Purple Haze

Any beer with a reference to Jimmy Hendrix is a winner in my book. I'm going to turn on Hendrix as I'm writing this review just for an added blast of nerdiness. This is actually a beer I had bought right before I left Buffalo and I didn't get an opportunity to taste and review it before I had to leave for Orlando. I was disappointed and hadn't seen it down here, so naturally when I saw it on tap at the Food & Wine festival I felt the need to get it. Purple Haze is had a relatively low ABV, barely over 4%. Officially it's listed as 4.2%. Just based on that information, it should be thought of as a highly probably session brew.




A - Cloudy.. no wait HAZY (ha..ha..) yellow color. Small head but with tons of lacing.

S - This beer is listed as a raspberry wheat beer, so huge shocker here that it reeks of raspberries. With first smell, it's raspberries. On second smell, it's raspberries. Need I continue? There's a bit of malt and wheat somewhere hidden in between the raspberry sandwich.

T - Based on the smell I was thinking it would be an overwhelming raspberry taste similar to how Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is when it comes to the cherry taste. Surprisingly, the front of the beer is sweet and malty. But.. shortly after that it gives way to a raspberry taste that absolutely dominates your palate. It's a pleasant raspberry taste though that fulls up your mouth and lingers on your tongue in the aftertaste.

M - Light bodied with medium to high carbonation. Despite the raspberry aftertaste, it's actually a smooth finish.

D - It's a very drinkable beer. If my girlfriend who hates beer thought that, "it's not bad" that should tell you a thing or two. It goes down very easy and it's definitely a beer I would like to have, and enjoy again.

Grade - Two thumbs up. I could kick myself in the ass for not having this beer before I left Buffalo. I can't wait to have it again.

Orange Blossom Cream Ale

I've never even heard of this beer, nor of the brewery which is Buffalo Bill's Brewery.  I'm not sure why I even purchased this beer, but sometimes the best things in life happen unexpectedly.

After doing a little research, it has a very average score on BeerAdvocate, a C+, which has already lowered my expectations.  Although it's labeled as a Cream Ale, it's officially listed as a Fruit / Vegetable beer which is a little weird.  I'm guessing it's really heavy on citrus aroma and taste.  It's also a beer best consumed during the winter months.  I guess I'm failing all over with this one already.

Based on the simplicity of the bottle, I figured this was a pretty low-key brewery which is why I've never heard of it.  Turns out, they are from California which probably attributes to them being rather unknown in the Western New York area.
I wish I could tell you a little about their brewery, but their website won't load past the splash screen for me.  Maybe someone else will have a little better luck.

Buffalo Bill's Brewery

On to the review.

A - The color of the beer isn't a huge shocker.  Orange tinted straw colored.  Poured a very small head that was gone in absolutely no time.   All that is left are some bubbles rising to the top.  This beer kind of looks like a watered down orange juice.

S -  Very strong orange peel and almost ginger-like scent coming from the beer mixed with some bitter hops.  I don't find the scent to be rather pleasant even though I really enjoy oranges.

T -  Very surprising taste, sort of.  Obviously it's got a strong base of orange.  Very full orange taste that practically dominates the beer.  Almost tastes how it looks, like orange juice.  There's also an adjunct grain taste present, which I don't dislike paired with this beer.  It actually flows together nicely.  The finish is full of sweet floral hops.

M -  Very light bodied, comparable to something like Coors Light.    Despite the amount of bubbles at the beginning it has a very low carbonated taste.

D -  I have a hard time believing this is a "winter" beer.  I totally see this is a summer beer because it's highly refreshing, and due to it being slightly watery and only a 5.2% ABV it's very drinkable.

Grade - I'd give this beer two thumbs up.  I guess this reinforces the whole, "You can't judge a book by it's cover....and smell." line.  The appearance and smell did absolutely nothing, so I was set up for a big let down.  The taste was good!  The awesome part is, I grabbed this from consumers out of their broken case rack, and paid only $1.29.  Can't beat that.
Overall though, this beer is pretty much orange juice for grown-ups.

Unibroue Ephemere

My second beer from Unibroue. The first being Blanche de Chambly, which is one of my absolute favorite beers... so yeah this beer definitely has a standard to hold up to.

It's a fruit and vegetable beer. Pretty normal when it comes to ABV. 5.5%

A little bit of background info from the Unibroue website -
ÉPHÉMÈRE (apple)
(eff-eh-mehr)

White ale brewed with apple must

Redolent of ripe Granny Smith apples, this
unique white ale pleases the palate with a
delicate balance of fruit and spice notes and
just a hint of sweetness.

Éphémère apple satisfies with each sip and
refreshes in all seasons, especially when
paired with an artisan cheddar cheese, pork
tenderloin served with apple chutney or Vidalia
onion soup.

We developed the Éphémère (Ephemeral)
series to feature a seasonal fruit in a
refreshing, lightly spiced white ale.

The label depicts a fairy, an ephemeral spirit
associated with fruits picked at the peak of
ripeness during each harvest season.
Éphémère apple flavor is brewed with apple
must, which consists of the freshly-pressed
juice from apples.

Enjoy this beer 'alfresco' while dining in the
afternoon sun, relaxing at a family gathering or
at a picnic in the back yard.

Winner of 3 Gold Medals from the Beverage
Testing Institute since 2002


Let's try it!!

A - Nice yellow color. Pretty cloudy with a lot of bubbles surfacing. Had about a 1/2 inch head that dissipated pretty quickly and left nothing but a small outline around the glass.

S - This beer absolutely reeks of apples. As soon as I opened it, I felt that I was in an apple orchard. Green apples to be more specific. Also maybe a little citrus in there and some bread. But tons and tons of apples. Maybe that is why there is a big apple on the bottle?

T - I thought that based on the smell the apple would be way more present. It's really lacking in that powerful apple taste I was expecting. More surprising the apple taste is way at the end of the taste. I feel that there is more grain than apple to the taste. It's a little sweet, but it doesn't bother me, I'm sure there some people out there that would absolutely hate it. I don't though. Also seems like there is a bigger trace of coriander in there, than apple.

M - Very very light mouthfeel. Very juice-water-like but with carbonation.

D - Pretty drinkable beer in my opinion. Finishes without much aftertaste which makes it easy to drink. Goes down really easy too with the lower alcohol level.

Not a great beer, but it's not bad. Pretty average.

It just a one thumb up. Probably won't drink this again, but I wouldn't avoid having it if it were free.