I know, I know. It's been literally just over two months since my last review. I know that I was barely grazing the surface with this blogging thing, but I was getting tired of trying to "find flavors" and "catchy lingo" to describe what I was drinking. So I decided to take a sabbatical. Over the last two months, I continued to try as many different beers as possible, all the while catching quite a bit of flack from my standard readers :) But, never fear, I think I'm ready to give this a third go 'round. What's that saying again? Third time's a charm? Sure why not. Let's give it a whirl!
Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
I've had this beer in my fridge for more than two months now. Probably closer to three. I bought it with the good intention of reviewing it rather quickly as I was intrigued by two things: 1) It's pomegranate wheat (described as "Wheat beer fermented with pomegranate juice"), and 2) It's from the region of the Adirondack's (i.e. the great northeast). According to the bottle, Saranac has traded loads of honey with some scary bears to get access to the pomegranate. Crazy guys.
A little about the brewery
Saranac Brewery, part of the Matt Brewing Company, is located in Utica, New York. Like I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the region of the brewery is why I chose this beer. Well, there is more to the name Saranac. Saranac Lake is located about an hour southwest from Plattsburgh, N.Y.: the last town I lived in before my family moved to Florida. If you’ve read my blog in the past, you’d know that I do like to find beers from areas that I’ve either lived in, lived close to, or live in currently. Therefore, this was a great choice. Oh, and they provide some more information on the meaning of Saranac:
“Saranac. The word conjures up visions of clear lakes, open skies and breathtaking mountains. To the native people of our land, the Iroquois, the word means "Cluster of Stars." They lived with the beauty and serenity that was inherent to the lake and surrounding area. We borrow that name in the spirit with which it was created. We brew our Saranac line of beers from the pure water that flows from the Adirondacks and the grains that grow in its unspoiled soil.” (www.saranac.com/page/the-adirondacks)
Anyway, the Matt Brewing Company was founded in 1888 by a German-born immigrant, F.X. Matt I. At that time, the brewery was known as The West End Brewing Company. Since FX Matt founded the business, the MBC has been in the Matt family. The brewery is currently under the helm of the third and fourth generations of Matt family. This seems to be a trend in the beer business... unless you’re Anheuser Busch. They also have a segment of beers dedicated to Lake Placid which is of course located close to Plattsburgh, within the Adirondacks. 
The Beer
I do like to go to Beer Advocate before I drink beers to see what other people say. Currently the BA score is a B- with 262 reviews. It’s listed as an American Pale Wheat Ale, and 4.70% ABV (alcohol by volume if you forgot). Now, I’m not going to lie, I thought it was going to pour a little bit lighter with a slight red tinge, perhaps the pomegranate went to my head; so I was surprised that it looked more like a lager. There wasn’t much of a head, so no need in going any further with that. And unfortunately, there wasn’t a very distinct smell with this one either.
The flavors are good. First and foremost, it’s a wheat beer, so I wasn’t expecting anything from left field; maybe just some fruitiness and maybe some tart. You can certainly taste a lacing of pomegranate, but it’s not as powerful as I thought, or hoped, it would be.
I suppose my test on this is if I were at a bar with someone and this was on a list with 49 other beers, I don’t think I’d go crazy suggesting it. But, I do think I would point it out as something a little different.
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