Apollo by Sixpoint Brewery

Posted by Keith Wallace on Nov 5, 2012 in Beer Reviews | 0 comments

The Apollo is Sixpoint Brewery‘s adaptation of a  Kristalweizen, the lightest and most refreshing of wheat beers.  This is a dangerous style to brew, as any flaws are immediately obvious: the light malts, the minimal hops, and the low ABV give the brewmaster little wiggle room for errors. The other trepidation I had with this beer was the name. Any beer named after either 1) a famous rocket ship 2) a  Filipino televangelist or 3) the god of light and truth… well, that beer is really setting the bar a bit too high.

While I am pretty sure this beer will not save  your soul or take you to the moon, it is full of sunshine. And an excellent example of the style.  It pours a light amber with a slight haze and gentle lacing. On the nose, it offers up an aroma of floral hops, sour green apple, and toast. On the palate, banana notes come forward with a bit of allspice rounded off with a light sweetness of malt and the bitterness of a burnt orange peel.

The finish veers towards wet hay and banana bread. It remains crisp and clean with a fantastic roundness just shy of turning creamy. This is a top-flight session beer.

Sixpoint Sweet Action

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 16, 2012 in Beer Reviews | 1 comment

Loving the world of cheap beer is like being strapped to a lump of trash circling a comet orbiting a distant moon: your passion isn’t going to matter much to anyone. Only when you break free of gravity will anyone notice.

Crazy as that is, Shane Welch of Sixpoint Brewery did that very thing: he just managed to make cream ale interesting. Cream ale is the kissing cousin to the American adjunct lager (think Budweisser), just with a different type of yeast. It’s cheap, it’s carbonated, it’ll get you drunk… eventually.

That makes this brew all the more fantastic. Sixpoint’s Sweet Action is a subtle brew. A balance between tight carbonation and rich malty creaminess. White pepper and peaches on the palate with a toasty edge and a pretty floral element. Finish with grapefruit and a yeasty note.

This beer shows a level of skill and passion that amazing to behold. Highly recommended, with a single caveat: there has been a certain amount of variation between cans. This is due to their contract brewery, and we are told this will be rectified in the near future.