Happy Birthday ECS!

Emerald City Supertasters turned a year old yesterday.  What a great time!  We've learned a lot, had fun and tasted a ton of great beers along the way.  It's amazing how many people have stopped by to check us out.  Thanks to all of you!

Here's some blog statistics:

Total Visits - 6,400
Page Views - 21,600
Countries - 67
Cities - 1,359
All 50 states have hit, the top five are:  WA, CA, NY, OR & TX

Top 5 posts:
North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin
Bitburger Premium Pils
Kralovsky Lev Black Lion
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout


 

Great Divide Barrel Aged Old Ruffian - 2009

Kudos to JMaximus for scoring this bottle, no. 444 out of a batch of 1188 made for the 2009 vintage, and apparently one of only 30 to make it to Washington state. This is a batch of Old Ruffian that's been aged for 9 months in oak barrels and bottle conditioned.

JMax, Jonno and I shared this while baking the inaugural three batches of ECS brownies. The OR pours (thickly) out of the bottle a mahogany color with slight carbonation, a thin tan head and a noticeable earthy bourbon aroma. It has a slightly sticky, yet somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Mellow, rounded, slightly buttery with subtle citrus hops balancing the complex caramel maltiness. This is a big ol' beer, but still surprisingly easy to drink. Very balanced to begin with, and only gets better as it warms.

I'd have to put this near the top of a short list of my all-time favorite barleywines, and the hop/malt balance has a lot to do with it since I find most barleywines a little on the sweet side for my liking. I'd go out and buy another, but where? This would probably be a good time to try a plain old non-barrel-aged Old Ruffian.

Stats -

• IBU: 85-90
• ABV: 10.2%
• Rating: 9.1/10

Ten Fidy Imperial Stout

Oskar Blues Brewery - Ten Fidy Imperial Stout (Lyons, CO)
Grabbed the can out of the fridge to go with some chicken & rice at dinner, not the best pairing. Squeezing the can, I'm used to a little more resistance. Pouring the dark black liquid, I notice two things. First this looks really thick coming out of the bottle and secondly, it looks flat. After I finish the pour I see a couple of tiny bubbles come outta nowhere to form a small dark tan head, but otherwise there's no other visible carbonation.

The nose is a combination chocolate, roasted coffee, sweet alcohol, licorice and classic chapstick. It smells a lot better than I was expecting. While cold, the taste follows the smell, but as this sweet mucilaginous brew warms up a huge rope of black licorice appears and tries to dominate my tastebuds. Help, with an IBU of 95 or something, where are those hops? I'm not sure what the ABV is officially as the can indicates 9.5% while the Oskar Blues website and the product's name itself indicates it's a 10.5o%. Whatever, you'll feel it. All in all, one of the best beer I've had from a can.

Rating: 7.3

ABV: 10.50%
IBUs: 95
Calories: 315/12 oz (est)

Alaskan Smoked Porter

Where there's smoke, there's BEER? Ok, smoked meat, smoked fish, and smoked cheese - now those I love. Smoke beer? Uh, that one might take awhile to grow on me. Right now I don't think my tastebuds are ready for smoked beer. I think I'll have warm up to it...kind of like I did with oysters. Seriously, I'm not sure if smoked beer is what they call an acquired taste or not, but it did not taste right to me. A whole lot of smoke up front, like kitchen bouquet for the gravy. I think I'd be better off bottle aging this one for a couple of years to give it some time to mellow.

This 2008 bottle of Alaskan Smoke Porter poured a gorgeous dark brown with a frothy light tan head, reminded me of a classic rootbeer float. There's no doubt in a blind tasting you would be able to pick this beer out. Nose is smoke, with wisps of smoke behind it, followed by perhaps some chocolate and dark coffee, who can tell, it's too smokey in here. The taste threw me back a bit, wow, it's like I'm camping at Kalaloch and we heat up our coffee/hot chocolate by inserting burning alder into it instead of under it. Yes, there was smoke, and some coffee and chocolate in the taste, but there was also this funky high note that, something like rancid jerky. That's it, I can't finish this beer. Maybe it is like oysters and you have to force yourself to swallow a few small cooked ones before you can appreciate the big 'ol raw ones.

Rating: 5.0

ABV: 6.5%

IBUs: 45

SRM: 92

Note - drank 12/29/09; that's my Christmas tree in the background..

