So, I’m in Knoxville. I want a beer from Knoxville. I google “knoxville breweries“. I was disappointed to learn that the New Knoxville Brewery had closed.

I found a company called Smokey Mountain Brewery, a conglomeration of restaurants that brew their own beer in house based on the same recipies, which I was told were created by Marty Helles. I was told this by our bartender, and she also explained that Marty was a Nashville-native. I’m still counting his beer as a “Knoxville” beer, because I had no other options and I was in Knoxville when I drank it. Anyway, let’s get reviewin’:

Smell (1.0): This beer has a good, hoppy odor, but nothing too write back to Chicago about… as I write back to Chicago.

Color (2.0): The color is excellent. It’s a nice coppery red and holds onto its strong head for at least half the glass. Of course, the fact that I was sitting at a copper bar and looking through the glass/beer towards the bar, so that might have affected the outcome of this test.

Drink (4.5): It’s a very light taste, but still enough to present a good bitterness and coat the mouth nicely. I was drinking this in the late evening and thought it would make a good compliment to a steak-and-potatoes type meal.

Incidentals (1): I was at a bar in Knoxville after a very long search for both the bar and the beer they served. The fact that the glass didn’t shatter in my hand or spontaneously explode exceeded my expectations.

Notes on rating: I use a 10 point system. 5 points for drink, 2 for smell and color, and 1 for “incidentals” which include  cost, packaging and my general mood after drinking it.

So, wandering through a Knoxville grocery store, I came across Sweetwater Blue.This brew hails from Hot-lanta, Georgia, and is one of the more interesting combinations I’ve seen, beer and blueberries. The attempt is far better than the execution. The nose is definitely blueberries, and you can detect a hint of that in the finish of what is otherwise a disappointing light ale. Still, this may be a good brew for the summer, especially for fans of Leinenkugel’s many flavor-enhanced beers.

I bought this in Knoxville in an attempt to connect with the south a bit. It isn’t a bad concept, but needs some refining. I don’t like my beer with “natural flavors” added after the fact, but if I have to, this is how I’d want it done.

I never got a chance to pour it, so I don’t know much about the head, color, etc., but hopefully you can forgive me a truncated review.

Amber Draft or Crisp Apple? HMMMMMM?

Erin Monahan’s Battle to the DEATH: Hornsby’s Hard Cider

I like beer… but I find I can only drink one as I feel full and sleepy a few sips into the second, and where’s the fun in that? I have enjoyed Hard Cider on more than a few occasions. This evening at the Knoxville, Tenn. Kroger, Tom and I discovered in the “Cold Beverages” section of the grocery store an option to pick your own bottles  of beer, cider, etc. for an $8.99 mixed six-pack of your choice. I chose George Hornsby’s Hard Cider in two varieties, the Crisp Apple and Amber Draft. I tried the Crisp Apple first, assuming that it would be dry and tart as a green apple cider and better to have before the sweeter red amber. Woodchuck Granny Smith has twice the sugar content – and is twice as sweet – as Woodchuck Amber… and all Ciders are created equal, right?  WRONG.

The Hornsby’s Crisp Apple is crisp, light and refreshing, and tart and sweet. It is exactly the kind of drink I like to have on hot days in the sun with friends for a cookout or other function where the more drinks you have the better you fit in. The Amber Draft was dry and very much like a beer in taste- compared to other ciders I have had in the past. After a second try I felt secure that the Amber Draft is closer to a beer than a cider, and while tasty and pleasant- not a drink for me. When I crave a beer, I have a beer.

I give the Crisp Apple two thumbs up. Tragically, it has 21 grams of sugar to the Amber Draft’s 9… over twice as much.  And the definite opposite of the Green vs. Amber sugar content for Woodchuck Cider. Enjoy it, but stay in touch with reality. While it is certainly less sugary than the evil Mike’s Hard Lemonade, too many Hornsby’s Crisp Apples and a sugar hangover will follow you into the morning.