Saturday, April 16, 2011

Somersault Ale

Jen and I picked this up within an assorted six pack from the Rock Island Hy-vee due to a new shipment of beer! This followed a long productive day spent running my first 10k, and attending the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation event/fundraiser party over at Great River Brewery.

Appearance: Golden colored with a bubbly glowing zip to it. Brilliantly clear and well filtered, which helps expose a soda like carbonation. A white soapy head sets atop of the beer worth a good 2” but quickly dissipates leaving behind a wet bubbled white residue and reducing into a film.
Aroma: Lemongrass zing and a fresh outdoorsy smell followed by a refreshing splash of citrus hops. Orange zest and a subtle fruitiness round out the beer. Under these layers is a somewhat grainy malt scent
Taste: Starts rather plain in the malt category, reminiscent of a germal pils with a basic pilsner/pale malt backbone that leaves more to the yeast attenuation and the hops. Some faint flowery character is present. A lagered flavor settles underneath a hallertau/saaz-like alpha acid spicing. A little bit peppery. Lemongrass is just as apparent in the taste as it was in the nose. An undertoned fruitiness from the apricots, as noted on the label, follows its way through underneath the spiced hops. The warmer the beer becomes, the more the tartness develops in sync with more lemon peel bitterness. Similarly the graininess and straw flavor emerges. A mild tea flavor predominates within this beer.
Mouthfeel: Light body with a high carbonation that foams in the mouth after several seconds. Finish is clean and crisp and not overwhelmingly drying.
Overall Impression: A decent summer beer. I wouldn't recommend it too highly as there are plenty of other summer seasonal's that out compare this one, but nevertheless if you enjoy a lighter beer with a big proportion of lemon citrus and peppery spice to its overall flavor profile, by all means try this. I on the other hand would resist a six pack.

Note: Jen dug the lemon flavor for its refreshing contribution to the beer

Tim: 77/100
Jen: 85/100

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