ELIZABETH SUSKI
Special to The Leader
Apple cider, pumpkin spice and autumn beers, oh my!
With the fall season in full swing, there’s an abundance of seasonal beers at your local breweries.
If you decide to look up ‘fall beers’ online, you’ll find a couple of different lists that contain anything from pumpkin beer to Oktoberfest beers. Yet, I decided to go visit our local EBC to see what they had to offer.
I started off with the Blueberry Wheat, which is EBC’s number one seller. It was refreshing and light and the blueberries weren’t overpowering in any way. The brew even comes with a few blueberries in it. I’m not a huge fan of blueberries, but it’s safe to say I became one after drinking this brew.
After eating the multiple blueberries I received, I moved on to the Black Jack Oatmeal Stout. It’s dark, rich and so smooth that you wouldn’t even realize you’re drinking beer. It smells like Bailey’s and tastes like a rich, dark espresso. I’m not generally a big stout drinker, but this one had me going back for more!
Up next was the Platters Orange Choclate Blonde, which is a seasonal brew. If you like chocolate and you like oranges, then this is the beer for you. It’s light and refreshing and the first sip took me back to my childhood where those orange-shaped chocolates often appeared. You know, the ones that came in those little blue boxes and were wrapped in orange tin foil. This brew was like that dessert in beer form.
A brew that did not go as well as I had hoped was the Just Peachy, which is a regular at EBC. It smells like the white grape and peach Welch’s juice and looks like a peach’s skin. Yet, unlike the blueberries, there was almost no peach taste.
It was so subtle that it took me a few sips to really taste it, but even then it was hard to discern.
Also, it kind of tasted like hairspray, which is not what I was expecting at all.
Another seasonal brew I tried was the Coldspresso.
This brew is infused with Haitian coffee beans and goes through a long process to get it’s silky taste. It’s less acidic than most other coffee ales which helps to give it its smooth texture.
The espresso flavor is very strong, and if you are a big fan of espresso, then I think you just found your soulmate.
I, unfortunately, am not a fan of espresso, so this brew just tasted like burnt coffee to me.
Lastly, I tried the Super Duper Jelly Doughnut, which is a limited release.
It’s a strawberry cream ale that’s brewed with lactose, strawberry puree and vanilla.
This brew is the ultimate brew. Everything else? Doesn’t matter.
As someone who constantly thinks about donuts, this was the dream. This brew tastes exactly like a powdered jelly doughnut.
With all of these different flavors on my tongue, I got the truffle fries to go along with them. It was the most basic thing I could order, but fries are a must when tasting brews. Each drink went well with the fries, besides the Super Duper Doughnut and the Platters Orange Choclate Blonde.
Three of these beers are only around for a limited time, so stop what you’re doing (whether it’s pumpkin-carving or scary-movie-watching) and head on down to EBC West to try some of the seasonal brews that they have this season.