Tuesday Night Tasting - Backlash Beer Co: Groundswell

Backlash Beer Co. – Boston / Holyoke, MA
Groundswell – Belgian Style Blond Ale
7.3% ABV, 22 oz and on draft

A lot of buzz had been brewed up for the release of Backlash Beer Co.’s first beer, Groundswell. Both owner/brewer Helder Pimentel and his business partner Maggie had been attacking the beer world from a social media standpoint leading up to the release, which was great from a marketing perspective. I had Groundswell for the first time at the 2011 MA Brewers Fest where Backlash had the longest line, which eventually was the reason their keg went dry. When I saw a bottle at Curtis Liquors in Weymouth over the weekend, I knew I had to pick up a bottle and give it a try!

The bottle itself is pretty cool. It’s a dark brown bottle, with a black label, and white lettering. What makes the packaging even better is that the bottle is wax dipped (only other wax dipped bottle I’ve found was Ska Brewing's True Blonde Dubbel while in Chicago), and their brass knuckle emblem was stamped onto the cap within the wax.

On to the beer itself…

The bottle pours a medium golden blond liquid, which features a medium white foamy head. It didn’t linger too long before fading into the brew itself. It had a notably nice carbonation level as well.

The aroma was full of fruity, slightly spicy, and citrus notes. The flavor was similar to the aroma as well, as it was crisp, yet soft. It had far more hop characteristics than I expected; however, considering I’m a hop head I enjoyed the nice surprise. You can certainly pick up the citrus from the hops, and the fruitiness from the yeast, which gives Groundswell a nice balance. It’s not overly malty, which is good for this style of beer.

The mouth feel was moderate, which is surprising based on the color. You might expect the beer to have a lighter flavor and mouth feel, but it was not, which I liked. Groundswell also packs a medium drinkability level. It has a pleasant flavor, isn’t too heavy, and is quite enjoyable. It’s a good beer to share with friends, and would probably work well as a four pack due to its 7.3% ABV.

If you haven’t checked out Backlash Beer’s Groundswell yet, I would suggest giving it a go. The new brewing company has recently bottled their upcoming release of Convergence, a Super Saison, which should be hitting the shelves and tap lines very soon!

Follow Backlash Beer on Twitter and check out their Facebook page for all their beer related news, not to mention right here for an interview with Pimentel