BSA Harvest

The Craft Beer Rennaisance has spawned many things.  Two notable creations are critics, and what they deem as trends.  I love when these style trends stick around and prove many wrong, especially when the style challenges the Craft Beer enthusiast.  Heavily hopped beers were supposed to be a phase, barrel aged beers were supposed to be a phase, sour beers were supposed to be a phase, and the session movement is supposedly a phase.  We here at Ball Square Fine Wines respectfully disagree.

Session beers prove that the true lovers of Craft Beer are in it for the taste.  Though the definition is loose, session beers are meant to be enjoyed in quantity, and should thusly be lower than 5% in alcohol.  Many breweries have created a session beer or two, but Chris Lohring of Notch Brewing in Ipswich has created an entire brand based on them.

Both Notch six packs (Ale & Pils) are solid, and a great selection for a local six pack, but Lohring's 22oz releases are truly spectacular.  BSA Harvest is the latest release, and is unfortunately available for a limited time only.  BSA refers to Brewers Supporting Agriculture; a movement to drive the sustainability and locality of brewing beer.  Through Valley Malt in Hadley, MA, BSA Harvest was brewed with Massachusetts grown grain only.

From a staggering amalgamation of barley, wheat, rye, three types of distinctly American hops, and a Belgian Saison yeast strain, BSA has gobs of complexity.  An intriguing duality between two spicy components plays well on the tongue; seems like rye and saison get along quite well.  Despite the high Alpha and Beta Acid content in the hops used, this beer is anything but bitter.  That aids BSA to achieve a delicate dryness in the finish, rounding out the light-to-medium body of the beer.

Yellow fruit and cedar combine with a malt character unlike any other.  This pronounced cereal grain flavor is almost unrefined, rustic and seems to achieve an effortless "from the earth" type of taste compound.  I feel like I am experiencing the beginning of Massachusetts Beer Terroir, and it's delicious.

All things considered, BSA is an overall focused and singular beer.  Without any conflicting or dueling components, you are able to experience all its character at once.  Normally these qualities are only achieved with dense, rich high alcohol beers.  BSA clocks in at a glorious 4.4%abv, and at a surprisingly low cost.

$5.14/22oz bottle

Cheers,

Nathan Kruback