Why We Picked It: We are all fans of a good session IPA, and it feels like a good type of beer to kick off 24 Days of Beer, summer edition. Personally, I'm a big fan of Burley Oak. I highly recommend visiting if you are out in OC. It's a short drive to Berlin.
What Burley Oak Says About It: "This S.M.A.S.H. (single malt and single hop) beer contains 100% local pale barley grown 15 minutes from our brewery. Exclusively hopped with Citra, this session IPA boasts dank aroma with a clean malt finish."
ABV: 4%
IBU: 40
Website: burleyoak.com
Fun Facts: About Burley Oak from Burley Oak: "Hi there! We have been hard at work building this brewery keeping in mind sustainable practices and using local materials and craftsmen. We love our town of Berlin, Maryland and hope you join us in our taproom for a couple of pints and growlers. Our goal is to produce distinctive beers whose quality is unsurpassed using new and traditional brewing methods."
First... and as its the first day of sort of mini-vacation, I had to crack this one early.
ReplyDeleteThis was an easy one for me, as I already know and like this beer. A local fav of mine, Burley Oak has a tendency to make beers with a wonderful touch of funky dankness, and this one if nicely done. A light touch of fruity and hoppiness mixed.
I give it 3.5 out of 4 Eastern Shore Farmers
P.S. I'm at the in-laws afternoon, so it's all Sam Adams and Corona for the rest of the day.
So excited to be doing this in the summer again. About the only thing I'm excited about this summer. And I'm pretty sure James and the Giant Peach did not slip into our selections. I had this a couple of years ago and did not give it a positive review. Clearly I was younger, dumber, and drunker at the time. This is a great session beer. Nice bit of citrus. Not getting the funky dankness Scott referenced (which I usually describe as "weed"). Split it with Ro and drank my half in about 5 minutes. May drive to Maple Lawn for another sixer, but I think we bought them out. Could have used about 5 more of these on Sunday when sorting all your beers on a patio in 95 degree weather.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, Scott started this off by using a 4 point rating scale? I thought we went with 5? I always go with 5. I give it 4 out of 5 jelly doughnuts.
This being my first time and knowing it would really bother Scott first thought was to post "good" on the first several beers. Unfortunately, I really liked this beer, so that plan went out the window. Being the first beer I also split it with my wife and we paired with some dry aged salami and pepperoncinis.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised how lightly color it poured and how subtle the hops were. Recently I tend to approach anything with Citra hops with caution. There seems to be a (bad) trend of using citra hopes to overly hop beers for a false fruit flavor even in low IBU beers the last 2 summers. Thankfully that was not the case here as I found it very refreshing.
After a bite of pepperoncini the beer had an expected nuttiness which really rounded out the flavor profile and finished the beer very nicely. Sadly the salami did not do as well and added a slightly off dank taste to it.
I give it a solid 4.15 out of 5 slices of gabagool.
https://www.icloud.com/photos/#0X2R8CsmdjkFTmBm9jkMHQ4CQ
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On another note I tried posting a review a little while ago. I guess the new guy hazing is blogspot loses your first review so you have to type it again...I'm onto you Scott....
Sadly, this is not a prank... it me still using Blogger even though I always tell myself we need to go to Wordpress or Wix or anything else. Maybe for Xmas 24DOB.
DeleteSweet photo by the way. You take the early lead in artistic portrayal of beer.
Delicious. Love the citrus flavors. Smooth and refreshing. Thanks for doing all this Scott! Looking forward to trying some new stuff. Like Scott I give it a 3.5 out of 4.
ReplyDeleteJason
I agree with the description on the can: "dank aroma" and "clean finish." I split mine with my wife over lunch outdoors, and it was perfect in the heat. We actually thought the funky dankness finished with a tinge of sour, which I appreciated. A strong start to this summer edition. I have had two other Burley Oak brews before, and I'm pumped to add this to my list and fridge rotation.
