San Tan Brewing Company - Part 2: More In The Market

Told you I'd be back with Part 2 in a little bit! Helps when you backed up most of your original notes and content. Remember kids, keep your backups local, you never know when the "cloud" will burst.

So, where were we? Of course, let's resume on a high note with San Tan Brewery's Hefeweizen. Their wheat beer is the first exception to my "can bad, glass good" rationale! It tastes good coming out of the can, with a modest ABV 5.0, and the well balanced blend between banana and citrus flavors still comes through. The problem comes from how strongly carbonated it is, which takes a bit to mellow out but overwhelms the finish at all times. When poured into a glass, you get a modest head that takes a little while to dissipate, obviously because of the carbonation, and the foam does not cling or linger on the glass. The color is a clean but opaque yellow. The bouquet is strong with bananas and some lemon orange, and you can pick up further notes of spice in the taste. I think an orange slice garnish would really enhance the experience. Normally I think if you need to garnish a brew with something like a piece of fruit that it's a poor sign for the beer (Corona and Dos Equis, you oughta be ashamed of yourselves. Go to your corner!). For this, I'd forgive it.

Then we have their Epicenter Amber Ale. Oh, sweet taste bud-shaking Epicenter. On first pour, it's a clear amber, with a thick and effervescent head that leaves a little lacework in foam clinging to the glass. The bouquet is rich, the sweet malt intermingling with nut and honey notes in perfect harmony. The taste is full nutty goodness, with notes of maple syrup and the most subtle hint of coffee, with an ABV of 5.5. I found the finish to be surprisingly dry for an amber ale, and I can't say it's a bad thing. This I would strongly urge to drink from a pint glass, out of the can and you end up with a watery taste, almost no nuttiness, and a weird metallic ting in the finish. But served in a glass, this was easily my favorite of San Tan's core brews. In fact, I'd even say it's one of the best ambers I've had.

In the interest of journalistic integrity, the seasonal for this part of the review is not available till the winter, but at the time I first wrote this, the Sex Panther Double Chocolate Porter was the seasonal available.. Very smooth and chocolate-y, with an ABV of 6.5, everything that I wished that Barrio Brewery's Mocha Stout had been. On first pour, it's a dark cloudy brown with a thick head that ringed the brew. The foam neither clings nor lingers in any fashion. The bouquet is rich with coffee and cocoa, but also raspberry notes. The raspberry carries over to the flavor, as well as nutty elements, and a strong mocha that covers the carbonation that I'm coming to recognize as a San Tan signature. It has bite, not like from hops, but like you'd get from a spoonful of powdered baking cocoa mixed into your milk because you thought it was just like Nes-Quik. But that bite fades out, and is replaced by a smooth semi-sweet finish.



Overall, their consumer market offerings offer something for everyone. The Hefeweizen and Epicenter are easy to drink for casual drinkers and beginners alike, and are all-around really good. The Devil's Ale and IPA I'm sure would please those with more refined and experienced palettes; personally, they make me crave a better IPA. The seasonals are a palette expander, an introduction to something that your average beer drinker might not seek out or have the opportunity to try otherwise. San Tan's beer is a prime exemplar of the effect the serving method has on a brew's drinkability. They're quality brews, with more than a little imagination, and I have to admit I'd ask an establishment whether they had San Tan's wheat beers or amber ales on tap. But just those beers.

And it's not over yet! My resurrected coverage of the San Tan Brewery continues, with a visit to the brewery itself where several of their specialty beers are only available on tap.

Odell Brewing Company - 90 Shilling Ale

Right, time to open up the Big Book O'Beer. I knew I saw this one in there! And it's already checked off... but not written up yet. Let's remedy that right now. The Big Beer Flight rises!

The name for this amber ale was chosen from taxes charged per barrel on beer in the 19th Century, where the strongest brews were taxed 90 shillings. Now the alcohol by volume for the 90 Shilling is 5.3%, which is comparable to most American brews out there, and it's not the strongest. What's that say about beer in the UK back then? But we're not here to judge what your grandparents' grandparents were drinking.

On first pour, into my typical American pint glass, it has a deep copper red appearance, cloudy like you'd see in a hefeweizen. But there isn't any citrus banana notes to my nose, but rather a caramel-y scent, with walnut and chestnut undertones, even a woodsy element. The head is thin but solid, and fades fast. And it leaves a lacy foam along the sides of the glass that stays long after you've finished your pint.

The taste is full and rich-bodied but oddly dry and refreshing at the finish, that was unexpected but welcome.  It has a nutty, oaken flavor overall with some slight cocoa undertones and a smoothness that I attribute to the taste of yeast, but also has a little harshness to the palette; it's a bitterness like you'd get from an overroasted nut, likely from the Northern Brewer and Cascade hops in the ingredients. There's a diverse mix of malt in this brew - barley malt, Vienna malt, Crystal malt, and Chocolate malt.

According to "Beers of the World" this was originally a seasonal winter brew, but as it grew in popularity it became a year-round production. I agree, this is a terrific brew to drink anytime. It's flavorful, with an interesting bouquet, a real treat to the senses for a typical beer-drinker.