Prism Red Zone

The other half and I went to Peddler’s Village yesterday and stopped for a snack at the local tavern. They had this beer on tap, so I gave it a shot.

ABV: 6.6%

Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “When the leaves begin to change colors and you start to get that smell of fall in the air you know it’s time for Red Zone. Our ‘football seasonal’ spiced ale is based on an Irish Red and is kicked up with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and Maple Syrup from Western Pennsylvania to give it that fall flavor you’ve been craving all summer long. The maple syrup we use in this beer is tapped from trees in Western PA on a farm owned by the Grinarml fammily. A childhood friend of our fonder, Laura Almond, married into the family and made the introduction in our early days of production. This provides us with the freshest wholly unprocessed maple syrup we can find; made close to home and supporting our community. The base of this beer was originally used in a home concoction our owner made for those long nights playing poker. In those days it was infused with pharmaceutical grade caffeine, taurine and vitamin b and was the craft beer drinkers answer to red bull. Unfortunately the government frowns upon putting caffeine or vitamins into beer so we had to infuse it with something else. It was fall of 2009 when we first brewed this beer and the Philadelphia Phillies were in the playoffs so we infused this beer to taste like fall and called it Red October and later changed the name to Red Zone to better meet explain the availability of the beer.”

Random: I hung two of my beer signs in the living room today. It brightens up the living room.

When I ordered this beer, they said that it was a true Irish Red Ale. Keep this in mind, that when I was taking my notes, I really thought it was the style they said it was. Obviously my mistake. Anyways, it poured with less than half a finger of tan head. It dissipated quickly with light lacing left on the glass. The body was a dark mahogany color with light visible carbonation. It had a nose that was nutty with some brown sugar and maple syrup. The taste was very robust with hazelnuts, molasses, brown sugar with a touch of cherry. It was really flavorful, especially when I got a hint of cinnamon. The body was thick with light carbonation and a long, warming and nutty finish. I really enjoyed this beer and would definitely have it again.

Untappd Rating: 4.5/5.0

Prism Shady Blond

I love blood oranges. They are probably my favorite type of citrus. I’ve never found a blood orange beer that amazes me. Let’s see if this one is it.

ABV: 4.5%

Style: American Blonde Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Our Spring seasonal Blonde is a refreshing break from the norm and a perfect way to welcome the warmer weather back into our lives. The Blood Oranges add just a touch of tartness that enhances the dry feeling of this beer and provides a great citrus blast to enjoy on a spring day. This highly sessionable ale had the flavor that you have been looking for and is THE beer to welcome spring… No Wit or Pils about it.”

Random: The meow has started to get up earlier and earlier each day. It’s quite annoying.

This brew poured with a quarter of a finger of white head. It dissipated quickly and left absolutely no lacing on the glass. The body was a hazy dark straw color with visible detritus, yet no carbonation. The nose was strong with blood orange juice and tangerines. Maybe some pink grapefruit as well? The taste was really nice, especially because I love blood oranges. It had a lot of blood orange juice with some nice tartness which I associate with blood oranges. Tangerines were also present with some grapefruit. The body was on the thin side and the carbonation was on the lower side. The finish was quick and dry with citrus juice. I really enjoyed this beer. I’ve been in search for a blood orange beer that has a definite presence of the fruit and this definitely fit the bill for me. It makes for a great drink on a hot night too. This is worth seeking out, especially if you’re a citrus fan.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Prism ParTea Pale Ale

One of my favorite non-alcoholic drinks is iced tea. I have my iced tea straight and unsweetened. So, when I saw this beer originally at ACBF, I was very excited to try it. Let’s see if it is as good as I remember it.

ABV: 5.5%

Style: English Pale Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “In making our signature pale ale we knew we wanted to do something different. We needed something that stood out, complimented the subtlety of our pale ale, and said we will a pale ale like no other – whole leaf tea was the perfect ingredient. We use whole leaf black tea to add a subtle tea flavor and aroma. A refreshing and dry mouth feel give this beer a smooth finish & a unique bitterness. An incredible amount of tea goes into this beer so much so our brewers have a tough time getting the whole leaf tea out when done (picture the tea party men tossing chests of tea overboard). We named it ParTea Pale Ale because the flavors seen to dance on your tongue and they party all night. Looking for a Pale Ale with something more? Look no further.”