ReplyDelete- Greg
Hear! Hear! First, many thanks to Scott Shepherd and his band of beer angels for bringing back the 25 DOB. It is the best reopening plan ever.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Home Grown. When I poured it, I noticed how sort of cloudy it was, and I was silently concerned.
Note: I say "silently concerned," because sometimes when I pour a beer in my kitchen at night an it looks cloudy I have been known to shout "Everyone! Attention! I just wanted all of you to know that I just POURED A BEER and IT LOOKS VERY CLOUDY. I am wondering IF i should DRNIK IT! AGAIN, I am CONCERNED.!"
But this time I did not do that. I was just silently concerned, and I just drank it. And I am very glad I did. I thought it was great. Smooth, easy, flavorful and an ideal level of hoppiness for a summer beer. I don't recall having anything from Burley Oak before, but I am definitely going to check them out, and I will definitely pick this up for my personal stash.
I am going with 3.97/4.00 dank aromas. I want to leave some room at the tippy tope for other contenders.
Your lack of concern is of great concern to me.
DeleteI'm unconcerned about his concern because it was silent which is more concerning than the concern itself.
Delete24 Days of Beer Summer style!
ReplyDeleteI had been down the road of Flying Dog's STFH sampler pack including the Truth at 8.7%, Gonzo at 10% and Double Dog at 12%. I had the Truth and Gonzo before this session. It is not a bad session but my beer taste skews higher ABV. I think of sessions as grill beers but if you want a more upscale grill beer, this is a good choice. Way more tasty and tolerable then a lot of other sessions. Good start. 3 out of 4 I guess.
Thanks for including me in this, Scott. I am a little late on the day one comments, but here goes. This beer is extremely easy to drink and a great summer choice. I could have had several more. I had never heard of this brewery and definitely want to make a trip out to Ocean city. Again, thanks for letting me join in. Looking forward to Day 2's beer, which i will be having very soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled to be included in this. I love sessions IPAs but I'm less into the cloudy/unfiltered New England IPAs. The smell and especially the look and mouth feel made this seem like a Session NE IPA. I wouldn't turn it down if offered to me, but I wouldn't rush out to buy it either. If we're working the four point scale, I give it a solid 2.7 out of 4.
ReplyDeletewell said. I think because I drank this out of order (I'm catching up already after a weekend away!), I am enjoying it more that I normally would. Back in my day, IPA's were clear, and that's the way I like it!
DeleteGreat way to start the 24 days of summer beer. 24dosb?
ReplyDeleteSolid easy drinking session. Paired well with a couple episodes of Schitts Creek. (Only on season 2 no spoilers!)
I give it 4 schitts out of 5.
First, sorry I'm late. Very busy yesterday. Also, I'm not the new guy anymore so I'm not eager to please you all.
ReplyDeleteSecond: THANKS SHEP AND CREW(sorry crew, shep doesn't share your names). This is awesome, much needed and awesome. Did I say awesome.
I have never had this beer or brewer before. As I have been moving toward the sub 5%ers, this one works great, just right on all the flavors. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Thanks guys for setting this up. Great to see you've focused on local breweries! Thanks for introducing some of these that are near us that I havent come across before, from Rockville, Silver Spring. I think maybe I can be open minded about beer from Dundalk...
ReplyDeleteBut this first one from Berlin MD: I'm impressed! A nice refreshing brew. Lots of flavor - and grapefruit was interesting. I like session beers for when you want to have a few. But as much as I like it I cant imagine having a few of these. Just too much fruit. But a nice beer for the summer and my first from Burley Oak. First of many to come!
Nice one! The aroma hits you hard right up front. So good. I wish it warned me that it was a hazy IPA on the can, because I tend to need to be in the mood for it. Once I adjusted my pallet towards that style I thoroughly enjoyed this beer. Not my absolute favorite, but very good.
ReplyDeleteCatching up and this one was fine and delicious - what a great summer IPA pour with a clean citrus that does not overwhelm. Just wish I had a case of this in the OBX! Will be a top 10 or maybe even 5.
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