This one is really more of a gose than an IPA; fairly balanced between sweet and tart with pronounced raspberry flavor, vanilla notes in the background. Mouthfeel is soft and smooth, light body with light head. Tasty, but with so many other fruit-forward sour ales out there, ‘Paramour’ doesn’t really stand out too much. It’s ok, but I’ve had more interesting beers.
Rating:
Before I get to this week’s reviews, I wanted to give a shoutout to Buskey Cider. This past Sunday they hosted a Girl Scout fundraiser in which they pair some of their ciders with the various Girl Scout cookies. This was my second year going to this event, and certainly won’t be the last. Because really, who can turn down cider and cookies?
The pairings were as follows:
It was a tossup for me between the blueberry pancake cider and the stout cider; but the novelty of a cider that tastes like a stout won out. The thing I like about Buskey is they have a little of something for everyone, whether your pallet runs sweet or dry, or somewhere in between.
Afterwards, I popped on down the street to Isley Brewing after hearing they were releasing some pie-themed beers: Strawberry shortcake, Mixed Berry Pie, Coconut Creme Pie, and their regular Berliner Weisse. Isley is one of two breweries (the other being Strangeways) in the Richmond area that I feel really excels at interesting and unique flavors, as you can see from their beer list here.
It’s really no exaggeration to say that this series of beers tastes exactly like if you liquified strawberry shortcake, a berry pie, or a coconut creme pie. The flavors are spot on! They are (obviously) a bit on the sweet side, medium bodied and smooth with a soft mouthfeel. My rating for all three:
Presentation: can pour into Tervis tumbler
Appearance: thick, hazy, golden yellow, medium head
Taste: pineapple and orange notes predominately, with a slight bitterness at the end; strong fruity aroma
Mouthfeel: smooth, medium-bodied
Overall: really enjoyed the tropical flavor, though it had a bit more bitterness at the end than I’ve had so far with the DIPAs I’ve had so far
Score:
Presentation: can pour into Tervis tumbler
Appearance: dark red, effervescent
Taste: a bit more on the dry side than sweet, sangria flavor is more reserved than Coyote Hole Cider’s sangria cider.
Mouthfeel: crisp, light-bodied, bubbly
Overall: Not bad, but I enjoyed the more fruit-forward version from Coyote Hole Cider
Score:
RVA Brew Review 