tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501361286897702641.post-51793720543080370112008-02-26T23:27:00.009-06:002008-02-27T21:55:34.326-06:00<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AEgOKSbdyoY/R8T1iSqYL4I/AAAAAAAAAkg/xllq1kKCQvU/s1600-h/bison.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171528241602113410" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AEgOKSbdyoY/R8T1iSqYL4I/AAAAAAAAAkg/xllq1kKCQvU/s320/bison.jpg" border="0" /></a>In exchange for the home brews that I sent to <a href="http://bobwoodshed.org/beer/">Bob Woodshed</a>, he sent me 3 beers that I would be unable to get here in Minnesota. All three were organic and all three were really good. Here's the breakdown:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The first beer I drank was Bison Brewing Company's Belgian Ale. This beer is a Belgian Triple and the label says it's 8.1% abv and features organic coriander. The beer pours a cloudy, light orange with a lacy, 2 finger head. There's a real fruity and citrusy aroma. It's really carbonated, with a nice alcohol warmth, with flavors of melon and plum. A really good beer, smooth but there was definitely a heat to it. My only complaint was that I really didn't notice the coriander. But overall a really impressive Belgian Triple...and organic at that.<br /><br />Next up was a beer I was really intrigued by, Roots Brewing Company's Island Red. On their website they describe it as a red <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AEgOKSbdyoY/R8YvHyqYL9I/AAAAAAAAAlY/GTURkykO4o8/s1600-h/rootsred.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AEgOKSbdyoY/R8YvHyqYL9I/AAAAAAAAAlY/GTURkykO4o8/s320/rootsred.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171873032986701778" border="0" /></a>stout, with a full body. I have to admit that I was expecting a bit more body to it based on that description. It pours a beautiful red with a thick, foamy white head. It has an interesting hop presence in the aroma. I can't really put my finger on the aroma, but it was unique. There's definitely a strong hop bitterness. I noticed some complex flavors in the body, not your typical red ale at all. The more I drank, the more the hops revealed themselves. This is a really unique beer that I would like to try again. I think I was expecting something different, so it took awhile for me to put my finger on the tastes. Very intriguing beer. Rick at [BW] Beer Blog and I reviewed this one at the same time, so for a another take, I suggest checking out <a href="http://bobwoodshed.org/beer/?p=92">his impressions. </a><br /><br /><br />The last beer was Green Lakes Organic Ale from Deschutes Brewing Company. I was really excited to try this beer. It pours a beautiful amber color with a finger of off white head that dissipates to a thin lacy head. It was an outstanding beer and I'm actually just going to post the link to [BW] Beer Blog about this beer because he describes it perfectly: <a href="http://bobwoodshed.org/beer/?cat=41">Green Lakes</a><br /><br />It was a great exchange and we plan on doing some more in the future. Its nice to try three good organic beers. Also its fun to see two takes on the same beer. So if you're visiting this site from Bob Woodshed, thanks for checking it out. If you haven't checked out his site before, I suggest taking a look at his great reviews.<br /><br />Salud!<br />The Bearded Brewer<br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4501361286897702641-5179372054308037011?l=www.beardedbrewing.org'/></div>The Bearded Brewerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272265527986943248noreply@blogger.com2