High and Mighty Beer Co.

I went to a tasting of High and Mighty Beer Co.’s beers last week.  They were definitely worth mentioning.  The brewing company is owned by Will Shelton, of Shelton Bros. fame, and brews their beers at Paper City in Holyoke, MA.  He was explaining each beer as he poured them and explained his brewing philosophy and where he hopes to take his brewery.

He explained that he didn’t want to brew the same thing as everyone else.  In his age (which, based on looks alone, is no more than 50), he isn’t interested in drinking high alcohol beers and getting wasted off just a couple.  He wanted beers he could drink all night and not get plastered.  At the same time, he wanted something full of flavor, but different from what everyone else is brewing.  Instead of brewing IPAs, pale ales, big stouts, or crazy Belgian-inspired beers, he brewed some original recipes that don’t stick to any single style.

He started us off with what he said was his favorite of his beers, Beer of the Gods.  BeerAdvocate labels it an American blonde ale.  Will described it as a cross between a German altbier and a kolsch.  It’s an ale that he cold conditions.  It’s a very tasty beer with a nice hop flavor from the German hops.  It’s very refreshing and would be excellent on a warm spring or summer day.  This was also my favorite of the beers we tried that night.  I’m not sure I would have called it a blonde ale, but I can’t really think of where else I’d label it.  It has similar tastes to a pilsner, though it’s a bit more malty and not as crisp.  Not to mention, it’s an ale.  It’s too hoppy to be a kolsch.  American blonde ale is probably the only place it does fit, but it should not be reviewed as one.

The second beer, Purity of Essence, is what he calls an IPL, or India Pale Lager.  It’s basically a hoppy lager.  When I tried it, it reminded me of a toned down version of Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner.  It tastes like an IPA but has a crispness to it that you can only get from a lager.  BA classifies it as American Malt Liquor, but I would hardly put it there.  It’s more of an American pilsner, going with the Imperial Pilsner similarities.  As Will explained, he’s not brewing within any style guidelines, and it works.  The beer is really good and definitely worth seeking out.

The third beer was my least favorite.  It’s called St. Hubbins Abbey.  Will described it as a saison brewed with coriander and orange peel, which are usually found in witbiers.  The beer was good and the spices were evident.  It didn’t taste much like a saison to me, but the flavors worked.  Again, it was something original, but still tasty.  BA classifies this one as a dubbel, but once again, it is most definitely not a dubbel.  I would probably have classified it as a saison.

Finally, we had his chocolate stout called Two Headed Beast.  This beer was excellent.  The chocolate flavors were right on and it was well balanced.  It didn’t taste overly chocolatey and it didn’t taste like chocolate syrup.  It was a nice natural chocolate flavor.  This is probably the only one we had that was brewed to a specific style.

It was very refreshing to try so many beers that were brewed outside of style and weren’t high in alcohol.  I think the highest was about 6-6.5% ABV, which is nothing in today’s standards.  The beers are all solid.  They’re priced at about $5/22 oz. bomber.  And they’re all definitely worth the money and your time.  Will had mentioned that he hopes to have his own brewery at some point with a canning line.  That would be awesome.  Nothing better than more craft beer in cans.  If you have seen these on the shelf and wondered what they were, try them.  They’re good.