Welcome back for another installment of Tap Trail reviews. We’ve got an interesting collaboration beer here today. Collaborations are always a nice idea, especially if it affords you the opportunity to try a beer from a brewery you wouldn’t normally be able to. There have been quite a few local breweries teaming up, Reubens & Bale Breaker, Aslan & North Fork, Three Magnets & Triceratops, Whitewall & Skookum, among others. As great as it is for brewers to team up and make a joint beer, some are certainly better than others, sometimes styles clash too much or brewers reach further out of their collective comfort zone than they may have anticipated. Overall though, they tend to be a great way to deliver a truly unique beer experience.
What we’ve got today is brewed at Against the Grain in Louisville, Kentucky. Mostly known for their unique nomenclature of their beers, they’ve fortunately got the juice to back up the name. Anyone can name a beer something crazy like the Brown Note, Pile of Face, or Kentucky Ryed Chiquen (which has been released in a feather covered bottle). Just based on naming rights alone it makes some sense for Against the Grain to team up with Hoof Hearted. Located in Marengo, OH Hoof Hearted has been releasing some cult favorites with equally outlandish names such as their flagship Konkey Dong Double IPA, or their Musk of the Minotaur IPA.
Each of these breweries boasts some rather intriguing artwork, and each fortunately has the stones to backup the names and the looks. What they present to us is a Pale Lager with plenty of hops, named simply “Clearly Everybody Wants Some.” This IPL utilizes Australian Ella hops and promises to be a hop lovers dream.
Beer — Clearly Everybody Wants Some
Style — India Pale Lager
Brewer(s) — Against the Grain & Hoof Hearted
ABV — 6.0%
Price / Availability — $3.99 (16 oz) / Seasonal
Appearance (3/3) — A light pale yellow hue into the glass with great clarity. A nearly pure white colored head of foam sits lightly atop the beer and leaves behind some nice bits of lacing as it is consumed.
Aroma (7/12) — Fairly muted with not a whole lot going on. Some light grassy and earthy aromas of pine and sage. Quite a noticeable malt foundation of pilsener malt and breadcrumbs.
Flavor (13/20) — Clean and intriguing with some nice herbal and earthy notes. Again there is pine, lemon grass, black pepper. Sweet caramelized malt component is quite strong as well, not overly heavy, it remains light and all flavors are quite subtle.
Mouthfeel (4/5) — Quite crisp and clean with a great carbonation level. Remains bubbly and light with enough of a lingering finish to keep you wanting to come back for more.
Overall (6/10) — Very much a hoppy lager, but there seems to be some untapped potential overall. A nice sum of the parts, though it just feels like this could have been taken more in any one direction and made that much better overall. As it stands it is a clean, earthy, slightly lemony, pale lager with great drinkability and refreshment. Cheers!
— OVERALL 33 / 50 VERY GOOD —