St. Peter's Organic Ale

I have to confess that sometimes I buy beer more because of the packaging than anything else. Leipziger Gose, Rogue's XS Russian Imperial Stout, and even Anchor Porter to some extent are examples of bottles I picked up because they looked cool. St. Peter's Organic Ale is another bottle that I picked up at least partially for its appearance. It comes in an old-time medicine or gin style bottle, strangely enough made of nearly clear greenish glass. I was a little surprised by this as brown glass is generally considered superior, since it allows less light through. This is important, because beer can be spoiled by UV light, causing it to become light-struck, or "skunked" as it is commonly called. During long shipping times, imported beers especially can be affected by this if the beer is not handled properly.

The whole "organic" thing doesn't necessarily appeal to me in particular, I'm more just interested in how the beer tastes. It does give the brewery a nice niche for people who care about that sort of thing. They also produce a gluten-free beer for people whose dietary requirements would normally keep them from being able to enjoy a beer.

The Organic Ale poured a brownish-golden color, and was crystal clear in the glass. No head at all formed from a normal pour, and there was no lacing on the glass.

The aroma was a floral hoppy smell at first, with a bit of funk underneath. I'm not sure if this was indicative of being light-struck or a normal part of the beer's smell. From looking at what others have to say about the beer it does seem to be fairly common, but that still could be caused by the clear bottle. Either way, it wasn't too strong or terribly unpleasant. In addition, it had some earthen quality to the smell and an underlying sweetness from the malt.

The beer had a smooth taste that seemed strongly influenced by honey on the front of the tongue, but the bitterness of the beer overtook the sweetness nearly immediately. It wasn't that the bitterness was strong or overwhelming, just that the sweet quality didn't last very long in the mouth. I was also reminded a little bit of honeysuckle as I sipped the beer, as it had that sweetness, but also somewhat of a plant-like characteristic. There's a little bit of spice around the edge of the mouth, and no alcohol flavors. The aftertaste moved back to the honey flavor.

It had a fairly light body, with a weaker level of carbonation. What carbonation was there was tiny prickly bubbles. I did think the beer was extremely refreshing though, and had a good wetness to it. It left a bit of smooth coating on the mouth as well.

Overall I did enjoy drinking this beer, and was intrigued by how different the flavor was from anything I've had before. It was very easy to get down, nice and smooth, and incredibly refreshing. While the flavors weren't particularly strong or complex, they worked together well to provide a decent balance. If it wasn't a higher priced import I could see myself drinking this regularly, but as it is I can't really see myself returning to it again. While very good, it has an understated flavor that I just can't see myself craving like I do with other beers, and I could just as easily replace it with a highly drinkable domestic beer. Still, I would recommend trying it at least once.

- Adam