Epic Brewing Company - Sour Apple Saison

When breweries try new ingredients, the results can be mixed. Some breweries try new ideas that some like they should work but don't (see: Voodoo Donut Maple Bacon Ale). And some breweries try new ideas that sound like they shouldn't work, but do (see: Campfire Stout). So when you spot a beer with a new ingredient, you can never really be sure of what you're getting.

A few weeks ago, a wave of Epic Brewing Company's beers hit the shelves at a local store, Texas Wine and Spirits. I've had some good experiences with Epic beers in the past, so I decided I'd give one of them a try. The one that caught my eye right away was their Sour Apple Saison. Sour apples are a new ingredient for me, and the combination of the apples and the light body and spice of a saison seemed like a match made in heaven. It was a no brainer for me. Or so I thought.

Sour Apple Saison pours an intensely hazy golden color with a thin white head. The head may have been small (easy, dirty thinkers...) but it coated the glass with thick tracks of lace after every sip. Swirling the beer a bit brought dense aromas of Belgian yeast, a TON of coriander, sage, and a big, tart wheat aroma. The apple aroma was there, but it had almost a candied, Laffy-Taffy like scent, rather than the natural sour apple smell I was hoping for.

The Belgian yeast is the first taste to hit as well, and it really takes this beer over in a hurry. The sweetness is a bit overwhelming and there's really nothing else in the flavor to stand up to it. Some faint green apple skin, chardonnay, white grape juice, lemon hard candy and ginger notes do creep through the yeast a bit, but they don't have nearly enough muscle to stand up to the sweetness of the Belgian yeast. I think the bigger problem in this beer is that it's too big. It checks in at 8%, which isn't outrageous, but is pretty high for a beer with flavors that should be delicate. This isn't a bad beer by any means, but, for me at least, it didn't live up to the promise or potential of the name. I'll file this away in the "Great idea. Poor execution." folder.

Final Grade: C

Top 250 Beers Tasted: 114

High Water Brewing - Campfire Stout

I tend to go into bottleshops a lot. I don't always come away with something fantastic, but there's always that chance that the day you go in will be the day that they get something amazing in. However, a lot of times, that amazing beer you're hoping for isn't there. So what then? I always find myself asking the same question: "Well, what else haven't I tried?"

A few weeks ago, I was perusing the shelves of Texas Wine and Spirits in Carlsbad after striking out on finding anything mindboggling when I noticed a brewery that I had passed over probably a hundred times- High Water. Maybe their sort of ho-hum labels have been scaring me off, or maybe it's their use of unappealing names ("Pom Cherry Bomb" sounds more like a Mike's Hard Lemonade flavor than a good beer), but I've been passing over High Water's beers for quite a while. Maybe it was finally time to try one. I grabbed a bottle called Campfire Stout, which I figured would be some kind of smoked stout, and read the label. I wasn't particularly intrigued until I read: "Notes of chocolate and graham cracker topped with a hint of marshmallow will leave you wanting s'more." It took a minute for me to process what I had just read. S'mores? Beer? Together? Hell yes! How had I gone so long without this beer in my life?

Campfire Stout pours a slightly thin looking black color with about a half-finger of khaki colored head. The smell was absolutely amazing. Campfire Stout completely nails the s'mores smell with tons of dark chocolate and graham cracker upfront with some nice, subtle hints of marshmallow and milk chocolate lingering in the background.

The taste opens with some light roasted malt flavor followed by dark chocolate and some vanilla. The finish brings some notes of graham cracker, char and marshmallow. The mouthfeel is noticeably thin and I feel like it hurts this beer a bit. If this was bumped up to maybe 10% instead of the 7.3% it currently sits at, the thicker mouthfeel would probably bring out a bit more sweetness. Overall though, I think I have to call this beer a success. I was a little skeptical that this idea could be pulled off, but High Water has done a pretty nice job with this. If you're looking for something on the original side, this is definitely worth a look.

Final Grade: B


Top 100 Beers Tasted: 39