Back to the Brews(ing)!

I’d like to offer a straight forward beer evaluation tonight, and review Earth and Flame by Victory Brewing company.

I will freely admit, I sincerely balked at this one upon seeing the price tag.  I live approximately an hour away from this brewery, and typically that means the costs of bottles are relatively cheap.  Cheap evaluated as 750ml or 220z being less than ten dollars. I’m certainly not above paying twenty or, in extreme circumstances, thirty dollars for a large bottle of specialty beer.  But when accustomed to a relatively consistent dollar amount for similar sized bottles from the same brewery, the price tag on this Earth and Fire was practically astonishing.

“Eighteen dollars?” I thought.

This beer truly sounded excellent, to me at least, being billed as a bourbon barrel aged smoked scotch style ale.

As I mulled it over in the bottle shop, more economic rationale played strong, and I replaced the elegantly labeled bottle with a reduced price alternative.

I had practically relegated this beer to the dusty halls of “Not worth the price tag unless someone shares it with me,” when my friend Dave gave it high marks on untappd.

As one unlikely to ignore another discriminating palate such as his,  I reconsidered this beer that I had previously banished from consideration.

The next trip to the bottle shop saw my purchase of Earth and Flame.

And now I offer my review.

Earth and Flame, Victory Brewing Company – This decadent inebriant pours a rich, brown licorice color and is topped with a thin, quickly vacating head. Not that the head retention matters, as the nose is so full and satisfying that visual aesthetics matter not.  Sweet bourbon comes through first, followed by caramel, peat, and a tinge of sweet licorice.  Light carbonation graces the body, which feels appropriate for a barrel aged variety of beer.  I’m not normally a food pairings evaluator, so perhaps it is my current hungry state that craves a juicy burger, steak, barbecue chicken, sweet potato fries, vanilla ice cream, or even a nice robust hummus and pita chips to pair this with.    My palate rejoices in what my wallet, temporarily, lamented.  Well done.  8.5/10

Humbly yours,

J