After making a surprise appearance at the latest Brewvival, Brooklyn-based Sixpoint Brewery will make its debut in South Carolina’s major markets with launch events throughout this week.
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Sixpoint Diesel
Sixpoint Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Diesel Black IPA/Stout
6.3% ABV
According to my Untappd, the first Sixpoint beer I had was Diesel, the Brooklyn brewery’s hybrid black IPA and stout. I remember getting my hands on that first can of Sixpoint and being really excited to finally try something from one of the most-hyped breweries I’d seen in a long time.
I’ve regularly gotten my hands on Sixpoint beers since then – take a look at my archives and see – and have been continually impressed with the new stuff they’ve been putting out. But with Diesel being their winter seasonal, I’ve had to wait until now to really get into it.
Diesel is blend of a black IPA and an American stout, with the end result leaning more toward the former. As with most Sixpoint beers, it’s hoppy as all get-out, but not in an overly abrasive way.
For a “stout,” this beer is monstrously hoppy. There’s a lot of pine and citrus on the nose that is halted just slightly by this nutty, biscuity malt note. The slight sweetness mellows out what I think would otherwise be a hop bomb of a “stout.” There’s a light roasted coffee note in there as well. Also, there’s a bit of a fruity sweetness there, too, sort of like a light banana ester note or some cherry juice. It’s faint, but it’s there.
The taste begins with a strong pinch of citrus bitterness right on the front of the tongue. The body is lighter and just slightly thin, and the carbonation is mild throughout. In the middle of the mouth, these big bitter roasted notes arise. It’s just slightly more mellow than black coffee, but it leaves the same lingering bitterness on your tongue. There’s a good bit of bittersweet chocolate in there as well. On the end is where the malts really become prominent. There’s this chewy bread characteristic and a really strong roasted grain quality. The hops finish it all out, leaving that lingering citrus and pine bitterness on the back of your tongue.
While Diesel is a great beer, it’s probably the least favorite of Sixpoint’s selection I’ve had so far. Don’t get me wrong: It’s good and I certainly enjoy it, but it just seems like a strange, if unique, blend. If it was marketed as just a straight black IPA, I wouldn’t even be able to look for or pick up on any of the stout qualities. Still, I’m a hophead and Diesel certainly hits the spot for me.
My Top 5: Breweries I Want to See in South Carolina
It’s always great to see a new brewery begin distributing in South Carolina, and 2012 has been one of the strongest years in recent memory. During the past 12 months, Founders and Foothills have returned to the Palmetto State after a too-long absence, Coast and Holy City upped their distribution to the Midlands area, and a wealth of new breweries began distribution.
Since January – and this is off the top of my head – Green Flash, Aviator, Anderson Valley, Breckenridge, Goose Island and Lazy Magnolia have all found a home in South Carolina. (I’m sure there have been more, but they escape me right now.) While there’s no indication of who will be the next to announce distribution here, 2013 will certainly see a few new breweries pop up.
That got me thinking of which breweries I wanted to see distributed in South Carolina. After perusing my Untappd profile and weighing the options, I’ve compiled a list of the five breweries I hope to see distributed around here sooner or later.
There are a few caveats. Of course I’d like to see regional breweries in Georgia or North Carolina move into their neighboring state, but I don’t feel as if they’re so out of reach that I couldn’t visit or have a friend send me some without much time or effort. There are others – Russian River, Three Floyds, Cigar City, etc. – that everyone wants and of course would be welcomed but I honestly don’t see popping up around here anytime soon, if ever. (Cigar City, maybe, but RR and FFF? Never.)
But for the following breweries – all of which already have or will soon have a home in surrounding states – it’s reasonable to assume they could move into South Carolina fairly easily, and if the market demands it. So, in no particular order, here’s who I’d like to have ‘round these parts.
Boulevard Brewing Co.
