Summer is (unofficially) here, and although the heat sometimes makes me cranky, this year, I’m welcoming whatever weather we get.
Just the idea that we can now mingle safely indoors and outdoors is a reason to overlook whatever small quibbles we might have with certain types of weather.
Summer also shifts my beer palate a bit. I still drink my share (and sometimes more than my share) of IPAs, but there is something about a great, clean lager that fits the season, and I know many of you will agree. I recently was treated to one of the best I’ve had in years via McNeill’s in Brattleboro.
The brewpub has been closed during COVID-19 restrictions, but I was able to snag an invitation to a private tasting of Ray McNeill’s latest masterpiece. My friend Michael and I went up and sampled this classic brew, a Bohemian Pilsner. Now, I had sampled this brew before and mentioned it last summer in a column about pilsners. But further aging of this brew has made it extraordinary since then, and I felt the need to mention it again.
The brew starts out with a mild hop presence decorating a delicious bready malt structure that is almost otherworldly. This wallop of maltiness stays with you right until the finish, which is clean and as thirst-quenching as a beer can be. Ray has made some classic brews over the decades, but this one has to be in his top three. What I thought was a really good beer last year has morphed into one of the best beers I’ve ever had anywhere.
He used all Czech malt from Stone Path Malt in Wareham. Of course, the malt alone won’t make a beer as good as this one; it also takes the skill and knowledge that Ray has acquired. He also propagated his own Budvar yeast.
One key to the extraordinary flavor now was that the brew has now been aged on lees for more than a year. This sort of process is almost unheard of in today’s brewing world, but with so much time on his hands due to the lockdown, Ray used the time brilliantly, allowing the beer to really come into its own.
I hope once restrictions are lifted and McNeill’s can open again, this beer will still be around. It won’t last once it’s out for public consumption. Heck, it might not last if I can get as many growlers of it as I would want. It’s just that good. Ray said he’ll make it again, and it will be good, but he probably won’t have the time to age it to this level of perfection.
Either way, I’ll be glad to drink any of Ray’s beers once his brewpub opens its doors again.
Beer note:
The wildly popular Tree House Brewing recently opened its new venue in Deerfield. The place is only open on a limited basis, but should ramp up to full-time soon. Tree House is at 1 Community Place along Routes 5 &10 Deerfield.
May 30, 2021 at 05:20PM
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Beer Nut: McNeill’s Brewery produces an immediate classic with its Bohemian Pilsner - MassLive.com
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