What Silver Branch Says About It: Incredibly flavorful abbey ale inspired by the everyday beers enjoyed by Trappist monks. Soft golden color and an intense, spicy Belgian yeast profile. All the character of a hop-forward, yeast-driven Belgian ale without the higher alcohol.
Style: Pale Belgian
ABV: 5.3%
IBU: N/A
Website: https://www.silverbranchbrewing.com/
To Better Know A Brewery: Silver Branch Brewing Company is a production brewery and taproom located in the heart of Downtown Silver Spring immediately adjacent to the Silver Spring red line metro stop. Silver Branch was founded by Christian Layke and Brett A. Robison in January 2017. As long-time beer lovers with an appreciation for the four major brewing cultures, they will brew and serve excellent beer inspired by European and American beer traditions. Silver Branch’s beers will be multi-dimensional so that the last sip of your last beer is as pleasing as the first sip of your first beer.
Note: We are adding daily polls this year, but please continue to leave comments below.
First - love the poll. What a great way to get some feedback from everyone!
ReplyDeleteSecond - I almost forgot to drink this until one of my kids reminded me (one of them LOVES to smell the beer and I heard him telling his teacher he can’t wait to smell daddy’s beer tonight).
Third - I liked this a lot. A nice easy drinking beer to ease into what I am sure will lead to some much heavier and aggressive winter beers. We paired it with some Gyros for a very early dinner tonight (heading out to a light show). The soft slight sour fruit taste (like a nice berry not a sour ale) paired well with the tszakiki sauce. The beer also had a very nice carbonation yet with a smooth almost syrup like mouth feel.
3.89/5 (probably always on edge) celibate monks
Thank goodness I am not the only person whose kids tell other adult about their beer drinking habits.
DeleteSolid and one of the better Silver Branch beers I've had. If there was such a thing as a Belgian lawnmower beer this may very well be it.
ReplyDeleteLiked ""Belgian lawnmower near"
DeleteSo good to be back. First I want to thank my sponsor, Shep. Of course the rest of the enablers who work with Shep. And finally my wife and kids that allow me some joy in life.
ReplyDeleteMy kids also reminded me of the kickoff. They commented that dad has his "beer" advent calendar but ours has not arrived. So there you go.
To the beer: very nice, not a go to, but I'd drink 2, 3of these in a row. I can't say I agree with much of the brewers comments other than the word "trappists". Only other addition, they go great with leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving, turned into pancakes.
Let the games begin
God I love December. And only because of the 24 days of beer. Isn't that enough? I decided we needed this Silver Branch over some gnome beer. Big fan of this one. Just a perfect representation of a Belgian pale ale in my opinion. Silver Branch has really grown on me. They definitely nail the Belgians and their Quantum Shift is a great series.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my exposure to Beligan beer goes back to 1996. Clinton was being impeached and a friend of mine knew one of the brewers at Allagash. He brought down a sixer of Allagash White and my life was changed. Had never had a Belgian style beer before and I loved it. Ended up at the brewer's wedding where we spent 4 days driving around rural Maine on forced nature hikes in pouring rain but always ending with a keg of Allagash. Good times. My Allagash shirt was one of my favorites until it perished in a drunken attempt to get through some Arlington woods after a bachelor party gone bad. Allagash White was one of the three beers we requested for our wedding. But yes, Belgians. And this is so true to the style.
I noticed that tomorrow's beer has breakfast in the title. Does that mean the page will be up by 7 am in case any of us need to post. Asking for a friend.....
This is a good start. While it's not an Allagash, it's similar enough.
ReplyDeleteA first timer here I’m looking forward to working through what looks to be a great mix of beer. I work near Silver Branch and so was intrigued to try this one. In the end I think I wanted to like it more than I actually did. It started off with a nice taste (monks chanting in the background maybe) but then turned into more of a run of the mill beer the more I drank. Fun to try for sure.
ReplyDeleteA little too sour/ too much coriander for my palate. But I’m thankful to Shep et al for the opportunity to try new things. many many thanks!
ReplyDeleteI’ve been looking forward to this for months! I think of Abbey Singles as the ugly duckling next to dubbels and trippels but this is still good. Can’t wait for more to come.
ReplyDeletePersonally enjoyed every Silver Branch beer I've had. Still need to visit the brewery. This is nice and light in a good way. Great place to start the journey.
ReplyDeleteI’ve had this one a few times before, and I’ve given it a 3.5 on Untappd. It’s ok, but I feel like a Belgian style tastes better when it’s imported from Belgium. And a double or triple.
ReplyDeleteAh, this really brings back memories. It seems like just yesterday - the spring and summer of 1997 where I moved into a monastery and lived with a community of trappist monks for six months - you know, just to try it out. A gap year of sorts. They were really a great group of guys. Sure they were quiet, and there was not a lot of TV going on. "Hey guys! The Phillies are on tonight. What do you say?" They never answered, and a few would sort of move their head as to point out the "vow of silence" poster on the wall. I would always joke, "Hey! That's optional, right!"
ReplyDeleteSo funny. They would never laugh, per se, but I always felt that they really enjoyed my jokes. But a great group of guys, sweet as can be. I will say this: They never argued with me. Not ever. Plus, I learned to enjoy the simple things in life. Ice Cream Night in the dining hall was a really big deal. And, of course, the beer was fantastic. To be honest, I didn't seem to take it. Years later I would take my beer making skills to help my friend Brian brew beer in his home. But all of the bottles we made exploded when we opened them. In retrospect, that may be why the guys tried to get me in the coffin making operation they had going on.
So, this beer. A bit more fruit forward than I normally prefer, but it's clean, crisp, and I think tasty. Agree with the comment about it being a great lawnmower beer. I will say that I think I like the design on the can slightly better than the beer itself (but I really like the design on the can). If we were doing the thing with the made up ratings, I'd give this 3.17/5.00 Tre Fontanes or something. Agree this is a good start.
Finally, I'd like to thank the Academy, and Scott, the DOB team, Maple Lawn Liquor and Wine and you my fellow DOB contributors for making this possible once again. It is the most wonderful time of the year, and it is good to be back with all of you.
I too assume when people don't laugh at my jokes they really enjoyed. I also assume they are monks.
DeleteNothing wrong with exploding bottles...provides some entertainment is all
DeleteI really enjoyed this beer. Smooth and went down easy. I regret not drinking it during dinner. It would have paired well with the chips and guacamole. 4/5 taco tuesday tacos.
ReplyDeleteGreat start to the event! What a nice beer. A drinkable, true to form single. The back end bitterness is a lighter form of an abbey blonde like a Brugse Zot in my opinion. Very clean and enjoyable!
ReplyDeleteSo I pulled this one out while my wife and debated what movie to watch. By cosmic force perhaps, we selected the movie "Doubt" as I cracked open the Single Abbey. Note: The movie is not the rollicking fun times that Dan had at the monastery.
ReplyDeleteAs for the beer, this had a lot of things working against it. During delivery the stupid delivery guy somehow damaged the can. Not severely, but enough that it lost a little carbonation. Next, the beer some how got pushed the arctic corner at the top of my fridge and add extra level of cold to my beers. Despite all of that, it was still a lovely beer - not god like or even holy - but lovely. It was well balanced and had a nice clear dry finish. I would definitely have another. 3.75 our of 5 hail marys.
Spicy aroma – and malty. It was good. I was wondering if its had some time in bourbon barrels. I have had a few Belgians over the years, but not too many - I’ve always tended to be more involvement with Germans. So I’m not so familiar with Belgian abbey styles. So for me it was good but I wasn’t blown away. 3.25/5
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ReplyDelete