Anderson Valley Brewing Co. - "Black Rice" brown ale

Anderson Valley Brewing Co., located in Boonville, CA, is one of the older microbreweries in the US - founded in late 1987, not long after yours truly was born. Credited with reviving the gose style for US markets, and thus starting the gose craze of 2014 - 2015, Anderson Valley is quietly churning out good ales. I've tried a couple of their offerings over the years, including the "Fall Hornin'" autumn seasonal and their "Thribble Currant", a fruited ale. Some of their stuff makes it out this way, but there's a whole bunch else that's native to the brewery and to Northern CA in general that we just don't see. Interesting fact: Boonville has its own language, "Boontling." First started around 1900 as farm shorthand, this quirky lingo features prominently in AVBC's beer.

So today's ale - this is their "Black Rice", an anemic 3.80% ABV brown ale made with black rice - apparently a real thing and something legend says was only reserved for Chinese royalty. I've never heard of black rice, but that's cool that it's a thing:

The beverage is made with American two-row pale malt, black rice of course, chocolate malts, and Liberty hops - but not super bitter, only 18 IBUs. Pours swiftly from the can and generates a soft but noticeable nose of malt.

Oh, that is good. It's actually quite peculiar - there's a dry malty taste, somewhat starchy. Lots of nuances here - I'm picking up some of the traditional brown ale flavors like nuts and caramel, but a lot of it is washed over by the dry earthiness of the rice and complemented by a soft minerality, like salt. It presents a thin, refreshing finish that's slightly sweet.

I really liked this. I think the starch and the minerality turned it from a light, ho-hum brown ale into a real winner. Another bonus is that it's extremely light, so much so that you can even get this in the supermarket in Utah (home of the most restrictive alcohol laws in the country.) At $12.99, it's at an acceptable price point for a six pack of cans, so pick one up! Definitely worth a try. And as they say in Boontville, "Bahl Hornin'!"