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26. Moon River Brewing Co. - Marmota

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I don't know if anyone north of the Mississippi has noticed anything... odd about the weather, but currently we're experiencing what meteorologists have been calling The Polar Vortex.

So you can imagine my excitement when my mother agreed to come with me on a trip to Savannah, Georgia to visit an option I'd been exploring for graduate school BECAUSE THERE IS NO SNOW THERE.

Nothing was more beautiful in 2014 so far then landing at the Savannah airport, walking out those scary narrow steps off the plane and ripping off layers of coats and sweaters immediately, because it was 73 FREAKIN DEGREES.

ONLY CAPS LOCK CAN PROPERLY DEMONSTRATE MY EXCITEMENT.

I mean really, have you ever seen anything more beautiful and sunny than this? Especially for all of you up north.


 

Those are some clear blue skies, people!

Also, Savannah is kind of, well, special when it comes to beer. Or alcohol in general.

See, from Jones St. to the river (the historic district), you can drink in public as long as it's in a plastic container. There are no open container laws.

So while this unique drinking experience felt highly illegal for the first day or two, I finally started to relax about the whole thing and really enjoyed having the chance to carry my beer from place to place. Honestly, it really helps you pace yourself when you don't feel rushed to finish your beer as well, I think it's a good idea and it works very well for Savannah.

While I tried to drink only regional selections (Georgia and the Carolinas), I think I'm going to talk about one of the beers I had that was brewed right in downtown Savannah.

The first night in Savannah was spent at Moon River Brewing Company. We could even drink out in their new beer garden! I had absolutely delicious brisket tacos, there was great music playing, and in case you weren't from Michigan and thought 58 degrees was cold, there were fireplaces to keep you warm.

My favorite selection for the night was definitely the Marmota, a Belgian APA fusion (6% ABV). This is the unaged batch of their Sombra de Marmota, which was aged in tequila barrels. I would have loved to try that when they had it!

Served in a pint glass, this beer was the color of overripe peaches. Very little lacing or retention.

The aroma was certainly fruity, leaning more on the belgian side. Some nice citrus combined with subtle tropical fruits and a slight caramel malt.

This had delicious belgian characteristics coming from the yeast, banana, cinnamon, clove, but it was balanced nicely with some pineapple citrus west coast style hoppage. The combination actually made the finish on this beer quite hot. Not warm alcoholic hot, but spicy and zesty. It was delicious and refreshing, especially considering it was quite carbonated and airy. I could imagine really enjoying this beer in the middle of spring, though it may even be too heavy for a Savannah summer.


Up front on the left is the Marmota. On the right is the Wild Wacky Wit, also quite nice. Savannah's version of Oberon/Dirty Blonde/Whitsun.... you know what I mean.

Anyway, Moon River is also considered to be incredibly haunted and was featured on that ghost hunting show on the Travel Channel. Savannah is actually the most haunted city in America, so I'm sure if you asked one of the bartenders here they would have some pretty interesting haunted stories!

I'm really in love with this town and I can't wait to return or possibly live here! I would at least love to come to the Beer Festival in Savannah on August 31. Mark your calendars!




14. Ommegang - Rare Vos

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Tonight is so beautiful.

I can't get over it. Every other year, I have dug my feet into the summer ground and refused to move into autumn, but this year I feel totally different. Maybe it has something to do with having graduated eight months ago, so I did not start school this week. I have all this extra money in my bank account from not buying books (except not really at all), I don't have to deal with lost people running around campus (except the theater I work at half the week is on campus), I don't have to worry about studying (except I have the GREs coming up), and I won't have to spend the entire week organizing the thousands of pages from syllabi I just crammed into my bag when I first received them (that one is true).

Despite the cruel fact that with the end of one of life's hardships comes another, totally different but equally difficult one, I can't help but feel somewhat accomplished as I see students running around like lost prairie dogs trying to collect what they need for the new year and hoping that they won't fail any of their classes. I totally don't have to do that this year, and it is actually pretty great.

Anyway, I broke open my beer fridge this evening and went straight for Ommegang, did not pass go, did not collect $200.

So this is my review of Rare Vos from Brewery Ommegang (6.5%), which is their amber ale.



Definitely getting a good, solid two to three finger head off the pour. Thick, frothy volume in golden white. Fades down to about a one finger head, but still, so thick and almost chunky.

There's some heavy haze in here, and the color is true amber through and through.

First off, there's a ton of candied orange peel in the aroma, as well as some apple and pear. Some very faint hoppiness at the end. There's good, solid butter caramel malts in there as well.

Right of the bat... cloves. Absolutely cloves. And coriander. This beer is super mild, more than I expected but I am pleasantly surprised. I was kind of cringing thinking it would be a very robustly sweet beer considering the aroma. No hops present whatsoever, but I licked my lips and got the slightest touch of bitterness. I am definitely tasting some apple peel, to me it is one of the strongest notes. Maybe a little bit of peppercorn as well. As it warms you get this really great, soothing bread-like quality that mixes perfectly with the mild, not-too-sweet fruit (again, like apple peel, or maybe underripe pear).




I really love this beer. As the weather transitions to fall and it gets a little cooler outside here in Michigan, this amber ale is really suiting my mood. It's not crisp and biting, it's not in-your-face refreshing or citrusy acidic. But you don't need that, because there's a really nice fall breeze coming in with the night, and it's wafting through my windows to create the most perfect temperature. It's exactly like this beer..... not too much, not too little. It's subtle, but only because it knows it's so elegant, it doesn't need to be all up in your face like that.

This beer is perfect for today.

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