One of our gifts as members of the wedding party was a six pack of our choosing. Everyone else decided to get a six pack of their favorite beer. I had to stick out and request a pick a six pack from Jeremy’s place of residence now, Charlotte. I stuck out not only because of the variety but also because three came in cans (NoDa & Unknown) and the Triple C beers were in 22 ounce bottles. I haven’t gotten to Charlotte yet and needed to try what he gets a chance to drink these days. I had three beers at the wedding and the final three after returning back to Columbus.

NoDa Brewing Co. – Cavu – I made a mistake by not reading about this beer. I simply ordered it because it was a blonde and I wanted something lighter to try. I cracked this beer first after the ceremony. I got the first sip for a toast for the newlyweds and hops hit me. Hops are normally irrelevant in a blonde beer. This one celebrates hops even at a low 18 IBU. I didn’t get the citrus they advertised but I did get some bitterness. The normal notes of spices like allspice or clove aren’t present. At 4.6% ABV, it was a good way to ease into the celebration.

Triple C Brewing Co. – Smoked Amber – This beer was not my choice. Jeremy went rouge with this pick. I am a fan of Ambers so it didn’t bother me. Smoking a beer that isn’t made with roasted malt is a surprise. They used cherry wood to smoke some of the malt and also used English Naked Golden Oats as the base to this beer. The smoke wasn’t overwhelming which is a critical in a smoked beer. It can wreck the flavor quicker than anything else. The biggest obstacle to me enjoying Ambers recently is heavy hops. This beer doesn’t have that which is confirmed at 29 IBU. It has a 5.5% ABV so I was moving up in ABV as the party kept going. Smoked Amber was the best screw up Jeremy has ever had.

Triple C Brewing Co. – Space Cadet – This beer was the last at the wedding and was making sure no one busted into if they finished their personalized six packs. That didn’t end up becoming a problem. They use two dark malts that are supposed to bring out a chocolate flavor in the initial flavor which I didn’t get. They use Amarillo hops for a grapefruit flavor which I definitely got. It’s at a normal level of hops for a Black IPA at 66 IBU. This beer wasn’t too high in ABV at 6.0%. The problem with that is I didn’t particularly like it. Space Cadet wasn’t bad but on my getting longer list of Black IPAs, it wasn’t near the top. Jeremy got to try some and loved it. Charlotte will have less Space Cadet on the shelves in the near future.

Triple C Brewing Co. – 3C India Pale Ale – When I was looking through the beer links Jeremy sent me, I noticed this one because it was similar to The Brew Kettle‘s 4C Pale Ale in combination of hops. These beers share Centennial and Chinook hops. Triple C uses Citra hops as their third one while Brew Kettle used Cascade and Columbus to round out their Pale Ale. 3C certainly ups the ante for total hops which makes sense considering the difference in type of beers. 3C is 70 IBU while 4C is 50 IBU. They are similar in ABV with 6.2% ABV for 3C to 6.0% for 4C. They have a nice floral element that is balanced with a bitter side. The last thing they have in common, they both very tasty. This beer was the official beer of OHPA 21 which we forgot to announce. Now you get your full credit, Triple C.

NoDa Brewing Brewing Co. – Hop, Drop & Roll – I picked this beer because it was an award winner at the World Beer Cup this year. They throw in hops during all stages of brewing, beginning, middle and end but only admit that they use Amarillo and Citra in the late stage boil. That spot normally adds the aroma to the beer. They certainly do add plenty of hops to come to the 81 IBU rating. One of the more interesting notes about this beer is that they use English & American malts to red an copper tone to the beer. It gives it a different flavor than most IPAs too. At 7.2%, this 16 ounce beer can hit the spot quickly. My taste buds aren’t ready to give it an award but it was still a good beer.

The Unknown Brewing Co. – Over The Edge – This beer was the last of the lot to be tried. It’s another IPA. They don’t admit to which styles of hops they used but they drop hints in their write up. The only thing explicitly mentioned was that hops were added in seven different stages. That is a lot of standing over a brew kettle to add hops more often than necessary. Considering the number of additions, one would think you’d get a high ABV but it’s relatively low at 65. For all of the stages of hops, this beer didn’t give me much more than a low bitter flavor. No floral accents or malty sweetness sneaking out. The ABV is relatively low too at 6.9%. I definitely didn’t save the best for last. – Kevin