Beer: Blood and Honey Brewery: Revolver Brewing Style: American Wheat Ale ABV: 7 percent
See also: - Crispin Bird on a Wire - Chow Bella's Gift Guide for the Beer Lover
While our state's brewers undoubtedly put out some great stuff, beer does not exist in an Arizona-shaped bubble. Across the country, no matter where you are, you'll find beers unique to the local market that dazzle the palate and capture the sense of the community. Dedicated reporter that I am, I'm reporting from the field to bring you news of beer outside our world -- this Craft Beer of the Week comes to you from the strange, untamed land of Dallas, Texas.
The Texas beer scene is as varied as any other. You've got your big breweries that offer standards nearly everyone in the state drinks (Shiner); you've got your mid-size guys who have drinkable mainstays and occasional specialties (Saint Arnold); you've got your metal-head brewers popping out unique beers for the geeky set (Jester King). And then you have your teeny, tiny breweries trying to make a name in cities most people drive through on their way to someplace else.
Revolver Brewing is located in Granbury, a six-square-mile town located about half an hour south of Dallas. Out of the population of 8,000, just three make up the team behind Revolver: father and son Ron and Rhett Keisler, and Grant Wood. But there's a wealth of experience in these small numbers -- Wood brewed for Texas breweries Pearl and Lone Star before landing a position as a head brewer for the Boston Beer Company, makers of Sam Adams. Ever tried Sam Adams Black Lager? His recipe. Wood also helped design Utopias when he was at the brewery from 2000-2004.
Wood and the Keislers launched Revolver in August, and their biggest hit so far has been Blood and Honey, an unfiltered American wheat finished with blood orange zest and honey from a local farm.
In a glass, Blood and Honey looks more like the latter -- lemon-pulp gold, and fogged over with unfiltered wheat. A finger of thin white film caps the hazy liquid.
The rest is a showcase in how an experienced hand crafts a beer -- subtle flavor additions; well-balanced and well-blended flavors. In the nose, touches of citrus peel blend with honey to give the brew a smooth, creamsicly aroma. The flavor has the same aspect, though more pronounced wheat here adds notes of banana and apple before a lingering finish of earthy honey. This, along with a pillowy medium body and mild carbonation, make Blood and Honey eminently drinkable.
Blood and Honey isn't available in Arizona at the moment, but it's one to look for if you ever find yourself in Texas. See ya'll next week.
Zach Fowle is a Certified Cicerone, an accredited guide to beer. He works at World of Beer in Tempe.
