Emerald City SuperTasters

Cantillion: Clasic Geuze, Saint-Gilloise, Fou' Foune, Iris, St. Lamvinus; Avery: Dihos Dactylion

2011-05-31T23:17:00.000-07:00

Seattle Beer Week - Sour Beer Fest

When: May 19th to May 29th, 2011

Where: Brouwers Cafe

From left to right:

Cantillon: Classic Geuze, Fou'Foune, Cuvee Saint-Gilloise

Cantillon Classic Geuze

Color: golden

Head: thin white give full mouthfeel of carbo upon swishing in mouth

Aroma: light and cheese-like, ruby red peel

Palate:
- front: sharp citrus, lemon, fruit
- tail: clean and faint pepper more faint lemon peel on back of tongue

And then: refreshing and simple. Not overpowering front tail ends with peppery peel feel and taste. Very well done

Cantillon Cuvee Saint-Gilloise

Color:

golden, glass on right

Head: 2 mm white

Aroma: champagne/chemical/plastic present in aroma

Palate:
- front: more plastic like (champagne) than geuze. Grain presence is very detectable not overpowering, sour is faint
- tail: sweet sugar finish you can only taste on sides and lips

And then: not my fave, also refreshing, not a fan of champagne when it rises to front

"F*%k! Brouwers can do a steak!"

Random quote - J. Suede

Cantillon Fou'Foune

Color: a more cloudy golden, glass in center

Head: faint white

Aroma: can't tell, allergies

Palate:
- front: pleasant balanced sour fruit with no invasive flavors
- tail: finishes flawlessly clean with mellow sour light fruit (apricot, nearly indiscernible)

And then: I really like the ease and smoothness of this ale. Sublime flavors and mellow nuances make this a great summer drinker for large snifters. Until your eyes cross

From left to right:

Cantillon Iris, Cantillon St. Lamvinus, Avery Dihos Dactylion

Cantillon Iris

Color: dark gold, amber, glass on left

Head: faint 1mm off white amber, excitable upon sifting

Aroma: a very clean and fruity (can't pinpoint) citrus but not peel, actual fruit meat, warms to a noxious (in a good way, fills sinuses with overwhelming tang sting feeling) citrus/malty tang

Palate:
- front: mouthfeel is full, foamy, the most faint tangerine possible without sweetness possible, candyish malt
- tail: lots of residual tangy grapefruit peel, linger, lemon, grapefruit

And then: whoops why did I have that cigar? My palate needs rejuvenation. Significantly malty for a sour. Very well balanced so that malt doesn't overwhelm. Some light fruit (apricot?) I cannot discern....

Cantillon St. Lamvinus

Color: cranberry, glass in center

Head: faint pink 2mm

Palate:
- front: very tart cherry/raspberry
- tail: bitter, spicy, peppery (faint)

And then: so...Bordeaux barrels huh, didn't notice grapes but could definitely taste effect of wine barrel

Avery Dihos Dactylion

Color:

rich brown, maple, glass on right

Head: faint white 1mm

Aroma: sweet dark fruit, fresh cut pineapple

Palate:
- front: Dole 100% pineapple juice, intense

And then: I don't know if I mentioned that pineapple and mango are my favorite fruits but they are so safe to say I love this one. So simple, syrupy pineapple juice, tart, sweet, love.... =)

"Apparently the 4th dimension is in my mouth"

Random quote - Ian

(Ian's mouth transcends time and space)

Moinette Brune-Bruin

2011-05-31T23:01:00.001-07:00

Aroma: dark dried fruit, sweet light fruit, vinous, tangy

Color: ruby

Palate:
- front: dry Belgian yeast, champagne, Belgian hops, plastic, fumes
- tail: clean, faint pepper to pronounced as it warms. Hops start to linger on back of palate with warming

Head: healthy white nitro style, 1 cm, co2 style thin upon sift

Abv: 8.5%

And then...: Finishes very clean, good summer ale save the abv (you'd be sorry), wonderful aroma, I bet it differs by batch. Aromas vary between cherry, cranberry and other misc dark fruit found in trail mix. Deceptively light on the palate
effectively masking the 8.5 abv.

