Green's Quest Trippel Blond Ale

This is the second of the Green's Beers that I am reviewing. I drank this one at a party last night (first beer of the night!), and gave it out to about four or five people to try, so we really only got a tasting's worth of it, but it was enough for me to base this review on.

I have one more Green's to try and review, which I may end up trying later. I may wrap the thing up securely in Zip-Lock bags and put it deep into the center of my soft sided checked baggage, because those allergies yesterday have turned into a small cold and every taste bud is off and I've lost my sense of smell. Not so good unless I want to write "couldn't smell it, couldn't taste it..." Who cares how pretty a beer pours if it doesn't taste good!

I'm also adding (as suggested last night at the party) a "bottom line" section which contains an honest evaluation of whether or not I'd drink it/buy it/how much I liked it because reading back on the few entries I haven't really given that sort of thing and I probably should.

Green's Quest Trippel Blond Ale

Link: Green's Gluten Free Beer Site (actually a better one than the previous review!)

Look: Pours wheat gold, with a light densely foamed head. Not much lace to speak of but my friend pretty much took all the head out when pouring me a glass, and I had about three centimeters of head to work off of for this description. It has a murky character to it, but enough carbonation that you can still see it despite the cloudiness. This was poured into a pint glass.

Smell: My sense of smell is still off...so I'm going to work off of what my company said when trying this - "Smells like apple cider!" "This reminds me of hard apple cider." "I think this is like cider" - so there you have it. When I attempted to smell it I also smelled a hint of green apple cider, as well as some yeast, but that was about it. The cider smell was a little off from what a normal cider usually smells like.

Taste: The first thing anyone said about this beer after we were done with our first gulp is "this reminds me of dry champagne!" While I won't say it tastes exactly like champagne, the never ending carbonation, the fruity dryness, and the light, thin, bubbly mouthfeel definitely make it reminiscent of that. It's a little tart and most of us agreed that the aftertaste was a bit bitter for our tastes and didn't pair with the sweetness of the drink.

The Bottom Line: I'm not sure I would buy this one again. If I was going to go for a Green's I would definitely purchase the Discovery over this one. It cost $5.99 for a 500 ML bottle in Delaware.

Green's Discovery Amber Ale

I'm in PA with my in-laws family for Christmas. The house was stocked with regular beer and of course, wine. After two days of wine induced stomach aches (after two glasses! Seriously!) my brother in law kindly obliged to drive me to the liquor store in Delaware to pick up whatever sort of gluten free beer I could find. The selections, after looking a while and finally finding them in the singles section, were Redbridge (surprise!) and a Belgian type named Green's which I hadn't had before. You can probably guess I purchased a variety of greens. At 5.99 a bottle they were bit on the expensive side but gluten free beggars can't be choosers, and it's all in the name of science, correct?

There were three types, all sold in 500 ML bottles. I purchased one of each and am going to do three days of reviews. Because I can't take these back with me on the plane (our only check-able bag is soft-sided and I don't want glass bottles in it) I'm going to have to finish them before the weekend is up and we fly back to Colorado.

Only one of the three is labeled gluten free on the bottle, but a quick google search (thank you Brother-in-laws IPhone!) revealed that all three were gluten free and were okay for me to drink. I'm going to start with the one that is the lightest and work my way up to the Endeavor Dubble and Quest Tripel Ales.


Green's Discovery Amber Ale

Link: Greens Gluten Free Beer Page

Maker's Description: Medium-bodied with subtle caramel and nut flavor nuances. Refined, herbal hop aroma and finish. OG: 1.056; IBU: 32; ABV:6.0%

Look: This beer is a dark just-a-shade-lighter-than molasses color. It has great depth to the color, and looks dynamic when poured into a pint glass. Cloudy. It retains its fluffy cream colored head quite well despite swirling, and actually it took me two pours to get this one right it was so foamy! My husband poured himself a glass and found a similar problem, so maybe this time it's not just my bad pouring technique. After about ten minutes it peters up but it stays clinging to the side of the glass.

Smell: I'm nursing some allergies or a small cold (I know I shouldn't be reviewing right now, but this stuff isn't coming on the plane home with me!) so my sense of smell is a bit off...but this beer is strong enough that I'm able to smell the tangy highlights.

Taste: Very tart and tangy, with fruity notes. When my husband sipped this one he explained that it was almost like a cider, and while I wouldn't go that far it definitely has hints of apples and a bit of tartness to it. Jon noticed that it was thin compared to other ails that he usually drinks, but it seems thicker to me, who's palate is limited to gluten free beers. Aftertaste is tingly, and not at all bitter, but as it warms up the 6% alcohol becomes more apparent.

Where to Buy:I found this at Total Liquor in Delaware. I haven't seen this anywhere else, but I assume it is distributed elsewhere.