Monday, August 2, 2010

Nebraska Brewing Company Melange a Trois

When I was at Brass Rail in Campbelltown, they placed a few bottles of Nebraska Brewing Company Melange a Trois on the shelf, their first shipment into the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It took some deliberation on my part to fork over $34 for a 25.4 ounce bottle, but I caved in a bought it. The Melange a Trois is a Belgian-style ale aged in Chardonnay bottles. This was my first beer from Nebraska Brewing Company, and I was excited to try it, given the reviews I have seen. The beer pours a brilliant golden color. From the pour, my first thought was “Holy head!” The pour takes off with an extremely lofty and foamy white head that hangs around for a while, sticking to the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of banana, pepper, candisugar, white grapes, and Belgian yeast. Once the head subsided in about three minutes, I moved on to tasting the beer. The taste is full and powerful from the start. The carbonation attacks the tongue quickly, followed by flavors of candisugar, banana, and sweet yeast. The finish to the beer has a bit of a pepper and alcohol bite, drying the mouth as it goes down. The Chardonnay aging is present in the finish, as remnants of white grapes and Chardonnay linger in the mouth. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. I must say that I was very impressed with the Melange a Trois. My first experience with Nebraska Brewing Company was a positive one, and I look forward to trying more of their beers. However, the $34 price point was pushing my limits a bit, but I'll blame some of that on the Pennsylvania taxes on beer.

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