Silver Medal beer from Alabama goes good with fish, chicken and dessert

Earlier today, I got the chance to sample a bottle of Back Forty Beer Co.’s Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale for the first time ever, and I was more than a little pleased by the overall quality of this fine beer.

One thing that makes this tasty beer a little more enjoyable is the fact that the Back Forty Beer Co. is based in Gadsden, Ala. (The beer is actually brewed by the Lazy Magnolia Beer Co. in Kiln, Miss. for the Back Forty Beer Co.)

Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale is probably the company’s best known beer and for good reason. It was awarded a Silver Medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival in Denver. For those of you unfamiliar with the Great American Beer Fest, it is the largest beer judging and tasting event in the WORLD. About 50,000 people attended last year’s event, which featured 3,594 beers from 522 breweries in 48 states.

Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale received the Silver Medal in the Specialty Honey Beer Category, and this was the first medal ever for the Back Forty Beer Co., which began operations in 2009.

According to the beer’s bottle label, Truck Stop Honey is a “medium bodied English Brown Ale brewed with local honey, roasted malts and fresh hops. The balance of sweet wildflower honey and earthy hop aromas come through in every batch. Whether preparing a delicious meal or sitting fire side, Truck Stop Honey will always keep the good times rolling.”

As a Silver Medal winner, judges thought that Truck Stop Honey was an “excellent beer that may vary slightly from style parameters while maintaining close adherence to the style and displaying excellent taste, aroma and appearance.”

Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale contains six percent alcohol by volume and is brewed with Magnum and Willamette hops. Malts in the beer include Honey malt, Crystall malt and Chocolate malt. Alabama Wildflower honey from Mobile, Ala. is used to brew the beer. The manufacturers recommend that you pair the beer with fish, chicken and desserts.

BeerAdvocate.com gives Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale a grade of “B,” and RateBeer.com gives the beer an overall score of 50 and 49 for style.

Back Forty offers one other beer called Naked Pig Pale Ale, which is a “delightfully crisp, hand crafted ale. The German malts provide a perfect balance to the five hop additions that go into every batch we make. This American pale ale is tasty enough for any craft beer newcomer, while the complex character is sure to please even the most discerning craft connoisseur.”

In the end, how many of you have tried Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale (or Naked Pig Pale Ale)? What did you think about it? Did you like it or dislike it and why? Let us know in the comments section below.

For more information about this beer and the Back Forty Beer Co., visit www.backfortybeer.com. You can also keep up with news about the company of Facebook and Twitter.