My first taste of Kansas City, MO’s Boulevard came a little more than a year ago while I was at Fort Leavenworth, KS, for a conference. Around those parts, Boulevard flows like water. They’re one of the biggest breweries in the midwest, meaning their Pale Ale, Single-Wide IPA and Unfiltered Wheat Beer are everywhere. Every bar has it and there was even a Boulevard tap house in the airport as I was flying out. (I killed a good bit of time there before boarding sampling a bunch of different beers.)
Ever since then, I’ve been hoping to get another taste. Which I have … during trips to Georgia and North Carolina, where the brewery is distributed in the Southeast. Fortunately, instead of starting out with just core brands, those states have gotten seasonal offerings as well as the Smokestack Series, which is where they shine. The Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, Long Strange Tripel and Dark Truth Stout are all superb, and I have a bottle of their Sixth Glass quad taunting me in my fridge.
Boulevard has a sort of nostalgia for me. Aside from being excellent, I first got to try them on one of the most memorable trips of my life. Seeing how quickly and robustly they debuted in surrounding states makes me think it won’t be too long before we see them in South Carolina.
21st Amendment Brewery
Another great brewery that taunts me from just across the state line is San Francisco-based 21st Amendment, named – of course – for the amendment that gave America beer yet again.
As with Boulevard, both North Carolina and Georgia receive 21st Amendment regularly, which means I’ve had the opportunity to have every one of their regularly released beers time and time again. And time and time again, I am consistently pleased with what they put out.
Hell or High Watermelon is one of my wife’s favorite beers. No matter where we go or what season it is, if she sees a six-pack, she’s going for it. I prefer the oak-aged Hop Crisis DIPA or the insanely complex and even more insanely delicious Monk’s Blood, but everything they put out has never disappointed.
And that’s why I want them here. For a brewery to be that consistent and that good speaks to the quality of their product. And newer beers such as Marooned on Hog Island make them even more desirable. It’s the kind of beer I’d pick up on the way to a party without a second thought (when I’m not drinking local, of course.)
Sixpoint Brewery
It’s good to have friends in high places, or at least friends in higher places on the map. Especially if they live right around Brooklyn, home of Sixpoint. For me, it means tallboy canned goodness from the formerly draft-only brewery arrive via beer mail on the regular.
Outside of the Northeast, it’s hard to find anything from Sixpoint. But that will change soon as the brewery recently announced they’ll begin distributing in Atlanta, which is generally viewed as a major test market for the Southeast. While they’re still a really small brewery, it’s reassuring to know they’re taking an interest in my neck of the woods.
At this point, I’ve tried two seasonals – Autumnation and Apollo – and two of their newer core beers – Resin and Brownstone – and the brewery is 4-4 with me. As I write this, I have a back of Diesel (another one I’ve had but not reviewed) en route from New York. Based on the word that this year’s batch is much improved, I suspect they’ll be 5-5 soon enough.
Port Brewing Co./The Lost Abbey
It’s hard to pick which brewery I like more: Port, which generally focuses on big West Coast-style beer, or TheLost Abbey, which specializes in Belgian-style offerings.
Fortunately, I don’t have to choose between one or the other, because if the San Marcos, CA, brewery ever gets around to crossing to South Carolina from Georgia or North Carolina, we’ll likely get both.
When it comes to hoppy beers, Port excels. Their Wipeout IPA and Mongo DIPA are both just so damn good and incredibly strong West Coast beers. But they’re not limited to hoppy beers. Old Viscosity was superb, as was Older Viscosity, which I enjoyed the night before my wedding earlier this year.
And being a fan of Belgian-style beers, The Lost Abbey has always impressed with with a different take on some classic styles, such as their Judgement Day quad and the Ten Commandments Belgian strong ale. And the stouts I’ve had – Serpent’s Stout, Deliverance – have been phenomenal and made it incredibly hard to not crack open the bottle of Angel’s Share I have in my cellar.
Epic Brewing Co.
Who would have thought the heart of Mormonism would be responsible for some incredibly inventive and tasty beers?
