Review: Blue Hills Antimatter
Blue Hills Brewery in Canton has started a series of beers brewed with a single type of malt and hop. The so-called Antimatter Single Malt Series is off to a promising start with two unique brews that add a little spice to traditionally smooth styles.
The second release, a golden ale, is now out, and it's way more flavorful and robust that you might expect a golden ale to be. Yellow with a frothy head and a biscuity aroma, the beer is fruity and spicy, with notes of apple. Heavily dry-hopped, Antimatter No. 2 has an extremely spicy finish. It's made with Vienna malt and Calypso hops.
I much prefer it to the first Antimatter release, a pale ale that smelled sweet -- almost cloyingly so, like candy, flowers, and sugared bread. It, too, was yellow with a head of froth and a lot of carbonation. Like the golden ale, the pale ale was fruity (is that apricot?), but it bore a stinging spiciness that dominated the beer's other characteristics. Made with 2-row malt and Amarillo hops.
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About 99 BottlesGary Dzen writes about craft beer here and in the Globe when he's not covering the Celtics for Boston.com. He can be reached at gdzen@boston.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeGaryDzen.
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