Yesterday was bottling day and nothing brings on a thirst more than handling beer. What better way to quench that thirst by picking up some American craft beer and reviewing. Three participants joined the thirst quenching party: Unplugged Cranbic Ale by New Glarus Brewing Company, Blue Paddle by New Belgium Brewing Company, and Olde Number 22 by Arbor Brewing Company.
Unplugged Cranbic marks the 20th beer I have tasted of New Glarus since I have been loggin reviews on the site. The beer has a slightly pink hue to an otherwise amber colored beer. Tart, cranberry and sweet are balanced on the nose with a mild spice and acidicy. Taste starts sweet and grows with a culmination towards the end with the tart – seemingly trying to balance but doesn’t quite get there. This little glitch keeps it from going to the next level but it is another really good beer from New Glarus. 8/10
Blue Paddle is a German Pilsner that is better than average and you should give it a try. I am not saying it will knock your socks off but it is crisp, clean, refershing, and easy drinking. I just thought the senses that it brought out were just a little bit on the light side. I would really like this beer in the summer time as a post lawn mowing thirst quencher. 7/10
The last beer, which I really wanted to be good since we drive by it on the way to my wife’s sisters house, was Olde Number 22. Olde Number 22 is an Altbier that was a little light on both taste and aroma. I realize that the styles call for a delicate balance, so I figured that the beer was to style. I did get a metalic taste in the after taste that killed the beer pretty much for me. It did seem to go away after a while (did I get used to it?) and I was wondering if it was something from the dishwasher in my glass, but this was the third beer in the glass. I would like to give this one another try. 6/10
I drank the beers in the order in which I also liked them: Unplugged Cranbic Ale, Blue Paddle, and Olde Number 22. Tonight is a five beer taster of Sam Adams beers with Rich. Enjoy!
Tags: american craft beer, arbor brewing company, Beer, beer review, blue paddle, new belgium brewing company, new glarus brewing company, olde number 22, unplugged cranbic