer was they only made two kegs.... sad.
Other interesting creations to come out of Palisade included their peach IPA and their Double IPA. Both of which were almost too overpowering for my taste, but both carried an alcohol content of aroun 9.8%.... in the beer world thats big.
Ok, so coming off the brewery and focusing on one beer, this week I picked Farmer's Friend. I am suprised by the fact that more people don't fancy this beer. Farmer's Friend totes itself as an Irish Ale, but is in no way to be confused with a Caffreys and should be pushed more towards a Smithwicks, but keeping a slightly pale ale boast to it. Palisade brewery loves its hops in almost all its beers - save for the Pal, which tastes like water.
Ok, its an ale, its a bit hoppy, its a bit of dark amber in color, its got about a pinky thick head after resting a moment, and loses all of its head by half way through. The smell coming immediately after pour is like pine nuts, roasted almonds, and a floral aroma associated with hops. The taste may be thought of by many to meet its smell, but the taste of this beer is what I think a beer should taste like. You might at first think your drinking a porter tasting a roasted malt sweetness roll off your tongue, but then you will get the kick of hop bitters after swallow. The hops aren't too strong, but if you don't think about it, you will consider you may have had a sip of pale ale to drink. A sniff of the beer and second sip will open up a much deeper malt flavor, which will slowly over take the hop after taste. In my opinion the alcohol by volume to the sweet medium-dark malt flavor have found a balance that will make you smack your lips and declare that you are definitely drinking a beer.
The tannin level at first glance of the tongue indicate a desire to reach that of a week port, but they are quickly rinsed away with the smooth drinking of a good ale. Also of note, some people mention that they can taste a bit of iron or a metallic taste in the beer. I've always found that I cannot quite detect a small amount of iron in food and enjoy a slight metallic taste to some degree, but in this beer I do not taste it. It goes down the hatchet with very little wince-factor (applied to hard to drink beers based on non-familiar or unwanted taste).
This beer doesn't exactly have a lot of frills, but the interesting balance of hops and sweet malt to its alcohol content will keep you wondering whether this is a true Irish Ale or perhaps more of a new hybrid Irish-Pale-Ale. I definitely like this beer and will keep drinking it on the road to heaven. Therefore I give this beer:
5.8 out of 7 pickled footballs!
You're a Miller High Life Lite
ReplyDeleteDude, good review. Your descriptive language makes my mouth water. Keep it coming Pickelman!
ReplyDeleteAt some point - after you review 10-20 beers, you should put them all in a ranking / table thing. I know every beer is different, but you can still rank them on how well they execute their genre etc.
ReplyDeleteGood, review Pickleman. It makes me want to try a pint of our good friend the farmer.
ReplyDelete