The heat has been somewhat unbearable lately in Alabama, but sometimes I am able to get some relief from the sweltering temperatures. My parents recently took a trip to Pensacola to see my brother, so I seized the opportunity to have them pick up something that I’m not able to get here. I have been following Grayton Beer for a while and knew that they only distributed in Florida, which is a serious bummer. Although, they did recently announce that they were going to being distributing towards Birmingham and Georgia, so that’s some good news for everyone! Ideally, I would have rather had the Pale Ale or the 30A Beach Blonde Ale, but we can’t all get what we want all the time as we have discussed before. I was brought back the Grayton Beer Original, which doesn’t really tell me anything from the name alone. Original what? Original, man, just go with it. Ultimately, I discover that it is a Golden Ale and also referred to as a Kolsch. I think these titles are used quite loosely which isn’t really something I’m in favor of. Any who, it’s a Golden Kolsch, yeah… we’ll go with that, that was made for the heat and humidity; if you’ve ever been to South Walton, you know what I’m talking about. So, I waited until the hottest day of the week, cracked one open and went outside to really put myself into the full effect. Smart, right? You bet your ass it was smart!
The beer pours a faint gold color; like a mix between straw and copper. There was a little haze in the beer, probably from age, but it was that stage of not being clear and being cloudy. The head retention was nice for such a crisp beer; a nice two or three finger width frothy head that stuck around for a while and left some nice, splotchy lacing on the glass as I drank. There wasn’t really anything exciting going on in the scent department; it was quite bland on the nose actually. It had the usual notes of grain, slight hop aroma (a little more than I would expect from a Kolsch style beer) and a faint pick-up of citrus, which was more than generic for me. There wasn’t really anything to hang onto when smelling the beer, but what it lacked in scent, it made up for in taste.
The first aspect of the flavor that I noticed was the subtle creaminess that I picked up on from the beginning. A lot of beers that claim to be refreshing are really just over-carbonated in my opinion and leave my mouth drier than before and I just want to stop drinking beer and move to water. This beer, however, is really light, but still with some body to quench your thirst and make you feel like you’ve actually drank something. At the same time though, there wasn’t really anything in this beer that really jumped out at me other than the refreshing quality. The grains were tamed and smooth, and the hop character was subtle and gave a slight bite to the beer. I could easily see myself drinking this all day long on the beach, but only if I didn’t plan on doing anything because I could also see myself starting to feel a little tight in the stomach after about three or four. Just food for thought, I guess. The mouthfeel is really smooth and, like I stated before, really easy to drink; leaving your mouth feeling refreshed with a clean finish.
To say I was surprised by this beer would be a small understatement. I had high expectations and they were met. I can only imagine what the other brews are like and with the brand expanding to my neck of the woods, I can’t wait to get my hands on another style or two. So, here’s to sitting outside in the Alabama heat with a couple of easy-drinking beers and a brewery that appreciates every person that drinks there beer!
If you would like more information on Grayton Beer, visit their website here.
Rating: ****
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