Today's beer is one that I've been looking forward to. For a number of reasons, really. For one, it's our first real look at a couple of Cincinnati breweries (Both were mentioned in my post on the Cincinnati Craft Beer Oktoberfest. Check that out here.) Blank Slate Brewing, and Triple Digit. Another reason I'm excited is because this is the first offering from Blank Slate that I've been able to get my grubby little hands on in bottle. Now if you've been hanging out at better beer bars in Cincinnati over the past few months you've probably seen some of Blank Slate's beers on tap. In my day job as a bartender I've had the extreme pleasure of trying all of them and of meeting the man behind the beers, Scott LaFollette (Super nice guy by the way). This is all a long way of saying that I've been dying to get a beer from my new favorite Cincinnati brewery up on the blog, and now I finally can. Enough of my rambling, Determination is a 9%ABV double Belgian style IPA. To the beer!
Determination pours a hazed over deep coppery orange. A pretty vigorous pour yields only a thin layer of white foam that recedes to a rim atop the beer.
Big time fruit aromas lead the way here. Strong notes of lemon, grapefruit and pineapple are accompanied by some estery, slightly peppery hints, as well as a bit of that typical Belgian funk. Everything here feels very subtle, measured, and well constructed. Lovely.
Determination is delightfully creamy and smooth. Just like on the nose, punchy complex fruit flavors hits up front with notes of pineapple, lemon, pear, apple, and grapefruit. The carbonation here is very modest which leads to a very full, almost but not quite syrupy mouthfeel. The hop and yeast flavors are really the stars here. There's a slight biscuity, crackery malt character to lay the base, but this beer is all about the big fruity flavors.
I was able to find a bottle of his down at the Party Source down in Bellvue. I suggest you all do the same. This beer likely won't last too long. And it's one you'll definitely want to try. Very very tasty.
HD
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