The Market in Maryville – Beer Tastings Part II: The Beer
If you haven’t already checked out our post on the beer tasting’s The Market in Maryville does, be sure to check that out. We went to the one on 1/7 and had a great time and sampled some great beers – and as the title suggests, that’s what this post is about – the beer.
We actually had more than what I’m about to post about but I’m going to focus on the beer that we
all enjoyed. First up, Anchor Brewing Company’s Liberty Ale.
Anchor Brewing Company’s Liberty Ale: I’d be lying if I said Anchor Brewing is a brewer I think about with frequency. They actually make pretty good beer, I just don’t see too much of it around here. This was actually the first time I had seen Liberty Ale which, according to the label on the bottle, has been around quite some time as it was introduced in 1975 to celebrate the bicentennial ride of Paul Revere. Enough history, on with the beer! Liberty Ale is a golden ale that pours very well and has immediately noticeable carbonation. You can quickly pick up sweet citrus-like scents from the beer and on the tongue I was quickly reminded of Stella Artois, which isn’t such a bad thing. This beer also had a little bit of a bitter aftertaste that reminded some in the room of an ESB but I’m not sure I’d go that far. Overall a pretty crisp and nice beer but not completely up this beer snob’s ally. I wouldn’t turn one down but Anchor has other beers I prefer.
Kapuziner Hefeweizen: This beer hails from Germany and if you speak German, you can tell me what the Kulmbacher website says. This is, of course, a wheat ale that pours out of the glass like you’d expect a hefeweizen to do, cloudy. Unlike the hefeweizen’s I’m used to, this one clears up pretty quick in the glass and has a nice golden color. On the nose you can easily pick up scents of vanilla, floral notes and a wee bit of yeast. On the tongue you get some banana, vanilla, apricot, grape and KnoxBeerSnob Don said cloves but I wasn’t getting that one. The taste really lingers on your tongue for a while as well. Overall a very smooth hefeweizen.
Terrapin Moo-Hoo: Of the beers on deck, this was the only one I had already had. Check out this earlier post about this beer. I won’t reiterate my other post but I will say this is a very unique and tasty beer that is just perfect for these cold winter months. Great beer.
Rogue Chocolate Stout: Now, this was a fun beer. Rogue has always impressed me but when they say chocolate stout – they mean it. When you pour this beer you can immediately smell chocolate – it is actually a bit potent at first. When you take the first sip the chocolate immediately hits you and then oddly enough, you get hops which was a bit of a pleasant surprise. We likened this beer to biting into a bar of dark chocolate – sweet but bitter. I actually brought a bottle of this back to the house as I think it needs to be tried over some chocolate ice cream – that’s right, you heard me, beer float.
The surprise at the end was a 5th beer being added to the line-up.
Big Flats 1901: 
I’ll be honest, when I see beer in a can my beer snob alarm goes off, “DANGER WILL ROBINSON.” Why this alarm can’t say MY name is beyond me, nonetheless I heed it’s warning. However, a lot of breweries are looking to the can as it can cost a little less, let’s less light spoil the beer and they are a little more compact not to mention take up less space in the old recycling can. Many of us though see the can and have immediate visions of high school and some guy with a mullet saying, “hold my beer, now ya’ll watch this.” Honestly, the only time I think beer in a can is appropriate is when fishing – don’t know, just seems to fit. However, a lot of cheap beer comes in a can so for the beer snob, we often straighten our monocle, put on our top hat and say, “I bid you a good day sir.” This beer, in a can, put a crack in my, “beer in a can = no good” bias.
As you can see in the pic, it’s a very golden and clear beer and is remarkably sweet, crisp and fresh. This is totally not what I would expect from a can beer and at $3.75/six pack, it’s a bargain. Don’t take my beer snob monacle away but I kinda liked this beer.
Now, I’m a little concerned that it doesn’t seem like any brewery out there lays claim to this beer. After some searching, searching and more searching I am led to believe that Genesee Brewing produces this but there is nothing on their website that says so. I don’t have one in front of me now so I can’t look at the bottle…I mean can.
Overall a great selection that I enjoyed. Several of these are beers I would’ve walked right on by and that’s why these tastings are so great. Make sure you get on The Market in Maryville’s mailing list so you don’t miss the next one.