Have you had your American craft brew today? I have, and it was a bottle of Blue Ridge ESB Red Ale, brewed in historic Frederick, Maryland. It says so right on the label. Did you know that July is American Beer Month? It is. What better month than the month in which we celebrate our nation’s independence is there to recognize the incredible quality, variety, and diversity that is American brewed beer.

Boston Beer put it best at the dawn of the craft-brewed beer movement in America when they advised imported beer drinkers to “declare your independence from foreign beer” and buy Samuel Adams beers instead. That’s not to say that imported beer is a bad thing. Far from it, in fact. Today, the craft beer drinker in America is very fortunate to enjoy classic beers imported into the United States from all corners of the globe. At the time Boston Beer coined that phrase, however, there was a dearth of craft brewed beer brewed in America. We’ve come a long way since then, and why not toast that by lifting a glass of American craft brew this and every July and saluting America’s craft brewers.

In that spirit, I’ll toast the Red, White, and Blue with a beer that features those three colors :Blue Ridge beer, Red color, and ummm white head. It’s brewed by the Frederick Brewing Company of Frederick, Maryland. Frederick was a brewery with a habit of acquiring other breweries until it was itself acquired by the Cleveland-based Snyder International Brewing Group.

The Blue Ridge beers have definitely improved over the years in my opinion. This one is much more flavorful than I recall it being in the past. It is an English Extra Special Bitter by style with an alcohol content of 4.8 percent by volume.

Blue Ridge ESB Red Ale pours to a dark ruby color with a thick creamy head and a fruity, malty nose. The palate is deep with chewy caramel malt and citric hop fruitiness. The finish has a subtley lingering (but not overpowering) grapefruity bitterness to it that balances the malt off nicely. This is a nicely balanced brew that will have you wanting another and another.

It’s great with pizza, with which I am enjoying it tonight. What’s more American than that?

Home