Random: I’m onto the Napa episode of “Drinking Made Easy.” Not surprisingly, they’re at a vineyard.

This beer poured with a one finger white head. It was quick to dissipate with no lacing left on the glass. The body was a hazy, dark orange color with no carbonation visible. The nose was mild with orange and black tea and some hops. The taste was on the light side too. There was black tea with a touch of orange. Caramel malt came through as well with some light, grassy hops too. The body was medium thickness with high carbonation. It had a relatively long finish with black tea and caramel malt. I really liked that this was a different take on the usual pale ale and I would have this one again.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Prism Bitto Honey

So, the other half is stuck at work late tonight. I didn’t get home all that early myself, but I already did my usual chores around the house. Since she isn’t home yet, I’m watching a History Channel show about the history of the dollar bill. I can bet she’s not going to be upset about missing this one. Anyways, this is a brew review from a brewery that I sampled during ACBF and was pretty impressed with. Let’s see how this one was.

ABV: 6.5%

Style: American Amber/Red Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Brewed with a special blend of honey from a Chester county apiary, this well balanced IPA has a great malt/honey backbone to blend with the citrus hops. Coming in at 67 IBU’s, it balances the use of hops across the spectrum of bittering, flavoring, and aroma profiles. This provides you with the bitterness of an IPA without killing your tongue and allows you to experience the true beauty of hops, their flavor and aroma. The beer was named after a friend of the brewer, Tim Bitto, who asked for a beer to serve at a party for his brother Don who had recently finished med school and was moving to Denver to start his career and the long road to paying off student loans.”

Random: Even though it is pretty dorky, I’m enjoying the history of the dollar bill.

This brew poured with a two finger tan head that dissipated slowly and left some lacing. The body was a cloudy, dark mahogany color and light carbonation. The nose was relatively fragrant. I got some hops in the form of grapefruit and pine resin and some honey sweetness as well. The taste was much more hoppy than I expected. There was a lot of grapefruit coupled with pine resin up front. There was a pronounced peppercorn presence (say that three times fast) as well with a touch of herbaceousness. The honey was not present in the taste as it was in the nose. The body was on the thicker side with high carbonation. The finish was long and hoppy. This was a decent beer and one that I would have again.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Prism ChemoSabe

One of the great things about the beer community is the emphasis on helping out and giving back. Whenever I see a “charitable” beer on tap or at a bottle store, assuming I haven’t had it, I try to get it to support the charity. And now you have your explanation of why I had to get this beer when I saw it on draft.

ABV: 8.5%

Style: American Dark Wheat Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “The beer is so named because we think cancer sucks – so we are using it to raise money for a local charity. ChemoSabe is what we like to call a Big Black Wheat as it comes in at 8.5% ABV. We added just a touch of Wasabi which just adds some complexity to the beer, not heat. It started because Rob heard about a little girl in the Philadelphia suburbs (Phoenixville) named Gabby who was diagnosed with a rare form of a cancerous brain tumor. We decided to raise money to help her and her family through this troubling time by selling this beer at the taproom in 12oz glasses and donating $2 per glass to her as well as charging an extra $10 for a growler fill which went directly to her as well. You can learn more about her at Get Well Gabby. Sadly, Gabby has since passed away, but ChemoSabe will live on; raising money for local families fighting cancer.”

Random: The Phils won tonight! Totally excited and it was a great game to boot.

This brew poured with a cream-colored, half a finger head. It left huge amounts of lacing on the glass. The body was a dark brown color with moderate carbonation. The nose was overly mild. I got hints of wasabi and wheat. The taste was a bit more complex. I got wasabi with dark wheat notes. Some cocoa and coffee came through as well with a dose of roasted malts. The booze was very well-integrated into the brew with no warming on the end. The body was thick with moderate carbonation. It had a long spicy finish. This beer was definitely interesting, if nothing else. It wouldn’t be a beer that I could drink many of, but I’m glad I tried it.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0