Issaquah Brewery's White Frog Ale

What better way to spend a lazy Friday afternoon than watching the rain, eating leftover Thai food and drinking another Issaquah Brewery beer? This beer is the White Frog Ale a Witbier that is brewed with such things as sweet orange peel, chamomile, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and coriander. It's a well made, easy drinking, refreshing, everlasting head, sticky lace beer that I would expect from Tulley's if they sold beer. The second half of the bottle poured with a creamy white head complete with a dusting of nutmeg/cinnamon on the top. The creaminess of this beer actually cut the mouth burning spice of my Thai food, if that's possible. This is a tasty Witbier, and while I generally see the coriander overwhelming my tastes, I find this beer pretty well balanced. Sweeter than some, the nose has pumpkin pie, wheat, white flowers, orange and honey up front, with coriander coming in on the taste along with a short honey/spice finish. Steerling hops are somewhere in the background providing balance and very mild bittering.

Rating: 7.8

ABV - 5.7%

Big Al's Irish Red

I had a pint of Big Al's Irish Red on tap last night while waiting for my margherita pizza a Proletariat Pizza (in White Center - good stuff).

The beer arrived in a pint glass with little head, really just a couple of bubbles, and appeared to be dark brown in color (from the black barley?). I was expecting something "redder" or that at least had a red tint to it, and something that I could see light through. The aroma was all caramelly malty goodness and the flavor followed suit with a hint of hop bitternesss on the finish. Mouthfeel was medium and carbonation was on the light side. Overall this was a smooth and pleasant easy drinker.

Rating: 8.4

Malts: Pale, ESB, 10L, 20L, 80L, Malted Wheat & Black Barley
Hops: Nugget
Yeast: Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale
ABV: 6.0%
IBUs: 18

2010 Belgianfest

OK, who's got their tickets? If not, $30 in advance $35 at the door. Sponsored by the Washington Beer Commission - more details.

When:
Saturday, January 23, 2010

Where:
The Engine Room @ Georgetown Studios
5890 Airport Way S
Seattle, WA 98108

What:
The Beer List

Anacortes Brewery - Anacortes
Anacortes Sour Brown (Belgian Sour)
Anacortes Belgian (Belgian Dubble?)

Baron Brewing Co. - Seattle
TBA

Big Al Brewing - Seattle
Local Hero #6- Saison (Saison)
Watermelon Sour (Sour beer)

Big Time Brewery - Seattle
Malaprop 8 (Belgian Abbey)

Black Raven Brewing Co. - Redmond
Pour les Oiseaux (Wine Barrel Aged Saison)

Boundary Bay Brewery - Bellingham
Boundary Bay Tripel (Belgian Tripel)

Diamond Knot Brewing Co. - Mukilteo
TBA

Dick's Brewing Co. - Centralia
Silk Lady (Belgian Pale Ale)
Tripel (Belgian Tripel)
Grand Cru (Grand Cru)

Elliott Bay Brewing Co. - Burien & Seattle
Blended Brett Beer (Blonde & Red Brett)
Hop von Boorian (Belgian IPA)
Gulden von Boorian
Cask Red von Boorian (Tart Belgian Red Ale)

Elysian Brewing Co. - Seattle
Bete Noel (Belgian Strong Ale)
TBA (Saison Farmhouse Ale)
Toro Oro Mate Tripel (Trippel w/Yerba Mate)

Fremont Brewing Co. - Seattle
Solstice Saison (Saison)
Sideshow Saison (Saison)

Georgetown Brewing Co. - Seattle
Donkey Deux (Belgian Dubbel)

Hale's Ales Brewery - Seattle
Hale's "25" Belgian Dubbel (Belgian Dubbel)
Hale's Saison (Saison)

Issaquah Brewhouse - Issaquah
Menage A Frog (Belgian Tripel)
White Frog (Belgian Wit)
Polywog Grand Cru (Grand Cru)

Naked City Brewery - Seattle
Une Terreur (Belgian Golden)

Pike Brewing Co. - Seattle
Pike Monk's Uncle (Belgian Tripel)
Pike Tandem (Belgian Double)
Pike Tripel Kreik (Belgian Tripel Kreik)

Port Townsend Brewing Co. - Port Townsend
Belgian Dark Rye (Belgian Dark Strong Ale)

Ram Restaurant & Brewery - Seattle
TBA
TBA

Redhook Ale Brewery - Seattle
Belgian Tripel (Belgian Tripel)
Raspberry Dubbel (Dubbel)

