Steinhaus Fat Weasel Ale

A couple things before I get into tonight's review: I know I haven't been updating this blog very often. I've been going through a couple changes in my life, from holidays as part of a new family to shifting job responsibilities and overtime on important projects. Now that the rush season appears over, I can return to reviewing that sweet sweet alcoholic liquid known as beer.

Also, for some reason changes to Blogger's internal template handling caused my JavaScripts to go offline since I don't know when. They should be working now.

At our annual Super Bowl party, a friend of mine brought over a beer I had never heard of before: Steinhaus Brewery's Fat Weasel Ale. I asked him to leave one behind so I could try it out. I had never even heard of Steinhaus Brewery; according to the bottle, it's based out of Paso Robles, California, known for acclaimed brewer Firestone Walker. I did a little digging and, according to RateBeer, it actually is either a product of Firestone Walker Brewing Co., also based in Paso Robles, or Mendocino Brewing Co. in Hopland, California. My guess is that Firestone Walker does do the brewing, but I can check up on that. Also, it appears that this is another Trader Joe's exclusive brew, similar to JosephsBrau, though I don't know for sure. (RateBeer Fat Weasel Ale, RateBeer Fat Weasel Pale Ale)


Here come the limited stats:

Steinhaus Fat Weasel Ale
BREWERY: Steinhaus Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA, USA
STYLE: Pale Ale or IPA
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 7.1%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I guessed on the style based on the taste of the beer, and the ABV was on the bottle. I'll try to find out who really brews this beer and get the info out of them.

Speaking of the bottle, this caught my eye:


The brewery is misspelled "Stienhaus Brewery Co.", though I'm not sure about the spelling myself. If it really is Stienhaus, then the joke's on me.

This beer poured out a thick cloudy copper color, atop of which was a thick, foamy white head that took awhile to fully dissipate. When I smelled it, it had an aroma of fruits, grains, and a hint of citrus, almost lemony. I took a taste, and my initial impression is that it reminded me of an IPA because of its hoppy and carbonated textures. I thought for a second that I had tasted metal, but that may have been the hops. The aftertaste was mostly clean, but after every subsequent sip the bitter taste of the hops lingered and built upon itself. Meh. At least the alcohol didn't settle on the bottom like some beers.

The hoppiness of the beer was definitely an IPA or an APA, though it wasn't spectacular. Then again, I'm not an IPA person. If you want to pick one up, you can find it at your local Trader Joe's. I don't know about availability, unfortunately.

Prost!