Texas Honey Ale

In my search for new and exciting booze for my face, I have decided to spend a few ounces each week trying something new.  To be fair to anyone reading this, I don't have a refined palette, a deep well of beer knowledge, or any training to bolster my opinions.  What I do have is a love of hooch, a few meager extra bucks, and a small bit of home brewing experience.  Mostly, though, I like beer, and this is a great reason to try new things.

This week I am trying Texas Honey Ale.  An offering of the Guadalupe Brewing Co., New Braunfels, Texas. 7.32 Alc/Vol, 22oz bottle, honey amber in color, minimal foam to the head. 

From the bottle, there are a few things of note: part of the proceeds go to  Texas A&M's honey bee research, and they would very much like you to know this beer was "hand bottled".  I don't know if I give a shit about any of that, but it makes good bottle reading.  Also the label is more fun than a lot of labels out there. As a designer, I'd say it's "OK", shows talent in the handling of the images, and the details are rich and fun to explore.  All the same it feels pretty literal to the beer. And that's OK.

Now for the important part, how's it taste?  My first glass, the just-drink-it glass, was a good but not overly good beer. It was a bit sweet (which makes sense for a honey ale), smooth, and rich.  Not hoppy at all, a reasonable malt, but not chocolaty. "Honey ale" pretty well sums it up.  My second glass, the sniff-it-swirl-it glass, was better. Of course I had a beer already by then.  This brew is thick (not stout thick, but it sure ain't thin), has some chew to it, and hangs around for a while after you knock it back. First the smell, like honey.  I say "like" honey because when you stick your nose in  jar of honey, it smells like honey, but when you smell this, it smells like honey.  It tastes sweet at first, then big yeast and malt, it fades a bit and finally sublimes to honey.  "Sublimes" is the best verb I have used all week, you should give it a twirl too.

This is a good beer, not too complex, not extravagent, but it tastes nice and makes me smile.  For the money, it's a good value (under $7 for a 22oz bottle), and what the hell, it's named "Texas Honey Ale" and they give money to a school. Go for it.