Salmon Creek Brewery - Vancouver
Brother Larry's (Belgian Dubbel)

Scuttlebutt Brewing Co. - Everett
777 '07 (1st session) (Belgian Tripel)
777 '09 (2nd session) (Belgian Tripel)

Skagit River Brewery - Mt. Vernon
TBA

Snipes Mountain Brewery - Sunnyside
Dark Matter (Blended Sour Red)

Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Co. - Snoqualmie
Spring Fever 2010 (Grand Cru)
Spring Fever 2009 (Grand Cru)
Dubbel Dubbel Toil & Trouble (Belgian Dubbel)

Two Beers Brewing - Seattle
Crooked Belgian Wit (Belgian Wit)
Cask Dry Peeled Crooked Belgian Wit (Belgian Wit)

WABL Beer* - a blend of different Belgianfest beers
*Available exclusively to WABL (WAshington Beer Lovers) members

Ballast Point - Sculpin IPA

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (7.00 ABV) - In So.Cal for the holidays. Los Angeles BevMo had some interesting stuff and did feature beers I wanted to try from Ballast Point and Alesmith. A friend of mine snagged this bottle of Sculpin. Nose was really great, a lot like Pliny the Younger with the citrus pineapple, pear (no pine though). Poured a lemony light golden color with a smallish head. Taste followed the nose with a tropical fruity taste and a bitter finish that lingered around yet didn't quite mug my tongue. Mouthfeel was a little thinner than expected but like the Alesmith IPA its really not a double, just has double flavor. I think I'll hunt around for the Ballast Point Dorado DIPA and Big Eye IPA while I'm down here. A trip to "The Bruery" could be imminent but the Manuel burrito from El Tepeyac that I ate is slowing me down.

Rating: 8.0

ECS Best Beers of 2009

The Emerald City Supertasters first annual Best Beers of 2009 results are in. In order to be included on this list, more than 1 SuperTasters had to select the beer as being on their top 10 list. Here are our top beers:

1. Russian River Consecration
2. Russian River Pliny the Younger
3. Russian River Pliny the Elder
4. Hair of the Dog Matt
5. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
6. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
7. Brouwerij Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne
8. Pike Entire
9. De Struisse Earthmonk
10. Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout

Wow, Congrats to Russian River for dominating the top of the list! Special thanks to all the tasters for providing their top 10 list.

2009 Beer End Review: Nik

Top Ten Beers of 2009 - Nik:

1. Russian River Consecration
2. Westvleteren 12
3. Cantillon Cuvee des Champions
4. Walking Man Sasquatch Imperial Viennese Lager
5. De Struise Earthmonk
6. 2008 Hitachino Nest Commemorative
7. 2005 De Dolle Oebier Special Reserva
8. Hair of the Dog Matt
9. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
10. Bells Hopslam

2009 Beer End Review: Kaz

Top Ten Beers of 2009 - Kaz:

1. 2008 Abyss
2. Czar RIS
3. Lagunitas IPA
4. Lagunitas 2009 Correction Ale
5. Pliny the Younger
6. Consecration
7. Rogue Double Dead Guy
8. Firestone Reserve Porter
9. Double Bastard
10. Russian River IPA

2009 Beer End Review: J. Suede

Top Ten Beers of 2009 - J. Suede:

1. Lost Abbey Deviation (bottle)
2. Lost Abbey Isabella Proximus (bottle)
3. Hair of the Dog Matt
4. Russian River Consecration Batch 2 (bottle)
5. Lost Abbey Angel Share (on tap, Hard Liver Festival, March)
6. Firestone Walker Abacus (Hard Liver Festival, GABF)
7. Struisse Earthmonk (bottle)
8. Big Sky Old Blue Hair
9. Big Sky Ivan the Terrible (bottle)
10. De Dolle Orebier Special Reserva 2002 (bottle)

2009 Beer End Review: Jonno

Top Ten Beers of 2009 - Jonno:

1. Russian River Consecration (batch #1, bottle)
2. Brouwerij Verhaeghe - Duchesse De Bourgogne
3. Brouwerij Van Steenberge - Monk's Cafe
4. Russian River - Pliny the Younger
5. Goose Island - Bourbon County Stout
6. Russian River - Pliny the Elder
7. Southern Tier - Choklat
8. Bottleworks 10th Anniversary Wild Ale
9. St. Bernardus Abt 12
10. Rodenbach Grand Cru

