They say cats have
nine lives, and that seems to be true of cats and Catamounts alike. As
previously reported in an earlier opinion, the Catamount Brewing Company of
White River Junction and then Windsor, Vermont went out of business last
year, or nearly did. A pioneer among East Coast craft brewers, they had
expanded beyond their humble beginnings in a small brewery to build a
million-dollar state of the art facility. In the process, they over extended
themselves and incurred debts that they never could pay selling beer in a
fiercely competitive market.
At the same time, Harpoon Brewing of nearby Boston couldn’t make its beer
fast enough to meet demand. Harpoon turned a hungry eye towards Catamount’s
shiny new facility and eventually purchased it and the Catamount brands,
though they are not brewing all of them at present. Catamount 8 Lives is a
new beer, never produced by the original Catamount brewery. The name is an
obvious play on the fact the number of lives cats are alleged to have,
presumably Catamount has used one and has another 8 to go.
Catamount 8 Lives pours to a light golden color with a good two fingers
worth of foam forming after a moderate pour. The nose is fresh malty and
slightly fruity. The palate is extremely crisp malty, it is dominated by a
crisp maltiness that is slightly crackery and very refreshing in the finish.
There aren’t really much in the way of hops to speak of here, which will
make it popular I think.
This is not a Catamount beer; it’s a Harpoon beer. In a literal sense, that
is obvious, but I’m referring to the taste of the beer. You could put this
beer in a Pickwick ale bottle, another of Harpoon’s brands, and never know
the difference. The two are virtually identical.
A crisp beer like this is refreshing and great for any occasion, I’m
enjoying it tonight with a fresh garden salad loaded with iceberg lettuce,
radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell peppers, peperoncinis, carrots,
and red onion, all topped off with an olive oil vinaigrette dressing.
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.