The folks at Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. in Forth Worth, TX were kind enough to send me a couple bottles of their new 
brew Blind Salamander Pale Ale for review. First, a little background of the beer and the Blind Salamander:
Blind Salamander Pale Ale is the first of a series of Rahr beers called Rare Breed. These beers are dedicated to improving the lot of endangered Texas species. Rahr is making donations from these proceeds to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation to help with the recovery of these species.
The Texas Blind Salamander is a rare cave dwelling troglobite amphibian native to San Marcos, specifically the San Marcos Pool in the Edwards Aquifer. It has bright red external gills for absorbing oxygen from the water. Its
mature length is 5 cm and its diet varies by what flows into its cave, including shrimp, snails and amphipods.
According to the Rahr & Sons website,
Blind Salamander Pale Ale is a blend of the finest pale malts and East Kent Goldings hops. The fine balance of these toasted caramel malts and earthy hops makes Blind Salamander an easy drinking and satisfying ale.
And satisfying it is. The pour is a light amber with amost 2 fingers of head, although it disapates quickly, leaving behind a good amount of lacing. The toasted malts come through almost exclusively in the nose but it’s a very different story in the taste. The caramel malts mix very well with the East Kent Goldings hops to produce a taste that can only be described as a spicy biscuit. The result is a very nice, dry bite. With an overall rating of B+, it seems that plenty of BAers agree – this is a tasty, drinkable pale ale. Although distribution of Blind Salamander is still quite limited, if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a bottle or two, I highly recommend that you do so.
Note: If you represent a brewery and would like me to review or write about one of your beers, please don’t hesitate to contact me for details. Cheers!