As we do every week, we enjoyed a Thursday afternoon beer tasting to inspire us when creating new recipes. The "common thread" here wasn't particularly strong – we tasted a Scotch Ale, then compared and discussed the citrus flavors in the IPA and Saison. We talked about common vs. tropical citrus flavors, how much is too much citrus, and beers with a citrus flavor that tastes more like a cleaning product. Admittedly, we all feel very proud of how fresh the taste of citrus is in our recipes, like Tangerously Hoppy IPA or our Salty Dawg Grapefruit Gose. This causes us to be firm judges about "good" citrus flavor. During this tasting, we also tasted an incredible batch of Tangerously Hoppy IPA brewed by Matt, our talented Graphic Artist, and nobody wanted to put the bottle down!

Smuttynose Scotch Ale

Appearance It's got a caramel color, hazy clarity, and a diminishing head. Aroma Smells like sweet, biscuit, caramel malts; earthy hops; and clean but lightly floral yeast. Flavor We taste sweet, biscuit, grainy, toasty malt; piney, herbal, spicy hops; and simple, clean yeast. Mouthfeel This ale goes down with a medium body, moderate carbonation, and a long finish. Overall Tasting Notes The judges said, "good for a scotch," "well balanced," "warm roasty spicy," and "caramel taste, scotch aroma."  

New Belgium Citradelic

Appearance Citradelic pours a gold color with clear clarity, a diminishing head, and lacing. Aroma Smells like citrusy, grassy, floral hops; sweet malts; and clean yeast. Flavor This IPA tastes of citrusy, leafy hops; then sweet, biscuit, dark stone fruit, grainy malt; and clean yeast. Mouthfeel Light body and a crisp/dry finish make this IPA deliciously drinkable. Overall Tasting Notes Team members wrote, "awesome beer," "yuck," "very tropical, almost sweet," and "orange aroma and taste overall mild citrus hops follow."  

Upslope Blood Orange Saison

Appearance Upslope's Saison has a pale, gold color; clear clarity; diminishing head; and lacing. Aroma Smells like sweet malts; citrus, floral, leafy, grassy, earthy hops; and of course barnyard yeast. Flavor The malts have a biscuit, grainy, nutty flavor, while the hops taste more resinous, piney, spicy with that barnyard yeast finish. Mouthfeel This one's got a light body and crisp/dry finish. Overall Tasting Notes Now remember, this is a whole team judging here, and we have quite a few Sour & Saison beer haters in the bunch - "no dice," "double yuck," and (finally) "blood orange taste with dry champagne finish."