There is nothing better than an ice cold refreshing beer am I right? Right. Those are the words 7 out of 10 times you hear coming from a man. Well now you can hear it coming from a woman, me! This is the blog where once a month I try a new beer and review it. My goal is to convert a lot of wine drinkers out there to the hoppy side...
The beer choice for January is Concord Craft Brewing Company's "Safe Space" . Why and how did this come to my attention? I'll tell you. On "National Beer Can Appreciation Day" (which VB & I were informed about later in the day) a listener of "VB in the Middle" called into our show to one tell us it was that day and two right off the bat, suggest this exact beer for having great artwork on it's can. We were intrigued, looked it up online, saw that there was a unicorn on the can with rainbows and BAM! I was sold. I had to try this beer. I wondered if the beer would be as magical tasting as the can portrayed. I just had to find out! So, I drove to Derry, NH, which was the closest location to where I could get my hands on this magical unicorn, I mean beer, and behold I found it! Glistening from inside the cooler was the purple and white can, dressed with a flying unicorn galloping under a rainbow as it kissed snowflakes and hearts on it's way by the NH State House. Ah, it was a site to be seen and it was mine to take! I took it alright. I bought the four pack of "Safe Space" and couldn't wait to crack open my first one when I got to my Saturday evening destination!
I partook in my tasting of the beer that Saturday night and paired it with some Chinese food, lo mein noodles to be exact. Immediately I noticed a medium hoppy taste. It was an IPA. Now, I was so distracted by the unicorns and hearts that I did not notice the label telling me that prior to my tasting. I went right for the beer, hook, line, and sinker based off of the can. I will admit that. That was my main draw, not the fact that the very listener who recommended it did say it was a decent beer. I just wanted the can, so yes the artwork got me. With that being said, I am normally NOT an IPA drinker and it's not my go to beer. However, this IPA was indeed decent and tasty. It wasn't overly strong. It was true to it's name, a "safe" IPA. It was smooth, refreshing, and hit you with just the right amount of bitterness. It wasn't overkill. While I was expecting more of a light beer with say notes of strawberry or peach based off of it's name, I enjoyed this beer. It's not in my top 10 favorite beers but I would have it again. If this beer were at a party I was at, sure I'd grab one. I'm rating this beer a 5 out of 10 . It was decent and washed down my chinese food well!
If you have any suggestions for beer that you think I should try. Tweet at me @LightningMarita and I'd be happy to look into it! Who knows, it might be my next beer!
Stay tuned for next month's "Lightning in a Bottle"!
-Producer Lightning