Beer of the Week

The beer: Banana Bread Winner

The brewery: Southern Pines Brewing Company, Southern Pines, North Carolina

Description (from Untappd): "No bananas were harmed making this beer, we just relied on the character of the hefeweizen yeast coupled with the rich bready, toasty malts to present elements of the familiar baked goodie!"

Would I buy it again? That's right, I found time during my vacation in North Carolina for a beer review. Unfortunately, it's just this one (I had a second beer at this place, but for the life of me I can't find any description anywhere). Anyway, the beer is quite good, I just wish I knew beforehand that it didn't have any banana in it. I was expecting a bit more fruit. Even so, if I ever visit Southern Pines again, I would buy this beer again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Monkey's Uncle

The brewery: Idiom Brewing Company, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "Think of this as liquid banana bread. Monkey’s Uncle pours a hazy mahogany with a fluffy head, balancing classic notes of ripe banana and clove with the rich depth of toasted bread crust and caramel. It offers all the comfort of a dark beer with the crisp, refreshing finish of a wheat ale. No monkey business, just great flavor."

Would I buy it again? I admit, for the last beer I'd ever buy from Idiom, I played it safe with a beer I was almost positive I'd like. I don't think this particular dunkelweizen was extraordinary (I'm not sure how much banana taste I actually got), but it was perfectly good. Malty and bready, just like a beer of this style should be. It did what I wanted it to, and I'm glad. I went to Idiom many times while I lived in Frederick, and it would have been a shame for the last drink to be a sour one.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Black Walnut Dunkel

Brewed by: Perennial Artisan Ales, St. Louis, Missouri

Description (from the website): "Black Walnut Dunkel is a chocolate brown German Dunkelweizen aged on Missouri‐grown black walnuts. Big aromas of banana sit on top of this malty wheat beer, and it finishes with a nice black walnut nuance on the palate."

Would I buy it again?: Yes, absolutely. This was honestly a really good beer, though I'll admit, I don't really know what walnut tastes like, so I can't say for certain that this has a "nice black walnut nuance." It was good, and I'd buy it again.