Saranac Rye IPA

Ok, down to the last two bottles of IPAs I haven't tasted yet.  I went with the Saranac Rye IPA:

Vittles:

Specialty Beer (Rye IPA)

5.95% abv

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 18/25

Taste: 31/10

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 7/10

Overall: 78/100

Impression:

It's brilliantly clear with sufficient effervescence, but it does have that Saranac taste.  With the exception of the White IPA that I tried recently, almost all of Saranac's beers have the same basic flavor profile, so it's hard to be surprised, impressed, or disappointed when trying a different Saranac beer.  This one falls right in line with the rest -- mild aroma, moderate flavors, color and abv all in the same range as the rest of the pack.  It's just another very average beer.  It's a good thing I find Saranac beers fairly enjoyable, if relatively mediocre.

Cheers!

Saranac White IPA

When I got home from work last night, I happily returned to my task of whittling down the list of beers in my keezer that I haven't tried yet.  I went for a Saranac White IPA since it seemed like it might be a little less bitter than the rest of them, what with being a Saranac and all -- not hating on Saranac, but a lot of their beers tend to taste fairly similar, and they tend not to be as strong or assertive as, say, Sam Adams IPAs.  So White IPA it was:

Vittles:

Specialty Beer

6% abv

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 21/25

Taste: 36/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 87/100

Impression:

I like the hazy, nearly opaque straw color of the body.  The aroma is fairly appealing, and I can smell lemon and orange, a bit of pine, a healthy yeastiness, and a moderate wheat backdrop.  The flavors are very well balanced, with the delicous citrus of the hops blending nicely with the wheat and yeast flavors, and I think I taste some coriander as well.  What I like best about this beer is that it showcases the hops without being overbearing.  The yeast and wheat qualities, which seem to get pushed into the background in the other Belgian IPAs I've tried, aren't hidden here, much to my joy.  I think people often fixate on bold and assertive hops and overlook or ignore the complexities in yeast and grain profiles.  As I've mentioned before, I tend to prefer maltier beers, and I love yeasty beers like hefes, so when I beer can bring those aspects together with with a good hops addition and keep all three in balance, I consider that a job well done.  This is probably my favorite Belgian IPA so far, and I would definitely have it again.

Cheers!

Saranac Wild Hop Pils

Saranac Wild Hop Pils caught my eye because the bottle says it's made with Belma hops, a variety found growing wild near Yakima.  And it's been a while since I've had a pils -- seems like I've had a disproportionately high number of IPAs lately.  Not that that's a bad thing.

Vittles:

Pils

Abv unknown

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 20/25
Taste: 31/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 78/100

Impression:
Moderate levels of carbonation helped this pils pour with a decent head, which eventually fell to a thin disk.  Initially, I smelled sulfur, but that faded over the first few minutes.  There was also a wet hay aroma and flavor at the start, but that also dissipated and was replaced by a faintly sweet cracker flavor instead.  This is a pretty typical pils in terms of light malt aromas and biscuit/cracker flavors.  Since I'm not exactly familiar with Belma hops, it was interesting trying to pick out all of the nuances.  It's definitely a subtle hop variety, which surprised me, but it worked very well with the pils style.  I think I picked up on fruity, herbal, floral, earthy, mildly spicy, and faintly peppery notes.  Overall, I think I like Belma, but I definitely want to track down more beers that use it.  I can see why it might get overlooked over on the west coast, amidst all the heavy-hitting hops, but I'd love to taste this in a brown ale.  Maybe I'll have to order some and brew it up on my own.

Cheers!

Saranac Session Ale

Sometimes (quite often, actually), I want the taste of beer without a lot of alcohol, but there are relatively few American beers that are truly sessionable.  So when I come across a session ales, I like to try them.  Maybe I'll find a tastier alternative to the Yuengling Light Lager that's my session stand-by.  Saranac's summer beer sampler included a session ale, and I wasn't in the mood for anything too strong or heavy, so that's what I went with:

Vittles:

Blonde Ale

4.5% abv

Score:

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 18/20
Taste: 30/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 75/100

Impression:
4.5% abv is a little high for a good session ale, as far as I'm concerned.  I'd love to find a non-BMC beer that clocks in around 3.5% -- that's about the range I would prefer in my ideal session beer.  Anyway, Saranac Session Ale is middling at best.  It tasted very similar to their Kolsch, which I tried recently.  It started out with a decent head, but with poor head retention, it fell pretty quickly to a small, thin ring of foam.  I unfortunately smelled a bit of the cooked vegetable smell of DMS, but that seemed to fade a little over time.  There was also a wet hay kind of flavor at the start, but that flavor became a little sweeter and more mild as the beer warmed.  There was also a nice floral hop quality that balanced out the malt flavors very nicely.  With a crisp and clean finish, this beer was fairly average but very refreshing.

