After walking around Friendship Brewing Company, learning
about Brian and talking beer, (see Friendship Brewing Company Part 1) we got to what craft beer is all about, a few of
Friendships brews on ice.
We tried the unnamed Wheat
Amber, a Summer IPA Called Friendzy and an Imperial Stout called Cherry Bombed.
In one word Incredible!
The Imperial Stout was called Cherry Bombed, brewed with cherry
wood smoked grains, Molasses and they tossed some organic cherries into the
fermentation. It was then aged in a local bourbon barrel, (Your mouth watering
yet beer lovers?)
This beer came together when the three friends, Brian, Dan
and Bobby did their very first festival.
They were invited to pour FBC beer there and wanted to create a recipe
between the three of them. They met for coffee, brought notes, created the
recipe on the spot, and brewed it that day. It was a favorite at the festival.
And a favorite of mine, as a one man taster on this occasion, although the wife
will be coming out there with me as soon as they open, against my favorite beer Sam Adams Octoberfest
(which is my 10) I give it a 9, yes I thought it was that good. Against other
Imperial Stouts that I have tried and it is hard to compare because the few I
have had have been Imperial Whites. I would have to set this as a standard and
give it a 10 for an overall Score of 9.5 (by the way the highest score of my
taste testing thus far and not because Brian is a great guy, it was that good)
The next beer I tried was the Ginger Lime IPA. This one came
about while poking fun at Bud Light Lime and people putting limes in Corona.
Now what is funny here is I have always said the same thing about Corona, “you
need the lime to get rid of the bad taste” Well this is the same conversation
the guys had “people needed the lime to help the bad beer taste.” So Brian said
“Let’s make a refreshing hot weather great beer with lime, and being a hophead
I wanted an IPA” He continued to tell me “We thought the fresh ginger might
give it more of a crisp zing, and it worked out well, our friends quaff it down
as quick as we can produce it.” That is why this summer IPA is called Friendzy.
I am not a huge fan of IPAs there are a few I enjoy and this one is one of
them. For the summer it is an awesome beer, refreshing and light without the
strong hoppy after taste that sometimes turns me away from certain IPAs. As an
overall beer (because I do enjoy the darker brews) I give it a 7 as a Summer
beer and even compared to an IPA I really enjoy like Sam Adams Rebel IPA I can
confidently give it a 8 It is a beer I can enjoy in the summer but not one I
would reach for during those dark beer months of the fall and winter. So an
overall score of 7.5 (thus showing I am not blowing smoke or beer up your ass, I am being honest)
The last beer I tried in this buffet of brews was an amber
wheat style. Dan who created this beer has not officially named it. But he
loves wheat beers, and enjoys rye additions in other beer styles as well as
cocoa additions in darker beers, they have a great source for oak barrels, so
Friendship oaked Cocoa Rye was born, and has been a popular brew for the three
partners. This beer fell right in the middle of the other two, not too light
and not too dark, and it had a nice flavor to it. As I start this tasting trek
I have not had a ton of wheat beers so not much to compare it to yet. Against
my Octoberfest I would give it a strong 7. It was a good beer but I wanted more
of the Imperial Stout that day and may have rushed my tasting. So we can
revisit this one again at a later date. Overall a 7There will be more coming from Friendship Brewing Company as I follow the rise of what I know will be a great brewery! We missed them this past weekend at the 2nd Shift Brewing 118th Annual Beerfest And from what I have heard they did very well!! But I am not surprised, just look at my ratings above!
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