The other day, Ron explained to me the worst part about loving craft beer: there isn’t enough time to have the same beer twice. Sure you might be at a bar with a limited selection and order a known beer again, but if you really want to try everything, you have to just commit to drink outside of your comfort zone. When I go shopping for a new beer to drink, that’s always in the back of my mind, and it’s how I stumbled upon Sweet Action by Sixpoint Craft Ales.
First, I love the packaging. Beer in cans is a thing of the past, and a thing of the future. Cans offer numerous benefits when compared to bottles, so when I saw cans of Sixpoint amongst the bottled selection my ears perked up. This is probably a brewery ahead of the curve, and their beer should be bought. So I perused the selection and came across Sweet Action. I don’t know what kind of beer Sweet Action is, because it’s not labeled. The description simply says:
“Sweet Action is an idea; a concept. It is a simple representation of what makes beer great — the marriage of barley and hops in a harmonious balance of sweet and bitter.”
How can you not be intrigued?! So without further ado, let’s dive in.
Appearance:
Sweet Action Pours a deep, clear copper color, with a cloud-like light tan colored head. When held up to the light, the bubbles cling to the glass giving it the appearance of copper colored Jell-O. The beer is cloudy, but not opaque, and which makes me think this is going to be a fairly thick, sweet brew.
Aroma:
Layers of caramel and sour apple hit my nose first; hops and yeast follow. This is a very complex aroma for me. I get bready notes, and caramel malt, but also some fruitiness and citric hop flavors. The smell is sweet, and reminds me a lot of Lagunitas Kronik Censored.
Mouthfeel:
Sweet Action is not as thick as I anticipated, having a medium to thin mouthfeel and medium carbonation. This beer will coat your mouth with layers of both sweet and bitter — sweet to start, bitter well after. Alcohol is somewhat present, but it’s pretty faint.
Taste:
Just as I expected, this is a very complex brew. No one taste overpowers the other. There is light sweetness from the malt, some tart, almost peach-like undertones, and citrusy/floral hop flavors. As it promised, this beer is perfectly balanced between sweet and bitter. The hops linger longer than any other flavor. It’s almost as if they’re an afterthought; just waiting until you forget what the beer tasted like. I can’t think of another beer I’ve had that comes at you in waves like this does — very cool. With only a 5.2% ABV, I wouldn’t think this beer would be “boozy”, but to me it is, and it’s a little off-putting.
Conclusion:
Sweet Action delivers on everything it promised. There is no way to describe this beer because it doesn’t quite fit into a category. I’ve read that the brewers describe it as part ale, part wheat, part cream-ale. That’s really a great way to look at it. It is a mixture of styles and flavors, and I appreciate their way of thinking. I think that too often we put beer into categories, and try to create or judge them based off of different beers from that same style. Six Point just made a great beer with the characteristics they wanted: sweet, malty, tart, fruity, hoppy, balanced.
I don’t feel that I raved about this beer to show how much I like it. I think it’s a 91 beer, or a B+. I can see some points where I’d like to improve on this beer, but maybe that’s just me trying to fit it into a certain style; into something I’m familiar with. It’s flavorful and balanced, but lacks the “wow” factor I’m used to from craft ales. I can see myself ordering this on tap, buying a Six Point sample pack, or even just throwing another Sweet Action into a “build-your-own six pack” next time I’m at the store. It would go great with a brat off the grill, or even a grilled chicken salad; a very versatile beer for any occasion. If you see this on the shelves, pick it up, you won’t be disappointed.
Cheers!
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