For my birthday, one of my buddies got me a membership to the C&H Beer Of The Month Club, giving me a twelve-pack of microbrews from different breweries around the country every month. This month: Flying Dog’s Kerberos Tripel, Herold Brewery’s Bohemian Black and Granät Lagers, and Boulder Beer’s Flashback Anniversary Ale.
The Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel has an amazing golden-red color and an awesome weissbier bite to its flavor. The sweetness of the flavor borders on that of bubble gum, given the beer’s dryness and richness—every sip is syrupy and overwhelming. This is really nice when you’re sipping an ice cold one, but if the beer gets even slightly warm, it begins to feel almost too heavy, somewhat overwhelming. Still, a nice summer sipping beer.
Pivovar Herold’s Bohemian Black Lager is coffee-like, both in its impenetrable blackness, chocolaty head, and intense flavor. Much like the Kerboros Tripel, this is a beer that is helped by its temperature. Warm, it’s like drinking battery acid; cold, it’s like you’re drinking chocolate refreshment. In that respect, it is beautifully smooth—the coldness mixed with the beers intensity creates as easily-consumed black lager as any I’ve ever known. The Granät Lager is redder and more fruit-based—a hint of cherry, a lot of curl to the flavor’s back-of-the-tongue presence—but it still has the Bohemian’s heaviness and smoothness when served cold. The Granat is less distinct overall than the Bohemian, as it is more of a traditional red, but it still carries itself well, and is a welcome step away from the Black Lager’s bitter darkness.
The champion of the bunch, however, is Boulder Beer’s Flashback Anniversary Ale, celebrating 30 years of the Boulder Brewing Co. The Flashback has an interesting balance—hoppy and red, but light and frothy; easy on the mouth and tongue, but heavy on the throat. It’s also pretty alcoholic, all things considered—this India brown is approximately 6.88%, and it’s flavorful (almost apricot-esque, but not quite) and drinkable enough that the consumption immediately gives the drinker a nice little buzz. This, friends, is nice. This, friends, is a good beer.
For information on how you can have tasty, life-giving beer delivered right to your motherfucking door once a month, check out http://www.beermonthclub.com/.
