Lazy Magnolia - Self proclaimed as Mississippi's Brewery, is one of only two breweries that I know of in the state of Mississippi. Timber Beast is the first offering I have been able to sample thanks to Brad - Self proclaimed as Mississippi's homebrewer, and also one of only two homebrewers that I know of in the state of Mississippi. That is unless the Mississippi Alcohol Beverage Control asks, in which I don't know any. It's notable that the state of Mississippi was the first to get their head up their ass and that the state of Michigan was the first to pull theirs out. That might explain why we make millions of dollars in the state of Michigan due to beer tourism, have three of the top ten breweries of 2012 (ratebeer.com), two of the all time top breweries on earth (BeerAdvocate) and at least three of the top ten beers in the world no matter which beer list you consult. At least seven of our breweries are listed so many times on ratebeers Best By Style 2012 page that I can't count them all.
It sounds like I just went on a bragging rant about my state - without the use of commas - but trust me if that was the case it would have included me ranting about the more than one dozen breweries in Grand Rapids. But alas this post is about Mississippi beer. Mississippi clearly has huge beer potential and if they want to realize that potential, and the millions of dollars that come with it, then the state needs to start by legalizing homebrewing. But just because Michigan's unemployment rate has dropped 7% in the last three years, Grand Rapids has been able to redefine itself as Beer City USA, and created a burgeoning tourist business is probably no reason to follow our example. I mean who would want people pouring into your city spending money so they can stand in line for hours camped out to get some of most popular beer on the planet. That would probably be stupid.
So on to Timber Beast. It pours a deep orange and has a beautiful hop aroma. This medium bodied ale presents a malty sweetness and an earthy, slightly piney hop character, imparted by the Zythos hops. Somewhat reminiscent of Brooklyn's IPA (East Kent Golding, Willamette, Northdown, Centennial) it imparts a balanced bitterness missing from many fruity and floral IPA's. Unique from any other Rye IPA I have had, I really enjoyed it. The rye is present but subtle. It was slightly hazy and had a bit of sediment in the bottle. It was not cloudy, and did not have floaties so while I am a big clarity nut, I give it a pass. Overall I think it was a great ale and I look forward to trying more offerings from Lazy Magnolia including Jefferson Stout and Southern Pecan.
Maybe once Mississippi releases their inner ale they can work on getting an IMBA ride center. Yeah we have one of those too.
