Invocation by Wild Heaven

When I was on my way out of Atlanta I had picked up a sample of beers that where getting a lot of good press, tell she who must be obeyed that I just wanted to have some craft beer to drink in Texas indicative of my home in Georgia.  As well, on the trip west I picked up a few more local brews to critique, leaving me with a fair amount and good variety of brews to drink. I made a resolve to purchase no more beer till a serious dent was made in the recent acquisitions.

Somehow though, I got distracted and ended up procuring more beer from breweries, these in the lone star state this weekend, earning me a number of looks from my wife who continues to see beer pile up in the fridge and in various boxes around the house. To gain good karma from my better half, I have promised to get through the transported bottle before cracking a “longhorn bottle,” the moniker which the Rahr and Sons Brewery refers to longnecks.

To begin my dissemination of the remaining maltose mixtures, I will start with the Belgian golden ale Invocation from Wild Haven Craft Beers

The beer pours out a nice, stark white and frothy head atop a light orange hued, slightly cloudy beverage. While the head is substantial when first poured, it does die down to a hardy layer about dime’s width.

Taking in the aroma of the freshly poured beer there is a fair amount of clove notes with a warm citrus accent.

Contrary to the smell of the spirit though, the front end of the brew is an orange peel bitterness rounded out with clove on the backend. Once the bitter citrus flavor subsides, a nice cinnamon like spiciness develops, as well a very mild pineapple like characteristic. There is a very slight alcohol hotness that is likely a result of the high 8.5% ABV, but I feel it would be overlooked if not being aggressively reviewed by the drinker.

After drinking a pair of these beers, I can say that the quality of the ingredients and the skill that crafted this beer to be excellent and on par with that of Terrapin’s, another local Georgian beer. Where Wild Heaven sets themselves apart is the ability to be full flavored with a medium bodied beer, which is more trying than simply turning up every aspect of a beers flavor up to 11.

Prost!