What’s in a name? Maybe a lot, maybe nothing at all. When it comes to being really creative when naming a beer, however, the Fairhope Brewing Company of Fairhope, Alabama, takes the cake with I Drink Therefore I Amber Ale. That wouldn’t matter if the beer wasn’t good; it is good. This is only the second beer I’ve tried from Fairhope, the first being the equally impressive Judge Roy Bean Stout. Perhaps a little history of the brewery is in order?

From the website:

… Why isn't there a local craft brewery in Lower Alabama? We all asked it, and while others may sit around and bemoan the answer, we decided to do something about it….Our first batch of beer was brewed less than a year later, on Dec. 21, 2012, on what was supposed to be the end of the world according to the Mayans…What started as just two beers in the taproom – Everyday Ale and Section Street Wheat – has grown into a selection of five year-round offerings: Everyday Ale, I Drink Therefore I Amber, Judge Roy Bean, Fairhope 51, and Take The Causeway IPA.

Alabama borders Georgia, but we don’t see a lot of Alabama brew here. I for one am glad to see Fairhope arrive, and now I hear that Good People is being sold here as well. Alabama lags other southern states in the craft beer renaissance, but I’m glad to see that is changing. Back to I Drink Therefore I Amber, though. I love a nice malty amber ale, and this is a nice malty amber ale.

Fairhope says:

A smooth, malt-forward beer that's as rich in flavor as it is in color. Well balanced with some light caramel and toasted flavor provided from the variety of grains used to make the beer.

Fairhope I Drink Therefore I Amber has an alcohol content of 5.4% by volume and I enjoyed a 20-ounce mug at Taco Mac for $5.75. It sells for $9.99 a six-pack in bottles at Total Wine.

My mug of Fairhope I Drink Therefore I Amber Ale arrived a. well. Deep amber color with a medium sized head of foam and soft nutty malt notes in the nose. Taking a sip, I immediately adored the stewed malts and toasty nutty fresh cracked malt in the palate with soft chocolate and a balanced grassy finish to finish it all off.

These days, hops are all the rage and malt gets ignored in the latest new namby pamby thin malty fruit looped IPA. Give me a solid malty but still hoppy beauty like this over those any day. As amber ales go, this one is the bees knees.

 And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

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