Carbonation: becomes very excited crating stimulating mouth feel when you swish. This has to be done 10 min after pour when profile begins to expand/complicate

Kaz Ale Tasting, Abyss Pt. 2, & Undercover Investigation Shut-down

2011-05-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

On a fine spring day the ECS and the LOOTH came together to sample Kaz's finest and rekindle the romance between us fine ale lovers and The Abyss ale. Also on deck was some one year old Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale in addition to some current Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale. It was a convoluted bunch of beverages but the meet went well. We even further pulled a fellow beer drinker, Abde, closer to the dark side of beer snobbery....Job well done!

Kaz Cherry Double IPA

IBU: 77.5

ABV: 8%

Hops: Chinook, Amarillo

Infusion: Cherry juice concentrate

Brief: For an ale with cherry in the title, which would usually scare me, this ale is exceptionally well balanced to keep the cherry at bay. In fact my palate was so useless I could not taste the cherry. Could have been the several cigars I smoked earlier and the ghost chilies I tortured myself with previously. Who knows... I relied on the feedback from the rest of the group to give you the nuances described herein. Overall a potent and powerful homebrew with very pronounced Chinook flavor and possibly a complement from the cherry concentrate.

Aroma: fruit, citrus, malt, figs

Color: Reddish Amber

Palate
- front: citrus, grapefruit peel, cherry effervescence, Italian citrus soda
- tail: sharp/sublime bitter, grapefruit peel gets stronger, Chinook hops, buttery
Head: faint off white

Kaz Cherry Imperial Stout

IBU: 40

ABV: 10%

Hops: Chinook

Malt: Roasted Barley

Brief: A fine and refreshing stout while having satisfying body and smoky chocolatiness without the sharp aftertaste

Aroma: roast, chocolate, pronounced caramel fumes

Color: Blackish brown (in the light)

Palate
- front: milk chocolate, light cherry fruit, heavy milk (bordering on cream), roasted fumyness
- tail: light chocolate, roast
- when warm: becomes more complex, chinook flavor intensifies, cherry strengthens and couples with spice in a complementary manner
- Well crafted chemistry
Head: foamy light brown with thick legs on glass when sifted

"I like my head with a little bite."

-Famous Random Quote, Abde E.

Kaz Ale Rankings

It wouldn't be fair if we didn't pit Kaz against former and future versions of himself. It is for this reason that I present to you Kaz vs. Kaz, a rating of Kaz ales to date (limited by our individual exposure)... The contenders are Kaz Cherry Stout, Cherry IPA, Bourbon Stout (not featured here) and Jamaican Stout (also not featured here).

Abde

Cherry IPA

Cherry Stout

Kaz

Cherry IPA

Cherry Stout

Jamaican Stout

Bourbon Stout

Jason

Cherry Stout

Cherry IPA

Jax

Bourbon Stout

Cherry Stout

Jamaican Stout

Cherry IPA

Suede

Cherry Stout

Cherry IPA

Note: We at the LOOTH and ECS advocate diversity. Now for more beer tasting. We just happened to have MORE bottles of Abyss 2009 and 2010 and we just weren't sure that we really tasted everything there was to notice last time. Oh well! What better way to ensure a true judging than to try these two fine ale once again? Yeah, there is no answer for that rhetoric.

Deschuttes Abyss 2009

Aroma: Strong cherry essence, dark fruit with sweet tone (thing batch 1 or 2 consecration), amazingly pronounced oak
- Warm: fruit, smells of blazed bark

Color: black/dark brown

Palate:
- Front: milk chocolate, super fumy upon swishing in mouth
- Tail: strong coffee, balanced wood

Head: 1cm of chocolate brown

Distinguishing Characteristics:
- more complexity than 2010 Abyss
- more lively
- more robust
- stimulates center of tongue

Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down

Mr. Jonno was kind enough to lend us a few bottles of his Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown from early 2010. This time did the ale well in that it made a successful transition from american strong ale/oxymoronic imperial mild or whatever to true barley wine style. If you don't know the story behind this ale Google it. It's pretty entertaining.

