Flavor Players 

• Mike Riedel

TF/Horus - Triple Bawk: This is the second beer made by Templin Family Brewing in collaboration with San Diego's Horus Brewing Company. It's a triple bock at its base, which is a super-malty, toffee-forward German-style lager that's prime for aging. The breweries then took this malty beast and put it in barrels that had previously housed High West Distillery's Barrel Finished Old Fashioned Cocktails.

It pours a deep mahogany brown, with nice chestnut edges and ruby colors from the can. A very light tan finger of creamy head on top settles to a thin cap with a thin, pencil-sized collar. You get a stellar aroma on this brew: large, thick rounded oak notes, and fantastic flavors of dark chocolate and spices. Hints of sandalwood emerge, along with light aromatic caramel and toffee bar notes. The only thing missing to make it perfect is the orange and fruit character that one normally associates with an Old Fashioned cocktail; a slight sweetness of fruit barely comes off.

At times like this, I remember what a triple bock can bring. It's medium bodied, but with a toffee richness that is really brought large and full in the mid-palate. Large juicy fruit content and crackling toffee flavors wash over the first sip, followed by caramel and rich whiskey warmth, with a bit of chocolate malted milkshake. The aftertaste has just a faint touch of Luxardo maraschino, licorice root and even that bite of cherry taste just on the end.

Overall: My only complaint about this 9.6 percent lager is there isn't much orange flavor. I understand the orange is just a garnish, but I miss it. Ultimately, though, I'm really splitting hairs here. This is a real nice brew with light old ale touches—a finely-crafted lager for sure.

2 Row - Nelson on Rye: I love Nelson Savin hops and rye malt, so without any proof, I'm going to say that 2 Row made this beer just for me. That's not true, but hey, I have no life, so sue me.

Two fingers of bone white, fluffy foam rise off of the pour, capping a modestly hazy, glowing yellow-golden body. Aroma of orange zest and mango flesh mixes with a light peppery rye that shakes off a bit of dusty straw as it wafts into your nostrils. Bright, grassy notes, underripe pineapple, and passionfruit rind combine to make a slightly bracing, refreshing tropical mélange that's never too sweet and cloying. As it opens up, oodles of passionfruit and gooseberry come out. It's classic Nelson Sauvin, boosted by the spicy earthiness of rye, which adds a nice depth off of which the hops can play out in their full expression.

In spite of the haze, this beer is all West Coast. The hops roll in clean and bitter, offering a nice grapefruit zest bite, quickly punctuated by earthy, peppery rye and a bit of that dusty straw character noted in the nose. In turn, that straw note rolls into wads of grass and a weedy, dank feel that underlies the bitter, lingering finish that weirdly turns into a subtly sweet citrus note. Going back to the midpalate, passionfruit stays on the downlow, remaining subtle and adding depth and color to everything else going on, but leaving a funky tropical character that echoes across the tongue. It's beautiful, with no sign of the 7.5 ABV.

Overall: This is a must-try. It's as solid as this substyle gets, and its individual components are outstanding, providing a nice showcase for Nelson with excellent brewing execution and a perfect use of rye. I'm going to enjoy the shit out of the rest of this sixer.

Triple Bawk is disappearing fast, so go now; enough said in that regard. Twelve-ounce bottles of Nelson on Rye are finding their way out to bars and restaurants, and are of course also available at the brewery. As always, cheers!