Sunday, February 5, 2012

Squatters Hell's Keep Belgian-style Golden Ale

When I get home from work, I need a beer. I just need to drink one. And I don't always have what I want in the fridge. Ideally, it would be a bottle of Bell's Two Hearted Ale, or a can of Surly Furious. Something  familiar, where the pleasure comes without any probing and free from surprise. On hitting the homestead, I need that flash of refreshment to start off my compression, and there are times when that doesn't happen. If I'm not stocked with those cans and bottles, there may be growlers from Harriet and Town Hall.
Last night (this morning), I forgot that I had a TH growler in the fridge, but, on the other hand, it was opened Wednesday night, and though I haven't posted a review of their Dubbel yet on this blog, it was in no state to represent it in a review. Maybe I'll go back for more?
So, the first blast of beeriness came from my final bottle of New Glarus Moon Man, Then, on to a bottle bought on that last Wisconsin trip, from the Utah concern, Squatters. I wasn't in the proper frame of mind for serious ale examination, and these were the notes:


Squatters Hell's Keep Belgian Style Golden Ale, Reserve Series, The Devil's Private Stash. 7.75 % ALC by VOL. 1 pint, 9 fluid ounces. Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Looking good. golden hued, clear, voluminous head, large, proud, and snowy white. Beautiful.

Aroma: a blend of spice, citrus, and sugar. Soft, subtle, and scintillating. 

Taste: Sweet, then dry, spicy, sparkling, sweet again, fruity, and yum. Yeasty goodness aplenty, afloat in this malty body. Very zesty, uber carbonated. Bright, springy, summery….mmmm. 
I feel like taking this apart, and being super-persnickety, but on the other hand, not. I like it. It's got a lot going on. Sweet, spicy, dry. And on, and on. Effervescent, fruity, yummy. Light bodied, but long in flavor. 



Ain't nothing wrong with these words, I just didn't find myself picking them apart and taking them to task. It's an adequate ale, hits the right notes, doesn't disappoint, while not rocking everyone's world, either.

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