Friday Brew Review – Honker’s Ale
I used to love life.
For a time, I hated life. I became cynical, dwelling only on what was wrong. Reveling in negativity. Perpetuating my own bleak outlook and poor attitude.
Then I came the closest I’ve ever come again to dying.
I now love life again. Perhaps more than I ever had previously. Today is Friday – as such, I’m going to celebrate my brief time on the ride with a beer.
Please join me.
Today’s beverage of choice is Honker’s Ale from Goose Island. In case your new to this Brew Review, I should warn you that I really like Goose Island. As a native of Boston my beer-allegiance is with Sam Adams, but this Chicago-based brewery is a close runner up. I’ve never sampled a product of theirs that was anything less than stellar and so I was enthused to get this tasting underway.
But I did my best to exercise a bit a discipline and do some pre-drankin’ research. I hit up the brewery’s website in the hopes of finding some literature and was treated to something better – a fuggin’ video! These guys have the right idea! After all, I can only imagine how many brew enthusiasts have tossed back a couple of cold ones, tried to investigate the drink in hand, and then given up when reading proved too taxing.
Honker’s Ale – in the words/video of an official brewmaster:
Okay, Mr. Hall, this is an English-inspired brew? I’m down with that. After all, they saved our asses in World War III.
Pouring Honker’s Ale into my trusty glass, I didn’t see the sunset that Greg was bellowing about. What I did see was a liquid incarnation of my neighborhood’s treeline. Yeah as much as New England winters suck, I’m willing to bet we’ve got the most beautiful autumns. So you can’t begrudge me for projecting, placing the oranges and reds and yellows I love into my glass. But I don’t think I’m completely off base.
When I took a whiff, the ale presented itself as fruity but airy. I want to say that my nose detected some sort of berry, but I’m hesitant to do so. Hell, if I say berry you’re going to think of strawberry or blueberry or blackberry. Honker’s Ale is none of these. Perhaps we could say that it had a delightful aroma of beer-berry.
Alright, the real test – over the lips, past the gums, it’ll hit my brain and then I’ll be done! This ale has an incredible set of flavors, a new one revealing itself with each sip. At first, all that I perceived were hops and carbonation of any standard light beer. But after swallowing, a pleasant aura resided in my mouth. Again, I’m an amateur, but I would say that Honker’s Ale has a boldness about it, a slight spicy quality that isn’t overpowering but is definitely noticeable.
What the fuck am I saying? I don’t know. Hopefully you do. And you might, because there’re plenty of people who don’t think that an author’s intentions are worth a damn.
But just in case you do think my intentions matter: Honker’s Ale is a solid beer. It perfectly balances a light body with rich flavor and is rounded out by its crisp texture.
A-
Hell, we’ll say it’s a 92.4%