O.G.: 1.092

IBU: 72.41 (one year ago)

ABV: 9.75

Save one till next year: Yes!

Aroma: honey, light caramel, sweet/sugary (uncovered from last year), honeysuckle (finish)

Color: amber (lightened slightly from previous year)

Palate:
- Front: honey, malted barley, dark/dried fruit, barley wine
- Tail: very clean

Head: decent yellowish/white 1/2 cm foam

Enjoyed by all?: Yes

Deschuttes Abyss 2010

Lastly but not at all least, we enjoyed the final Abyss stored in my hoarding-insensitive cabinet (more on this later...) After indulging in this black beast I was ready to say, "I've had enough! Give me an IPA." I also believe there was a short jog in my immediate future. Funny how alcohol numbs your pain...

Head: respectable 1" chocolate brown foam

Aroma: bread, wood (more faint than in 2009 vintage), clove (when warm)

Color: Black. Light cannot pass through this stuff

Palate:
- Front: chocolate (more pronounced than 2009), pronounced coffee, oak, sweetness
- Tail: smoke, anise

Impressions:
- YES!!
- impressive for being current in vintage
- many nuances are muted
- color is darker

Cask Beer Festival 2009

2011-04-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

This is an event in which a group of friends and I attend each year ritualistically. I've moved out of the habit of writing notes, however, I found these notes from a couple years back.

Ram Restaurant & Brewery

MallWalker Strong Ale: tastes like Old Guardian (Stone) with severe malt, not too hoppy or sweet, very drinkable, would pair well with hamburger

Arctic Blast Strong ale: more backbone/body than MallWalker, intense hops that are not entirely balanced with malt composition

Mac & Jacks Brewery

Bourbon Oaked Porter: Similar to Port Townsend Meet Your Maker Porter but more drinkable with tail of pepper attacks the nerves in your throat. Good and exciting!

Anacortes Brewery

Herbert's (IPA): tastes like an IPA/Amber blend, hops were a bit rough/harsh on the palate, great aroma, front is done well while tail is bitter with aftertaste

New Belgium Brewing Company

The Trip: [pamphlet - A Belgium Triple hopped as an IPA. Made at Elysian Brewing as part of the colla-beer-ation.] over the top tangy, lemon and citrus, distracting bitters

Schooner Exact Brewing Co.

Old Sinking ship Barleywine: [pamphlet - Coming forth strong, with a deep copper color from the finest crystal malts; it is well balanced by Columbus and Willamette hops. 10.6%] old rank pub bathroom water, severe bitter, caramel, not good...

Silver City Restaurant & Brewery

Fat Scotch Ale: [pamphlet - An exceptional Scotch Ale with hints of fruit, figs and whisky. A smooth, dark and rich ale] buttery flavor, vanilla from wood, smooth light smoke, excellently balanced

Big Time Brewery

Double-Decade (IPA): citrusy and champagne-like body, hop blend unbalanced/offensive

Elliott Bay Brewing Co.

Riot Ale (IPA) [pamphlet - Double dry-hopped with Cascade, Chinook and Golding in the tank then with Cascade and Simcoe in the keg. 77 IBU's, 7.6% ABV.] spicy nose with tangy fruit balance

Bourbon Aged Stout [pamphlet - Oatmeal Stout aged with toasted French oak chips with Jim Bean. 32 IBU's, 6.3% ABV.] sweeter and more drinkable than I would expect for a stout. One of the few stouts I would drink a bomber of without issues.

Port Townsend Brewing Co.

