Try?
Anderson
Valley Brewing Company is located in Mendocino County, California, which is
quite a distance from my home state of Rhode Island. I had managed to sample
a few of their beers at Beer Camp and was impressed to say the least. I've
also seen them for sale in Masssachusetts, but the bottles I bought there
were a bit on the stale side. Fortunately, Anderson Valley sells 22oz.
bottles of their beer through their website. I ordered six of them, and to
be quite truthful the first four styles I tried were all good beers but not
as flavorful as I had expected. Then I opened the Boont Amber Ale.
I hadn't tried this beer before. When I popped the cap, an aroma wafted it's way to my nose the likes of which I have only experienced when sniffing a handful of whole hops. I poured the beer in my glass, and admired it's ruby red color and thick creamy head. A more subdued but still impressive hop aroma rose from the glass. A sip of the beer revealed a wonderful, delicate piny hopiness perfectly melded with crisp, toasty caramel malt notes. A balancing hop bitterness is the perfect crescendo for this extremely tasty brew. Boont Amber won a medal in the amber ale category at the Great American Beer Festival in 1995, and it's not hard to see why. Superb!
Update:
May 29, 2013: Have not had this beer in many years, but I am
enjoying a mug tonight at Taco Mac. Reading my tasting notes above, I can
tell you the beer has not changed at all over the years. The firm, chewy,
toasty caramel maltiness up front with just the right amount of hop
bitterness juxtaposed against it makes this a real winner. One of my
favorite beers from this brewery, if a little pricey these days at $9.99 a
six-pack. My draft was about average at $6.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
