General Beer Hater Tries White Ale
I have a shelf of beers in my fridge that have been patiently waiting to be sampled for the past month- yes, I admit, I’ve been slacking when it comes to providing the internet with my well thought out but advertently amateur taste testing. But the sweltering St. Louis summer is in full swing early this year, reminding me of the importance that beer has to this season in particular. Why hydrate with water on a 90+ day when an ice cold beer is also an option for those of us of age, right? This summer, I’m actively continuing my quest to find a beer I actually like, and today I’m starting with 4 Hands Ripple White Ale.
This is my first official summer in the city, and it’s hot. The first thing I did with this can was hold it to the back of my neck in a quick attempt to combat my sweating. My windows are open, the box fan is blasting, and the appeal to down a beer has never been higher, so I’m hopeful that the heat can make my mind hazey enough to finally acquire a taste for the most popular form of alcohol on the market. I’m going to be sweating out so many calories that it’s almost imperative that I replenish them as quickly and frequently as possible. Enter, my first conquest: Ripple White Ale. I picked this one first out of the group because the packaging was pretty and, in my line of work, a ‘light ale’ tends to be favorable on my taste buds.
Since every light beer tastes similar to a Bud Light to me, I truly feel bad in each review for the poor and probably wrong comparison. With that being said, Ripple White Ale reminds me of Bud Light. The aftertaste is what leads me to believe this is a little more special than something I can buy on sale at the gas station. While a Bud Light leaves almost nothing on your tongue, Ripple White Ale leaves a ‘crafty’ taste in my mouth and lingers there longer than something cheaper. It’s light, for sure, and I can tell by my ability to drink at least half of it without forcing it too much.
4 Hands have always been good sports when it comes to my reviews, which immediately makes me favor their business and their beverages. Do I love the Ripple White Ale? Not in particular. Would someone who liked beer love the Ripple White Ale? I think so. It’s not severe or heavy which makes it something ideal for the summer when a stomach full of heavy alcohol is the equivalent to wearing a winter coat to Forest Park in the middle of an August afternoon. I would probably choose this beer to drink amongst others if I was already drunk (where ‘hydrating’ to me means drinking a light beer in between vodka sodas), so in my book, this one is considered a somewhat-win. There are a lot of photos of me on the internet with alcohol, but almost none with an actual beer. Please find the only one I could dig up below, the expression on my face a guage of my general feelings about the beverage. This look was NOT on my face while tasting the Ripple White Ale, another indicator that it is of the more favorable beers I've tried in my time drinking.
I can also report that the packaging, aside from being pretty, is also effective, as my can of beer was still cold after I got distracted by a ghost hunting TV episode and ignored the beverage for 50 minutes of a high-intensity sleepover inside of Texas’ most haunted antique store. Try out the Ripple White Ale next time you’re at the Gaslight bar and see if this is the summer beer for you.
Rebecca Davis is a current content producer for Gaslight. She graduated from Illinois State University in 2017 with a degree in journalism. Rebecca loves dive bars, singing 'Linger' by The Cranberries at karaoke, and pineapple on her pizza. Her dislikes include the Trader Joe's parking lot, accidentally falling asleep with socks on, and summing up her personality in third person self-written author bios.