This last weekend I was in Iowa visiting the inlaws. My wife, being the wonderful person that she is, allowed me to scoop up a big pile of Iowa beers during our stay. I was able to snag up four different brews from three different breweries at one store. Each beer I purchased is not available in MN, so I was very excited to get my grubby, Iowa-beer deprived hands all over these bottles. The first of the four that I'll be reviewing is a Belgian Golden Strong from Peace Tree Brewing.
Peace Tree is located in Knoxville, IA. They opened their doors, well, I have no idea to be honest. The page on their site that is supposed to bless us with their rich, historical story is down. Don't worry, though. I know exactly what I need to do to get this crucial tidbit of information. To the Googlez!!! 2009, that's the year they opened their doors. Thank you Googlez. Due to IA beer laws at the time of their inception, Peace Tree was only able to brew beer below a certain ABV percentage. 4.9% was the limit, I believe. After much lobbying and a couple free cases of beer, the IA beer brewers were able to get this outdated law overturned and open the doors for Iowa brewers to brew higher ABV beers. In celebration, Peace Tree decided to brew Blonde Fatale. This sneaky blonde Belgian was such a huge hit that they decided to make it a winter seasonal.
This ale is a stupendously clear golden pale color. Its appearance is accentuated by numerous columns of carbonation bubbles speeding to the top of my pilsner glass where a huge billowing foam... wait a second, WTF happened to the foam??? It's gone! Or, more accurately, it never was. I'm a bit surprised since Belgian ales tend to produce a metric shit-ton of foam. Nonetheless, I pressed forward and took a sip. The flavors are very delicate. You'd miss half of them if you powered through the bottle without a second thought. The light, Belgian yeast fruitiness is present but quickly disappears into a subtle sweet malt and lightly toasted bread flavor. Hints of hops are there but hardly discernable. Some bitterness shows up towards the end but is quickly phased out by additional sweetness and a pleasant alcohol warmth.
Overall - I can definitely see why they added this brew to their annual line-up. It's a very tasty and devious beer. The alcohol is nowhere to be found other than in the warming sensation you get in your cheeks. The flavors are full but light. Take notice of your first few sips to really appreciate everything going on in this Belgian blonde. And definitely drink it at cellar temp (48F) to get the full bouquet of flavors. I'm happy I grabbed this sixer out of the four others I had to chose from. I'll be buying more from Peace Tree next time I'm in Iowa.
P.S. - GO CYCLONES! Yes, I know it's five days later. But it was seriously the best... damn... game... ever! Besides, how can I write about an Iowa beer without mentioning the best football team in the state?!
 |
| I love these stubby little bottles! The artwork is pretty cool too. |
Peace Tree is located in Knoxville, IA. They opened their doors, well, I have no idea to be honest. The page on their site that is supposed to bless us with their rich, historical story is down. Don't worry, though. I know exactly what I need to do to get this crucial tidbit of information. To the Googlez!!! 2009, that's the year they opened their doors. Thank you Googlez. Due to IA beer laws at the time of their inception, Peace Tree was only able to brew beer below a certain ABV percentage. 4.9% was the limit, I believe. After much lobbying and a couple free cases of beer, the IA beer brewers were able to get this outdated law overturned and open the doors for Iowa brewers to brew higher ABV beers. In celebration, Peace Tree decided to brew Blonde Fatale. This sneaky blonde Belgian was such a huge hit that they decided to make it a winter seasonal.
This ale is a stupendously clear golden pale color. Its appearance is accentuated by numerous columns of carbonation bubbles speeding to the top of my pilsner glass where a huge billowing foam... wait a second, WTF happened to the foam??? It's gone! Or, more accurately, it never was. I'm a bit surprised since Belgian ales tend to produce a metric shit-ton of foam. Nonetheless, I pressed forward and took a sip. The flavors are very delicate. You'd miss half of them if you powered through the bottle without a second thought. The light, Belgian yeast fruitiness is present but quickly disappears into a subtle sweet malt and lightly toasted bread flavor. Hints of hops are there but hardly discernable. Some bitterness shows up towards the end but is quickly phased out by additional sweetness and a pleasant alcohol warmth.
Overall - I can definitely see why they added this brew to their annual line-up. It's a very tasty and devious beer. The alcohol is nowhere to be found other than in the warming sensation you get in your cheeks. The flavors are full but light. Take notice of your first few sips to really appreciate everything going on in this Belgian blonde. And definitely drink it at cellar temp (48F) to get the full bouquet of flavors. I'm happy I grabbed this sixer out of the four others I had to chose from. I'll be buying more from Peace Tree next time I'm in Iowa.
P.S. - GO CYCLONES! Yes, I know it's five days later. But it was seriously the best... damn... game... ever! Besides, how can I write about an Iowa beer without mentioning the best football team in the state?!
No comments:
Post a Comment