Though I already had an unopened bottle of this at home, I went ahead and had a small taste when I had access to it on draft.  Since Fruit Beers are not normally my thing, I admit that I was drawn to this because I enjoy saying the name.  Guilty on that charge.  Also, am I the only one who did not know that there were peaches grown in Colorado?

Millions of peaches . . .

Brewery: Terrapin Beer Company (Athens, GA)

Name: Peaotch (Midnight Project Brew Four)

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 7.20% (on bottle)

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge before serving in a flute.  Collaboration with Left Hand Brewing brewed with Georgia and Colorado peaches.

Aroma: Light fruity aroma (peaches of course) with some floral notes and a bit of sweetness.  Pretty light overall, but no doubt that the peaches are there. – 7/12

Appearance: Pale orange honey-like color.  One finger off-white head that is thin, fades pretty quickly, and leaves slight legs on the glass.  Clear with small rising bubbles visible. – 2/3

Flavor: Fairly prominent peach flavor up front with a touch of floral after that.  Mild bitterness from middle to finish.  A touch of sweetness in there to offset the bitterness.  Finishes fairly smoothly with a little of everything lingering, including some light bitterness with some of the floral/peach flavor. – 11/20

Mouthfeel: Light body with a moderate to high level of carbonation that is close to champagne-like.  Some crispness, but also relatively smooth. – 3.5/5

Overall Impressions: Going in I was not expecting to like a peach flavor beer all that much, but it is pretty good.  With that, I do not want to drink all that much of it because the flavor does start to get old on the palate.  Does not taste at all like a 7.2% ABV beer – maybe more like 5 to 6%.  Better when more cold as it gets a bit of sharpness when it warms some. – 6.5/10

Overall: B- (30/50)

Terrapin Beer Company - Peaotch

Fruit beers are not something that I often choose to drink , but I do find that the correct use/type of fruit in a stout can be really nice.  Putting fruit to an American Wheat Ale or the like is frequently too prominently fruity to me, but a subtle fruit character in a darker beer tends to suit me just fine.  While I will not say that this one was great, I can say that it has some things going on that I really did enjoy as I drank it.

Easing gently into the weekend . . .

Brewery: Bell’s Brewery, Inc. (Comstock, MI)

Name: Cherry Stout

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 7.00% (on bottle)

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge, pulled slightly early to warm some, and served in a pint glass.  A stout brewed with cherry juice.

Aroma: A deep roasted malt aroma with strong notes of cherry floating on that.  The two characteristics combine into a sweetness that is like chocolate covered cherries.   – 8.5/12

Appearance: Dark, dark, dark brown in color (black really).  Slight deep brown head that is pretty thin, dissipates quickly, and leaves very little trail on glass.  Opaque even when the glass is held to light.  – 2.5/3

Flavor: Chocolately roasted malt flavor as a base with a good, full hit of tart cherry juice flavor from middle to finish.  The flavors are pretty well balanced as the tartness of the cherries balances out the bitterness of the roasted malt.  finishes quite smooth with some lingering cherry and roasted malt flavors left on the palate. – 14/20

Mouthfeel: Medium to full in body with a moderate level of carbonation.  Smooth on the palate and lightly creamy though it does have some roasted astringency. – 4/5

Overall Impressions: The flavors balance together more as I drink and it gets better as it warms even more.  The first sip was kind of a wow, but it became much better after that.  The tartness of the cherries is a nice characteristic as a sweet fruit would not have worked as well.  Might just make a nice ice cream or chocolate cake or something like that.  The Wife indicated that she never had anything like it.  – 7/10

Overall: B (36/50)

Bell's Brewery - Cherry Stout

Despite saying quite often that fruit beers are not really my thing I still continue to give them a chance whenever one catches my eye. For whatever reason I have my mind set on brewing a good one (or at least one that I think is good) one of these days and sampling others is part of that process. In sticking with that plan my friends will have to be prepared to drink through a few batches of whatever I come up with until I get a recipe fine tuned. Fortunately I have good friends that don’t turn down some free beer, especially when under the guise of quality control.