Meet Your Maker Porter: oak chips, awesome/brewed masterfully, fumy nose presents itself shamelessly and withdraws from front upon sipping, smokey, light body, drinkable, earthy, well balanced

2009 Sour Thang @ The Collins Pub

2011-04-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

I dont need an excuse to drink sour ales. The ECS and I made our way to The Collins Pub several years ago to try out the Mystery Sampler!...which turned out to be good. Here's what was in it:

Jolly Pumpkin Oro De Calabaza

Front: Complex, spicy, peppery notes
Tail: hollow body similar to Brut Reserve (Malheur), champagne consistency, polyester and leather that persists as ale warms
Aroma: smooth mellow, hints of licorice, pepper that excites with sift of glass, imporves as it warms

Paval

Front: immediate sour full tanginess
Tail: refreshing, like italian spritzer
Aroma: powerful and fumy
Color: thick legs in snifter, some thick sediment in glass
Head/Carbonation: does not respond to sifting. light to no head. Bubbles move like molasses

Petrus Aged Ale

Front: citrus, tangy, awesome, light lemon, grapefruit
Tail: lively, clean, refreshing
Aroma: repugnant, urine, mellows as ale warms and starts to resemble fragrant garden bush, confectioner spice, honey

In addition there was Lost Abbey Angel Share but I think we've visited this ale enough on this site.

Denver 2009 Great American Beer Fest Extra Curricular Activities

2011-04-11T16:32:00.001-07:00

While visiting Denver for GABF of 2009 we took in the local sites. Below is a list of several local pubs and some flavors they provided.

Ale Fest
Memorable Ales were:

Back County Barleywine
Glenwood Canyon Barleywine
Glenwood Canyon Scotch Ale
Hops Grille Winter Pale

Cheeky Monk - Amazing alehouse in an adventurous part of town. Imagine Stumbling Monk with more room. Large belgian ales selection and cozy atmosphere. Periodically entertaining individuals will show up not for beer but to entertain us before being 86'd

Falling Rock - Very cool place. Imagine if Brouwers Cafe was a tavern. They were slammed and we still received great service (friendly and timely). There was only standing room and then eventually, one spot at the end of the bar. Sorry for blocking the waiting station, it was the only spot left! They also had good pub fare and low prices, which I appreciated. Thank you. The crowd also was that of the good natured type...which seemed to be common throughout town. That took some getting used to but I quickly adapted.

Wynkoop - ugh...I wish the bathrooms were on the same floor but nonetheless..

Stout: basic stout foundation with coffee, chocolate and smokey notes. Also mysterious notes of fruit appear after about five minutes. Small amount of nitro head. Creamy and smooth tones continue through entirety of pint with finish of smoke and coffee
Anniversary Oak Aged Barleywine: great complexity, strong apple notes throughout, strong oak barrel in aroma and on palate, natural apple cider color with little to no head, rich with flavor with intensity of an apple brandy more so than an ale

Pints Pub - Tasty and affordable pub fare with plenty of complimentary food to aid in strong ale ingestion. Ales at the Pints Pub resembled wine more than beer. They really needed to be swished along the tongue to appreciate their complexity. They also had that palate drying affect of tannins in wine.

Bull & Bush - Spacious outside seating, friendly service and tasty breakfast options...whoa! Did I say breakfast?! Suede's been doing his homework, regardless of the time of day...I hope it was brunch!

Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine: imagine if Goose Island BCS had fruity notes added. You'd almost have this ale but not quite. The color was that of unfiltered apple cider. Apple notes are sublime and oak/bourbon are almost overpowering yet pleasurable.
No Coast IPA: fresh and well balanced with medium body and maltiness. Great floral nose. Tail is clean with no aftertaste which is impressive. A very well crafted ale. Thank you.

The fact I don't have any more notes mean one or two things: I had a good time and/or the beer was working. Cheers...

P.S.: for amazing buffalo wings goto Crown Plaza near the Convention Center (2 blocks from GABF).

