For our first foray into the world of regional beer, the HCBR decided to try a beer close to the friendly confines of our pleasant little burg, Thomas Creek’s Pump House Porter. Thomas Creek is the local brewery over in Greenville, and just to add another layer to the “newness” of it all, we decided to take a shot at their porter. We haven’t reviewed a porter until now, and this one proved to be a bit divisive for us. Mike thought it was a pretty well done example of the style, nice carmel flavors and a sweet, dark malty nose and finish. I didn’t totally disagree, but I thought it was a little on the weak side, with the flavors hitting the right notes for the most part, but not being big and prominent enough. Still, it’s not a bad beer, just nothing I’d bother writing home about.
We’re wide open after this one, so if you know of a beer we’ve absolutely got to try, be sure to leave it in the comment section. Right now we’re trying to stick to beers produced regionally, so anything within a hundred miles or so–and maybe the entire state of South Carolina–is fair game. Also, try to make sure this is a beer we can get our hands on right here in Spartanburg. Not that we have the slightest problem with a beer road trip, but we’d like for others in the Spartanburg area to be able to get their hands on the stuff we review without too much trouble.
As always, be sure to check out the full review for all the beer-geeky details.
Christopher George & Mike Cathcart
The Herald-Journal ran an article this week about a new brew called Bottle Tree, crafted by a Campobello resident and now brewed by Thomas Creek. Haven’t seen it yet but would love to try it and/or hear a review.
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100427/ARTICLES/4271038
I saw that article too, and we’re very interested in getting our hands on some. I couldn’t find any information out there yet on when/where it will be available though. Let me know if you spot any or hear where it’s being sold.
Just found a website for Bottle Tree, it says they have an office in Tryon NC and are looking for distributors, but no indication where to buy the beer yet.
http://www.bottletree.net/
We just shipped our first batch to South Carolina distributor Friday, for whole state, as well as New Orleans and surrounding parishes. BottleTree Blonde will start showing up in stores and restaurants next week (locations TBD). We do not have a distributor in NC, yet.
The Blonde is a 6% alc/vol, that is very good. It is a big Belgian profile, and the Blonde is perfect for hot weather. The beer really balances out at about 55F.
Drink No Evil…
Thanks Fred!
We’ll be looking forward to picking up a six of it as soon as it’s available.
I’m looking forward to it. I love trying new beer.
Gordon Shumway fans, represent.
Now there’s a real fan!