Nathanael Greene and I have a lot in common. We were both born in Rhode Island, after all, and lived not so far apart in distance if not in time. The Nathanael Greene Homestead in Coventry, Rhode Island was but a scant few miles from my home in West Warwick, and I visited it on several occasions. Rare is the elementary school in the area that doesn’t schedule a field trip there.

Of course, Greene was a major revolutionary war hero, while I am not. Still, our paths share another commonality, in that Greene relocated to Georgia after the war and lived out his life not far from Savannah. He is buried under a monument to him in the city square there, and though I’m a little further than I was from him when I lived in Rhode Island, my current hometown of Canton, Georgia is only a few miles from Savannah. I wasn’t aware of this until I visited Savannah years ago and was surprised to see the monument there.

Greene has another distinction in that he has a brewery named after him, two actually: Natty Greene’s in Greensboro and Raleigh, North Carolina. Greensboro, of course, is named after Greene in honor of his service at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781. His portrait adorns the labels of their bottled beers, including the one I’m drinking now: Natty Greene’s Buckshot Amber Ale.

Now that I’ve talked your ear off about Nathanael Greene, I’ll let the brewery tell you about this beer (from their website):

We use six different malts in making Buckshot. That's unusual for an amber ale, but essential to creating its deep, full flavor. The distinctive toffee / roasty notes come from three Belgian malts, especially the Special B roast malt. And to nothing interferes with all that good maltiness, we use mild American aroma hops, just to balance the sweetness.

Natty Greene’s Buckshot Amber Ale has an alcohol content of 4.8% by volume and 25 IBUs. I paid $2.25 for a single at Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, where the beer was running $10.99 a six-pack. I am told that that is high however and the beer’s average price is around $8.99. That’s average these days.

Natty Greene’s Buckshot Amber Ale pours to a reddish amber hue with a medium sized creamy head and a caramel malt and grassy herbal hop nose. Solid mouthfeel to this beer with thick notes of caramel and toasted malt, a subtle hint of juicy berry fruit, then in the finish the grassy herbal hops emerge and dry the whole affair nicely, leaving a bitter hop buzz on the tongue.

The chewy-toffee malt on this beer is just spectacular, and makes it a smooth and easy drinking delight. Luscious is the best word I can think of for describing the malts here, and I very much enjoyed this break from the ubiquitous IPAs and super hoppy, high alcohol beers so popular today. Stop and enjoy the malt, my friends, it is the heart and soul of beer, and it is the heart and soul of Natty Greene’s Buckshot Amber Ale.

5 stars, one of the best ambers I have ever enjoyed.

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

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

(G)=Growler

 

 

 



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