Maybe it's just me, but many of Saranac's beers taste very similar.  They all seem to share a certain taste that I can't quite put my finger on yet.  I like their beers -- they're solid examples of their particular styles, but they aren't outstanding in any way.

Cheers!

Saranac Kolsch

My husband and I stopped by a grocery store when we were out and about today, and this grocery store had an amazing beer selection.  I mean, especially for this area, the selection really blew me away, especially since the last time I went in this particular store, they had about a tenth of their current offerings.  So we wandered around for a while and finally settled on a Saranac sampler and a 4-pack of Sierra Nevada Torpedo pounders.  Since it's a pretty warm evening, I decided to have a Kolsch with dinner (rotisserie chicken, olive salad, fresh bread):

Vittles:
Kolsch
5% abv

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 20/25
Taste: 30/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 77/100

Impression:
It's been a while since I've had a Kolsch, so this was a pleasant change from the IPAs I've been having recently.  The beer looks very clear and crisp, fairly bright, and has low levels of effervescence.  The aroma is a little mustier than I expected, but it's pleasant overall.  There was also a faint sulfur smell when I first poured it, but that dissipated fairly quickly and was replaced with a sweet undertone.  There flavor in this beer is very subtle, mostly of yeast and light malt, though there was also a faint spiciness and a slight, fresh flavor, almost like mint but not quite.  With its light body and almost non-existent aftertaste, this is an extremely refreshing beer, and it went fantastically well with my dinner.

Cheers!

Saranac Black Forest

The last Saranac beer I tried was their Black Forest, which is a Bavarian-style black beer:

Vittles:

5.3% abv

Appearance: 8/10

It's definitely a black beer, all right.  Well, not quite...  It is very dark, and when the light shines through it, ruby tones come out.  The off-white head was fairly thin, and it fell quickly, leaving little to no lacing on the sides.

Aroma: 20/25

It smells a bit of caramel and chocolate, with a very mild hint of bitter coffee on the back end.  Roasted characters come through nicely with caramelized malt notes.  I like the way the hop character balances with the malt profile.

Taste: 29/40

Chocolate and coffee flavors make up the bulk of the grain taste, as you could imagine.  The hops are mild and add a slight earthiness and a moderate spiciness that are nicely matched with the maltiness.  The flavors overall are very mellow.  I think I was expecting a bolder in general.

Mouthfeel: 8/10

The medium body adds nicely to this beer.  I didn't notice much in the way of carbonation, though, which made the beer feel flat.

Style: 3/5

The two points where this beer really diverged from the style were with head retention and carbonation.  Other than that, it's a pretty typical black beer.

Drinkability: 8/10

It's smooth and mellow, which means it's easy to drink either by itself or with a meal.  I could easily have 2-3 of these without getting that bitter residue building up on the back of my tongue.

Overall: 76/100

There are a few aspects of this beer that remind me of Guinness, like the mild flavor and the chocolate/coffee notes of the roasted malt.  However, this beer comes through with a medium body, whereas Guinness has always tasted thin and watery to me.  I do realize that I'm comparing two different styles here, but readers who enjoy Guinness but find it on the watery side and would prefer a beer with more body may want to try Black Forest.

Welp, back to hunting the distributors for more good deals...  Cheers!

Saranac IPA

Since the weather is getting warmer, I'm swinging back toward hoppier preferences.  Even though it's not an impressive beer, Saranac's IPA hit the spot last night:

Vittles:

5.8% abv

Appearance: 9/10

Just look at the foamy head on that bad boy!  Nearly an inch and a half of off-white lather sitting on top of a clear, bright, golden/golden-straw body with plenty of effervescence really makes me want to indulge.  As the head fell, it left a beautiful lacing pattern on the glass.

Aroma: 21/25

The Cascade hops are very apparent, with their spicy, floral, citrusy scents.  I could also smell a subtle maltiness in the background that seemed to balance out the hop nose very well.

Taste: 29/40

The same spicy, floral, citrusy flavors of the Cascade hops come through very nicely.  You get to taste all the hoppy goodness without the thick resiny feel that some IPAs impart.  The taste was moderately bitter, not over the top, and the aftertaste was a more sedate flavor with a moderate linger.

Mouthfeel: 8/10

With a medium body, a fair sting on the tongue from the ample carbonation, and a clean finish, the mouthfeel does add a bit to the beer overall.

Style: 4/5

Taste-wise, this does fall short of what I expect from an American IPA.  I mean, it has the right flavors, thanks to the Cascade hops, but just isn't very bitter, and it lacks that smack you get from bolder AIPAs.  It's almost more apologetic about being an IPA, whereas I expect to be punched in the tongue when I crack open an AIPA.  Aside from the lack of hop assertiveness, it does fit the category decently well.

Drinkability: 7/10

It hit the spot for me because it was the kind of beer I was in the mood to drink.  It's the kind of beer that I'd want to have with a meal, not sit and sip while relaxing.

