Belt’s Beer Garden: Keep Rollin’

Forgotten Road Ales在格雷厄姆开始一些年前,北卡罗lina - a city tucked dead center between Greensboro and Durham - and is veteran and female owned. They have done so well that they’ve even opened a second taproom in Greensboro and have a 4.14 overall rating on Untappd.

I’ve been following them for a while but have never been able to try them until now. I was able to snag a can of their Rollin’ in My M-ATV this week, which set me back about $8 per 16-ounce can. But I’m sure it’s cheaper in their distribution range.

Rollin’ in My M-ATV is a Triple New England IPA brewed with El Dorado, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. It features a massive 9.5% ABV and was packaged last month, on February 13th.

This Triple New England IPA poured a dark orangish copper color with some haze to it. The foam slowly built up before finally settling down at roughly a finger and a half of bright white head. There was some moderate lacing to the brew, as it coated the sides of the glass with some webbing but nothing too extensive.

On the nose, this brew was packed with fruit flavors and almost resembled one of those fruit cups you got in your lunch as a child. It featured a hefty dose of super juicy, slightly acidic, pineapple that was backed by some lighter citrusy notes of lemon and tangerine. Some notes of berries, cherry, and stone fruits were also picked up in the aroma but, for the most part, it was dominated by the pineapple.

Leading off the sip was that same pineapple explosion, although this time with some resinous hops and a bit of dankness. Joining the pineapple early on were some citrus rind flavors of grapefruit and tangerine with some lighter lemony characteristics hitting shortly after.

It’s a softer, thicker brew that sits a bit on the heavier as it seems to expand when it hits the stomach. That pillowy thickness brings forward some of those berry notes - mostly blueberry and strawberry - as well as a peachy quality. All that leads to a nice fruit cup blend in the middle that slowly begins to fade away.

On the backend there is a slight twinge that features a heavy hand of pithy grapefruit, hoppy bitterness, and some alcohol. After the alcohol and bitterness fades away, Rollin’ then finishes mostly clean. There is some creaminess that lingers on but, mostly, it’s that early tartness. That sour citrus follows all the way through, with some zesty lemon notes continuing well past everything else.

It’s a solid beer and it drinks really easily for nearly being in double digits in ABV. That bitter/boozy bite quickly fades away, leaving just some of that lingering lemon. However, that super creamy feeling also makes it sit quite heavily and there is just a bit too much of that tart pineapple and lemon for me to love it.

Solid beer and I definitely want to try more from them but…this drinks more like a tank than an M-ATV…slow, heavily, but with a BIG punch.