Joseph James Brewing Company - Tahoe Blue

Tahoe Blue opens with notes of caramel malts, bread, fruits and floral elements on the nose. Look for notes of fruit punch, grapefruit, and hints of spruce, with a faint whiff of maraschino cherries. The flavor parallels the nose, with an emphasis on piney, spruce-like hoppiness, and an almost coffee-like bitterness in the finish. Woody and a bit spicy in the fade. A balanced pale ale that works well with chipotle-spiced, glazed pork chops.

The Joseph James Brewing Company is a family owned microbrewery located in Henderson, Nevada. Matthew Lisowksi & family have been in the beer distribution business for many years. The brewery was founded just a couple years ago to fill a demand for unique microbrewed beers. Their initial line up was pretty bold for a start up: a Belgian-style Wit, a Russian Imperial Stout, and a gluten-free beer so that sufferers of Celiac’s Disease, a condition that makes drinking products made with wheat or barely (i.e. beer) downright uncomfortable or even life-threatening, could again enjoy beer. A pretty niche line up, but again, their aim was to fill the gap of what was around and what they thought was missing from the scene. These days they’re brewing six year round styles and a handcrafted root beer. Matt’s little brother Joseph James Lisowski, 7 years old, enjoyed drinking many of the gourmet sodas Matt’s family’s distributorship received before the brewery was founded. One day Joseph poured a Root Beer into a mug, put a straw in it and declared to all within earshot “this is Joe’s Root Beer.” The name stuck and they named the root beer, “Joe’s Root Beer.” In honor of the creation of that first product, they named the brewery after young Joseph James. Truly a family brewery, the fox logo that appears on their website (www.foxbrews.com) and their beers is actually the top of the Lisowski family crest. For more information about the brewery, check out their web site at www.foxbrews.com or give them a ring at (702) 454-2739.