Monday, April 09, 2018
Renegade's Pleasing Polite Side
Renegade Brewing's best beers traditionally have been the ones that go way, way off-style or outside the mainstream. Think beet saison. Think triple IPA. Think imperial peanut butter cup stout.
That's why it's both pleasing and surprising to see that its newest offering — its Free to Roam American Pale Ale, released officially on Saturday — is a gem specifically because it's subtle and yet imbued with big flavor. And while breweries can fluctuate from beer to beer in terms of what they nail and what they miss, Free to Roam feels like a very mature effort for a brewery that's about to undertake a significant expansion.
The beer replaces Consilium Pale Ale in the year-round lineup for the Denver brewery after a four-year run for that beer — and that's a good thing. Consilium was an early example of the fruited hop beer, and while that pale ale brewed with orange peel wasn't offensive like some other entries in the style, it had an almost chewy body and minimal hop flavor that never seemed to land it in a category that would please hop heads or more experimental drinkers.
Free to Roam tosses aside the actual fruit and replaces it with a mouthful of Citra hops, giving it the feel of a lighter-bodied IPA swimming in melons. But it doesn't go overboard on either the fruity characteristics or the bitterness, ending with just enough of a hop bite to prick your taste buds and then be gone. It's both ultra-drinkable and full of hop-reaching personality — a great beer especially for the coming summer season.
The presence of Free to Roam doesn't mean Renegade is giving up on its fruited hop beers, for those who like that trend. Summer Tan, its deceptively boozy double IPA made with tangerine essence, is coming back this year and getting a run in cans into all five states in which Renegade distributes. It's an easy beer that isn't quite sure whether it wants to be bitter or fruity, but it at least is punchy with both flavors.
Free to Roam, however, is the kind of beer you'll be drinking all summer. And after Renegade recently snagged the Colorado Brewery of the Year award at the New York International Beer Competition, it's a further sign that the beer maker is upping its game.
Renegade Brewing's best beers traditionally have been the ones that go way, way off-style or outside the mainstream. Think beet saison. Think triple IPA. Think imperial peanut butter cup stout.
That's why it's both pleasing and surprising to see that its newest offering — its Free to Roam American Pale Ale, released officially on Saturday — is a gem specifically because it's subtle and yet imbued with big flavor. And while breweries can fluctuate from beer to beer in terms of what they nail and what they miss, Free to Roam feels like a very mature effort for a brewery that's about to undertake a significant expansion.
The beer replaces Consilium Pale Ale in the year-round lineup for the Denver brewery after a four-year run for that beer — and that's a good thing. Consilium was an early example of the fruited hop beer, and while that pale ale brewed with orange peel wasn't offensive like some other entries in the style, it had an almost chewy body and minimal hop flavor that never seemed to land it in a category that would please hop heads or more experimental drinkers.
Free to Roam tosses aside the actual fruit and replaces it with a mouthful of Citra hops, giving it the feel of a lighter-bodied IPA swimming in melons. But it doesn't go overboard on either the fruity characteristics or the bitterness, ending with just enough of a hop bite to prick your taste buds and then be gone. It's both ultra-drinkable and full of hop-reaching personality — a great beer especially for the coming summer season.
The presence of Free to Roam doesn't mean Renegade is giving up on its fruited hop beers, for those who like that trend. Summer Tan, its deceptively boozy double IPA made with tangerine essence, is coming back this year and getting a run in cans into all five states in which Renegade distributes. It's an easy beer that isn't quite sure whether it wants to be bitter or fruity, but it at least is punchy with both flavors.Free to Roam, however, is the kind of beer you'll be drinking all summer. And after Renegade recently snagged the Colorado Brewery of the Year award at the New York International Beer Competition, it's a further sign that the beer maker is upping its game.
Labels: American pale ale, Fruit beers, new beers, Renegade Brewing