Overall: 78/100

If you're looking for an IPA that's easier on the hops, this might do the trick.  If you're looking for a hop-bomb, look elsewhere.  I'd say this might be a good beer to use as an introduction for a friend who isn't familiar with craft beers or IPAs, since it isn't overbearing on the hop characteristics.

One left to try!  Cheers!

Saranac Pale Ale

It's been a while since I've had a pale ale, so I thought I'd try Saranac's Pale Ale next:

Vittles:

5.5% abv

Appearance: 8/10

The crystal-clear amber color, topped by about a half-inch of off-white foam, does look pretty pleasing.  However, the head did not last very long and left only minimal lacing as it fell.  Low levels of carbonation were also apparent.

Aroma: 18/25

The aroma isn't overly strong.  I smell a decent amount of breadiness, along with a funky grain kind of smell. It also smells a little stale, like old bread, and there are more subdued fruity notes, too.

Taste: 32/40

The taste matches the aroma fairly well, but the bitterness is more prominent.  The flavors are nice and smooth, and they seem to balance nicely.  Both the stale grain and the fruitiness are present, but the fruit notes are fainter in the flavor than they were in the aroma.

Mouthfeel: 8/10

It's medium bodied, with low effervescence and a clean finish.  I like how crisp this beer is, since that makes it more refreshing and more enjoyable for me, especially since I was sipping this while enjoying the warm, sunny spring weather.

Style: 3/5

Saranac's website lists this as an "English-style pale ale," and while it largely fits into the standard English Pale Ale category, there are a few points where it deviates, such as the color, abv, and mouthfeel, all of which surpass the high side of the style guidelines.

Drinkability: 8/10

It's smooth and refreshing, and it doesn't leave your mouth coated with a lingering bitter aftertaste.  I think this would have been a great beer to session if only the abv were lower.  The American craft sector has relatively few truly sessionable brews; this one has the characteristics I'd want in a session beer, but at 5.5%, I wouldn't be able to drink them the way I could a 3.5% beer, for example.

Overall: 77/100

Surprise, surprise -- another average beer.  I remember when I first started drinking beer, back in my college days (think Red Dog), I thought it was so flavorless and bland.  Then I discovered craft beer, which was amazingly flavorful by comparison, and for a while there, I thought every craft beer I tried was nectar from the gods.  But my frame of reference hadn't shifted yet.  Now that I've sampled a very wide variety of craft beers and know how good they can taste, I'm really not shocked to see that the majority of what I try falls in the "average" range, with a few coming in well above, and a few falling well below.  It's amazing how many things the bell curve describes.

I think there are two more Saranac beers left to try.  Cheers!

Saranac Adirondack Lager

I found another pretty decent deal at the distributor this past week: $15 for a Trail Mix case of Saranac.  It's probably been 4-5 years since I've had anything Saranac, and I didn't remember too well what I had had of theirs before.  The first beer I grabbed was the Adirondack Lager:

Vittles:
5.5% abv

Appearance: 8/10
It's crystal clear with a nice golden-amber color and about a half-inch of foamy, off-white head.  I could see a little effervescence, too, which made it more appealing.  While the head lacked any real retention, it did leave mild lacing as it fell.

Aroma: 18/25
I smelled a good malt backbone with notes of cracker, biscuit, and a very slight sweetness.  The aroma is mainly from the malt, with very little of the hop characteristics coming through.  I could only pick up on trace scents from the Cascade hops, but couldn't smell the Hallertau at all.

Taste: 30/40
It's not an overly flavorful lager, but it is crisp, clean, and refreshing.  The biscuit and cracker notes are more prominent on the tongue than the hops flavors, which are thankfully somewhat more present in flavor than they were in aroma.  I noticed the spicy and floral hops notes the clearest, with a slight earthiness in the background.  It's about average for a German lager.

Mouthfeel: 7/10
It's medium-bodied, crisp, and clean on the finish.  The mouthfeel doesn't really add anything to the beer, but it doesn't detract, either.

Style: 3/5
The category I think this beer fits best is German Pils, but there are a few points of divergence, such as the use of Cascade hops and the lack of Pilsner malt.  It also lacks the head retention that should be found in this style.

Drinkability: 8/10
This is an easy beer to drink, especially since it leaves very little aftertaste and doesn't sit heavy on your palate or in your stomach.  It's one of the more refreshing beers I've had recently, and I certainly enjoyed it yesterday while soaking up some sun.  It's a good summer beer.

Overall: 74/100
I prefer this beer to most, if not all, of the macro lagers.  It's not overpowering in flavor, so if you're looking for a punch in the mouth, you won't find it here.  All in all, not a bad beer, but not a great beer, either.  Just a good average lager.

I'm looking forward to trying the other Saranac beers.  Cheers!