Sunny and 75 – Rock Art Brewery
June 28, 2010
The planets have aligned! I don’t know why, but I wanted to wait for a day that was Sunny and 75 to review this Belgian White beer for The Brew Club.
Don’t make fun. It could also be simple instructions for maximum beer enjoyment, right? Why risk messing it up by drinking it on a day that was Slightly Overcast and 82 or Periods of Wind and Rain and 80?
You might have heard something about these guys not too long ago. This was the brewery that got sued by the people who make a certain energy drink with a monstery-sounding name. They thought that the Rock Art ‘Vermonster’ infringed on their sacred trade name. In the end, Rock Art won, in no small part to a shit-load of support they got online. Good for them!
This is actually my first beer from Rock Art Brewery, so I hope its a good one! I like the Belgian White beer style – there are only a few I’ve tried that I didn’t like, so it shouldn’t be too hard to make me happy!
“Sunny and 75″ is a 5.1% ABV Belgian White styled wheat beer that pours a dark straw color into my very cool (I think) glass. Its noticeable cloudiness is interesting in that the particles floating around in the beer are rather large. Maybe I poured a bit too aggressively, but even larger and darker sediment forms at the bottom of my glass. The head is bubbly and white, typical of this style of beer.
The aroma is also not a surprise. Citrus and spices, in this case ‘fresh cracked coriander seeds’ and orange peel make themselves known to my sniffer along with some bready maltiness. I’d like to add that I thought I noticed a hint mandarin orange in the aroma – its orange, but just a little different.
Taste is not surprising here. I think the coriander stands out the most in the taste, and there is even a little prickle of the peppery spices on the tongue late in the sip that lingers a bit. I guess its good to get it fresh-cracked as opposed to day-old cracked coriander! I’m picking up citrus too – orangy or lemony flavors stand out above the wheat-beer flavors.
The mouthfeel was good, not too thin and not too heavy. It was light enough to be refreshing on a warm day and it didn’t feel sticky at all.
Overall, I thought Sunny and 75 was a pretty good beer. Is it my favorite Begian White, no (so far that’s title belongs to another Vermont brewer- Long Trail’s Winter White) but this one is definitely a nice beer for the warmer weather.
I’d get it again, and I’d venture to say that I’d even drink it on days that were above or below 75 degrees!
Rating: 
I’ve also noticed that the Rock Art beers are usually good deals. If I recall, I think I paid under $4 for this 22oz bottle of Sunny and 75. The previously mentioned Vermonster which is around 10% ABV is also in the same price range!
Posted in 3 Star Reviews, Ales, Wheat Beers
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June 28th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I’ve gotta say, I’m getting pretty serious summer beer fatigue. All these beers taste the same! Brewers need to either A) do something interesting with the style, or B) hit an absolute home run with the standard flavor profile and mouth feel. If they don’t do one of those two things, then they risk that their beer will not be memorable.
This is also a question of palate; I am not personally a big enough fan of the summer styles to go out and keep buying any random summer beer over and over.
Royce´s last blog ..Weekend Comedy 6-26
June 28th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
@Royce – you make a very good point there. In defense of Sunny & 75, I do think its a year-round beer and not just a summer brew. While true to style, I do think that this beer was a little more on the spicy side than others which in my mind set it apart a bit. If you like this style, I thing it a good one to get and forget about the random purchases! I also thought the Sierra Nevada Kellerweis was a big winner and a sure bet – but I do know what you’re saying.
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Dale’s Pale Ale – A Beer Review
June 28th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
I’ve also grown tired of summer beers and it’s not even July yet. My last beer purchase was mostly stouts. I have AC, so why not?
June 28th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
@Jim – true enough. I had a second go-round of The Poet (stout) from New Holland last week. I was glad I had it because it was sooooo much better than the bottle I reviewed here. I thought it was interesting how different the two beers were! Good beers any time of year!
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – Mike Loves Beer Style-
June 29th, 2010 at 9:47 am
I do stuff like that all the time…I would wait until it was 75 and sunny to drink this brew. I actually have not had too many wit beers lately. In fact, the majority of my drinking has been homebrew. It helps my wallet.
I actually enjoy a beer that has a good deal of particles suspended in it…just like I like my OJ full of pulp.
nate´s last blog ..Starting A Brewery Outside the Box- Mystery Brewing
June 29th, 2010 at 10:11 am
@nate – do you brew any wit biers? Curious if you play around with the styles for the seasons – but it certainly makes sense to go the homebrew route if you’re cutting costs. I think your pal Micheal said the cost for him per bottle of homebrew was down to a ridiculously low amount (I forget exactly) but it might have been less than .25 per bottle? That’s serious savings.
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Dale’s Pale Ale – A Beer Review