Celebrating Craft Beer Week with Ephemere

When we arrived at the Draught House Pub last night for the Whiskey Century Stout tapping, the line was already out the door and so far into the parking lot that cars could not get in and out. Luckily, though, North Coast was giving away samples of it's Scrimshaw Pilsner, which was a very refreshing, clean, hoppy pils, and great for the long wait.

When we got inside, I ordered a Whiskey Century Stout, while Steve ordered his old standby, Live Oak Hefeweizen.

Needless to say, the Whiskey Century Stout was great. It's a heavy black Imperial Stout, with tastes of black, bitter coffee, and hints of dark fruits and smoke. The Whiskey barrel version, however, had a strong Whiskey taste, as is to be expected. I gave the original an A+ on BeerAdvocate.

The line was too long at Draugh House to get another beer, so we decided to go pick some up from Central Market to bring home.

Steve picked out a beautiful bottle of Ephemere, a Belgian-style fruit beer made with green apples. This, being our first caged-and-corked beer, we were pretty excited about it.

It pours a very hazy yellow, with an ample frothy head that soon disappated into nothing. The smell is primarily of tart green apples, and yeast. Steve finds the smell to be slightly off-putting, noting that the carbonation is very aggressive.

Taste is pretty one-dimensional. Apple rinds, coriander, belgian yeast, and other spices are apparent. Both Steve and I note that the aggressive carbonation is a fault, and stands in the way of appreciating the full flavors. Steve finds this beer more enjoyable when flat. I find it much better when warming up.

Neither of us were really blown away or impressed by this beer, especially for the price tag. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, either. The high carbonation is the only real fault we could find. Otherwise a charming, tarty fruit beer.

Scores:

Appearance- 2.5

Aroma- 3

Taste- 3

Overall- 3

Drink again? Yes. I would have this beer again, though, not any time soon. Fruit beers aren't really my thing, but it has enough tart characteristic to pass as a 'beginner's sour'.





I ended the night with a can of GUBNA, a single-hop(Summit) Double India Pale Ale from Oskar Blues in Colorado. A proper review is soon to follow, as I'm going to have to take a second taste to make up my mind on this beer. It's a Summit bomb, which, while some people may not enjoy, I love. Summit is one of my favorite hops, for it's pungent, often sickly sweet characteristics. (like armpit sweat...I know, bad description but it kind of does taste like sweat) Overall, I thought it was a great beer, though. Not an everyday drinker, but a perfect way to end a night of drinking like this one.