That’s exactly what Utah-based Epic Brewing has been doing in just a few short years. (Don’t confuse them with the New Zealand brewery of the same name, which is also great.) These guys aren’t playing around with their beers either. They specialize in big beers in more ways than one. Most of the beers I’ve had from them come from their limited Exponential Series, including the Sour-Apple Saison, Elder Brett, Brainless on Peaches, Fermentation Without Representation and the almost-too-good-for-words Big Bad Baptist.
Specializing in big over-the-top beers can sometimes backfire, but Epic does it right. They’re not big for the sake of being big. They’re trying to up the game and bring the respective styles up a notch. Their beers are intensely flavorful, creative and – most importantly of all – incredibly enjoyable.
Sixpoint Autumnation
Sixpoint Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Autumnation Pumpkin/Harvest Ale
6.7% ABV
To quote “Simple Jack”: Sixpoint, you m-m-m-m-make me haaaapy.
Another change in the seasons brings another great seasonal release from the boys in Brooklyn. With Autumnation, the brewery melds the richness and full-flavored pumpkin beer style with the pungent and biting addition of wet hops. The twist on this one is this year, the drinker got to pick which hop was used. In an online vote, Citra won out over Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo and – my choice – Simcoe. (So close!)
Autumnation pours a slightly hazy rust orange color, like the color of changing leaves. The head’s about two fingers worth, really foamy and sticks around for a while. The lacing’s pretty mild and there really aren’t any alcohol legs holding on.
The nose has a strong, wet pungent hop smell of citrus. Orange and grapefruit are what pop out the most. There’s a bit of spice on the nose as well from the ginger used in the brewing, with brown sugar giving it a mellow sweetness. Definitely a good malt backbone and a bit of a nutty note as well.
On the front of the tongue is just a bit of hop bitterness and it’s got a fairly medium-bodied mouthfeel. There’s definitely a subdued wet hoppiness on the front and toward the middle of the palate. The finish starts off with a juicy orange note and blooms into a really citric, biting grapefruit flavor. The hop bitterness sticks to the roof of your mouth, but the maltiness is definitely there. It’s nutty and a bit sweet with a good bit of spice added in as well.
There’s been a lot of gnashing of teeth over the lack of a pumpkin taste in the beer. But remember: You don’t taste the pumpkin in a pumpkin beer; you taste the spices (nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, brown sugar) generally used in pumpkin dishes. The pumpkin affects the mouthfeel more than the flavor, kind of like what oatmeal does in oatmeal stouts and porters. With that in mind, there’s only a little bit of a creaminess from the pumpkin. The malts take over more as it warms and the mouthfeel of the pumpkin becomes more noticeable, but it’s there.
And with that, Sixpoint is now 4-for-4 with me. (See: Resin, Apollo, Brownstone.)
Sixpoint Brownstone
Sixpoint Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Brownstone Brown Ale
6% ABV
Sixpoint seems to be doing everything right. I was wowed by Resin and Apollo, and I regularly look forward to whatever new release they crank out. That trend continues with Brownstone, their new year-round brown ale.
Their website doesn’t help much with ingredients, so I’ll just dive right in.
The look of the beer certainly lives up to the name. It’s a very murky, hazy brown that appears as a lighter amber toward the edges. There’s two fingers of a nice foamy head that sticks around a good long while. Incredibly strong lacing and alcohol legs, or at least more than I’d expect for a 6% beer.
There’s a surprising hoppiness on the nose. It’s a big, bright citrus notes with a definite presence of some lemon zest. There’s definitely a maltiness to it with a slightly nut and bread note. Bit of brown sugar and a really nice roasted note. It really works to keep a really balanced nose.
The hop bitterness is very strong on the front of the tongue. The citrus pops mid palate and lingers on the back with a bit of hop mouth, but it gives way to that classic biscuity brown ale taste. There’s a really great roasted note that lingers as well. The big bready malts are covered nicely with those hops. At 6%, it’s extremely drinkable.
