Is it Friday nite yet? Nope!

Does that I mean that I have to wait to party? Nope!

The fact of the matter is that it’s Friday afternoon and this is as good a time as any to toss back the first brew of the weekend. This potable antecedent has quite the responsibility, providing a party overture without revealing all of the ways the motifs will develop. The name of the game is wonderful flavors and the buzz-inklings, not gustatory-overload brain-cell genocide.

Drinking on a Friday afternoon should be more burlesque than pornography.

So join me as I dip my toes into the the pool of weekend celebration. I assure you, I’m not going to smash light bulbs over my head and do keg stands. But I am definitely going to pump a jam and imbibe a bottle of Colette.

So, what is this Colette all about? Well, I had no clue so I hit up the website of the Great Divide Brewing Company. Here’s what the Denver brewers had to say about their product:

Colette is our homage to the beers that Belgian farm workers have enjoyed for centuries. Brewed with barley, wheat and rice and fermented at high temperatures with a special blend of four different yeast strains, Colette is fruity and slightly tart, with a dry finish that makes it that rarest of treats – a beer as refreshing as it is complex. 7.3% ABV

From the description, it seems as though this beer will be a nice change of pace from my typical choice of the dark-as-nite stouts and porters and imperials that stick to the ribs. And with the slightly elevated alcohol content, a single bottle might be just the trick to get things goin’. Wonderful.

After pourin’ Colette into a standard drinkin’ glass, I made a point to make an ocular assessment. This ale is fuggin’ beautiful, a hazy golden shade of awesome that beams supernaturally in the light. I’m pretty sure that whenever Odin and Saturnalia get together, the liquid flowing from the casks is this very color. Moreover, a thin white head manifested at the top of the glass but quickly dissipated.

In other words, this is a brew worth starin’ at.

Smell-wise, the folks at Great Divide have conjured up something truly pleasing. Colette packs a bouquet that is aromatic and floral, reminding me of that time that the strangely sexy vagrant convinced me to eat mushrooms and wander with him through the greenhouse. (Note to self: ask therapist for advice on finding closure on that incident.) Additionally I’d be a liar to say that there isn’t a slight hoppiness detected by my olfactory radar, but it’s a mere bleep (not a sweep or a creep).

This is an ale worthy of multiple sniffings!

Okay, so how’s this “farmhouse ale” stack up in the taste department? Well, I’d say that it is a well-balanced concoction that has a wheat-heart and a fruity soul. I can picture myself in the threshold of a barn in Nova Scotia, drinking one of these ales as the sun sets over the marsh. There is a faint citrus quality that occasionally hits the back of my palate, painting my flavor-palette with strokes of sunshine and harmony.

Whatever that means.

Lastly, the drink of the day has a durn enjoyable mouthfeel. The beverage is lightly carbonated and there is a medium density at work here. Overall, I’d say that this a beer that could be enjoyed through an elongated, multiple-bottle experience.

So on this Friday afternoon, how would I rank Colette? Well, I’d certainly vouch for its ability to kick off the weekend right. After one bottle, my senses have been pleased and my mind is duking it out with the mere intimation of a buzz. Just what I was looking for.

The verdict: A-