I recently had one of those heady brews from Potosi – their doppelbock
– and have enjoyed their beers for years. Despite having been around since
2013, Driftless is still a newcomer to me. A couple months or so ago I had
their Driftless Lager and was disappointed to find that it was an American pilsner/macro
lager or whatever you call the style that is Miller, Bud, and Coors. Does this
happen in any other sector of the food industry?
Microbrews emerged to some degree or another as a response
to macrobrews, i.e. - Miller, Bud, and Coors. They were made (crafted, even!) in small batches with less or no automation and didn't cut corners with adjuncts. These beers had more flavor
than Miller and associates. Microbrewers became craft brewers and changed the
beer landscape in not only this country but worldwide. And now some of them are
making the equivalent of High Life.
I went shopping yesterday and realized that coffee seems to
have undergone a similar transformation, at least here in the States. It used
to be that coffee was coffee. Packaging didn't tell you anything about how it
was prepared. Juan Valdez did his magic behind the scenes and you just bought a
tin of a ground brown powder. But Starbucks and small roasters have changed things
so that Folgers now offers gourmet coffees. Folgers even now admits that you can roast
beans to varying degrees instead of having just one generic product that is ground
coffee.
Do small, independent coffee roasters offer bags just labeled
"Coffee"? And when you go home and brew some, do you find it tastes
just like Maxwell House or Sanka? Do "craft" coffee roasters try to
mimic the mass-produced stuff their coffees exist in opposition to in the same way
"craft" brewers brew Bud-like swill?
Huh. I had meant to discourse on the tastiness of a relatively
simple un-barrel aged, non-double dry hopped blonde ale but ended up with a
mini screed. Ooops. Let's get to the beers.
The Buzz had a honey smell to it along with caramel. I'd also
swear there was just a hint of banana. GA smelled like cracker, a little bit of
grass, and corn. Honestly, it smelled like Miller High Life.
The honey served Local Buzz well. It had a nice earthy honey
taste to it along with a little bread. While there was some fizz, it was quite
smooth and medium-bodied. The finish was slightly bitter and just a tad dry.
GA, on the other hand, had a really nice finish which started on a creamy note
before ending with more bitterness than Local Buzz that tasted grassy and
spicy. Prior to that I tasted a fairly light-bodied brew with a little cracker
flavor along with a touch of sweetness. Plus, it tasted like corn to me. Honestly,
this stuff was a lot like Miller in flavor in addition to aroma.
Golden Ale impressed me with how well it mimicked an American
macro lager and a Terrence Malick film. Otherwise, it is not a beer for me.
Local Buzz fared better in my mouth. Although I feel it needs a little more
grain flavor (and more fizz too), I really liked the honey here, both in
strength and quality, with its earthy, floral qualities.
Junk food pairing: Lighter beers fare well with lighter fare
so grab yourself a bag of Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Crisps.
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