Mad River

So, this is the week of the craft brew conference, which is an industry event that puts brewers face-to-face with the folks who sell their wares. It’s in Boston this year, which is cool, because the city’s flooded with all manner of brewers and their kind. Last night, Kristen and I headed out to the Cambridge Common to chill with the guys from Mad River.

Mad River’s a 20 year old company out of Humboldt (which is in CA, for all the right-coasters). They’ve been putting solid beers out all this time, rounding up award after award after award. Quality beer awards aside, they also win medals for operating their production at extremely low waste. Check out their website for more specific info on that tip.

Eric Spieth, the CEO/president of the company was on hand at the Common. Spieth’s an incredibly affable guy and exactly what you’d want from a brewer: humble, laidback, dedicated to his craft. He brought with him the whole line of Mad River beers, including the first entry in their High Gravity series, a Black Ale by the name of Serious Madness. Only 40 kegs of it got pitter-pattered across the country, so to be able to try it was something… it was something else. Talk about dark… the beer lives up to the black in its name and its topped off with a creamy looking head. In the mouth, it foams around your tongue, almost swallows you while you’re trying to swallow it. But it never gets hollow. Smokey, sweet… I wish we had some to sell. Enthused by our enthusiasm, Spieth told us he’s making sure we get at least a bit of the next High Gravity entry, a double imperial red (!). Look for it - it should be around this summer.

We’ve got the rest of the line in the store. Try the douple IPA - dig the hoppy kickback that’s like sharp berries on the finish. Dig the Jamaica Red, one of the most immensely drinkable beers I’ve had in a while. Dig this whole company.

dJp

Tags: black ale, California, CBC, craft beer, double IPA, High Gravity, mad river, red ale
Category: The Beer Blog | Comments (1)