Full Sail Brewing Co: Amber Ale

It's time that I finally understand Full Sail's flagship beer. I've had varied experiences with this amber ale. I first tried this brew at an outdoor summer festival in San Francisco where some friends and I shared bottles while enjoying music, fun, food. Drinking the amber in the warm weather, the beers tasted light and refreshing and definitely quenched our thirst with crisp light flavors.

Recently I revisited the brew, sampling this amber again at a poker game in mid-January. I don't know if it was due to the change of season, but on the second occasion, the beer felt very thick and chewy with tons of deep and rich malt flavors. These two different experiences didn't add up in my mind and I couldn't sort out the spectrum of flavors I tasted in my two attempts of drinking this beer. As a result, I decided to sit down with Full Sail's Amber Ale again, and give it a thorough drink and review.

Not surprisingly, I found aspects of both the crisp lightness and dark malts that I experienced in my prior tasting. This amber has the aroma of a citrusy IPA with some light lemon citrus flavors that match when the liquid first hits the tongue. To back up the hop citrus, there are also some thick brown and deep caramel malt flavors that balance out the beer. Overall it's a medium bodied amber ale that probably can fit into any occasion or season. It's pretty tasty and a good example of the west coast amber ale style. I'd give it a try; any time of the year. Cheers.

Full Sail Brewing Co: Wassail

I just finished up some holiday shopping and now it's time for another beer break. Full Sail's Wassail is a great way to ease any pain caused by December shopping anxiety. This brew is also an apt beverage to drink this time of year as the brewery has incorporated some clever Christmas puns on the label and bottle cap (I'll let you enjoy for yourself if you decide to pick up the beer). The term Wassail itself is a form of 'Christmas punch' and I see no reason why this winter warmer cannot be included into that genre.

Wassail is a deep reddish brown color and its got a strong flavor to match the dark hue. The brew is so malty and it feels like drinking layers and layers of different types of malts stacked one on top of the other. It's pretty tasty and an unique take on the winter warmer style of beer. There is a touch of hop bitterness at the end, but do not be mistaken this is a malty brew. The malt flavors range from chocolate to syrup to coffee and they are everywhere. It's a pretty hearty beer, but that is to be expected anytime you pick up a 7% winter warmer. The flavors linger on the tongue for quite a while after each sip and in a way the beer itself is sorta reminding you of the taste and begging you to take another sip. Maybe I'll grab another Wassail, and extend my break before wrapping gifts. Cheers.

Full Sail Brewing Co: Old Boardhead Barleywine Ale

When you think 'barley' you probably think 'beer'. When you think 'wine', well you probably think 'wine'. Barleywines, not surprisingly, are a beer-wine combo: containing the grain base and taste of a beer and the high alcohol content and ageability of a wine.

I picked up a 220z bomber of Full Sail's reserve line of barleywines. The store had the '07 version in stock. I went with Full Sail's ale simply due to the price. I'm sure you've all noticed that Full Sail beers are always consistently 2+ dollars a six-pack cheaper than other microbrews. I really have no idea why, as I find that their brews are just as tasty as any other micro. (The amber ale and limited edition lager are quite tasty). Most great American breweries justify their good or poor beer with prices that match, but I think Full Sail defies this reliable indicator. Since most 22oz Barleywines go for about 5 bucks a pop, I easily handed over the $3.29 for this 9% ale. 22oz at 9% is about 4 beers in one bottle; sounds like a good deal to me.

With my bargain in hand I began the sipping. This is not a beer to plow through. Some people even pour these brews in wine glasses for best results and to ensure paced consumption. That was a little too weird for me, so I went with the standard pint glass. Probably a faux pas at many beer bars. Oh well.

Anyway, the beer smells very earthy. Almost like a redwood tree. The lacing is also quite frothy; so coupled with the smell I knew I was in for a dousy. The taste was also pretty rich to match. Hoppy and almost dark. Surprisingly there were no fruit flavors. I thought this was a staple in this style of ale, especially since the others I've tried were very fruity; but I guess not. Overall pretty good. Enough flavors to mask the alcohol and enough good tastes to justify sticking with one bottle the whole night. Cheers.