Circle Perfekt Pils

Summer is almost officially over...not that we ever really got a summer, but whatever...and before i dive head first into my preferred Autumn brews for the next couple months, here's a nice summertime, backyard beer from the good folks at Circle Brewing in Austin.  The Perfekt Pils is a 4.9% ABV German style Pilsner released for the brewery's 8th (!!!) anniversary.  It pours a nice, clear gold with a full and frothy white head and smells of malts and hops.  The flavor is similar, what you would expect from a well made Pilsner.  It's one of those beers that just smells and tastes like beer.  At the end of the day, you really can't ask for more.
 

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Circle Fanny Pack Kolsch

The other night, we lost power for a few hours right after dinner.  Within a few minutes, the house started to get hot, and it wasn't long before it was actually cooler outside than in.  So, we sat out front on some patio chairs with a couple flashlights and some toys/activities for the boys, who were way more amused by the whole situation than their parents were.  Anyway, accompanying me on our little exodus was a few cans of Fanny Pack Kolsch from Circle Brewing, a crisp and refreshing 4.8% ABV brew that went down all to easy as the moon came up.  The beer pours a wheaty gold with a slight white head and smells of malt and spice with a hint of fruit.  The flavor was slight sweet with occasional notes of spice and a dry finish.  This is a great and sessionable summertime beer, with or without power.

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Circle Archetype Historical IPA

Now this is an impressive brew, from creation to consumption.  Circle Brewery's Archetype Historical IPA is a beer four years in the making, going through several trial runs in an attempt to create a kind of beer that would have been imbibed 300 years ago, brewed in the UK and then shipped by sea to India.  Go here for a rundown of the whole process.  And all that work was definitely not in vain.  The beer poured clear and crisp, a light gold with a fairly frothy head.  Slight earthy aromas abound, with some really subtle hints of lemon, and the flavor was not what i was expecting.  Either through the recreated British malts used in brewing, or the secondary fermentation in the brett-carrying barrels, the beer does not taste like the kind of IPA i'm generally used to.  That being said, West Coast IPA's tend to dominate that market, with their hops in the forefront.  The Archetype really dialed back the hoppiness with much more balance with the malt, creating something that, to me, felt and tasted much more like an ESB.  Either way, it was a delicious, 7.5% brew that i certainly will be revisiting all summer long.

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Circle Devil's Envy

Generally the end of May keeps me in lighter fare, pales and hefes and whatnot.  But the gloom and doom brought on this weekend by the torrential downpours and constant thunder and lightning has me thinking a little darker instead.  Devil's Envy from Circle Brewing is a pretty tasty different take on their Envy amber beer.  The beer has been aged in whiskey barrels making it a little darker and a lot tastier.  Pouring a dark amber with minimal head, Devil's Envy smells of bread, whiskey, and oak, and those whiskey and oak flavors prevail.  At only 4.8% ABV, the heavy alcohol flavor can kind of throw you off, but the beer is light bodied and delicious.

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Circle Envy

Austin's Circle Brewing Co. has a rather tasty amber beer called Envy.  The brew pours a darkish red, minimal head, and smells of molasses, some dried fruit, and maybe some hints of pine.  The flavors are predominantly sweet, but not too sweet, a good combo of the aforementioned molasses and fruit.  The hops compliment the malts well, adding a dry bitterness, but not too dry and bitter, to the beer.  Complex and simple.  Well done.  Drink this with anything.

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