However, a friend of mine could go to St. Louis and, indeed he did recently. In addition to eating at Pappy's Smokehouse to his stomach's content, he made a stop at Civil Life Brewing. They don't distribute here nor to Chicagoland so their beer is something of a treat since it can only be obtained after a 5 hour drive south-southwest and I hadn't done that in several years.
Shortly after my friend's return to this side of the Cheddar Curtain, I was gifted with about half of a sampler case. My refrigerator was full of porter and brown ale and more porter and ESB and so on. Civil Life tends to brew English-style beers and some American interpretations of them. I had not delved deeply into their offerings until I received my gift.
The first brew I sampled was the IPA. My reasoning was two-fold: 1) if it wasn't an English IPA then I would get it done and out of the way as American ones, generally speaking, are not my cup of tea and 2) it had been a while since I'd had an English IPA and, since I liked the one I'd tasted, it'd be hoopy to have another.
I was quite surprised when I poured some and found that it wasn't just hazy, it was turbid. Was this really a hazy-juicy IPA? From Civil Life?
"Well, they've gotta keep the lights on somehow," I reasoned.
The mega-haze dulled what I think would have been a very pretty gold beer. On the plus side, the head was this big dollop of just off-white foam that lingered. I took solace in the fact that I didn't smell Hawaiian Punch as I inspected the glass. Taking a big whiff, my nose was greeted by pine, something like mango, and a malty sweetness. The mango wasn't unpleasant and it was in the background behind the pine.
My first sip found a medium-light body that leaned towards the former. Instead of being a hazy IPA, it was more like a West Coast one with the pine and some grapefruit being the prominent flavors. I appreciated that the malt was a bit restrained and didn't have that syrupy sweetness in the background trying to be the hops' foil.
I was pleasantly reminded of Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale with this one.
Next I tried Civil Life's American Brown Ale.
A lovely deep amber with a big, light tan head. Looked scrumptious. It had an aroma that I've smelled in beer before but I don't know what it is and can best describe it as musty plum, but in a good way. Also, a little spicy hoppiness and some leather.
Every beer I've been drinking lately seems to have a medium-light body and this one did too. Some milk chocolate was joined by coffee flavors and caramel too, though the beer wasn't particularly sweet.
If I recall correctly, this is Civil Life's best-seller. No wonder as it's very, very tasty. If their IPA brought back memories from the mid-90s of drinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, this did the same only for Pete's Wicked Ale. Does this stuff taste like that pioneering beer? I don't recall. But it is decidedly retro to have a brown ale as your best selling brew.
I enjoyed how easy drinking this was despite having a fuller malt flavor. Astringency was mild, sweetness was kept at bay. It was malty without being cloying and it had just the perfect amount of hops for balance with a pleasing bitterness at the end.
This trio of Civil Life brews will be rounded out with their Goal!den Ale.
The goofy name comes from the fact that this beer was originally brewed for the Amsterdam Tavern in St. Louis, a place where folks like to gather to watch soccer. Er, football.
A very pretty beer with a big white head and light gold color. It was hazy, but only just. Smelled great too with notes of biscuit and honey as well as a faint bit of grass.
This one was light-medium - ha! A slight sweetness along with the taste of biscuit and something else. Just as there was that scent in the brown ale that was familiar yet undefinable, this stuff had a flavor that made me think there was corn in it. (The brewery disabused me of this idea via email.) It had a vague resemblance to Corona. When your beer's malty taste doesn't have a clear baked good analogue such as a biscuit or a cracker or bread and instead has more of a muddy, doughy taste - well, this is it. There was also a hint of lemon and some gentle herbal-peppery hops.
There are times when the lines between a golden/blonde ale and an American light lager are thrown into sharp relief. This is not one of those times. Goal!den Ale is crisp and clean with everything about it light and easy going. OK, I'll cop to it having a fuller malt taste than most American light lagers meaning it's not the same species or even genus, but definitely the same family.
A fine lawnmower+ beer.
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