Pyramid sampler full of memories, great taste

I headed out of the newsroom Monday afternoon in search of a story. A noon Wednesday deadline for this column loomed and I had to hit my beat. I decided to run my traps, hitting a couple of Joplin watering holes known for their early, late-afternoon business. I talked to a bartender here, chatted up a veteran sitting at the bar there. No luck. Sometimes I can just walk into a bar, have a beer and run into an interesting story. There was no time for that kind of casual newsgathering on Monday afternoon. It was late and I needed a story to tell.

Pryamid prevails

I stopped in at Macadoodles on my way home in search of an idea … and a 12-pack. When you write a column called “The Booze Beat,” sometimes that’s all it takes to find a good tale to tell. I walked the shelves looking for alcoholic inspiration. Ed Hardy wine? No. Ed Hardy beer? I’d been nursing a six-pack of Ed Hardy — aka Christian Audigier’s designer lager — for more than a week. No inspiration there, either. Then, I spied a 12-bottle sample pack from Pyramid Breweries in Seattle, Wa. I grabbed a box and headed home to research my column and relive a few Seattle memories. I lived there for almost a decade and came to love the Pyramid brands. The Spring variety pack of ales was an easy choice: It included three bottles each of the Haywire Hefewiezen (an unfiltered wheat beer), Audacious Apricot Ale, Thunderhead India Pale Ale and a new addition to the seasonal sampler, Fling Pale Ale.

Good wheat

The Haywire Hefe’s product information contends it’s “the standard by which all other wheat beers are judged.” By wheat beer standards it’s a good brew, but no better than KC’s Boulevard Wheat. When it comes to judging wheat beers, I’m a big Widmer Brothers fan. Portland-brewed Widmer is a thick, chewy wheat ale with a slightly bitter taste.
I remember drinking Widmer in Seattle long before it was available in bottles — let alone owned by Budweiser, now InBev. Widmer’s Hefe was the first beer in which I ever squeezed a lemon. It’s funny to me how a sip of a memorable beer or a familiar smell in the air can take you back to a place in time. Ah, memories. It rates 5.1 percent alcohol by volume (ABV).

IPA

I poured a Thunderhead India Pale Ale into a frozen pilsner glass, took a sip and remembered a day when I would have grimaced at its bitterness. Now, I can really savor a great sweetness provided by the malts used and the bitter character imparted by hops. The IPA is well-balanced and not so bitter as to put off a new drinker. (6.7 percent ABV.)
Fling Pale Ale

Less bitter than the IPA is Pyramid’s new Fling Pale Ale. Light and cooper colored, it’s light and easy to drink. It’s good starter pale. I’m not a big pale ale fan, but this one I can drink. Fling would be a good beer for a summer patio party. It’s malty and slightly bitter with a mild aftertaste that holds up to that wood- or charcoal-grilled flavor. (5.2 percent ABV.)

Audacious Apricot

I have loved Pyramid’s apricot for a long time. Now called “Audacious Apricot,” it’s a good beer for any occasion.  It’s good with light meals; the apricot flavor isn’t overpowering and enhances the meal. The flavored wheat beer is great hot-weather drinking and is best served ice-cold. (5.1 percent ABV.)

The Pyramid Spring Variety Pack set me back around $17. It’s worth the price and a party pleaser. I suspect it’s available around town in most establishments. The Pyramid Web site, http://www.pyramidbrew.com, offers a lot of product information and company history. For beer buffs, Pyramid has a great story … and good beer. 

Cheers!