New Brew Thursday: '55 Funk with Key Lime and Coconut’ from Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company

We are officially in the dog days of summer folks. That means trips to the beach, cook-outs, and day drinking. While it can be difficult to find that perfect summer beer I am here to tell you that ’55 Funk with Key Lime and Coconut’ from Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company is the perfect beer to kick off your drinking day.

’55 Funk with Key Lime and Coconut’ pours into the glass a cloudy, golden-yellow with a nice white head. It has sweet notes of coconut with just a little hint of lime to round things out. The taste is amazing. The initial sweetness of the coconut gives way to the tartness of the lime within seconds of the first sip with that tartness lingering on the mid-tongue just long enough. Building up with each subsequent sip. With a light, yet creamy mouthfeel and clocking in a whopping 8% ABV this one will sneak up on you if you’re not too careful. ’55 Funk with Key Lime and Coconut’ is an awesome sour is great for all seasons but PERFECT for the summer.

New Brew Thursday: 'Lazarus' from Proclamation Ale Company

For as long as I have enjoyed craft beer I have always been a fan of “weird beer.” Meaning that, anytime I see a new style, or a style with odd/unique ingredients I generally have to give it a try.  Now I say “generally” because to me, not every brewery has earned the right to go rogue because I have been burned before and have had my fair share of drain pours. However, when I come across a brewery I trust, I am always down to try something weird. Proclamation in Warwick has ALWAYS been a brewery I trust and they are constantly pushing the boundaries. This was undoubtedly true when they brewed ‘Lazarus’ a bourbon barrel aged sour porter.

‘Lazarus’ pours into the glass a dark brown with a small and light brown head. It has notes of chocolate and sour cherries that both delight and confuse the nose. The taste is as awesome as it is confusing, as delightful as it is complex. ‘Lazarus’ has a light mouthfeel and an initial taste of dark chocolate that then fades and changes to a long and lingering sourness that sticks to the tongue long after the beer is gone. There is a subtle hint of the bourbon barrel which I am always a fan of as well. Despite clocking in at 9.5% ABV it is not overly boozy and with the long and lingering sourness it is the perfect nighttime sipping beer.

‘Lazarus’ is not something everyone will love but if you enjoy stouts, sours, and weird beer it is a must try.

New Brew Thursday: 'The Mystical Resurrection of the Alpaca Magi' from Proclamation Ale Company

About four and a half years ago I was lucky enough to attend the Second Annual Ocean State Beer Festival that was held at Foolproof Brewery in Pawtucket. I consider this one of the best beer events I have ever been too and the day that I truly fell in love with Rhode Island Craft Beer. While I had been drinking craft beer for many years prior and had tried many Rhode Island Breweries it was this event where I truly realized just how big the beer scene was in the smallest state. This is when I first tried “The Chosen One” from Tilted Barn and experienced one of the best sour lines in the state, Alpaca Magi from Proclamation Ale Company.

Those who know me, know that while sours are one of my favorite styles I didn’t really start to love them until around this time. When I walked up to the Proclamation table, I tried their fantastic Pale Ale ‘Derivative’ and while I am not sure which one I had, as it was a very fun festival, I remember loving it (still do) and being asked if I liked sours. Answering in the affirmative I was told to come back in a few minutes as they were going to open their award-winning sour, ‘The Unyielding wrath of the Alpaca Magi.’ Now, I LOVE A GOOD BEER NAME, and was curious to try it and it was everything I love about sours. A Light mouthfeel with a lingering and palate coating sourness. I was then told that this was a series and that there were others in this line. Thusly, I made it my mission to try as many as I could. The last release, ‘The Tropical Excursion of the Alpaca Magi’ was released around the fall of 2018 so it had been awhile since their last new release… until last night. I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw it and it was glorious. Proclamation announced ‘The Mythical Resurrection of the Alpaca Magi’ and about five minutes later I had placed my order.

“Mystical Resurrection” pours into the glass a rich but cloudy purple with an off-white head that disappears just seconds after the pour. The notes show off the beers funk as the barrels round out the raspberries, blackberries, and merlot grapes. The taste is fantastic. With an impossibly light mouthfeel you get an initial tartness from the raspberries and merlot grapes in the front of your mouth that then builds to a slight sweetness. The sweetness does not last long though as you get a rich and complex sour that coats the entire palate from the back of your tongue to the front of your mouth. The Woodford Reserve barrel acts as a kind of amplifier for the foeder which adds to a slight oak finish and lingering sour that builds ever-so-slightly with each sip. Coming in at a dangerous 8% ABV there is no warning halfway through the bottle when it hits. “Mystical Resurrection” is just another in the Alpaca Magi family that delivers every, single, time!

What's in a name?

It is a question often reserved for men and roses that can equally apply to beer. I mention this because this past week saw the release of one of my favorite line of sours from Proclamation Brewery, the 'Alpaca Magi' series. Now a few years ago I did not like sours but over time I began to acquire the taste and now sours are one of my favorite styles and the beer that really jump-started my love of sours was 'The Unyielding Wrath of the Alpaca Magi' an American Wild Ale. I first tried it when I was at the Second Annual Ocean State Beer Fest. I was at the Proclamation table trying their beers and after striking up a conversation with one of the brewers he had asked if I liked sours and when I replied that I did they mentioned that they had a bottle of their sour that they were going to open and that I should try it if I were interested... I was. Then I asked what the name of the beer was and once I heard it I just had to try it. The beer was the perfect American Wild Ale, a devastatingly sour beer with a great light mouthfeel. 

This year's 'Alpaca' is called 'The Tropical Excursion of the Alpaca Magi' and it is quite good. While I do like the other ones better it is still a very good sour. Proclamation has an amazing sour program and an even better job with their names for their sours. The other night I had split a bottle of another one of their sours 'Breathing Life into a Dead Ghost' a name so interesting, so awe inspiring, that upon hearing it you have to know what a beer with that name would taste like. This beer is much more crisp and lighters than an 'Alpaca' beer but it was still well worth it.

This lead me to a more philosophical question about the name making the beer or the beer making the name. If you're a brewer and you brew an amazing beer with a somewhat lackluster name will the beer live up to its full potential? Or if you are a brewer and brew a somewhat lackluster beer but give it a stunning name will it make the beer better? I tend to think that a good beer will always shine regardless of the name but with that being said though, you name your beer something weird/funny and it is a guarantee I will try it.