Eh it’s just words, yeah?
When I saw Upland post about a new sparkling golden ale to be released today, called rāe, I hummed - ray a drop of golden sun. I did, I’m weird. Right?
I struggled a bit today to find my place after the work was done. I first drove to a fav place that had 64 beers on tap but after looking the list over…twice . Nah
Instead I rolled the dice and had lunch at a chain. They only had two dozen or so beers but at the very top of the list was the beer of the month- Dogfish Head’s Sea Quench Ale. I’d had it before and remembered it to be a salty, limey, delight. It was 90deg out so yeah.
When I ordered the chop salad, sub seared salmon, the bartender asked how I wanted the salmon cooked. Ehhhh “No one’s asked me that before.” I admitted. She smiled and said, same until I worked here. Tbh I was thinking it would be over temp regardless, so I just said medium. It came out well done. Just words.
During my meal, I watched the Orioles and the Yankees ply and swapped words with three old gals at the bar who happened to be from Baltimore and were in the Navy.
After a stop at my local bottle shop, where Angie found me a sixer of the Sea Quench I’d enjoyed at lunch, I decided I’d see if Upland had their new golden ale available for take away.
It wasn’t in the coolers at the front so I plopped down at the huge empty bar and waited to be noticed. The bartender looked alarmingly young. She had a piece of cloth tied around her head, subduing long black hair, dangling earrings, and she was tall and thin. When she greeted me, I asked for the new beer.
She took two glasses to the taps and began to fill them both. One glass was a typical Belgian style goblet and a stream of golden liquid began to fill it. The other one was this.
A tall tulip filled with a lemon colored draught. Oookay.
The beer was good even if it wasn’t really golden and the sparkling carbonation was softer than any golden ale. The combo of lemon and ginger was/is a proven winner. When the bartender came back, she asked how I liked it. I said I did. Then I stupidly asked if she knew Dogfish Head’s Sea Quench.
She rush away saying she hadn’t been to the DogFish Head.
Well no. I thought. It’s in Delaware. I was going to compare/contrast the two beers but…just words.
I’m enjoying both at home this evening. The rāe presents a pillowy soft carbonation like a flat soda, the lemon and ginger combine for a balanced finish, not really sweet or bitter. It’s a bit of a thirst quencher, a shower beer, a lawnmower beer. The Sea Quench is even less aggressively carbonated with the lime and salt combo finishing more salty. It’s a margarita beer.
Both are lower alcohol beers I’ll be glad to drink over the weekend with lots of words.