Beveridge Place Pub Barleywine Bacchanal 2010

2011-04-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have some random notes I dug up from the Barleywine event at Beverage Place Pub (http://seattlebeernews.com/?p=1832) last year. Similar to Brouwers Cafe Hard Liver Fest and The Collins Pub REAL Strong Beer Fest, Beverage Place tests your senses, liver and nose for fine ale with endless tabs of this old style ale (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/19).

I went, drank, took notes and apparently left them on my phone for years...here they are:

Beer Valley Highway to Ale 2009
Color: light amber
Front: wood, malts, complex, sharp floral (European) hops
Finish: hops, wood, very faint nuance of smoke/earth
Aroma: musty, funk
Carbonation: thick and maple brown head

Laurelwood Old Reliable 2009
Color: amber brown
Front: bitter, hoppy, fruity, earthy tobacco
Finish: domestic beer, bitter then clean
Aroma: dark fruit/berries
Carbonation: light brown misty head upon sifting glass

Black Raven Old Birdbrain 2009
Color: amber brown
Front: confection, cake, oak, vanilla
Finish: butter, vanilla
Aroma: maple, cake, vanilla, fumy popcorn

Left Hand Oaked Widdershins 2007
Color: light amber/orange
Front: strong/excessive wood and sawdust
Finish: smokey scotch barrel
Aroma: spicy white pepper, overpowering wood
Carbonation: milky white foam head

Walking Man Old Stumblefoot 2008
Color: ?
Front: oak, citrus, malt, clean
Finish: clean and almost nonexistent
Aroma: citrus, fruit punch, sweet
Carbonation: nitro fine off white and light upon sifting glass

Lompoc Old Tavern Rat 2008
Color: thick chocolate brown
Front: super sweet malt, hoppy effervescence (takes precedence upon swishing), red berries, chewy, maduro tobacco leaf
Finish: red fruit
Aroma: ?
Carbonation: fine chocolate color head upon sifting

That's it! I assume the high ABVs took over after that point. I recall it being a fine West Seattle day. If you find yourself cruising, strolling or biking around Lincoln Park on a fine late February day stop by Beverage Place and don't forget to drink some water!

Deschutes Abyss Vertical Tasting Event

2011-04-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

THE PREMISE

On a wonderful Thursday evening, what could the ECS & LOOTH do to better spend their time? I say nothing short of drowning under a sea of Consecration or Isabella Proximus. In the absence of such great aspiration we found ourselves at The Collins Pub (http://www.thecollinspub.com/) where owner Seth Howard and server Jaida Kimmerer graced us with an environment worthy of such an event. Five+ years in the making and much grovelling later we posses Deschutes Abyss Imperial - partially barrel aged (33%) - Stout, a fine specimen of a complex, well defined, sometimes confusingly robust strong ale. Each year unique, we, the ECS & LOOTH, took the burden upon ourselves to collect and verify the greatness of this great ale.

THE RATINGS

Deano:

2006

2008

2007

2010

2009

Kaz: See also (http://twitter.com/kazhole)

2006

2008

2010

2007

2009

Jax:

2008

2006

2010

2007

2009

Nut Daddy:

2006

2008

2007

2010

2009

Suede:

2006

2008

2010

2007

2009

THE YEARS

2006 - Oddly robust smokiness for its age. Also had fuminess and coffee overtones that were pronounced. Some of the complementary flavors like the anise and chocolate had subsided to disappeared. Smokiness (oak) reminds me of almond skin. Very thin chocolate head which is still impressive for the vintage. Odd soda like carbonation within the glass that slowly subsided. It had an aroma of strong smoke. The aroma was misleading as the initial tastes yielded a much more complex bouquet. It was not possible to be happier.

