There is nothing like the first sip of a well brewed beer after a long day (or month) or a long run.
After finishing a crazy month (that is still ongoing) I went for a jog to get rid of all of the stress. But this was followed by a couple of good beers, some odd ones that I have not really seen much around.
There is just something in the first sip that takes away all of the stress, or in a very strange sense justifies the hard work. It feels like a reward after all that happened, like the beer tells me Everything will be worth it. Maybe I am the only one that feels like that, but either way.
I found these two beers at a local liquor shop that stocks some of the more rare beers in South Africa, and I really appreciate their variety. We don't always get these beers, as no one really stocks them, either only selling them online or at the brewery.
But with these two beers in my basket, and then later on in the glass, I was ready! Or in fact, I celebrated the long run and long day (or month). Herewith is some of my tasting notes.
Mad Giant's Urban Legend IPA
IPA | 5.5 % ABV | ?? IBUs
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I was lucky to still be able to taste this beer. The brewery, to my knowledge, closed down. But when I drove past the brew-pub, it was still open, so I am not sure.
I opened this beer after a long run, having just finished a long stretch of work. To say the least, this tasted like heaven.
The first notes on my nose as I opened the bottle was bitter hops. It had a slight sweetness to it, but it was like it should be: hops front with a nice bitterness that I knew waited. I am not sure, however, what the IBUs on this beer was.
The first sip was good and bitter. I got some of the notes that they wanted us to note on the bottle, guava, mango, and so on, but I rarely get these notes. I have different memories linked to these tastes and smells. It was hop front, bitterness, a slight sweetness, but mostly hops. It reminded me, like so many other beers, of my own home brewed IPAs where you tried to add too much hops. This is a good thing though, and I liked it.
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Tolokazi's African Pale Ale
APA | 5.2 % ABV | ?? IBUs
There is a growing trend in South Africa to brew APA or African Pale Ales. This is a trend I am getting behind, especially when brewers add traditional south African ingredients, like malted sorghum. Sorghum is used in traditional African sour beers (umqombothi) but these ingredients are used more and more in "commercial" beer now.
The first smell is bit sour, definitely from the malted sorghum. There was also hoppy fruity pine notes, but it had strong sour beer smells.
The first taste was incredible, bitter, hoppy, refreshing, and a bit sour, but in all the right ways. There was some sweetness, and it was very carbonated. As I drank the beer, it had perfect lacing throughout, and a nice slight cloudiness.
Even though this was an incredible beer, the taste is not that powerful, not as strong as the first smell. After waiting while, the carbonation was better, and I really just enjoyed this beer for what it was.
Postscriptum, or Cheers to Crazy Weeks/Months
It is funny just how busy one can get. It feels like the world falls out of its seams, becoming a crazy continual stream of just waking up in the morning to get stuff done, to then sleep and get up to do the same thing.
These beers were good interruptions, making me take things slow. But is this not the whole point of enjoying a beer like this?
For now, happy drinking and keep well!
All of the musings are my own, albeit inspired by these interruptive beers. The photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300.