Beer Reviews- New Belgium, Millstream

This week I've been meaning to get to some beer reviews of some great beers I've been enjoying as I wait for a couple of my own beers to get ready. Let me just take quick minute to profess my love for New Belgium Brewing Company. On a trip to Colorado about 7 years ago, I really fell in love with craft beers after drinking beers from Boulder Brewing Company, Flying Dog, and New Belgium. My wife and I brought back a case of Fat Tire, and it became a habit that friends would bring us back Fat Tire or we would do the same if we were headed back from Colorado or Nebraska. This summer, the buzz in the Twin Cities was that Fat Tire bombers (along with 1554 and Mothership Wit) were coming to the cities after a 10 year hiatus. There were literally lines around the block at some liquor stores. I wasn't one who was waiting (I swear) but I was more than excited. Well, this past week, six packs and 12 packs of New Belgium have arrived, including Folly Packs (samplers) and seasonals. The Folly Packs included 1554, Fat Tire, Mothership Wit, and a limited release. In this one, its Mighty Arrow Pale Ale.

One other quick note, and this could be a post all its own....its important to mention that New Belgium is quite possibly the most socially responsible brewery in the country. They are employee owned, completely sustainable, wind powered, and participate in a number of causes.
You can check out more here: http://www.newbelgium.com/sustainability.php

Ok...enough of my long winded intro, onto the beer reviews.
The limited release included in the Folly Pack was Mighty Arrow Pale Ale:
This beer pours a bronze color with a thin white head. I think it has a really nice floral and citrusy aroma to it. I wasn't expecting such a solid pale ale from them since most of their beers tend to have a unique flavor profile, but this is a great pale ale. Its not overly hoppy by any means, and the body is fairly light. But there's a great caramel presence in the body and a slight biscuit flavor I'd expect from Fat Tire or 2 Below. Throughout the beer, the hops are definitely there, and there's just a nice clean flavor to the rest of the beer. A damn good pale ale, and one I hope comes around more frequently. I'd put this up with Summit Extra Pale Ale as a pale I'd buy when I just want a really good PA.

Springboard Ale: This is their spring seasonal and is more of what I was expecting of a New Belgium release. Here's their description: SPRINGBOARD combines oats, ancient Chinese herbs and Mt. Hood hops to maintain a balanced equilibrium for such an exhilarating ale.
It states its brewed with Wormwood, Goji Berries, and Schisandra. The beer pours a cloudy, light yellow, with a thin but lacy white head. It has a very sweet and fruity aroma, with a definite yeasty presence. A really crisp, but sweet beer, this is a very interesting, easy drinking ale. I think this could be an easy beer to drink a lot of, its sweet like most Belgian beers, but really crisp and refreshing. Overall a unique, great drinking beer.

The final beer for this review is not from New Belgium, but from what is quickly becoming another favorite brewery of mine,
Millstream Brewing Co. from Amana, Iowa. On his last trip back from Iowa, my friend Jeff brought up a six pack of Schild Brau Amber, their flagship beer. I was excited to try this beer, since the other two I've had of theirs have been excellent. This beer is an 11 time medal winner at the GABF, including 4 in a row. It's described as a Vienna lager. The beer pours a reddish, copper color with a thin off white head. It has a wonderful malty body with some caramely sweetness, and a touch of spicy hoppiness. Its interesting because despite its malty body and dark color, its crisp like a lager. Yet another excellent beer from Millstream, I can't pick a favorite of the three I've had, but I think I'm going to have to keep bugging Jeff to bring back more every time he goes down to Iowa. Here's my review of their Iowa Pale Ale and John's White.
Salud!
The Bearded Brewer

Iowa Beer

Jeff brought back some beer from our home state of Iowa. There are very few breweries in Iowa, but Millstream is the state's oldest microbrewery, located in Amana, near Iowa City. Jeff brought back two beers, the Iowa Pale Ale (IPA) and their John's Generations White Beer. They were both excellent. Here are my thoughts:



Iowa Pale Ale (IPA)
This beer was a very nice IPA. It poured a darker golden color, almost copper. It had a nice two fingers white head and a really floral aroma. The description on their website says they use Northern Brewer, Hallertau and dry hop with Cascade hops. I think the cascade hops gave this beer a nice crisp citrusy finish. Its not overly malty, and has a nice sweet body to it. I was really impressed with this beer, a very mild yet refreshing IPA.


John's Generation White Beer
This beer was a silver medal winner at the GABF for the wit category, no easy feat considering the huge popularity of this style and the large amount of breweries who have recently been brewing wits. This beer is brewed in honor of John's Grocery, a store in Iowa City that is the largest and most famous beer and wine distributor in the state. It's been handed down through three generations, hence the name.
Anyway, onto the beer: This beer was outstanding and one of the better white's I've had. It poured a light yellow, with a cloudiness from the yeast and a thin white head. It was extremely crisp and refreshing. There is a slight hint of coriander, but not nearly as present as a lot of white ales. I really liked this beer and it would be the perfect summer beer.
I'd love to try more from this brewery, but don't know when I'll be getting back down to Iowa. Check out their website at www.millstreambrewing.com

Good to see some good Iowa beer!
-Bearded Brewer