Anthem Golden One

I spent the last few days in Oklahoma visiting my sister, and aside from visiting the zoo, swimming with my sons and my nieces, watching some thunder storms roll in on the patio, and splashing around in the puddles that ensued, i managed to have a couple of beers.  And the Golden One, a Belgian-style blonde ale from Oklahoma City's Anthem Brewing was the perfect accompaniment.  The beer pours a hazy gold with a foamy, but quickly dissipating white head and smells of grains, yeast, and fruit, with a subtle hint of hops.  The flavor is light and sweet with notes of banana, pineapple, and a subtle punch of spice, and the whole thing comes in at 7% ABV.  What a wonderful patio beer.

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Community Silly Gose

Gose style brews are pretty much a perfect kind of beverage for summertime...if you're into saltiness and tartness and all of that good stuff.  Over the weekend, i had some Silly Gose, a salty and tart wheat beer brewed with tangerines and apricots from Dallas's Community Beer Co.  Pouring gold with a white head, the 5% ABV brew smells of tropical fruit and bread with some hints of overall sourness.  The taste is tart, but never overly so, the fruit notes meshing well with the sour and salt, and with a light bodied and crisp finish.  It's a great backyard brew.

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Saint Arnold Not A Collaboration IPA

Is it a collaboration with Brash Brewing Company?  Is it not?  I don't know for sure, but the Not A Collaboration IPA from Saint Arnold Brewing is a pretty tasty, double dry hopped New England IPA.  Pouring a hazy straw color, the 7.1% ABV beer smells of citrus, pine, and spice, with those same notes combining with hints of fruit to round out the flavor, all finishing with a dank, bitter bite.  Bring on the haze.

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Nine Band Cactus Cat Kolsch

It's summertime, and that means The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff are back on the stereo (for every summer for all time) and that refreshing, sessionable beers begin flocking to my refrigerator for heat wave consumption.  And the Cactus Cat Kolsch from Dallas/Fort Worth area Nine Band Brewing is up to bat.  The beer pours gold with a frothy white head and smells of grass, wheat, and hints of sweet fruit.  The flavor is mildly sweet with some biscuit notes and a malty finish, a little bit different from your standard Kolsch, but tasty nonetheless.  And weighing in at 5.2% ABV, it's a lovely little brew for a hot day.

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