We’ve been visited by Big Drop Brewing a few times before, and we’ve typically been delighted. Big Drop Brewing comes to us from across the pond in London but is brewed locally in Chicago. Today’s beer is a winner of Best Style from the World Beer Awards and will surely surprise us with a hidden flavor.
This week we are drinking Pine Trail Pale from Big Drop Brewing. This non-alcoholic beer is labeled as a pale ale, but inside, it has a deep, dark secret. Something unique is bubbling below the surface, and when it comes out, you’re going to be wishing you weren’t so lactose-intolerant. You bastard! That’s right, this Pale Ale has a dose of lactose in the beer and not just a dose, but it’s higher on the ingredient list than the hops! Holy cow!
How Does It Pour?
When you crack the blacktop can, you can immediately get whiffs of a certain sweetness that you may find hard to identify if you didn’t already read the ingredient list. The beer continues its spray of scented goods as it pours into the glass, a pale-yellow color, almost reminiscent of champagne. The bubbles form a nice white head, and the secret that Big Drop Brewing holds is about to be sampled by your talking hole.
How Does It Taste?
When the brew hits your lips, you’ll notice an excellent balanced profile with an almost unpronounced hop flavor. Thanks to the innovators over at Big Drop Brewing, you’ll also see the sweetness and the vanilla notes from the lactose you would not typically find in a pale ale. You want to hate it, but you find it unique, tasty, and a perfect complement to the undertone of hops in this perfectly palpable pale ale.
Untappd gives Pine Trail Pale by Big Drop Brewing a 2.9 out of 5, which I think is crazy. In the world of beer purists, I can see the anger and resentment at Big Drop Brewing for surprising their taste buds with a lactose flavor like they surprised their children with a secret second family. Still, as an overall flavor profile, it’s fricking delicious, and I think people need to ease off the gas with their aggressive views. Go pick some up and experience it for yourself!
HAPPY EVERY HOUR NA BEERS & 90s: Sober Curator Justin Lamb is dedicated to tasting great (and sometimes not so great) NA beers and showcasing his amazing collection of memorabilia from the ’90s.
RECOVERY PODCASTLAND: Want more Justin in your life? We don’t blame you! Check out his podcast Friend Request Justin has in-depth interviews with people he follows on social media, as well as his own social media followers. Friend Request dives deeper than the likes and comments. With each episode, Justin tries to create a more meaningful conversation about each individual he’s connected with. Justin ties each interview together with the commonalities and struggles that not only are extremely relatable but also fall across the entire spectrum of the human experience.
Check Out This Episode from Friend Request:
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