Tired Hands – St. Oner 1st Anniversary Citrus IPA

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Beer, Beer Review, Pennslyvannia, Tired Hands Brewing Company

I always enjoy getting a chance to try beer from a brewery outside the areas I typically travel.  This can from Tired Hands Brewing Company in Ardmore, PA came to me via friends visiting from New Jersey last weekend.

Beer Name: St. Oner 1st Anniversary Citrus IPA

Brewer: Tired Hands Brewing Company

Style: IPA

ABV: 6.5%

Description: Per the label and description on the website, this was brewed with rye, wildflower honey, and the juices and zest from lime, lemon, grapefruit, and blood oranges.  For the hops they used Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe.  Per my usual, I poured from the cold 16 oz. can into my snifter glass.

Appearance: The body was opaque and had a hazy pale straw color.  A thin, fizzy white head formed during the pour but quickly dissipated.

Smell: A variety of sweet citrus fruits atop a mostly piney bitterness.

Taste: Juicy!  Sweet mango/tangerine/orange tastes up front.  The sweeter fruits transitioned to a more bitter and zesty lime and grapefruit finish accompanied by a light piney bitterness.  When left to sit a few minutes, the honey and rye became a bit more noticeable and blended in with the initial sweetness.  Very flavorful.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body with a juice-like consistency.  Moderate carbonation came in just after the initial sip.  Really easy to drink.

Hype Factor: I was excited to finally get an opportunity to try something from this brewery.  I have seen them pop up many times in my Untappd feed and have heard plenty of good things about them.

Overall: An excellent beer, roughly on par with what I might expect to pick up from Trillium (though without as much bitterness).  Tired Hands impressed me with this one and I would definitely welcome any chance to try them out again in the future.

Cheers!

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Vault Breakfast Stout (Nitro)

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Beer, Beer Review, Pennslyvannia, Stout, Vault Brewing Company

Here we are with another gift beer.  Coming to me from Vault Brewing Company in Yardley, PA by way of a pit stop in New Jersey I ended up with another stout to share with you all.

Beer Name: Breakfast Stout

Brewer: Vault Brewing Company

Style: Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 7.3%

Description: Poured into my trusty Bean Porter mug from a refrigerated nitro can.  Said can was dated 02/08/2016.  

Appearance: Being nitro, the instructions were to pour aggressively and I was happy to oblige.  The beer had dark yet distinctly brown body topped off by one finger’s worth of a foamy white head that filled in as the beer settled.

Smell: Very subtle creamy coffee.

Taste: Light roast coffee throughout with occasional hints of sweet malts that served to give the beer a nice creaminess.  These taste were fairly mild but had a pleasingly steady presence from start to finish.  There was absolutely no hint of the alcohol at all; I would not have been surprised to find out that this was only 5.0%.

Mouthfeel: Thin and light to start, but by the finish it took on a rather smooth and creamy quality.  Very low carbonation and super easy to drink.  Perhaps even dangerously easy to drink given how well the alcohol is hidden.

Hype Factor: Seeing all the Untappd check-ins at Vault Brewing certainly piqued my curiosity, but I had no real preset expectations going into this one.  I knew I wouldn’t be offered a sub par beer, but beyond that I did not know what I was in for.

Overall: This was a very good beer and a pleasure to drink.  I certainly wish I had a few more to sit back and relax with, and would have really enjoyed a chance to try it side by side with a similar brew I recently enjoyed – Kent Falls Table Porter.