2007 - Malty overtone. Complexity had almost entirely retired. Not to entirely mislead you into thinking this was a bad ale. It was still great compared to most stouts however, compared to other Abyss' it was one of the least impressive. I compared it to some of the maltier, sweeter strong ales served at the Hard Liver Festival (http://brouwerscafe.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-hardliver-list.html), that may or may not be classifiable as Barleywines but are more likely strong ales. This year was frighteningly drinkable and at 11% ABV that could be trouble. I imagine if it was on tap somewhere, I'd be getting rolled out of that bar after several goblets (imagine Consecration if it were a stout and 1% stronger). It had a beautiful dark chocolate head and no sign of carbonation within the rest of the glass.

2008 - Amazingly fumy. Alcohol aroma steams tongue and sinuses. Complexity returns with strong coffee, smoke, possible dark dried fruit. Once again, a beautiful rich dark chocolate colored head of about 1/2 centimeter high. Great aroma of smokey coffee.

2009 - Hmm...not sure what happened here but this was not the sour '09 batch. While this one was good, it definitely misses the mark on the greatness attained by its adjacent brethren years. Oh well, there are four other years...I would describe it as flat and I don't mean carbonation. The flavor was flat in complexity. Almost like the 2007 in smoothness but a step to far, approaching but not quite reaching wateriness.

2010 - By this time my palate could have been toast. This year was interestingly better than 2009. That's about all I can remember. Good news is we have more 2009 & 2010 so next time I will take notes and update this section then...maybe...

De Dolle Brouwers - Special Extra Export Stout

2010-10-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Special Extra Export Stout - De Dolle Brouwers

It was time to stock up the beer cellar and I found myself in West Seattle. I hadn't been to The Beer Junction and thought it was time to check it out.

I made my way about the store with owner Morgan Herzog helping on a couple of selections. When I asked about a beer with a lot of carbonation he steered me De Dolle's way.

I got home, put dinner on the table and was planning to have this beer with it. Unfortunately it took 5+ minutes to pour the beer, so by the time I was back inside (get that outside picture when possible in Seattle..) half the family was already done eating.

The beer was/is OK, certainly not extra special. It's flavor improves as it warms, but the nose does not. When colder the nose is more dark dried fruits, espresso, molasses and black licorice but tastes bitter and a bit too sour. As it warms the bitterness mellows and the drinkability improves, but the nose becomes hotter with alcohol and astrigent.

11.2oz bottle; ABV 9%

Rating: 5/10

ECS - Black Hole

2010-06-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

Who's had the limited release ECS Black Hole?

Happy Birthday ECS!

2010-02-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-25T23:00:00.000-08:00

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:

Russian River Consecration
Russian River Pliny the Younger
Russian River Pliny the Elder
Hair of the Dog Matt
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Brouwerij Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne
Pike Entire
De Struisse Earthmonk
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

2009-12-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Beers of 2009 - Nik:

Russian River Consecration
Westvleteren 12
Cantillon Cuvee des Champions
Walking Man Sasquatch Imperial Viennese Lager
De Struise Earthmonk
2008 Hitachino Nest Commemorative
2005 De Dolle Oebier Special Reserva
Hair of the Dog Matt
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Bells Hopslam

2009 Beer End Review: Kaz

2009-12-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Beers of 2009 - Kaz:

2008 Abyss
Czar RIS
Lagunitas IPA
Lagunitas 2009 Correction Ale
Pliny the Younger
Consecration
Rogue Double Dead Guy
Firestone Reserve Porter
Double Bastard
Russian River IPA

2009 Beer End Review: J. Suede

2009-12-22T21:12:00.001-08:00

Top Ten Beers of 2009 - J. Suede:

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

2009 Beer End Review: Jonno

2009-12-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Beers of 2009 - Jonno:

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

2009 Beer End Review: jmaximus

2009-12-19T23:31:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Beers of 2009: jmaximus

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

2009 Beer End Review: JJ

2009-12-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

Emerald City SuperTaster JJ picks his top 2009 beers.

JJ's Top Ten of 2009:

Pliny the Younger
Pike Entire
Consecration
Hair of the Dog Matt
Pliny the Elder
Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne
Bourbon County Stout
Hop Stoopid
90 Minute IPA
Trois Pistoles