2 O'Clock Tasting: 
Carson's Brewery

Updated on March 30, 2016

This week’s tasting is from Carson’s Brewery, a microbrewery from Evansville, Indiana. We tried three of their six core beers: Eville, an American Wheat Ale; RIPA, an American Red India Pale Ale; and Brown Cow, an American Brown Ale.

Founded in 2012 by Jason Carson, Carson’s Brewery is located in Evansville, Indiana, the state’s third largest city. Carson’s Brewery started out with single-barrel batches, and now produces six beers—all of which are ales—and several seasonal/specialty brews.

Read on for our Carson’s Brewery tasting notes, and don’t forget to add your own in the comments if you’ve tried any of these brews!

1. Eville

   6% ABV

   Named after Evansville’s nickname, this American Wheat Ale was a clear yellow color that called to mind marigold and amber shellac. According to Carson’s Brewery, Eville is aggressively hopped with American hops, and it’s one of the hoppier wheat ales we’ve tried. The beer has good head retention, and the hops gave the brew a strong citrus aroma that made us look for a phantom orange wedge we swore had been dropped into our glasses. The beer’s malty sweetness was evident on the nose and the overall smell was quite similar to an orange creamsicle. Eville had plenty of bitter citrus flavors and a light, creamy mouthfeel similar to nitro beers.

2. RIPA

   7% ABV

   RIPA, a Red India Pale Ale brewed with hops from the Pacific Northwest, was our second beer. Caramel in color, RIPA had the hue of demerara syrup. Aromas called to mind an Old Fashioned cocktail, with chocolate, bourbon, fig, oak, and citrus notes. Sweet, malty, and slightly flat, RIPA reminded us of an English Ale.

3. Brown Cow

   5% ABV

   A brown ale with good head retention and low saturation, the ruby-red Brown Cow had a root beer or rusty tap water appearance. The nutty chocolate aromas, along with a bit of orange and toffee, ended up reminding us of the scent of a Heath Bar. There were also hints of espresso and citrus on the finish. Sweet for a brown ale, Brown Cow was slightly crackery and recalled cherry coke at times.

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