This summer I've imbibed much and many Saranac beers. Three different times Saranac has made it through a place I go to pick up seriously discounted microbrews that haven't sold as well as expected. During our big summer shindig, we provided summer mix packs from Sweetwater and Saranac; there was no Sweetwater left at the end of the party.
I'm going to mass review all the summer-emphasis beers from Saranac I've drunk over the past couple of months. None of the beers were bad, but the tendency was for them to disappoint a bit. Still, a couple were really nice, and others passing decent.
Let it be noted that I've never tried a stout, imperial, or anything else meant to be robust from this house. Might be a whole 'nother ball game; might not.
Belgian White: pleasant orange aroma, lightly cloudy beer with very clean (for a Belgian) taste, light body. Lacking a yeastiness or bite that could have made it more remarkable.
Hefeweizen: not a huge heffie guy, so that put this beer on the back foot. Like the Belgian, not enough body. Classic heffie sour yeast notes definitely present, but without the body needed to carry it, this ended up being my least liked of the summer Saranacs.
IPA: this was one of the passing decent ones, but again with that lack of satisfying body, and not a great example of IPAs. The bitter hops notes are mild and very straightforward, with no complexity. Maybe a little more citrusy than floral, but nothing particularly distinguishing. This would have been an okay pale ale, so I drank it and enjoyed it, but it was a stretch to call it an IPA.
Kolsch: this was definitely one of the better ones, but again, suffered from misclassification and lack of weight and flavor. It was like drinking a particularly bold Budweiser. Since it's been so hot over the past few weeks, this hit the spot more than once. Still, not a paragon of its style.
Pale Ale: very light body. Tiny little bitter note. One of the most boring beers I've ever had. So we move on.
Pale Pale Ale: very pale. Very innocuous. One of the most boring beers I've ever had. So we move on.
Pomegranate Wheat: not shabby at all. First pomegranate beer I'd ever had. They did well for themselves. It has much more fruit than, say, a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. This kind of beer is not usually my cup of tea, but they did pretty well for themselves. The wife enjoyed it.
Summer Ale: this is the one I can endorse to you. It's an easy-going citrus infused ale, and they played the infusion very lightly, which is satisfying. If they hadn't told you they'd added citrus, you might not have guessed. Lightly yeasty and citrusy aroma. Medium-light mouthfeel, slightly sweet but clean finish. Happily, I was able to pick up a few twelve-packs of this on its own, instead of in the variety packs where I'd originally encountered it.
Cheers, all!
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| A friend enjoying the Summer Ale. |
I'm going to mass review all the summer-emphasis beers from Saranac I've drunk over the past couple of months. None of the beers were bad, but the tendency was for them to disappoint a bit. Still, a couple were really nice, and others passing decent.
Let it be noted that I've never tried a stout, imperial, or anything else meant to be robust from this house. Might be a whole 'nother ball game; might not.
Belgian White: pleasant orange aroma, lightly cloudy beer with very clean (for a Belgian) taste, light body. Lacking a yeastiness or bite that could have made it more remarkable.
Hefeweizen: not a huge heffie guy, so that put this beer on the back foot. Like the Belgian, not enough body. Classic heffie sour yeast notes definitely present, but without the body needed to carry it, this ended up being my least liked of the summer Saranacs.
IPA: this was one of the passing decent ones, but again with that lack of satisfying body, and not a great example of IPAs. The bitter hops notes are mild and very straightforward, with no complexity. Maybe a little more citrusy than floral, but nothing particularly distinguishing. This would have been an okay pale ale, so I drank it and enjoyed it, but it was a stretch to call it an IPA.
Kolsch: this was definitely one of the better ones, but again, suffered from misclassification and lack of weight and flavor. It was like drinking a particularly bold Budweiser. Since it's been so hot over the past few weeks, this hit the spot more than once. Still, not a paragon of its style.
Pale Ale: very light body. Tiny little bitter note. One of the most boring beers I've ever had. So we move on.
 |
| The Saranac Pale. This beer bores me. So what's the biggest glass I can fit it into? |
Pale Pale Ale: very pale. Very innocuous. One of the most boring beers I've ever had. So we move on.
Pomegranate Wheat: not shabby at all. First pomegranate beer I'd ever had. They did well for themselves. It has much more fruit than, say, a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. This kind of beer is not usually my cup of tea, but they did pretty well for themselves. The wife enjoyed it.
Summer Ale: this is the one I can endorse to you. It's an easy-going citrus infused ale, and they played the infusion very lightly, which is satisfying. If they hadn't told you they'd added citrus, you might not have guessed. Lightly yeasty and citrusy aroma. Medium-light mouthfeel, slightly sweet but clean finish. Happily, I was able to pick up a few twelve-packs of this on its own, instead of in the variety packs where I'd originally encountered it.
Cheers, all!
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