Session # 149 | O’Fallon | Black Hemp | 5.8% ABV
Black Ale | O’Fallon, Missouri | Rating: 82/100
One year ago: Russian River Supplication
O’Fallon, Missouri is essentially a suburb of St. Louis, which is home to pretty much the largest brewery on earth. So it’s nice to see that there are small breweries still kicking out beer in the shadows of the big boys and also doing it with passion. Though not my favorite brewery in the state, I have generally had pretty good luck with O’Fallon’s lineup. Their latest, and probably best, is called Black Hemp. It’s brewed with a fair amount of ingredients like hemp seeds, oats, rye, and Citra hops. With that list alone I had to get one on the show. What poured was very black with only a touch of red and raisin color around the edges. The head was really nice with its tan color and very consistent looking bubbles. The aroma was slightly citric from the hops, heavily nutty from the malts, hemp, and rye. The palate on this beer is surprisingly light and soft (from the oats). Flavors of coffee, nuts, and citrus were all combined to make a very enjoyable session beer.
Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
Listening To: Iron & Wine “Half Moon”
Let us know your thoughts by rating and commenting on this video.
Posted by Barleywhiner on February 28, 2011 at 8:43 AM
I enjoyed this one as well. They seem to be upping their game a bit lately. The Brewer’s Stash series is pretty interesting. I really liked the Wee Heavy, the Alt bier not so much however. Until recently, they had some type of license that didn’t allow them brew higher gravity beers, but now they are free to brew bigger beers.
Posted by thehopry on February 28, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Interesting. I wasn’t aware of the license issue with higher gravity beers.
Posted by Jeff from KC on February 28, 2011 at 9:39 AM
Just had the Black Hemp at the Flying Saucer this weekend! Tasty.
Posted by Jeff from KC on February 28, 2011 at 9:44 AM
Fail. Just had Black Hemp. Whoops
Posted by Jon on February 28, 2011 at 10:34 AM
After a bad experience with Carlsbad Chronic and then a few other hemp beers I now skip them. Bong water is not a flavor I want in my beer. I have no idea if there is another flavor profile to pull out of hemp, but the examples I’ve had have all gone in the same direction.
Posted by thehopry on February 28, 2011 at 12:06 PM
No bong water flavors here…
Posted by Big Mike on March 2, 2011 at 6:30 PM
Dude, you got me hooked on Iron and Wine. I’ve been listening for two days straight. You really have some great music suggestions. You’ve turned me on to almost as much music as beer. Fleet foxes, Edward Sharpe, Wilco, The Avett Bros. to mention just a few.
Posted by thehopry on March 2, 2011 at 7:15 PM
Good to know, Mike! Not many people comment on the music selections so glad you’ve learned of some new groups/songs. Music and beer go together perfectly for me…
Posted by rivkah on March 6, 2011 at 1:10 AM
if you like those groups, check out Mumford & Sons and Shearwater