I've been mighty busy these past few days. Sunday was Hopleaf's fundraiser, the beer extravaganza known as Kegs for Kids. The next evening, I was off to the formal launch of Marz Community Brewing down in Bridgeport. The team from Bridgeport always holds cool events, and this was no exception. Good food, good music, good vibe, great tour of Bridgeport, and of course, great beer! Then came Tuesday night's event: a tap takeover by Three Floyds and Pipeworks at Roots Pizza. Because I've already had all of the five Floyds beers that were available, I stuck with Pipeworks. I tried their Saison du Solei (a very citrusy ale with lots of grapefruit), Raspberry Truffle Abduction Imperial Stout (tasted like chocolate covered raspberries), and the Bicentennial Falcon (500th batch for Pipeworks!).
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| Why yes, that is a Marz Community Brewing glass. Thanks for noticing! |
I don't think I was alone in being excited about the premier of Off Color Brewing way back in 2013. John Laffler and David Bleitner had already demonstrated that they could make beer well separately, so imagine the possibilities of them working together in their own brewery. Their initial concept was to brew variations of unappreciated German style beers, which sounded very interesting, though risky. Off Color wasn't looking to win any popularity contests with this direction. And I must admit, it's been hit or miss with the general public. Off Color's beers are not for everyone--though Troublesome certainly could be a popular beer. I personally like Troublesome and Scurry, but they were hard sells at the bar. Scurry has always been good, Troublesome has been less consistent. The last batch of Troublesome that I had, however, was amazing. And that's when I decided to buy Off Color's latest beer: Fierce.
Fierce is a Berliner Style Weisse that packs in a ton of flavor at 3.8% ABV. By now, everyone knows what a Berliner Weisse is, so I won't bore you with the details. Needless to say, Off Color has nailed the style with Fierce. And their label art is just as good as the beer. Off Color works with Nikki Jarecki, who uses metallic labels that produce unusual and interesting effects.
The beer itself has a very light, straw color. It's slightly hazy and very effervescent. The head is small, but persistent thanks to the unceasing carbonation. The sour funk really comes through in the nose. It is sweet and bready as well. It is tart and funky in all the right ways. Initially tart, light bodied, and refreshing, Fierce finishes with a lingering sour flavor. Laffler and Bleitner have really outdone themselves with Fierce.
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| Off Color has Great Label Art. |