2009 Beer End Review: jmaximus

Top Ten Beers of 2009: jmaximus

1. Russian River - Pliny the Younger
2. Russian River - Pliny the Elder
3. Iron Horse Brewery - Biere de Garde (on tap)
4. Silver City Brewing Co - Porter
5. Dogfish Head - 120 Minute IPA
6. Lagunitas - Maximus
7. 2009 Issaquah Salmon Days Festival - Roe Ale
8. Elysian - The Great Pumpkin
9. Southern Tier - Imperial Choklat Stout
10. Leinenkugel's - Summer Shandy

2009 Beer End Review: JJ

Emerald City SuperTaster JJ picks his top 2009 beers.

JJ's Top Ten of 2009:

1. Pliny the Younger
2. Pike Entire
3. Consecration
4. Hair of the Dog Matt
5. Pliny the Elder
6. Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne
7. Bourbon County Stout
8. Hop Stoopid
9. 90 Minute IPA
10. Trois Pistoles

2009 Beer End Review: D-Rex

D-Rex, Emerald City SuperTaster, is kicking off the best beers of 2009. We'll do this all week, culminating in a combined list. Which will be the winner this year?

D-Rex's Top Ten of 2009:

1. Pliny the Younger (Russian River)
2. 120 Minute IPA (Dogfish Head)
3. Consecration (Russian River)
4. Pliny the Elder (Russian River)
5. Cuvee van de Keizer Blauw (Gouden Carolus)
6. Bourbon County Stout (Goose Island)
7. Gemini (Southern Tier)
8. 90 Minute IPA (Dogfish Head)
9. Entire (Pike)
10. Old Rasputin (North Coast)

Elysian - The Great Pumpkin

Elysian - The Great Pumpkin (Seattle, WA)

I've got to clean out the refrigerator. I'm beginning to have more beer bottles than food in there, not that that's a bad thing. This beer blog is filled with good intentions. I must have 30 posts with photos in "draft" up here that I never got around to writing down my tasting notes for. The Elysian is one of five Halloween beers I've been meaning to drink/post. I still have two other in the fridge to possibly write about - Southern Tier's Pumking and Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale. I haven't had Pumking yet but remember enjoying the Punkin Ale back while we were carving. Drinking the Elysian now, I'm thinking it's more pumpkin pie-ish than the Punkin Ale.

Bomber pours a cloudy amber with 1/2" head that left minimal lacing as it receded. Nose was pumpkin and nutmeg. The first sip was welcome and tasty like that first hit of latte in the morning. Smooth, sweet, with some residual spice on my lips from the foam. Smooth finish with a hint of bitterness and more pumpkin pie spice coming through a second or two later.

If you like a sweet seasonal beer, this is a great one.

From the bottle:
Imperial Pumpkin Ale - Ale brewed with pumpkin and pumpkin seeds and fermented with spices. The worlds first Imperial pumpkin ale: with roasted pumpkin seeds in the mash and extra pumpkin all around. Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. GABF Silver 2007 in the Fruit & Vegetable category.

Rating: 8.1

ABV: 7.7

Stone Brewing Double Bastard

Stone Brewing Double Bastard - (10.5% ABV)

Double Bastard, what are you? Pours a darker than expected mahogany color with a small creamy head. The nose was surprisingly indescriminate without any West Coast hops or secondary flavors appearing. Taste is big malt, a slightly sweet sticky midrange then a bitter finish with a spicy fusil alcohol burn in the back of my throat. Really easy to drink, had no idea it was a 10.5% beer until later... Mouthfeel is a little on the syrupy sticky side so I suppose the bitter hopping is needed to clean up the finish. The slightly sweet bready goodness is what certain tastebuds seem to crave but I do have a few minor complaints. Its a little too much big this and big that much like the Alesmith IPA (a San Diego trait?) without any refinement. I guess more Mike Tyson than Muhammad Ali. Official beer styles aside, when reaching for a strong ale, in my opinion beers like St. Bernardus Abt 12 and Hair of the Dog Matt are much the best, the Double Bastard just isn't refined enough to play in that league although maybe its not trying to (especially at this price point $6.99 a bomber). I would compare this beer to the Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown. So what is a Double Bastard? To summarize, its a mid-range priced strong ale thats dumped a shitload of malt and hops into the pot, isn't refined or that interesting but undeniably attractive nevertheless, is sneaky easy to drink but like Tyson watch out for the uppercut late in the round.

