Saranac Basking in Bourbon

I tend to avoid purchasing a 4, 6 or 12-pack of beer with the Saranac name on it because frankly, I do not like much of it. To keep up with their new beers, I usually buy a single bottle hoping to find something I enjoy. Truth be told, I have not had much luck lately. I have mentioned before that during college I would buy their mixed packs to get more familiar with different styles of beer. I found most of the beers in the pack to be underwhelming but nevertheless continued to keep trying them. However, I feel like I should say my relationship with Saranac beer is not all bad. In college I drank my fair share of Saranac Black Forest. On dollar pint nights, drinking that particular beer was a no-brainer over Labatt, Budweiser or the other domestic beers you commonly find in college bars. Sadly, outside of an appearance in a mixed pack, Black Forest has vanished from their lineup, and so has the opportunity for feeling the positive vibes of nostalgia along with it. So where is this all going? Well, I wanted to paint this picture so you would understand my reluctance to purchase a 4-pack of Basking in Bourbon Imperial Stout.

On several visits to my local grocery store over a week-long span I would stare at the shelf containing Saranac Basking in Bourbon. Normally, I would take any chance I could to buy a new barrel aged imperial stout from a brewery I enjoyed. Having the name Saranac on it caused me to leave it on the shelf. Each time I looked at it I would check Untappd to see it's rating. Over the span of the week, the rating kept going up. Then I started hearing some positive word of mouth about the beer and its price point. A 4-pack of an imperial stout sitting in barrels for over a year costing under 15 dollars was definitely priced right. After a week of deliberating, I went back to the store and picked up the last 4-pack on the shelf. It felt like it had been waiting there just long enough for me to buy it. Now, putting my past judgments of the Saranac Brewery aside, I opened up a bottle of Basking in Bourbon for this review.

I have set the stage for this review long enough, so I will cut to the chase. Basking in Bourbon is really good. I had a feeling I would enjoy it from the aroma. Judging by the aroma, Basking in Bourbon certainly lived up to its name. It was full of bourbon, oak, dark chocolate, caramel, spice, tobacco and a hint of smoke. It felt like a vast departure from anything else I have tried from the Saranac Brewery. The aroma told me there was a lot going on here and my first sip confirmed it. Basking in Bourbon is boozy, chewy, full of bourbon, dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla, with a smokey tobacco, spicy finish. As it warmed, the vanilla and chocolate sweetness became more pronounced. A small complaint I have is that I wanted just a little more carbonation. Basking in Bourbon is by no means flat but I think a little more carbonation would have added to the mouthfeel. The strong tobacco-like finish was interesting at first but I would have liked to see that scaled back just a little bit as well. Those complaints aside, this is by far the best beer I have had from the Saranac Brewery. It's full bodied, complex and most importantly, it tastes great. I hope Basking in Bourbon becomes a regular yearly release from them. Next time, I would purchase it without an ounce of hesitation.

Overall I would rate Basking in Bourbon a 4/5. It was good enough to open my mind up to future new releases from them. Also, if they could just bring back Black Forest that would be great.

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Saranac Wild Hop Pils Lager

Saranac beer made by Matt Brewing Company in Utica, NY has never been shy about taking chances. Over the years they have brewed a Chocolate Amber Lager, a Ginger Pale Ale and a Pomegranate Wheat Ale just to name a few. And while many of their beers sound very interesting, they are more miss then hit when it comes to taste. Back when their winter mix packs contained 12 different beers, I would buy it on sight. About halfway through the mix pack, after realizing I had not found a single beer I actually liked, I would promise myself I would not buy the mix pack the following year. But when winter would arrive a year later and I would read the contents of the new mix pack, I would not be able to resist trying their new red ale or giving their unbearably sweet Caramel Porter another shot. But after doing this year in, year out I felt it was time to break the cycle. Because of this I stayed away from Saranac for awhile. When someone suggested I try their White IPA I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Since then it is the only Saranac beer I actually seek out. But on a recent trip to the store my curiosity was peaked when I noticed their new summer seasonal beer Wild Hop Pils. The bottle said it is the first beer to use the Belma hop that was found growing in the Yakima Valley in the state of Washington. So because of all the good will the White IPA bought, the Wild Hop Pils sounded intriguing enough to me to merit a purchase and become the subject of this review.

Wild Hop Pils pours a visibly carbonated clear golden yellow with a thin white head. The aroma has all the familiar traits of a pilsner lager. But here the familiar grainy, grassy aroma is complemented by a noticeable floral citrus from the Belma hops. While it appeared promising that Wild Hop Pils could put a new spin on the pilsner lager, unfortunately just about everything about Wild Hop Pils tasted familiar. The most notable difference was the hops that add a mild spicy citrus to the flavor. A more subtle difference is that the malt is slightly sweeter than your typical American pilsner. The finish is crisp, clean but forgettable.

While Saranac Wild Hop Pils might not be as interesting as I hoped it would be, it’s not a bad beer either. It’s smooth, easy to drink and would offer a slightly spicy alternative to a fan of domestic pilsners. So this could work as a gateway to better beer for your Labatt Blue and Budweiser drinking friends. And while it didn’t blow me away, I can safely say this beer is good enough for me to give another new Saranac brew a shot down the line even if there is little here to make me a repeat customer of Wild Hop Pils.

Overall I give Saranac Wild Hop Pils a 2.5/5. I am glad I tried the first beer made with Belma hops but I’ll probably forget about this beer as soon as the six pack is out of my fridge.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!