Catwba Valley La Saison Noir

My friends picked up a growler of Catawba Valley La Saison Noir from Bruisin’ Ales for us to drink at the hotel during my bachelor party. The beer pours a black color with a frothy cream colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, lemon, and pepper. The taste is smooth with chocolate and lemon and hints of pepper. An earthy finish combined with toasted malts yielded a smooth and delicious. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would assume it to be about 6.0% ABV. This was an interesting beer to say the least, as the roasted and chocolate flavors did combine well with the spicy and earthy notes. However, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would have, and there was something missing that I can’t put my finger on.

Catawba Valley Cleopatra

Another beer I ordered at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria was Catawba Valley Cleopatra. The beer pours a dark amber color with a frothy beige colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, fig, and Belgian yeast and spices. The taste is smooth with Belgian spice and a good fig accent. Caramel, grass, pepper, and a nice earthiness round out the flavors. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. Cleopatra was smooth with great spice and a wonderful fig accent, making for an enjoyable drinking experience.

Catawba Valley Firewater IPA

On our first stop in Asheville for my bachelor party, I ordered a glass of Catawba Valley Firewater IPA at Barley Taproom and Pizzeria. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of lemon, tangerine, orange, and pine. The taste is bitter and biting with a healthy dose of of hops. The hops yield flavors of pine, lemon, and orange. There is a dry finish with grass and butterscotch that lingers behind. The alcohol content is 5.2% ABV. Overall, I thought this beer was a little unbalanced and mostly just bitter and dry without capitalizing on the full impact of the hops. It fell short of being great, but was decent enough of a beer to still enjoy.