Rating: 7.8

KAZ Imperial IPA

Because it's that time of year..

The KAZ 2009 Imperial IPA - Huge hops, sweet, dark, cloudy, bitter, smooth, flat, molassas, strong beer, but not harsh. Bottle signed by the brewer!

Rating - I enjoyed it, make it again!

Triple Threat

This is a session review not necessarily a beer review. Its kind of hard to review a third beer out of context with the previous beers in the session, especially with beers this big. Obviously the first beer after 8 long hours of pretending to work is going to make a larger impression than the beers that follow, so that should be noted. And of course one other thing, I don't taste beer, I drink it.

The Abyss, I had a 10 oz or so goblet at Collins Pub in downtown Seattle. This is the second serving of the 2009 Abyss I had had in a week, I had a goblet at the Deshutes brewpub in Bend the week before, but that was after a 8 hour drive, so it was hard to get a good taste through the road film. It of course is great complex brew, but didn't stack up to the 2008 Abyss. It was thinner and had a cough syrup taste, and the alcohol came hot and heavy on the tongue, not that that is a bad thing. But compared to the 2008 it came up short.

Next I went on to the Double Bastard from Stone Brewing. The Double Bastard had everything that the Arrogant Bastard brings, but a higher alcohol content. Nice hops bitterness, but not a remarkable aroma, stands up nicely to the alcohol. A little thinner than the Arrogant Bastard, while it obviously starts at a higher gravity, it finishes at a lower gravity, which is apparent in the mouth feel.

I finished with the Lagunitas Brown Shugga. This is an abomination that never should have been made by a reputable brewing house. A Brown Ale should be a mild low alcohol brew with a nutty flavor and just enough hops not to notice. This is not a prototypical brown ale, with a heavy mouth feel, like a tablespoon of brown sugar. Its the type of beer that there is no concept of reality, where an inexperienced brewer doesn't realize that he can't pack in that much mouth feel, alcohol, taste, and sweetness in perfect balance in a single beer. But somehow the brewer pulls it off, its as drinkable as a beer this big gets. The beer is well balanced, and the alcohol is hidden so well you don't realize its 9.8% ABV until you stagger off your bar stool. This was the third of three huge beers I had in this session, but not the first time I had the Brown Shugga, it goes down just as well and is just as impressive as the first beer rather than the last.

BREAKING NEWS - Kevin Davey

So, I'm reading my favorite beer blog this evening while watching MNF and what do I see? Check it out over at Washington Beer Blog.

That's right Kevin Davey, friend of the Emerald City SuperTasters blog, just made it BIG TIME as the new brewer of Chuckanut Brewery!! This is so great, we're very happy for you and Chuckanut Brewery. Here's to much success for you both. Congrats Kevin!

Issaquah Brewery's 2009 Roe Ale

The 2009 Issaquah Salmon Days Festival - Roe Ale

Bought this bomber from Husky Deli in West Seattle to go with my Italiano sandwich. The guy working behind the counter mentioned that he loved this beer, and he seems to know his beers, so I've got a good feeling about this one.

I get home and open the bottle with my Swiss Army knive. I've really got to get a quality bottle opener, my friends think it's funny that I post to this blog and I don't even have a decent bottle opener.

I tried shooting a video of the pour, I can post it if anybody is interested, but holding a camera with one hand and trying to pour a beer with the other while the dog is jumping on you is difficult. I ended up pouring right to the bottom of the glass and creating the huge head seen in this photo. The beer is nicely carbonated, not excessively so.

The nose is sweet and mild with fruity hops, coffee, and honey coming through. The taste is clean and fresh with a fair amount of grapefruit bitterness there on the long finish. All in all a high quality well made ale and great partner to the italiano sandwich, it would also pair great with some fish and chips.

Rating: 8.5

Made by the Issaquah Brewery (purchased by Rogue in 2000)
Color - Amber, slighly hazy
Malts - Harrington & Klages, Cara Vienna, English 115 & 135
Hops - Cascade, Kent Golding and Rogue Farm Willamette
Free range water and Top Fermented Pacman Yeast
IBU's - 53
ABV - the plato is 13 so what's that abour 5.2% abv?

Check out the Salmon Days Festival to learn more about this annual October event.

