Monday, June 8, 2015

REVIEW - Narragansett Lovecraft Honey Ale


TL;DR summary : Good stuff, too bad it’s gone.

Beer style: Honey Ale
ABV 7%
What I paid: 11.99
How it came (packaging): six 16oz cans
Brewery link: http://www.narragansettbeer.com/beer/lovecraft-honey-ale


About the Beer:
This particular beer is a collaboration between Rhode Island’s oldest brewery, Naragansett (currently contract brewed in New York,) and local brewing super star Shawn Larkin. It’s the first in a series of limited editions celebrating HP Lovecraft and his works. Unfortunately, its run is over, so you probably won’t find it in stores unless they decide to go for a second batch. I’ll talk about “Gansett and Larkin’s brewery, Revival, in other posts.

Lovecraft is getting a lot of attention in the last few years, and has recently been embraced by his beloved Providence. He’s being recognized as a favored son and author of merit, rather than just an obscure figure who wrote pulp horror stories. No doubt the tourism dollars his name has been able to generate have something to do with that.

In any event, it’s cool to see a collaboration like this, where local brewers get together to honor a local figure who, honestly, probably wasn’t much into beer at all.

‘Gansett says the beer has a base of “honey malt” and is finished with “a touch” of hops. They promise a hint of honey sweetness, a hop crescendo, and a smooth finish.

Color/appearance: Coppery, thick creamy head
Aroma: sweet, malty, slightly spicy undertone
Mouth feel: medium to light boded.
Flavor: brown sugar, caramel, spicy hops, slightly sweet.

Notes: sweetly balanced. Complex. Good body, not too heavy, not too light. Nice head retention.  

Summary:  I really enjoyed this beer. It was sweeter than I expected, really all the way through. It wasn’t overpowering though. The beer did indeed deliver on the hop crescendo, and yet managed to finish clean. The beer was light-bodied enough that I didn’t feel like I was drinking syrup, and I think that made all the difference.

Rating : 4

1 – avoid
2 – if it’s the only choice, I guess
3 – a decent beer. Drinkable.
4 – good beer – hard to turn down
5 – great beer - One of my favorites, pour me another.

Style: 3.5

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