Somerville Brewing Co.
Somerville, MA
Available: DE, MD, VA
Slumbrew is the research and development brand and concept of Somerville Brewing Company. Our mission is to brew unique, ingredient-driven beers that challenge common notions of what a beer should taste like.
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Slightly hazy worn-penny amber with a cap of creamy foam that’s there for the duration; an exceptionally pretty glass of beer. A big lemony-grapefruit and pine nose tells you this bunting-labeled beer is red-white-and-blue all the way through! The expected hops hit up front, whirled with a sweet-n-juicy malt mixer. The bitter rises the whole way through, fireworks of Meyer lemon and Christmas-like pine needles burst in the mouth, settling to a crackling near-astringent finish. Bracing! Try it with a classic Boston bar pizza.
With the surging popularity of IPAs, one has to wonder whether it’s still possible to grab attention with another entry into this crowded field? This beer answers with a resounding “YES!”, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing. The calling card is hops, and lots of ‘em: piney hops and grapefruity hops and spicy hops and damn-bitter hops. What there isn’t is a lot of malt, which makes this one of the most aggressively bitter behemoths I’ve tried in a very long time.
Lew Bryson writes about beer and whiskey from his home in southeast Pennsylvania. He has a family and two dogs. That's all you need to know.
Once described as “beerdom's Brillat-Savarin,” Stephen Beaumont is the author of five books and countless articles on beer, spirits, food, travel, and how it all goes together.
