 | |
| Equinox Menu (Sorry it's blurry) |
The Story:
Equinox has the distinct honor of being the first Colorado brewery visited and reviewed on this blog. Why them? I had heard (mostly from Caleb) that they were good, and I'd been meaning to go there some day. I'd also had something by them at the last BrewFest. I don't remember what it was or even if I liked it that much. It was Brew Fest, after all. All I remember is that they were giving out temporary tattoos and I decided I should be hard and wear it on my neck. That was a bad choice. I don't know where they got these things printed, but "temporary" was apparently on a cosmic scale because it took me a half hour of scrubbing to get that thing off the next morning. When I was done, my neck was sore and raw, like I'd shaved with a porcupine. I'm not saying this prejudiced me against the brewery or anything, but a good first impression can go a long way.
The worst thing about this trip was listening to Caleb bitch about a traffic jam. "Wah wah wah, I got in a traffic jam! I was going 0 miles an hour! It took 8 years for me to get here! My foot fell asleep in the car and I had to cut it off with a left over soda can, wah wah! " But what about me? I had to sit at home and wait for him to come. I even had to google some directions for him. I was like Atlas that day, I tell ya. All of that was made up for with the addition of peanut butter girl scout cookies.
The Beers:
Sampler: We got the Standard Tray, which is six 3oz beers.Cost: $7
 | ||
| Equinox Standard Tray |
As you can see from the picture above, this ale is definitely golden. It certainly smelled like beer. Overall, I thought it was a fairly smooth beer, but it did have more bitterness than I expected out of a golden ale. Maybe it's just me, but I expect lighter beers to be more summery, maybe floral or citrusy, but I didn't get that out of the Sunrise. It seemed to be more like a heavy pilsner. If someone brought a growler to me, I could probably drink several of these in a row, but I don't know if I'd buy it on my own.
Rating: 7/10
2. O'Rion Irish Red
I like me some red beers. And I'm not talking about that crap that's super nasty beer mixed with tomato juice (which was sent to Earth by the devil, I'm convinced). That's not red beer any more than crapping into a Coors Light makes it a brown ale. A red beer must be brewed red or it must be nuked from orbit. That being said, I wasn't terribly impressed with the O'Rion. It had a light taste that I would expect from a typical red, and a nuttiness that I didn't expect, but I did enjoy. The problem with this beer, though, was the finish, which was very coppery. I detected the copper taste after the first sip, and it just got stronger and stronger with each until I felt more like I was sucking on a penny than drinking a beer. Granted, I wanted to continue drinking the beer for the initial taste, but the thought of adding to the coppery after taste made me want to stop. I don't like moral dilemmas when I'm drinking my beer. I want it all to be simple and straightforward. I would like to drink my beer and either enjoy it or not enjoy it. When I don't get that, I get angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. JASON SMASH!!!!!
Rating: 6/10
3. Eclipse Brown Ale
I also enjoy me a brown ale. With darker beers, I like a little bitter and a little heavy. In a brown ale, I usually expect a nuttiness or even a roasted flavor. In the nuttiness, the Eclipse really nailed it. There was definitely the feeling of nuts in my mouth. It was pleasant and comforting, but all in the front. The downside was that this brown ale was definitely lacking in support. All it really had was the nuttiness, without any deep or earthy notes to the beer. If not for the color, I would think I was drinking a nutty pale ale. I don't think it was bad, it just wasn't what I look for in a brown.
Rating: 8/10
4. Inertia English IPA
Let's get one thing clear from the start. I HATE IPAs. I don't think it's the beer's fault, I blame brewers. Microbreweries have decided that an IPA should really be just ground hops in a glass, with things like flavor and texture an afterthought. In general, microbrew IPAs have become some of the bitterest, worst beers I've ever drunk. They're supersaturated with hops and have no balance. With that all cleared up, I'm going to move on to the Inertia itself.
This was a damn fine beer. I think it's the best IPA that I've had in a number of years. It did have some bitter hoppiness to it, but it was balanced with some cirtus high notes and some mid-level flavoring that I can't describe very well. Hey, if you want description, pick up a harlequin romance. This was a nice strong ale that was incredibly drinkable. I think I could drink enough of this to fight someone over the scores in Premier League, even though all I know about soccer (or "football") is that the English call it "football" and there's something called the Premier League.
Rating: 9/10
5. Zenith IPA
Just smelling this beer, I thought to myself, "I am NOT going to enjoy this." Lo and behold, I was right. It was everything that is wrong about IPAs that I ranted about above. If I had to describe the taste, I would say that my sampler glass contained roughly a metric ton of hops that had been soaked in flower scented bathroom cleaner. It was bitter and overly hoppy and, really, just terrible. I couldn't even finish the sampler glass.
Rating: 1/10
6. Mr. Delicious Oatmeal Stout
All right, look, you have to know that if you're going to put "delicious" in the title of any food or drink, you're going to be judged harsher on that. It would be like us calling this blog "The Greatest Blog About Beer Or Anything Else That You Will Ever Read In Your Miserable Life. It Brings Hope To Oprhans, Brings Loved Ones Back To Life and Tastes Better Than Unicorn Tears!" It would just really raise the bar for what needed to be achieved. The problem is, if you turn out something mediocre, like Mr. Delicious, you're just asking for trouble. Honestly, I didn't think this beer was terrible, it just wasn't a good stout. It tasted a lot like coffee and grape nuts, but it didn't have the heaviness that I want in a Stout. Honestly, if Equinox took some hops away from the IPA and put it in the stout, it could be a very solid beer. As it is, it's much too light for a stout. Rename it into a porter, and we might have a deal.
Rating: 6/10
There it is. The first review. As Caleb said, feel free to comment and prepare to be mocked for disagreement.
No comments:
Post a Comment