Crooked Tea Peach Tea

Peach Tea from Crooked Tea is a Maryland-made specialty beer that takes its cue from iced tea rather than from the usual hop-and-malt playbook. It carries a 7.5% ABV and an IBU of 0, which tells you the most important thing up front: there is no measurable hop bitterness. Drinks in this category are built around fruit and tea character instead, so expect a brightly peach-driven profile with a gentle tannic edge, and not the piney or citrusy bite of a pale ale or IPA. At 7.5%, this is noticeably stronger than a typical canned hard tea or seltzer, and the alcohol is likely to add body and a slight warmth on the finish if the sweetness is dialed back. Styles like this usually lean on ripe stone-fruit aroma, with a lightly sweet mid-palate that the tea component keeps from turning syrupy. Because there are no hops to balance the sugar, any dryness will come from the tea tannins and carbonation, so serving it properly matters more than it does with a bitter beer. Serve it well chilled, around 38 to 42°F, which keeps the sweetness crisp and the peach aroma clean. Much colder and the fruit goes muted; much warmer and the 7.5% alcohol starts to feel heavy. A tall pilsner glass or a standard pint glass works well, as does a tumbler over a little ice if you want to treat it like an iced tea on a hot afternoon. A stemless wine glass is another good option, since the wider bowl lets the peach aroma collect. For food, think of the dishes that already pair with sweet tea. Fried chicken, Maryland-style crab cakes, and barbecue pulled pork all give the sweetness something salty and rich to push against. It also suits spicy fare such as jerk chicken or Nashville hot sandwiches, where the fruit and sugar tame the heat. On the lighter side, it works with a salad of goat cheese, arugula and toasted pecans, or with a plain slice of pound cake for a dessert pairing.