Anybody walking down Main St. for the Cedar Falls Art-a-Palooza may have seen me between the hours of 2:00 and 3:30 sitting behind the window at the Singlespeed bar-counter. I returned for my second visit ever on Saturday for the 2:00 beer tour guided by one of the brewers. It was interesting to listen to the brewing process, but I happened to be stuck at the back of the tour and couldn't hear too well and don't recall many details about the brewing process. But my main concern was the free beer after the tour. It's hard to turn down the opportunity for a free beer.
Before the tour began I sat at the bar and purchased a beer titled The APA. Supposedly it's just a less hoppy IPA. I had only been sitting with my purchased brew for a couple minutes when the tour started to commence. During the entire tour presentation I kept sipping on my beer and fine-tuning its taste in my mind. (Now I am a very visually oriented individual so a lot of my beer descriptions will be images that formulate in my mind as I drink. For you other visual people out there, my reviews may be very entertaining. Hopefully you others who are dominantly either auditory or kinesthetic will still be able to relate to my flavor descriptions.)
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| Brewery Tour |
The most amusing moment during the tour for me was when the tour leader paused and took a sip from his beer. He commanded the attention of the group, so when he paused to take a drink several others all raised their glasses in unison to drink as well. It was a subconscious response to mimic his actions, and I found it amusing from a psychological standpoint.
After the tour ended I returned to the bar to claim my free beer, so I have two beer reviews today. The second beer was their Raspberry Farmhouse, a slightly hoppy ale brewed with fresh raspberries for a genuine raspberry flavor. Very refreshing on that particularly hot day.
Beer Review:
The APA had a flavor that reminded me of approaching Christmas. The beer had subtle hints of orange citrus flavor and a mellow hoppiness. It was like pine needles and candied orange peels being swept up in a light snow flurry on a December evening. I give this beer a 4.25 out of 5. I would definitely have this beer again and suggest it to anyone who wants to dip their feet in the pool of hoppy beers.
The Raspberry Farmhouse has a much simpler flavor image. It's a raspberry hop sandwich. After taking a sip you are initially hit with a wave of strong raspberry then replaced a moment later with the piney bitter hops only to end with a lingering raspberry flavor left on your tongue until the next sip. Great to drink with a spring salad or just to enjoy on a hot day. (or really any time for that matter.) Also rated a 4.25 out of 5. I think any beer drinker would enjoy drinking this beer as long as they enjoy a fruit flavor in their beer.
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