Free Bird - Begyle Brewing Company

    It never fails, you're finally seeing your favorite band live for the first time. You've wanted to see them for years, but for some reason they never toured close enough for you to be able to attend. Finally, the planets aligned, and you got tickets to a show near you. The band sounds amazing, and the crowd is loving it. As one song finishes, the crowd begins cheering loudly. As the cheers fade into the general din of conversation and the band prepares their next song you hear it - some jerk in the front screaming "FREEBIRD!!!" The band takes notice and seems to say with their expressions "yeah, real funny guy, we've never heard that one before." And just like that, the band's mood turns from happy to be visiting your city to annoyed that they're playing for a group of idiots that don't appreciate their music. The band's energy changes from excitation to indignation. Your experience has been ruined by that one guy. Thanks a lot guy.

    Free Bird is an American Pale Ale brewed by Begyle Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois. The can touts Free Bird's sessionable alcohol content, and also points out that the beer was named for the use of falconer's flight hops in it's brewing.

    Begyle's APA pours a slightly hazy, dark orange color with a finger of head made up of compact bubbles on top. The head fades a bit, but sticks around much longer than I would have expected. As the beer is enjoyed, the bubbles leave a thick, almost soapy, lacing down the glass.

"Play me!!"

    The beer's aroma includes notes of citrus fruits such as orange and lemon. Earthy smells of pine and dry grass are subtly present in the beer's aroma as well. There is a surprisingly strong scent of bready malts to the ale - making me wonder if this brew is going to be overly sweet. Only one way to find out!

    Free Bird is medium bodied with a similar level of carbonation. The body and carbonation together balance the beer's oily and slightly sticky mouthfeel with a certain crispness that keeps things refreshing rather than mouth-coating. I'm not really sure that I agree with Begyle's claim that the beer is sessionable. It's alcohol content of 5.6% ABV seems stronger than the 4% ABV or so I would expect from a session ale. While the beer definitely retains a certain crispness, I still find that it ends a bit wetter than I would want from a session ale as well.

    Free Bird tastes a more bitter than I was expecting after smelling such a strong malt presence in the beer's aroma. There are strong notes of lemon and orange in the ale's flavor, as well as a prominent grapefruit-like bitterness. Flavors of pine sap and hay round out the fruity flavors to give the beer a bit of a spicy, earthy character. While I was afraid that the beer would be too sweet, I'm actually surprised to find that the malt balances well with the beer's bitterness. I actually almost feel like the beer could use a bit more sweetness to tone down its bitterness. Even after I swallow the beer, my mouth remains tasting bitter for a while - again, not what I'd want in a session ale.

    While Free Bird being shouted at a concert might make things worse, I can safely say a Free Bird being opened would make things better. While the beer feels quite off from what I'd expect of a sessionable Pale Ale (in fact, it seems a bit more like an IPA), I'm pretty happy with it. I'd never heard of falconer's flight hops before picking up this beer, but I'm interested to see how it is used in the future. It seems like the hops provide quite a bitter kick alongside some earthy and citrus tones, so it could be interesting to mix with other hops in future brews!

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