A Six-Pack Gets You a Six-Pack?

I'm not a doctor, and there are disclaimers scattered all around in this study, but here's the main point as far as I can tell:

“Alcohol users not only exercised more than abstainers, but the differential actually increased with more drinking."

Shouldn't this be part of the national health care debate? I've heard about plans to tax soft drinks as a way to help make people healthier, but nothing about cutting taxes on alcohol to do the same thing.

Allagash - Curieux

Allagash - Curieux (11%ABV) A Belgium style Tripel, aged in Bourbon barrels, brewed in Maine? That sounds confusing, unappealing and expensive. On to the tasting. Uncaged and popped the cork. At first a Belgium style ale, golden, carbonated with a big white pillowy head. Nose wasn't apparent, and seemed to change with each supersniff. I was dreading the first sip, I had picked up a faint licorice note in the nose and now in the flavor (my distaste for anise well documented, sorry J-Maximus). The beer warms and my fears were unfounded, the licorice turns out to be vanilla. Crisp, golden, carbonated and perfect with dinner. I pour another glass and the yeasty Belgium goodness appears. 11% so the cork goes in. The next day I pour another glass, this time its all about the bourbon then vanilla then yeast. Curieux is complex, changing with every sip, as the temperature warms and as each new glass is poured. I pondered this beer for a few days after drinking, which hasn't happened to me since my encounter with Russian River Consecration. This is what craft beers should be about, something different and unexpected, reminding me of when I tried my first cream soda.

Rating: 8.9

Deschutes Brewery - Black Butte XXI

Deschutes Brewery - Black Butte XXI (11.0 ABV) This is one of the 4 "Reserve" brews that Deschutes offers along with the Mirror Mirror, Abyss and Dissident. Normally I'm not a big fan of Porters but... any beer given this much care with Theo chocolate nibs, Bellatazza coffee then aged in whiskey barrels has to be delicious and this one is. Pours jet black with a proper head. What always throws me off a little bit with Porters is the thin mouthfeel, and Black Butte XXI is no exception. Its thin but big, best drank late at night but the coffee might keep you awake, drinkable but at 11% only to a point... where does this beer fit in? Maybe its the crossover beer that unites the fans of big thick sweet Imperial Stouts and the IPA crowd. The coffee, chocolate flavors are there but not dominant and are slightly bitter, not cloyingly sweet. Coffee, malt, chocolate, alcohol and a dry finish with 11% ABV. It would be incredibly nitpicky to find a flaw with this beer, I have found one. Deschutes beers seem to have a certain sweet backnote that I don't like, maybe molasses? These seasonal beers are great, I really like them but not as much as most.

Rating 8.2

New Belgium - Mothership Wit

Our dinner guests a few days past, hearing that I might enjoy trying a beer or two, brought over a great sampler pack of New Belgium (Fort Collins, CO) beers. It was nice getting to try a number of them in the company of beer lovers.

The Mothership Wit is an organic wheat beer brewed with barley malt and spiced up with coriander and orange peel. I love wheat beers, so I expected good things from this beer. The beer poured a pale cloudy yellow, with a slight frothy white head. Something, however, was not right with this beer. Two of us gave it a thumbs down almost immediately. I don't know if it was something funky with the wheat, the yeast, or if I'm just less likely to enjoy a beer with coriander in it now. Whatever it was, this beer was not one I would recommend. I'll post reviews of the others we sampled later, but for now, I can tell you that this was the worst of the evening.

Rating: 3.5/10

ABV: 4.8%

Calories: 135

Alesmith IPA

Alesmith - IPA (7.25%) Alesmith beer doesn't seem to be sold in Seattle, I found this IPA in Portland. Lets cut to the review. This beer has no real weaknesses, good color, head and carbonation and overall a well balanced West Coast IPA with plenty of hoppiness and a spicy little burn at the back of my throat with each gulp...(fusil alcohol?). I was surprised to find that this isn't a Double IPA, the flavor is definitely big enough to fit that beer style. Hmm.. what to say what to say about this beer. Its a little crude. I look at the utilitarian design of the bottle when I'm drinking, its a plain brown bottle with big block letters that say IPA not once but twice. Come on man this is bringing back bad memories of the generic beer cans of the swill that my cheap friends used to buy in the early 80's (which forced me to quit drinking beer). I open the bottle and get hit with piney hops, I pour the beer and get hit with a big foamy head, I drink the beer and get the big carbonated flavors and spicy burn, I stare at the bottle and it keeps telling me IPA. Yeah this is a classic IPA, but its a little bit like an IPA for dummies.

