July 9, 2014

Uinta Sum'r Summer Ale

Brewed By: Uinta Brewing Company in Salt Lake City, Utah  
Purchased: 12oz CAN from a 12-pack bought at Binny's in Naperville, Illinois; 2014
Style/ABV: American Blond Ale, 4.0%
Reported IBUs: 17

The Uinta Sum'r/Wyld 12-pack is an awesome little bundle. I picked this one up to crush while moving this weekend. How did these two 4.0% session beers hold up? Well, pretty good, actually. About Uinta
Uinta Brewing Company has been around since 1993. The brewery started out in a small, renovated mechanic's garage, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The brewery began to build reputation by distributing beer to bars, restaurants, and liquor stores. By 1996, the brewery installed a bottling line. In 2001, the brewery outgrew its original building, and Uinta relocated to a 26,000-square-foot facility. The Uinta name comes from an east-west mountain range located in northeastern Utah. The brewery names many of its beers after Utah's landscape, including their Cutthroat Pale Ale (after the state fish) and their King's Peak Porter (after Utah's highest peak). An additional note: since 2001, Uinta has been 100% wind-powered, and in 2011, the brewery installed solar-electric paneling. Uinta continues to grow, and continue to produce some stellar, award-winning beer. For more info, click HERE.
The Sum'r Summer Ale is brewed with Sorachi Ace hops and light malts. This one punches in at 4.0% and 17 IBUs, and is available between May and July.

Uinta Sum'r Summer Ale
This one pours into a hazy, yellow-straw-urine body -- cloudy like Gatorade and golden showers -- kicking up two fingers of fluffy, white head. The head is sustaining nicely (suck it, adjunct lagers), and the beer has mean streaks of carbonation. Clingy lacing webs the glass and this is inviting from the get go.

Initially, you might think the aroma is a simple blast of crackers, light grains, and cereal malts. But the aforementioned characters are amplified by the Sorachi Ace. There's some synergy here between the hops and malts. There's a nice lime note on the aroma, floral hops, mild dill, and a really nicely defined biscuit and cracker note. The light grains and cereal malts round out the aroma, which is otherwise clean and simple.

This is super simple in execution, with cracker and biscuit malts providing a lot of the flavor, backed by zesty floral-lemon hops. The hops are peppery and clean, hinting at lime, lemon, and that dill character. The water has a slight mineral edge, which reminds me of a good Pilsner or ESB. 

At 4.0%, this is not only incredibly crushable, but it is incredibly flavorful as well. This is truly a session beer, but does not compromise in terms of flavor. Palate depth is good, with a substantial light-full to medium-light mouthfeel. The cracker/biscuit malts provide substantial weight to the backbone, but the lemon-lime hops cut through the fat making this incredibly boofable and quaffable. This is not a complex beer, but it's not supposed to be. Up front: refreshing malt sweetness, cracker, biscuit; the mids roll into peppery hops and huge lime, lemon, and dill; the back end trails off with lingering floral hops, lingering lime and dill, minerality, and Pilsner-esque biscuit malts. This is a well-crafted beer. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average here. Yeah, I'm serious. This is a simple beer, but FOR THE STYLE, and FOR THE ABV, this is a banger. How they managed to pack so much flavor and malt balance into a 4.0% ABV beer is beyond me. This beer is super drinkable, and that's about all you need to know. If you must pair this with food, pair it with lightly grilled chicken, fish, mashed potatoes, and anything that benefits from mild dill and lime character.

Random Thought: Fuck the Session IPA trend...but cheers to Uinta. Uinta flies under the radar, and that's a shame.

No comments:

Post a Comment