Honey + Basil + Beer

Posted on 06.27.09 11:03AM under News

Bison Brewing is an organic brewery out of Berkley CA.

In this modern world of extreme beer, the very definition of extreme tends to move around a bit. At first, it was generally meant as high alcohol or high IBU or both. Think “Triple IPA”. It evolved to refer to style combinations. I’m thinking of “Black IPA” – the strange combo of stout and IPA, probably hyped up in the ABV and IBU depts.

It continues to evolve and mature, as any great beer could do. Today when we think about extreme beer, it could be extreme in a different direction. Like a 3% ABV IPA-ish beer, or culinary-inspired brews.

Bison has released a very intriguing summer seasonal brew. It’s a Honey Basil Ale. My favorite part of the press release:

“Like my other specialty brews, this year’s Honey Basil Ale uses specialty ingredients judiciously – we don’t hit you over the head with the ingredients, but rather hint at it,” says Brewmaster Daniel Del Grande. “All our beers focus on drinkability and balance, so after finishing the bottle I leave you wanting another!  Some beers out there fatigue my palate; I like to enjoy a couple beers with food and friends.”

Sounds nice. I, too, enjoy a couple of beers from time to time. If I can get my hands on this one, I’ll have to let you all know how it fares against this enticing testimonial from the Brewmaster.

Read Comments

  1. Posted by Levi on 06.27.09 1:04 pm

    I haven’t tried this beer yet, but really like the use of basil in beer. The Bruery’s “Trade Winds” is another with basil that is worth checking out.

    http://www.thebruery.com/beers/index.html

  2. Posted by Keith Brainard on 06.30.09 8:02 pm

    I have had a few Bruery offerings, last April in San Diego at the Craft Brewer’s Conference, they were just about to open and I had something white and something black from what I can recall. It’s just amazing how far those guys have come so fast! Maybe one day they’ll make their way up here to New England.

    Thanks for reading!

  3. Posted by Keith Brainard on 07.16.09 8:48 pm

    I have received a couple bottles of this beer in the mail, and I’ve tried one, but I’m waiting for the right moment to do a good review of the second bottle.

    I can tell you from preliminaries that this is a great summer beer – refreshing and crisp. Delicious and well-crafted. More to come soon.

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