Cans of Piney River's beers have just come off the canning lines and are hitting shelves in the local area around the brewery. Along with Missouri Mule IPA they are also canning their McKinney Eddy Amber Ale. This relatively small brewery, it's a husband and wife team who both have full-time jobs, decided to can their beers to allow the folks in the Ozarks to enjoy their beers outside. This is why each of their cans has the line, "Pack it in. Pack it out. Enjoy nature."

From the Piney River site:

"Missouri mules hauled hundreds of wagons across the West and packed supplies in World Wars I & II. For decades, mules were also the most reliable Ozark farm hands. Like a Missouri mule, you can rely on our handcrafted India Pale Ale. This IPA packs a hop explosion that will not let you down."

Here we go...

Pour – fills our glass with a dark amber, reddish-auburn color with a soapy head that quickly dissipates leaving a perfect ring around the inside of the glass and some specks of lacing.

Aroma – caramel malts, Tootsie rolls, sweet oranges, lemon, pineapple juice and some floral hops.

Taste – That first sip hits the back of your palate with a wave of bitter sweet citrus that is followed by big malty aftershock. Very balanced with a great body and flavor profile. Some nice tropical fruit notes pop up from time to time as this one settles a bit. This ends with a bitter finish and just a kiss of sweetness. Nothing is too out of balance and I'd say a conservative take on a style that is often taken to extremes will serve this brewery well. Well done Piney River.

Overall – we wish we knew the ABV on this as it's dangerously drinkable (EDIT: We've been told that it's 7%). This seems to fall somewhere between a hopped up amber ale, a malty IPA and a strong pale ale. Wherever it lies in the beer style spectrum its certainly a worthwhile brew and is definitely making hop-loving outdoorsy folks happy down in the Ozarks! 

NOTES: Piney River is the first craft brewery in the state of Missouri to both brew and can their beers in the state. Both O'Fallon and Schlafly have canned their beers but do so at Stevens Point Brewery in neighboring Wisconsin. If you'd like to learn more about Piney River check out the Q & A we did with brewery co-owner Joleen Durham.

 
Piney River Brewing Company's first two cans