An Apple(head) a Day
While fall and winter beers tend to be my favorite seasonal beers, I am excited to see some new spring seasonal beers hitting the shelves at our stores. Sam Adams has a new spring seasonal beer and so do the folks from Shipyard.
New from our good friends in Maine is Shipyard's Applehead. This beer—a wheat ale—was conceived from input from loyal Pumpkinhead (Shipyard's fall seasonal brew) drinkers when they were asked what other flavor beers they would want to drink as seasonal beers.
When I first heard about this beer a few weeks ago, I was excited.
Apples are a favorite food of mine. I am often seen eating an apple at lunch, Dutch apple pie is probably my all-time favorite dessert (Shipyard recommends apple pie as a food pairing for Applehead Beer) and if you are ever in a Cold Stone Creamery…their apple pie creation knocks my socks off. This beer hit our stores a few weeks ago, and I had to restrain myself from opening a bottle right there and drinking one, which is probably a good thing because this truck arrived at 6 a.m.
The beer pours a light golden brown color with plentiful aromas of apple and cinnamon. It is very easy to drink, with plenty of flavor and a refreshing finish that draws you back for another sip. Despite its resemblance to cider, and relatively low ABV (4.5%), this beer has more body and character than most ciders have and offers way more flavor than even the best ciders. My first thought when I had this beer was, 'Wow, I can drink this all day.” Then my brain started working and I thought of many great ways to serve this beer. I would love to layer it with Guinness instead of cider for a purple velvet or snake bite. It would go great with Southern Tier's Crème Brulee beer and maybe even with Well's Banana Bread Ale. I had a glass with a spicy Thai meal and it paired excellent with it. I think this is a beer than anyone can enjoy, and it is a great gateway beer for someone who likes ciders and lighter style American lagers and everyone should just find this very refreshing to drink on a perfect spring day.
As our mild winter fades into spring this is the beer than everyone needs to try. My advice here is to stock up early and often. As fans of Pumpkinhead know, this will not be around for too long.
Keep your glasses half full,
Evan
Beer blogger Evan Kaye manages our Northlake Blvd, Palm Beach Gardens, store.