some for the road
In my other life - as an automotive journalist - I had the chance to make my way to Nashville last week, and I managed to actually find some pretty decent beers at the Blackstone Brewery. Going in, I had no expectations at all. Just hoped to find something drinkable, something not shite. Quelle suprise. Every single beer on tap was clearly and convincingly either GOOD or FUCKING GOOD, a record of consistency I’d never thought I’d see in the deep south. So let’s go to the notes…
First up, Chaser Pale. I’ve been on a years-long hop extravaganza, so I’m not as attuned as I once was to the delicate intricasies of Kolsch, but my palate’s still good enough to know this is GOOD. The closest thing in quality and flavor I’ve been drinking lately is St. Arnold’s Fancy Lawnmower, and I’d have given just about anything to have had a fresh pint of the Lawnmower to put upside the Chaser Pale. Light, way too drinkable, just enough hops to keep you coming back for more. GOOD.
Nut Brown Ale is FUCKING GOOD, and it carries a gold medal (2000) from the World Beer Cup to prove it. It’s hard to get excited over a brown ale, but this thing rocks. Serious roast and chocolate notes keep it from getting anywhere nearly cloyingly sweet. Truth is, you could serve everybody you know a pint of this and tell ‘em it’s a porter, and 90% would believe you. Does that put it out of style? Not in my book, but I’ll cop to not being an official judge. So good, I brought a 6-pack back to Texas.
Red Springs Ale is GOOD. Classic American amber ale. A little too hoppy to qualify as a bitter or even an ESB, I’d think, and that scored it a few extra DavePoints.
Maris Otter is a classic English IPA, and it’s GOOD. Very well balanced, with a solid malt bill to counter the relatively big hop finish. Added bonus - it’s served unfiltered to carry more maltiness, and it works.
St. Charles Porter is FUCKING GOOD. Scream that from the rooftops or the gutters or wherever you wind up after a dozen pints of this beauty. A multiple medal winner at the World Beer Cup (including a Silver in 2004), this is one of the best porters I’ve ever had, US or UK. It killed me to find that I couldn’t get a case to bring home. So I drank 24 pints at the pub. You gotta do what you gotta do.
American Pale Ale is GOOD. Lucky me, the night I was there, it was also served cask-conditioned, and that was FUCKING GOOD. Why more brewers don’t put high-hopped pale ales on the cask is beyond me. These beers are, to my palate, much better suited to that serving style than the usual ambers and browns. The cask adds layers of complexity to the beer, and the creamier carbonation actually works in the beer’s favor as well.
I was told that I was there at exactly the wrong time to get a taste of Blackstone’s Belgian-style brews, but I’m not ruling out making a call to the brewery and asking if they’ll bring me a growler or two to the GABF.
