1. Golden Spike Hefewizen- 4%abv Uinta Brewing Co.- Salt Lake City, UT
One of my favorite things about getting in a new beer from Uinta is seeing the artwork for the first time. It's always so simple and attractive, and I'm sure it is responsible for getting more than just myself hooked on this beer. Minimalism goes a long way with the right color palette. What's even better is when the beer in the bottle matches. It pours a cloudy, orange-honey color accompanied by a crisp scent of wheat and candied apples. Overall, it has a pleasant, fizzy mouthfeel with the expected grainy taste complimented by malt, fruit and cloves. Golden Spike's light body and low ABV made it a great summer session beer and is sure to continue making it an equally as great autumn session beer.
2. Pale Ale - 5.8%abv (seasonal release)
10 Barrel Brewing Co. - Bend, OR
The amber hue of this beer makes me think there should be an ancient hop cone trapped inside that I can extract DNA from to create my own prehistoric theme park. Welcome to Beerasic Park. Trademarked and copyrighted. This "clever girl" greets you with the strong aroma of fruity hops and then attacks you from the sides with a sweet maltiness. "Hold on to your butts" as the complexity is taken up a notch when the expected fruitiness is immediately overshadowed by piney hops when tasting. I was pretty shocked, like just-launched-from-a-10,000-volt-electric-fence shocked. Large bottle and decent ABV can easily make you forget how to open doors. Seasonal release so get this before it goes extinct.
3. P-51 Imperial Porter - 8%abv
Wingman Brewers - Tacoma, WA
P-51 is about to commence Air-To-Ground combat on your taste buds. A frothy head that lingers like a caramel topping atop dark chocolate syrup in a glass. An aroma consisting of earthy tones, and nutty chocolate. Flavors of roasted, almost burned, malts, nuts, and cocoa dive-bomb your palate, leaving nothing but the subtle sweetness of berries and the mild, grassy bitterness of hops. Truly a well-balanced, medium body porter fit for a Four Star General.