As for the very last beer review of this year . . .

Brewery: Ithaca Beer Co. (Ithaca, NY)

Name: Apricot Wheat

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 4.90%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge and served in a pint glass. Brought back from a trip to Northern New York.

Aroma: A full, fruity aroma with a light wheat/graininess to it. I know that it is apricot, but it does seems to have an apple and pear kind of character as well.

Appearance: Golden in color with an orange hue. Pretty slight off-white head that dissipates rather quickly without leaving a trail on the glass. Clear with many rising bubbles visible.

Flavor: Apricot flavor up front (with a bit of tartness) that fades very quickly to a wheaty flavor with some residual sweetness left from the fruit. Finishes slightly dry with a bit of lingering flavor afterward.

Mouthfeel: Light body (maybe toward medium) with a fairly high level of carbonation. Creamy yet crisp on the palate as well.

Overall Impressions: Not bad at all and I am surprised that I liked it even a little. Nice fruit flavor that matches the base beer well. Even with all that, one is pretty much enough for me.

Grade: B- or so (perhaps down to C+)

Ithaca Beer Co. - Apricot Wheat

Aww . . . They match

Looking back at the notes for this beer review (though it was not that long ago), I believe this is an example that reinforces the idea that I should be doing my evaluations per the BJCP point system rather than letter grades. I don’t know if this one would have graded out higher, but it would have had a better chance to do so if graded against the style guidelines rather than just my palate. My enjoyment of Witbiers (and wheat bases beers in general) is somewhat limited, so my biases likely affect my final grades for those type of beers.

Fortunately (for me at least) I am pretty much through my backlog of reviews and will be starting with a new format of grading in the fairly near future.

Now the Tuesday review for this short work week . . .

Brewery: Abita Brewing Company (Abita Springs, LA)

Name: Satsuma Harvest Wit

Style: Witbier (maybe also Fruit Beer)

ABV: 5.10%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge and served in a pilsner glass.

Aroma: Light honey-like sweetness with a bit of graininess in the aroma. Also a slight citrus character and some low spice/herb notes.

Appearance: Light golden (straw-like) color. One finger, foamy, white color head with good retention and leaving a solid trail. Hazy/cloudy though clear enough to see rising bubbles.

Flavor: Some slight sweetness up front with faint citrus notes and light tartness after that. Flavor fades to a fairly dry and crisp finish with maybe a hint of spice noticed after the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light body with a pretty high level of carbonation that lends some bite. Creamy and somewhat smooth on the palate.

Overall Impressions: Aroma to me is much better (more pleasant) than the flavor turned out to be. The flavor falls pretty flat after it first hits the tongue (not much too it). Refreshing and very drinkable – good for enjoying in warm weather.

Grade: C+ to B- area

Abita Brewing Company - Satsuma Harvest Wit

Additional info to see on the label

Though generally I don’t reach for wheat beers and fruit beers are not a common sight in my house, there is something quite refreshing about a well-balanced combination of the two. This beer is an example of one to enjoy on a hot summer day and when served ice cold the crispness becomes very enjoyable. Beyond that, it happens to be a beer that The Wife is fond of so it finds a way into our fridge more often than most others.

So for the Tuesday review this week . . .

Brewery: Abita Brewing Company (Abita Springs, LA)

Name: Purple Haze

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 4.20%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge and served in a pint glass. 12oz bottle via gift from the Carlins.

Aroma: Slight maltiness with some jam/jelly-like fruit sweetness and (maybe) a hint of acidity.

Appearance: Pale honey to straw in color. Slight white color head with a moderate level of retention and leaving a very slight trail. Clear with a bit of haze and many visible rising bubbles.

Flavor: Moderate (but prominent) berry flavor with a low level of malty sweetness underneath and a hint of wheat in back. Crisp then slightly dry at the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light body with a fairly high level of carbonation (without adding any bite). Some creaminess on the palate.

Overall Impressions: Not much depth of flavor but nice to drink outdoors on a hot day and easy to drink more than one (or a few) at a time.

Grade: B-

Abita Brewing Company - Purple Haze