Mybeerbuzz .com Highlights Palmetto Brewing Lowcountry Lager, Raspberry Rewind, Idle Speed, Huger St, Mango IPA and Nice & Brite (Review)

This is definitely a first for me.  After 30+ years of enjoying good beer, I’ve tried a lot of beers from a lot of breweries, but I’ve never had the pleasure of trying anything from today’s brewery…but that’s just part of the “first.”  Today I’m not only sampling beer from a brewery I’ve never had, but more importantly, I’ll be sampling SIX of their beers.

Palmetto Brewing comes to us from Charleston, SC and they hold the honor of being the oldest craft brewery in South Carolina.  Founded in 1993, their beers are distributed in SC, NC, GA and AL.  Back in late 2017, Palmetto was merged with Catawba Brewing allowing both breweries to combine their resources and brewing philosophies.  Today we’ll be sampling six different 12oz canned beers from palmetto, so off we go.

I decided on a fairly loose order of tasting, and that order begins with Palmetto Brewing Lowcountry Lager.  This beer pours a deep golden amber color with a mix of biscuit malt and just a bit of lemon.  The flavors lean a bit toward the sweet cereal malt side with a nice crisp citrus balance at the end.  For me this beer feels and tastes a lot like a classic pilsner.  The body and mouthfeel are light and drinkable and the finish is crisp and effervescent.  At 5.5%-AbV this beer is infinitely drinkable and I can just picture how refreshing this beer would be on a humid Charleston night.

Up next I decided to stay in the lager family and break open the Idle Speed Salted Lime Lager.  The name of this beer will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.  The beer pours with loads of lime and margarita-like aromas and to me it tastes and feels a little like a gose-style ale.  The malt presence is distinctly a lager with a citrus and salty refreshing bite at the end.  Overall the balance of this beer is really nice and I can see this being a really good beach beer or hot summer night go-to beer.  At 4.8%-AbV it is both sessionable and drinkable (both very good things) and it will be available from Mar-Sept.

From here we decided to open the Nice & Brite Gose.  This beer has loads of citrus and lemon in the aromas with just a touch of earthy spice at the end.  The flavors lead with a tart lemon bite followed by a bit of refreshing salt presence and a crisp clean finish.  There are some herbal notes in the flavors, especially as the beer warms and the overall package feels a bit more sour than tart (this is a good thing).  This 5%-AbV beer will not only be Palmetto’s first packaged sour beer, but it will also be available year-round (also a good thing, especially in South Carolina).

The choice for my next beer wasn’t completely obvious, so I decided to sample Raspberry Rewind.  This beer is Palmetto’s current 843 Series seasonal release and I think this beer has the prettiest of the beer colors so far.  Bright amber with just a touch of ruby red, this beer just looks and smells enticing.  The aromas have a nice hearty wheat aroma balanced with the crisp and tarty aromas of fresh berries.  The flavors are a really nice mix of raspberry and hefe with a really soft and drinkable mouthfeel.  This beer had a nice balance and I think the Nugget hops along with the raspberry flavors really make for a drinkable and refreshing wheat ale.  At 5%-AbV this is another easy-drinking beach beer and a wheat ale that I’m sure you’ll really enjoy.

I decided to save the hoppy beers for last and I’m leading off with Mango IPA.  Bright and golden in color, and hoppy & fruity in aroma, this beer may be my favorite of the six.  The flavors of stone fruit, mango and melon really worked well with the Cascade, Centennial and Amarillo and how those hop choices contributed to the fruit flavors (and the beer) also worked really well.  This American IPA has a well-balanced “punch” of Mango in the flavor that I really liked and the beer finishes with a fresh and balanced hoppy bite.  Mango IPA hits 6.5%-AbV and overall I really loved the balance and drinkability of this beer.

Finally I saved the Huger Street IPA for last.  named for the brewery’s address, this IPA pours a slightly hazy golden color with loads of resinous and citrusy hops in the nose.  The aromas scream dry-hopping and that pleasant hoppy hit follows into the flavors.  I liked the touch of caramel malt and how well the citrusy hops balanced that out.  The mouthfeel is crisp and clean and the finish has a really mice mix of resinous and citrusy hops with a slightly spicy finish as the beer warms.  I was surprised to find that this beer will ride in at 7.2%-AbV, and be warned; it definitely hides the alcohol level well.  Overall Huger Street IPA has to be one of my favorites of the bunch and the prominence of the hops in this beer make it a really drinkable and satisfying IPA.

I should also mention just how good these cans look.  The new designs and artwork look great and the new font they used really helps create a family resemblance among the beers.  These Palmetto Brewing cans will be easy to pick out in a crowded beer cooler, and when you taste them, you’ll be glad you did.  Try all six of these Palmetto Brewing beers for yourself, and when you do, be sure to let us know what YOU think.

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