S1E73 - Federation Brewing's Utopia Planitia Dry Hopped Red Ale
Episode Notes\n\n
Episode 73: Federation Brewing\u2019s Utopia Planitia Dry Hopped Red Ale
\n\nIt\u2019s the Two Minute Beer Review!
\n\nI\u2019m Andrew Burkum and it\u2019s that time again where we take on that massive craft brew aisle to find the hidden treasures waiting for us there.
\n\nThis week we\u2019re taking a look at Utopia Planitia Dry Hopped Red Ale from Federation Brewing in Oakland, CA. Will this one send us on a voyage to the final frontier or should it be left in drydock? Let\u2019s find out!
\n\nAll right, let\u2019s just get this out of the way up front. I\u2019ve been a Star Trek fan all my life and the very name of this beer is clearly pandering to geeks like myself. In Star Trek lore, the Utopia Planitia shipyards are where all the great Federation starships such as the good old Enterprise are designed and built. The facility is in orbit around the planet Mars, so a Red Ale makes perfect sense! So I came for the nerdy name\u2014but did I stay for the beer?
\n\nIn the glass, this beer is a beautiful red-amber color. It smells of baked bread and raw grain with just a tiny bit of rye spice in the background to make things really interesting and exotic.
\nBut what about the taste? This one is definitely interesting. It\u2019s a little more bitter than I had anticipated for a red ale. But that bitterness up front mellows out to a very nice sweetness. Then, right at the end of the sip comes that rye\u2014its spicy grainy flavor hanging out after the swallow.
This is an excellent use of rye\u2014one of the best that I\u2019ve seen and if you listen regularly you know I\u2019m a sucker for a good rye beer. Sometimes as a component it can get lost in the mix but in this beer that pungency is really the star in a very big way.
\n\nThe bitterness on this one is full-tongue engaging and hangs out as well. And although the overall mix doesn\u2019t have a ton that really screams \u201cred ale\u201d at me, I absolutely love what it does have to say.
\n\nThis is a great example of a solo-drinking beer. It doesn\u2019t require any food or anything else to enhance its incredible flavor profile. It is easily my favorite rye-including beer of 2019 and one of the best brews that I tasted in the year. It comes in at 7.4% alcohol by volume, is available in cans and on tap at their tasting room in Oakland and is a Two Minute Beer Review Recommendation!
\n\nThat\u2019s all for this week, but I hope you\u2019ll join me next week as we take a look at White Crow White Chocolate Stout by Ordnance Brewing in Boardman, Oregon. Is this one as rare as an albino raven? We\u2019ll find out next week.
\n\nLook for links to this week\u2019s beer and brewery in the show notes, and don\u2019t forget to let us know what you\u2019re drinking and what you\u2019re thinking about the show. You can find us on Facebook or tweet us @2minutebeer, using the number two.
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\n\nThat\u2019s all for now but we\u2019ll see you next week as we continue on our quest to taste all the beer!
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