Thirty Seventh Meeting

We've got a nice gathering of folks for this 37th meeting of the Wild Turkey Beer Club. We gather here at Joe's house for session ales. It's not necessarily a style, but we've narrowed it down to beers that are less than 5% ABV. Joe, Derek, Turnbull, Lampe, Mike, Colin, Brent, Woodpond, and I are here this evening.

First up, Joe has Victory Headwaters Pale Ale. This is technically an American Pale Ale. Joe started the night off by violating his own style rules and bringing a beer that's 5.1%. It's a pretty light smell- tastes and looks like a Pils. It's real light tasting... some hops, but thin. Most of the conversation is centered around recalling Firkin Fest right now.

BPA: 2.85

Next up, Derek brings us New Glarus Unplugged Apple Ale, which comes in at 4%. It's considered a Fruit beer, and if there's one thing NG is known for, it's fruit beers. It smells like a cinnamony, spicy cider. It pretty much tastes like an apple cider with a cinnamon kick at the end. That's about all I can write about this one.

BPA: 3.32

Turnbull brings us Fuller's London Pride, which is an English Pale Ale that boasts 4.7% alcohol. Described to us by Turnbull as a classic pub ale, this one pours a golden amber with small foam presence. This smells sweet and spicy- not what I expected. It certainly has a caramelly kick for a pale ale. Pretty good stuff.

BPA: 2.89

Next we have Warsteiner Premium Verum, brought to us by Lampe. This German Pilsener is 4.8%. I don't believe I've seen this one before. It smells sweet and Pils-y. It's malty and fairly bitter- a pretty flavorful lager.

BPA: 2.76

Our next beer is our first wheat of the night- Hoegaarden. Everyone's had this one before. It's surprisingly tasty for a macro-ish European beer. It pours a cloudy golden color. It's drinkable with a light wheaty, yeasty flavor with some lemon tartness.

BPA: 3.07

This week marks the first week Stone distributes to MN, and Colin brings to us Levitation Ale. It looks and smells like a red, but it's pretty bitter and lacks some malt. However, it's surprising that it's 4.4%. It starts off bitter but ends pretty light. Mixed reviews on this one.

BPA: 2.91

Brent brings us 21st Amendment Bitter American, which is an American Pale Ale. This has a nice balance between the hops and malts for a beer of 4.4%. It's pretty tasty and going down easy. Too bad this isn't the same price as Bud Light otherwise it would be my softball beer of choice.

BPA: 3.43

Goose Island 312 Wheat aka Budweiser 312 Wheat is next. This one smells of wheat, lemon, and yeast and that's exactly how it tastes. It's probably GI's top selling beer and one of the main reasons Anheuser Busch just bought Goose Island yesterday. It's a pretty drinkable, light wheat beer. It's considered an American Pale Wheat Ale.

BPA: 2.87

Bell Oarsman is up next. I've seen this around the liquor stores for some time and I've always enjoyed the picture on the bottle. It's classified as an American Pale Wheat Ale, but it's definitely more sour than that. It definitely tastes like a Berlinerweiss, because it's light and sour. Lemongrass notes are pretty even throughout the flavor.

BPA: 3.29

Last up is Deception by Fitgers. BONUS BEER!! This is an extreme derivation from tonight's theme. This is an Imperial Stout with Cherries and Lacto added, which gives it a sour taste. It's boozy, but pretty dang tasty. Derek brought us a growler down from Duluth.

BPA: 3.61