I cheer, you cheer, we all cheer for good beer.
If you’re drunk that phrase would probably run something more like this: I beer, you beer, we all beer for good…beer.
Yes, beer can make us happy, but that doesn’t mean it makes us poets. However, it can make otherwise ridiculous or inscrutable things totally palatable. One of my favorite expressions ever is the pithy old saying, “A pint can do more than Milton can, to justify God’s ways to man.” Believe me, I’ve tried them both, and it’s true.
With that bit of beer-lore out of the way, we can now turn to actual beer. I hit two local bars/breweries this week to see what craft brews they had on tap. Coincidentally, both the Carolina Brewery and Top of the Hill have fairly different, though both rather bland brown ale offerings at the moment. Of the two I preferred the Brewery’s, but that might have been prejudiced by the fact that the atmosphere at Top O’ repulses me. Like the hierarchical pretensions implied in its name, I find it high on expense and low on significance. I also have an inside girl at The Brewery, one Catherine S., who makes the bar tender I had at Top O’ look like a jackass, and downright ugly to boot. But, taking my cues from Fox News as always, I’ll report and let you decide. I apologize for not getting any pictures.
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Downtown Trolley Brown (The Carolina Brewery):
This beer pours a rich, deep mahogany-brown with a golden tint, a real beauty to hold up to the light. The head is thin and fine, first dispersing to and then quickly disappearing from the inside of the glass. I couldn’t detect much aroma outside of a basic maltiness and the same went for taste. The Brewery describes it as high in malt and hops, but I didn’t taste much of either, especially not hops. Again, I wasn’t blown away by this beer.
Bunny Hearn Honey Brown (Top of the Hill): Also pours a thin head, though this one is coarser and sparser. Its color is reddish copper, very bright, and as a result the beer is lighter. It doesn’t sit heavy on the stomach. It had a mild malt flavor, and its aroma smelled more of caramel than it did of honey. Overall, the biggest disappointment was the weakness of the honey-flavor: I could tell that it was ever-so-faintly there, but it couldn’t break through the other ingredients.
Happy drinking, and we’ll see you next week.
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