Rating: 7.8

Beer Can - Emu?

Sure, you've done beer can chicken, maybe even placed a Fosters up a turkey or a small apple juice in cornish game hen, but what the heck do you use when beer can cooking an EMU? Easy, if you're the Grill Master of the Universe Rick Browne and you're in Oregon this weekend, then naturally you're using a can of Rogue's 169 oz Yellow Snow IPA.

Is this a world record? Maybe, the folks at Rogue tell me that the Guiness Book of World Records has been notified. So, what's this all about? It's part of the 15th Annual Bones & Brew Backyard BBQ, an event that benefits the Oregon Zoo. It's happening this weekend (08/01 & 02/09 down in Portland's historic Pearl District. It's supposed to be a blast - take your wife, take the kids, take your dogs, eat BBQ, drink beer, and maybe even take part in a chicken/rib eating contest.

Location: Northwest 15th Ave. between Everett and Glisan Streets
Admission: $3 donation

Photo Credit: Rogue Brewery

Terminal Gravity IPA

Terminal Gravity Brewing out of Enterprise, WA was tonights selection. This is a beer that started out nice and cold, but that I found I enjoyed more as it warmed up. It's a bold IPA coming in at 6.9%, with the label letting you know what's inside by putting "LIVE BEER" on the label. While the alcohol was there, it wasn't really in-your-face, at least not until the glass was finished.

Picked up this 12oz bottle from Full Throttle for under $2. It poured a hazy amber with a small head that left minimal lacing down the glass. Nose was apricot, biscuity malts, and some sweet floral notes with a hint of spiceness. Taste was initially bitter hops, grapefruity and something metalic, flavor improved and mellowed about halfway into the beer. By the end I was ready for another. This one has a long bitter/piney finish that left my lips sticky and my tongue and cheeks dry. Mouthfeel was medium bodied, smooth, with perfect carbonation. Balance between hops and malts was hope-sided. It's a good beer to check out.

So, where the heck is Enterprise, OR?

Rating: 7.9/10
ABV: 6.9%

Are You A SuperTaster?

Yes, you probably know that there is a test to determine if you might be a supertaster like me. In fact, those readers in the Emerald City can get to the West Seattle Street Fair this weekend and take a test for free. There's a nutritionalist booth right out in front of Petco, just south of the Elliott Bay Brew Pub (hey, pop in for a light and refreshing Luna Weizen ABV: 4.2%), with the test strips. Take the test, talk to the nutrionalist about eating your broccoli, and grab some information that discusses a little bit about being a SuperTaster. The test consists of placing a small paper test strip on your tongue. If it tastes bitter to you, you're a SuperTaster. If it just tastes like paper, you are not. My whole family tried it and we were all SuperTasters (runs in the family I hear). I thought the test was bogus until the next person came along and tried it, and didn't taste the bitterness. Check our other blog out for some additional information on the Street Fair.

Shiner 100 Commemorator

Spoetzl Brewery (Shiner, TX) has been counting down since 2005 with various anniversary beers in anticipation of their 100th year in business (the business started in 1905). For their centennial celebration they've put forward the Commemorator a beer brewed in the traditional Doppelbock style. This style has been called "liquid bread" since monks developed it to help them fast during the Lenten season.

Purchased this beer at Full Throttle for $1.50 a bottle, which I thought was inexpensive for such a historic milestone, but at that price everyone can join in the celebration.

The beer poured a clear amber, with tiny bubbles dancing and swirling around as they rose into a decent sized off-white head. Head retention was low and there was no lacing to be found. The aroma was stewed prunes, caramel malts, and some bread crust. This did not have any strong alcohol or hops on the nose. The taste was sweet and malty, with an emphasis on caramel. I was not picking up any hop presence which would have been nice to balance out those forward malt flavors. I've heard other describe this as a thin and astrigent beer, but that was not my experience. I found this to have a medium to medium full body that went down quite smoothly. I didn't pick up on any stong alcohol flavors.

This beer went down easy. It was more working man than celebration party beer. But maybe that's what Shiner is all about. If the Bock is their flagship, then a double is a pretty good way to honor that tradition.

Rating: 6.5/10

ABV: 6.7%
IBU: 17
Color: 30 SRM