Famine - Backlash Beer Company

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.64/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Cloudy with a light golden color. Decent head for bar pour. Good ring lace after each sip.

Yeasty, with a spiciness associated with pepper. Lots of alcohol in the smell. Low hop.

Spritzy mouthfeel with lots of carbonation. In many ways a classic Belgian pale ale. Very thin body with a high alcohol.

Serving type: on-tap

02-04-2013 01:01:21 | More by smcolw

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.33/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a two finger white head that fades quickly leaving traces of lace. Pale, murky amber color, ton of yeast left in bottle. Medium carbonation and light-medium bodied. Nose is yeast, flavor is yeasty and light sweet orange peel. $8.49 for a 22oz bottle from Julio's Liquors Westborough, MA.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 22:08:14 | More by jdhilt

Maxwell

Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

The beer pours a beautiful cloudy orange yellow with a good stream of carbonation bubbles bumping to the top of the beer. The head is small white, and pretty much nonexistent, though the carbonation bubbles are constantly moving towards the top of the glass. The beer’s body is properly cloudy, especially since I followed the labels instructions and rolled the bottle gently to re-suspend the yeast. There are, however, no fat particles floating in the beer, which is interesting given its cloudy nature, and a lot of light is able to make it out of the beer from the other side of the glass. I just wish I could get a little more of a head off of this beer. On the nose, this beer is pungent from the moment the bottle cap pops. Big bready and banana Belgian yeast notes waft from the glass no matter where you place it in the room, and these scents explode into your nose when it hovers above the glass. Slight grassy hay notes can be detected from the Goldings hop, and just a touch of sweet malt from the pilsner, but overall this smell is big with the yeast, and that is fine with me. On the tongue, the beer tastes sweet with just a touch of salty yeast, and a lovely bitter touch on the back of the palate. The beer begins sharp and a little grassy before opening into unripe banana, light bread, and some great grassy bitters. The finish is strong with grass, while the aftertaste holds onto the yeast, propagating first banana, but then a more bready character as the flavor slowly fades. On the mouth, the beer is fierce with carbonation, but light-medium, and nicely drinkable. As the beer warms, the sharper flavors dissipate, and the tongue is left with smooth and riper banana flavors with touches of yeasty bread and even pineapple and light pear esters. As it warms, the coriander and orange peel also begin to be discernible from the other flavors of the beer, and provide a nice mellow spice blanket for the tongue. Overall, I like this beer and I love the concept of a single malt single hop beer, as it really shows the complexity of simplicity in beer making. Personally, I prefer this beer closer to room temperature, as it is far mellower and nicer on the mouth, but I am again impressed with Backlash, and really must try their regular offerings. I’d like to note that I disagree with Beer Advocate defining this beer as a Belgian Pale Ale. I understand the whole argument that there are no tripels and no quads, just strong pales and strong darks, but this beer is clearly labeled as a tripel, and thus the brewer believes it is a tripel, and it should be judged as a tripel… Anyways, you should try this beer, just warm it up first.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 20:29:00 | More by Maxwell