Trying a brew from New Belgium Brewing Company. I have sampled a few beers from New Belgium before. I have even drank with some of the beer representatives when they visited the Philadelphia region, when New Belgium first hit the area. I can say the beers, I have had from them have been delicious and I am curious to see what is behind the beer tonight. I love the fact that New Belgium Brewing Company is an employee owned brewing company. "Here's the thing: culture isn't about what you say; it's about what you do." I think that New Belgium Brewing Company has built a great culture and that allows them to create great beers. I think that culture being about what you do, clearly shows in the quality of their beers. New Belgium is focused on sustainability and allows the consumer to see their efforts in that area. They allow beer drinkers to look at where they obtain they ingredients such as hops and barley (Sourcing). New Belgium is also focused on saving and repairing the Colorado River as parts of their sustainability efforts. New Belgium Brewing Company is located in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Heavy Melon New Belgium Brewing Company
The brew I am trying tonight is Heavy Melon, watermelon lime ale. Heavy Melon has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 5% and an IBU of 14. I think this combination could be interesting and refreshing just based off of the name. The name alone reminds me of summer and having watermelon at a hot summer BBQ.
Let's see what this beer is all about.
Appearance of Heavy Melon
I am interested in see what the aroma of this beer is like and what the appearance might be like. First let's look at the appearance of this ale. Most of the times when looking at ales that are brewed with fruit, they usually take on that color or are wheat ales. An example of this is Hell or High Watermelon. Looking at the appearance of this beer you cannot tell its a fruit beer or an ale brewed with fruit in it. There is a golden hue to this ale, which seems to be on the lighter side. The head or foam of this beer is white foam that has a great retention and leaves some lacing around the outside of the glass. In terms of aroma, the first thing I noticed was the watermelon aroma. It was not to overpowering like an ale brewed with fruit could be. Then I began to notice the subtle cereal malt notes and the herbal aromas. Looking at the golden hue to this ale, it makes sense with the cereal malt notes in the aroma because of the lighter complexion. Lastly, I picked up on a citrus note that give me the aroma of a lime.
After looking at the aroma and the appearance, I am finally ready to try this brew to see what the taste has for me. I took my first sip and all I could do is not put down this beer. Heavy Melon is light and refreshing. To me it's like the perfect ale for a hot summer day. There is a balance to this beer in terms of sweet and hop notes. I would have thought originally that this ale would be on the sweeter side but in actuality it has a perfect sweet to bitter note. In terms of mouthfeel, this beer starts of sweet and then finishes with a crisp finish. Body behind the beer, I would say is light and refreshing that has a spritz feeling as you drink more and more of it, almost like a spritzer. In terms of lingering taste notes as I drink more, there is a faint citrus note that lingers on the back of the tongue. I would same it's the lime note in the beer.
Check out Heavy Melon this Summer
Overall, I think that this is great brew. If you are looking for a refreshing beer on a hot day this might be a beer you should check out. It's a light crisp brew that is not a fruit beer, but still gives you the flavors of fruit. Heavy Melon has a balanced profile between sweet notes and bitter notes that both style fans can enjoy. Originally, I was skeptical on this ale because of the flavors in the beer. But the more and more I drank this brew, the more I enjoyed it. I think this beer might be one of those beers judged by its label as a fruity brew, but make sure you do not because this brew has a backbone of an ale.
Check out New Belgium Brewing Company Twitter and Website:
No comments:
Post a Comment