Sixpoint Brings Their Beer to Cans [Brewery Profile]
We've been fans of Sixpoint for a long time. We visited the brewery five years ago as part of a road trip down the East Coast. During our visit we ended up chatting with Shane Welch, founder of Sixpoint, and he even let me add the hops to a batch of Sweet Action. Everyone we met at Sixpoint clearly loves what they do and it shows in the quality of their beer.
Sadly, until recently, the only way to drink their beer was in a local bar and even then you had to hunt for it in Boston. That's all changed now thanks to Sixpoint's new nanokegs (cans). I nearly jumped for joy when I found out Sixpoint was canning their beer. First because it meant I could have their beer any time I wanted but, secondly, because tall boy cans are bad ass. For now Sixpoint has released four of their beers in cans (with a fall seasonal pumpkin beer coming as #5). If you're a Cliffnotes kind of person I'll cut to the chase a bit...they're all damn good! For those with a bit more patience here’s a quick take on each one.
Crisp
I'm on a bit of a pilsner kick right now, it's always been a style I've liked but lately breweries have been putting out some really tasty versions of them, this being one. I recently had a discussion with a friend, he's not a huge beer drinker but mentioned he liked pilsners. I gave him a can of this and got a text message from him the next night simply saying "Pilsner is awesome, thanks!" That's all that really needs to be said but we'll go a tad more in depth. As the name might suggest this beer is crisp and refreshing. There's a great balance of hops and “lager funk” everything in this beer seems to be present in just the right amounts. It’s a tad hoppier than some other pilsners but never feels overly bitter. I’m mildly obsessed with it right now, I find myself picking some of this up every time I go to the store.
Sweet Action
This wins out of the gate for having an awesome name. The funny thing about this beer is that I used to skip over this in the bar in favor of their Righteous Ale. Now that it’s in cans I find it being a staple in my fridge. Sixpoint named the beer based on the balance of malt (sweet) and hops (action). I’ve brought this along to at least five cookouts so far this summer. Cream Ales tend to vary pretty wildly as a style. This one is slightly fruity with a hint of sweetness and a nice balance of hops. It’s really easy to drink a few of these at a time, something I’ve done on numerous occasions this Summer.
Bengali Tiger
This IPA leans more toward the English style vs American style. By that I mean that it’s a bit more balanced, it’s not a giant hop bomb but rather a nice blend of sweet malt and bitter hops. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s still plenty hoppy, it just doesn’t wear on you as you drink it. This is a really nice every day IPA. If you have friends that tend to shy away from beers that just taste like hops bring some of these. Bengali Tiger seems to please a wide variety of people which is a tough thing to do.
Righteous Ale
This is the beer that made me love Sixpoint. The combination of rye and hops is almost always a good thing. At 7.4% abv this beer is no joke, adding the rye adds a nice tartness to the beer that balances out the malt sweetness. Righteous Ale is loaded up with hops so for those of you who aren’t into that kind of thing you may prefer the Bengali Tiger, but give this a try first. There’s notes of both citrus and pine from the hops and a nice earthiness to the beer overall. I’ve spent many an evening sipping on one of these at dinner, now that it’s in cans it just means I can do it even more.
If you’re reading this last bit it means you made it through the whole article without leaving to go buy some Sixpoint. Impressive! Now go get some, you’ll thank us.
