American Craft Beer Week Pt 2

Before we get into business, Friendly Package would like to thank all of the Ball State students that voted for us for “Best Liquor Store On Campus” through Ball State's Daily News. For those of you paying attention, that's two years in a row. 

This week is American Craft Beer Week

American Craft Beer Week continues, so time to try something new. Today’s two featured breweries are Boulevard Brewery and North Coast Brewery. Both companies have a lot of great beer to offer so this was a hard choice to pick what to review. Boulevard has some killers like Tank 7, Double Wide, Two Jokers and Rye on Rye (located on our warm shelf), but North Coast is one of my favorite breweries so I gotsta show them some love.

The grandaddy of them all

With the amount of North Coast brews we have at our disposal, it was a little taxing to figure out which to review. Old Stock Ale, Old Rasputin, Brother Thelonious, PranQster all being good choices, but these are the more popular of the beers. I’ve thought about reviewing Old Stock Ostuchi, Grand Cru or the lovely Old Stock Cellar Reserve, but I decided we’re going to look at Le Merle.

North Coast Brewing Company’s Le Merle

Le Merle is a saison/farmhouse ale made with a Belgian yeast strain. It pours a pale, “straw” color, yellowish orange with a big head that hangs around only for a second. Right away you can smell fresh, tangy fruits, some citrus and flowery smells. Le Merle has a light lemon taste, very crisp and fresh. The Belgian yeast gives some extra fruity characteristics, and carbonation is good. Overall I love this beer, one of my favorite saisons in our cooler right now, just make sure to drink this first. 

Michael Jackson says about Le Merle “More than a serious beer – it is outstanding….Dizzying, appetizing, refreshing.” This is not a quote from the “King of Pop” but “The Beer Hunter”.