Hops & Grain River Beer

It sure does get hot here in Central Texas, as we've repeatedly breached 90 degrees a few times in the last couple of weeks, and it's not even June yet.  That being said, we certainly seem to enjoy spending our days off outside in the sun, in parks, backyards, local swimming holes, and tubing any and all nearby rivers.  And beer is usually in the equation.  But you need something easy to drink and something sessionable enough as to not knock you on your ass before the sun sets.  And as we're craft beer drinkers around here (though Lone Star will always have a special place in my heart), offerings from the "big three" will not do.  Fear not, as Austin's Hops & Grain now have a delicious take on the American Lager we all grew up drinking, the River Beer.  This 5.2% ABV brew pours a beautiful crystal clear light gold with a foamy and bubbly white head and smells of light notes of grain and citrus.  Crisp and light bodied, the beer is subtly sweet at first with a dab of bitterness on the back end.  It basically tastes like beer.  Good beer.  I wish this had been around when i was in high school.

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A Pale Mosaic

I'm not sure if you would call the latest from Hops and Grain a pale ale or an IPA.  It's kind of both.  It's kind of neither.  But either way, A Pale Mosaic sure is tasty.  Pouring a nice and cloudy gold, the beer smells of wheat, pine, and hints of fruit.  The oily mosaic hops give the brew a nice body with a light bitterness on the back end, and tastes of wheat, spice, grapefruit, and more citrus notes.  It's more bitter than your standard pale ale, but not quite into the realm of IPA's, and that's okay because it is easily drinkable and has secured a place in my fridge.

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Hops & Grain Porter Culture

As temperatures gradually (very gradually) drop here in central Texas, i naturally find my beer persuasion turning a little darker, a little thicker, a little stronger.  With that in mind, i am excited that one of my favorite local breweries, Hops & Grain, are adding a fifth selection to their year-round canning efforts, a delicious Baltic porter called Porter Culture.  The brew pours nice and dark, but with a medium body, and a good, tan and frothy head.  Aromas of roasted malt, wheat, and some hints of chocolate prevail, while the flavor combines those three attributes with some hoppy spice and a dry, almost crisp finish.  This is a ridiculously easy beer to drink, and i highly recommend cracking into one the first chance you get.

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