A Second Visit to Noble Ale Works
Board of Beers
Last week, following our visit to The Bruery in northern Orange County, I then took a brief break from drinking then rejoined our group to meet up at Noble Ale Works. The first thing I noticed while walking up to the tasting room/brewery was that they must not have been actively brewing at the moment, versus my first visit. On that first visit, the smell of brewing grains was pervasive, not only outside of the tasting room, but within, as well, which affected my experience. While it was a pretty overwhelming smell, it wasn’t unpleasant, per se, however, it made it difficult to fully enjoy and experience each of the beers I had ordered. This time, however, not only was this overwhelming smell absent, but it was also a lot easier trying to find a seat, as well.
Taster Flight
On this visit, having had a lot of beer at The Bruery, I was only up for having one flight of beer. Fortunately, as opposed to The Bruery, they had IPAs! So, I got a taster flight of four IPAs along with Naughty Sauce, which I had enjoyed on my first visit.
I started off drinking the Big Whig IPA (6.8% ABV), a west coast IPA, which had a great piney nose and, fortunately, not a lot of body. Next, I had the Tongue Tickles (8.0% ABV), a double IPA, which featured Galaxy, Citra, and Simcoe hops. This beer had a great piney nose that stays throughout the palate and even a little on the finish. Next, I had the Wakatu Showers (8.8% ABV), a double IPA, which was very pleasant and great! For my final IPA, I had the Mosaic Yum Yum (12.3% ABV), a single-hopped Triple IPA brewed entirely with Mosaic hops, which had a piney nose and so tasty!
Finally, I had the Naughty Sauce (5.4% ABV), a stout beer made with oats and milk sugar, coffee instead of roasted grain and served on nitro. I really enjoyed this beer – it’s got a deliciously creamy coffee flavor to it and a lot of other flavors, as well!
It is nice to have a place in Orange County that’s making some great IPAs!
