I am a little behind on blogging due to this crazy, shortened holiday week, but here is a beer review. This time, I will focus on Wolaver's beers. Wolaver's is a subsidiary of Otter Creek Brewing, based in Vermont. This is OCB's organic beer line (even though beer in itself is an organic product), which uses fresh, additive-free ingredients which fall under fair trade guidelines. Now, on to the beer.
The first one I will review is the Alta Gracia Coffee Porter. Based on Graham's suggestion, I decided to buy a six pack. Let me tell you all this: intense! Really! Upon your first sip, you will definitely taste the coffee's freshness, but also, a lot of spice and bite. You want fresh coffee? Drink this beer, but sip it slowly. The coffee in this beer is big and spicy, and you will also get that on the nose. As you sip, the coffee will then get a little bit of a hazelnut/vanilla combination on the palate, with a nice smoky finish at the end, thus eliminating any trace of sweetness. Then again, aren't porters known for their spicy, smoky character? Food pairings: Roasted or smoked meats, salty or smoked cheeses.
Based on the above paragraph, I decided to go ahead and pick the Oatmeal Stout. Very delicious. The organics work much better and are more balanced on the palate than the Alta Gracia Coffee Porter. The oatmeal does stick out, but blends in with the hops and malts along with hints of milk and flax seeds (yes, flax seeds), giving me a well-rounded beer. Smoother and creamier with being overpowering, this Oatmeal Stout is definitely worth an encore. Cheers! Food pairings: Cheesecake, double chocolate cake, or hell, oatmeal cookies.
For more info on these beers, head on to Wolaver's Facebook page, as their website is under construction, or go to Beer Advocate and read some reviews. For more on Fair Trade products, go to www.fairtradeusa.org/
NOTE: For those who read my first review on Great Divide's beers, I stupidly forgot to mention their website. It is : www.greatdivide.com
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