Sixpoint is three-for-three with me, and every beer of theirs I’ve had so far has one thing that really makes it stand out. Resin clearly had its super-dank hoppiness, Apollo was smooth and flavorful, and Brownstone is balanced extremely well. The hops clearly get me hooked, but the roasted notes and maltiness are very pleasant as well. Keep ’em coming, guys.
Sixpoint Apollo
Sixpoint Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Apollo Kristallweizen
5.2% ABV
While there was a cold snap in South Carolina for a week or so, it’s since given way to unseasonably warm temperatures more on par with what we see during the summer. While the humidity isn’t nearly as nauseating as it gets during the summer – it’s about 90 degrees outside as I type this, but only 40 percent humidity – it’s still not ideal weather for sipping imperial stouts or heavier beers. And as it goes with the seasons, the hotter it gets, the more inclined I am to reach for something a little lighter on the palate and the stomach.
With that being said, I don’t think I could possibly create a more perfect warm-weather beer than Sixpoint’s Apollo.
While the Brooklyn-based brewery leans heavily on the hops with most of their beers, they decided to give the yeast a little more attention with Apollo, their new 5.2% Kristallweizen. Made with Bavarian yeast and wheat and designed to closely resemble a traditional German wheat beer, Apollo was designed to be enjoyed on the porch, at the pool, after mowing the lawn … hell, it’s perfect for just standing outside.
The color is that classic hazy orange you’d expect from a German wheat beer. It looks, fittingly, like a sunset. There’s a finger or so of a fluffy head on top that doesn’t really stick around. A little bit of lacing and, surprisingly, some alcohol legs as well.
The smell is classic hefe: Huge hints of banana, cloves and bubblegum. It’s just a huge juicy smelling estery bomb of a beer. There are slight wisps of pineapple and a sweetness from the malt. I got a slight peach, mango and melon notes as well. But yeah, it’s just an incredibly rich-smelling beer.
On first sip, a wave of carbonation and that sweet bready malt flavor washes over your mouth. It settles into this excellent sweet banana and bubblegum flavor on the back. It’s that classic perfect German wheat flavor. A really rich and full mouthfeel, but not thick. And of course, it’s extremely drinkable. Definitely one not to miss if you can get your hands on it.
Sixpoint Resin
Sixpoint Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Resin Imperial IPA
9.1% ABV
I think it was early last year when I started hearing raves about Brooklyn’s Sixpoint. A lot of beer geeks in the region seemed to be flipping out about their products. That hype reached a fever pitch when the brewery finally started canning and distributing their beers, and even more so with the release of their new DIPA, Resin.
(Thanks to my friend Brian for hooking me up again, and for this mouth-watering photo.)
The story behind Resin is that the brewers wanted to create a beer that honored the natural oils of hops, which are released as this sticky, sap-like substance when the hop cones are heated. (There’s a bit of poetic waxing about the beer in the video below.) Having tried Resin a couple times now, I can say I definitely understand what they were going for, and think they achieved it.
In the glass, Resin has this deep mellow orange color, with a bit of light yellow around curve of the glass. It’s pretty hazy, as I’d expect a DIPA to be, with this murky dank look. There’s a nice pillowy head on top and some really nice lacing along the sides.
The smell, in short, is dank. There’s hints of wet pine, grapefruit and mango. The malt backbone comes through pretty prominently along with this thick, sticky sweetness. It’s a very herbal smell.
It tastes really bitter on the front of the tongue, with this quick pinch at first. That gives way to a really sticky, slightly sweet hop flavor throughout the mouth. It definitely has those sappy, resinous qualities they were pushing for. It finishes with this really thick taste on the back that gives way to a really nice mellow hop bitterness that sits on the back of your tongue.
It’s kind of hard to explain, but the beer really does achieve what I think they were aiming for. It’s sticky and sweet, but well balanced and very drinkable. Once again, my friends in the Northeast know how to make me a happy hop head.
