Badger Hill White IPA Review

Name: Badger Hill White IPA
Style: White IPA
ABV: 5.6%

It's been a long while since I've had a White IPA so what better time to break that spell than with a beer from Badger Hill Brewing? Originally part of the brewery's Wanderlust Series, their White IPA is now a regular offering from the brewery. Looking back on my older posts, I had also talked about this briefly in my Chocolate Cherry Dunkel review from last year.

The beer pours a hazy yellow color with no visible no carbonation. The head is quite foamy and the lacing is pretty good.

The aroma possesses some malted wheat notes, orange peel sweetness, a bit of coriander with some citrus hops in the back.

Flavor-wise, it's got everything that was present in the nose. You've got some malted wheat notes upfront followed by some orange peels & coriander before settling for a sweet citrus hop aftertaste. The only difference here is that there are some light floral hops present that make an appearance in the middle of the flavor and some light toffee sweetness that lingers throughout.

Before having this, my favorite White IPA was from New Belgium but I think this beer may be new favorite in terms of the style. The flavor is nice and robust without being too overwhelming and it's got all the workings of a great White IPA and then some. Should you ever find yourself in Minnesota, this is definitely worth checking out!

Badger Hill White IPA - 9/10

Badger Hill High Road Everyday Ale Review

Name: Badger Hill High Road Everyday Ale
Style: International Style Pale Ale
ABV: 5%

**Update: I was informed that this is, in fact, an International Style Pale Ale and uses a variety of hops, malts, found in different beer styles. I have made the changes needed to reflect this information**

It's time to look at another beer from Badger Hill Brewing. This time we have their High Road Everyday Ale, which is classified as an International Style Pale Ale. It is described as a sessionable ale, which utilizes ESB yeasts, Pilsner Malts and a Pale Hop Profile Variety.

High Road pours a very hazy wet straw yellow color with a soapy head. The visible carbonation is quite high and leaves behind no trace of lacing.

The aroma comes off initially as surprisingly fruity. I'm picking up notes of orange peel, mangoes, and citrus hops. The back end leans toward notes toffee and pale malts.

Interestingly enough, the flavor is rather grassy and pils-like up front with notes of barley, pale malts, and light citrus hops. The aftertaste is dry yet fruity at the same time. The overall palate is very lightweight but heavily carbonated. With that said, it's quite crisp.

In my previous draft of this review, I said that I thought that High Road suffered a bit from an identity crisis, and was a bit perplexed by the overall flavor while assuming it was a blonde ale. Knowing that it is, in fact, not a blonde ale, I can give this beer a more deserving score. While I'm still not exactly a huge fan of the "Fruity-Pils" flavor, it's still a decent beer. I'd still say try it out and decide for yourself.

Thanks to Brent from Badger Hill for clearing this up!

Badger Hill High Road Everyday Ale - 7.5/10

Badger Hill Cherry Double Dunkel Review

Name: Badger Hill Cherry Double Dunkel
Style: Dunkelweizen
ABV: 8%

A couple weeks ago, I reviewed a beer from one of Minnesota's newer breweries: Badger Hill Brewing, and found it to be pretty good. I have procured a few more beers from them for examination and the first one I decided to go with is their Cherry Double Dunkel.

Cherry Double Dunkel is part of Badger Hill's Wanderlust Series. This is their second installment with the first being a white IPA which was released around May of last year.

Cherry Double Dunkel pours a very cloudy hazy brownish-red color with a filmy head. There isn't any visible carbonation here due to the cloudy nature of the beer and it leaves a clean finish on the sides of the glass.

The nose has a nice aroma of cherries and caramel malts upfront. In the base of the aroma are some apple, wheat and yeast notes.

The flavor is pretty consistent with the nose but not quite as robust. I'm getting some cherries, caramel, wheat, yeasts and raspberry tartness. The aftertaste is has a mildly tart fruity taste but is otherwise somewhat dry. The palate is fairly light with some mild carbonation.

I have to say that while this was good, the flavor is not quite as vibrant as the aroma leads you to believe when you consider the parts as a whole. If this had a little more flavor, it would be a lot easier to recommend. Still with that said, it manages to be a pretty solid Dunkelweizen

Badger Hill Cherry Double Dunkel - 8/10