Beer of the Weekend #962: On the Button

I’m a week behind on beer reviews, but I will catch up.

The beer of the weekend last weekend is an homage to the sport that sweeps the nation’s interest during the Winter Olympics: On the Button, brewed by the Confluence Brewing Company of Des Moines, Iowa.



Serving type: 16-ounce can. “CANNED ON FEB/03/22” is printed on the bottom of the can, so this is pretty fresh stuff.

Appearance: Poured into a nonick pint glass. The color is light caramel with a hint of red. A finger of off-white, bubbly head dissipates slowly.

Smell: Coffee, which messes with me because the color is so light. The aroma is sharp and bitter, like a steaming cup of black coffee fresh from the pot. It smells dark and foreboding, roasty and toasty. cacao nibs come to mind as well.

Taste: Deep and roasted like coffee. It’s a stout, but I expect pilsner. There are elements of cacao nibs, a roasted bitterness that lingers on the tastebuds, lactose smoothness, and chocolate.

Fun facts about On the Button:

• Style: Confluence calls it “blonde stout.” It should be “blond stout,” but whatever.

• Price: $11.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.

• Alcohol content: 6 percent ABV.

• Here is the description from the can:

Curling is a team sport, played on ice, where two teams take turns sliding stones made of granite towards a target, known as the “house.” The center of the target is called the “button,” and teams utilize a variety of strategies to make sure their stones end up closer to the button than the opposition. When brewing up this blonde stout, our team had to employ some unconventional strategies to achieve notes of roast and chocolate without the help of any of the dark malts that would make the beer… well… dark! A variety of oats in the mash and a small touch of milk sugar gave us the body we were looking for, cacao nibs and coffee, perfectly roasted by our friends at Blk & Bold—contributed the nuance needed to bring classic stout flavor to the blonde ale in your hand. This beer might be a little bit of a “Strange Brewm,” but we think if you close your eyes and take a sip, you’ll agree we landed on the Button. Grab a 4-pack and head over to dmcurling.com to find out more about curling, and how you can join the fun.

Wooo! That’s a lot of text on a can!

• I realized I have been calling cacao nibs “cocoa nibs.” Oops!

The Quiet Man’s grade: B.