Beer of the Weekend #652: Weather Beacon Red
Guess what I did not do yesterday? Review a beer. And it felt so good!
The beer of the weekend is Weather Beacon Red, brewed by the Confluence Brewing Company of Des Moines, Iowa.
Serving type: 32-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Pours a lightly hazy amber into a nonick pint glass. Two fingers of dense, buttery, light tan head dissipates slowly and mostly evenly.
Smell: There is not much aroma, but scents of malts, earthy hops, and a little fruit are noticeable at first. It is sweet, but just a touch. As it warms, it does being to smell very much like a märzten.
Taste: The flavor is much more complex and robust. Doppel bock-like fruit — apple, strawberry, perhaps a little cherry — is prominent in the first sip. It is tinged with booze. Toasted malt and caramel come through as well, but the flavor is mostly fruity and a touch sweet.
Drinkability: Though it is a little bit more “doppel” than “märzten,” I will not hold it against Confluence. This is a tasty brew and I definitely like the forecast it gives (spring will be here eventually).
Fun facts about WBR:
-Style: According to Confluence, it is a “doppel märzten.”
-Price: $16.99/bottle at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City.
-Alcohol content: 8.3 percent ABV.
-IBU: 36.
-Regarding the name and style, the beer’s webpage provides this information:
Thus, the beer’s name “signals warmer days ahead.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
The beer of the weekend is Weather Beacon Red, brewed by the Confluence Brewing Company of Des Moines, Iowa.
Serving type: 32-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Pours a lightly hazy amber into a nonick pint glass. Two fingers of dense, buttery, light tan head dissipates slowly and mostly evenly.
Smell: There is not much aroma, but scents of malts, earthy hops, and a little fruit are noticeable at first. It is sweet, but just a touch. As it warms, it does being to smell very much like a märzten.
Taste: The flavor is much more complex and robust. Doppel bock-like fruit — apple, strawberry, perhaps a little cherry — is prominent in the first sip. It is tinged with booze. Toasted malt and caramel come through as well, but the flavor is mostly fruity and a touch sweet.
Drinkability: Though it is a little bit more “doppel” than “märzten,” I will not hold it against Confluence. This is a tasty brew and I definitely like the forecast it gives (spring will be here eventually).
Fun facts about WBR:
-Style: According to Confluence, it is a “doppel märzten.”
-Price: $16.99/bottle at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City.
-Alcohol content: 8.3 percent ABV.
-IBU: 36.
-Regarding the name and style, the beer’s webpage provides this information:
This “winter warmer” brew is named in honor of the Weather Beacon, a 500-foot tower in the downtown Des Moines skyline from 1960 to 2012. The beacon’s light provided an instant forecast:
"Weather Beacon red, warmer weather ahead.
Weather Beacon white, colder weather in sight.
Weather Beacon green, no change in weather foreseen.
Weather Beacon flashing night or day, precipitation is on the way.”
Thus, the beer’s name “signals warmer days ahead.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
