ReHive Ale by Buckeye Brewing and Chef Kimberly McCune Gibson

Beer Review #145

This beer comes to us from the mind and honey of Chef Kimberly McCune Gibson.  Her idea was to use the honey from her fathers bee farm and make a craft beer out of it.  With the help of Buckeye Brewing ReHive Ale made its debut at the Emergingchefs event ReHival.

My Thoughts: This beer pours a totally transparent honey color with a slight hint of orange.  The head on this brew is limited with very little lacing.  Two things come through on the nose, hops and honey.  The scent isn't overpowering, but your nose tells you right away to expect a bitterness complemented by a sweetness.  The taste does indeed follow what the nose suggests.  A smooth mildly sweet honey flavor is balanced by a fresh hop bitterness that has a hint of citrus.  This beer is by no means a hop monster, but the bitterness that is present helps to make this beer very tasty for both hopheads and nonhopheads (like my fiancee).  The mouthfeel is bubbly and active with a mild body and mid/high carbonation.  The drinkability of this 8%abv brew is very high because the alcohol is totally hidden.  I guessed this to be a 6.5% beer until I was told it was 8%!.  This would be a great beer to sit back and enjoy in the summer, I just don't know how many of these one could session in a row before the ABV gets you!  Chef Kimberly's idea to make a honey based beer worked in my opinion, and I'd gladly buy this for my fridge in the summer.

Serving Type: 12oz Bottle

My Rating: Overall 88.2/100

Look:4.5 | Smell:4.5 | Taste:4.5 | MouthFeel:4.2 | Drinkability:4.2

If you are interested in reading about the ReHival event please click here!!