On tap at West O, serene light-bodied wheat ale brings floral hibiscus and lavender tones to the fore as buttery Chardonnay wining, delicate citric spicing and white wheat malting provide nifty sweet ‘n sour backdrop.
All posts by John Fortunato
RUBBER SOUL HIGH WHEEL INDIA PALE ALE
On tap at West O, approachable soft-toned India Pale Ale stays sessionably subtle as floral-spiced pineapple, mango, peach and orange tang retains its gentle flow above moderate Centennial hop bittering, soft wheat spine and earthen mineral bottom.
RAR HABANERO NECTAR IPA
On tap at West O, interesting tropical-fruited medium body loads habanero heat inside subtle IPA tropicalia. Juicy nectarine, honeydew and melon sweetness invites lively orange, peach and pineapple tang to the party as habanero peppering stings the back of the tongue. Nearly perfect contrasting heat with sweet.
RAR GROOVE CITY HEFEWEIZEN
On tap at West O, fine trad hefe brings stylish banana-clove-coriander-bubblegum sweetness and mild vanilla creaming to sourdough-breaded honeyed wheat spine. Ancillary lemon-rotted plantain tartness and herbal respite deepen flavor profile a tad.
UNION CRAFT COUNTRY BOY CITRIC WIT
On tap at West O, hefe-like witbier crowds coriander-spiced lemon and orange peel tartness with polite banana-clove sweetness. Sharp hop spicing dries out above tempered oats-flaked pale wheat base.
MILLER 64
Thin, clear-bottled, pale-yellowed, 64-calorie light lager contrasts maize-dried astringency and mild lemon rot against sweet-corned cereal graining without getting despicably acrid or cloy. Seltzer-watered aridity neutralizes any tertiary flavoring.
MOTHER EARTH BREWING
KINSTON, NORTH CAROLINA
Taking up a whole street corner in Kinston’s rustic downtown, MOTHER EARTH BREWING has taken the Inner Banks section of North Carolina by storm and helped revitalize the small community since starting production during 2009. Run by owners Trent Mooring and Stephen Hill and brewmaster Josh Brewer, Mother Earth’s expanded into a large operation with its own bottling line, beer garden, windowed brew tanks, boutique store and exquisite modern deco-styled taproom (with U-shaped 16-seat bar, side tables, couched lounge and snazzy blue and white hanging lights).
During my mid-morning stopover June ’16, I picked up five bottled and one canned brew running the gamut from ever-popular Weeping Willow Wit to stylishly wondrous Endless River Kolsch to sessionable Park Day Bohemian Pilsner to Sisters Of The Moon IPA to Dark Cloud Dunkel Lager and Old Neighborhood Oatmeal Porter (all reviewed in Beer Index). But the best way to discover Mother Earth is thru its sterling taproom, where limited edition, one-offs and seasonal specials prove just as worthy as the bottled-canned staples.
The environmentally responsible brewery also makes use of recycled material, organic compounds and spent grain. Anyone traveling thru the heartland of Carolina needs to discover this fine gem.
www.motherearthbrewing.com
MOTHER EARTH OLD NEIGHBORHOOD OATMEAL PORTER
Subsuming cocoa-dried Bakers chocolate entry picks up creamed coffee supplement and sour nuttiness above latent earthen brown tea bittering. Dank dark-roast chocolate malting confirms bittersweet mocha finish.
MOTHER EARTH DARK CLOUD MUNICH-STYLE DUNKEL LAGER
Old fashioned dark lager parades dark-roast chocolate malts across black rye breading, mossy peat dewiness and dried fig swig, recalling English-styled ESB with its underlying earthen brown tea bittering. Tertiary toffee, pecan and burnt toast reminders waver.
MOTHER EARTH SISTERS OF THE MOON INDIA PALE ALE
Casual moderate-medium body evenly spreads lemony yellow grapefruit spicing, tangy orange-peach-pineapple-tangerine-mango conflux and resinous piney hop herbage atop pastry sugared pale malts, finding middleground between sessionable easygoing fodder and sharply bitter Imperialism.
MOTHER EARTH ENDLESS RIVER KOLSCH-STYLE ALE
These sessionable light-bodied American kolsch-styled ales just keep getting better and Mother Earth’s relaxing clear-strawed version is quite precise. Delicate moldy orange tartness gains light lemon-rotted white grape souring, tangy citrus peel sweetness, mild grassy hop bittering and floral-spiced pale malting above sourdough-influenced baked bread bottom. Crisply carbolic citric spritz tingles the tongue.
MOTHER EARTH PARK DAY BOHEMIAN-STYLE PILSNER
Dry Bohemian pils breaks free from standard biscuity Vienna malt assurance and grassy Tettnang hop neutrality. Lightly pined lemon spicing picks up straw-dried hop astringency and earthen wood-toned herbal sensation, creating more rounded stylistic profile.
