Morimoto Soba, Rogue Ales, Newport Oregon

On yet another recent trip to the coast (and therefore, to Rogue Ales) I enjoyed their Morimoto Soba Ale - made from buckwheat (Soba) which is of the rhubarb family (not wheat). Interesting, but not as interesting as the taste! Let's give it a try....

It pours copper with a thin head.

The aroma has an interesting caramel essence, but not sweet. It is also slightly nutty.

The taste is delicate, but holds it's own. It is almost cask-like with it's smooth velvety medium/light body. Honey is apparent up front, but a nutty flavor arrives on the tongue. There is slight caramel (again not sweet) in the finish.

The aftertaste is sweet and slightly bitter. It is very smooth -

This beer is definitely hard to pin down - it's refreshing and unique, but the unique quality doesn't overpower, it's a nice clean beer to enjoy anytime -

Cheers!

Surfer Summer Ale, Pelican Brewing Company, Pacific City Oregon

A brief break from my Christmas in July beers...Lets have a true taste of summer. I've posted many enthusiastic posts about the Pelican brewery, so let's see how their summer seasonal holds up....

It pours a golden hue with a tight head.

The aroma is dominated by hop and white pepper with citrus zest and coriander.

It is a crisp beer with mild hop with very subtle spice in the body - mostly white pepper and coriander. There is also honey and mild citrus on the finish.

The aftertaste fishes very clean with hop freshness on the palate.

Flavorful more in the aroma than the taste, the ale is a light crisp warm weather beer that still offers some very nice flavors of summer! Great for a picnic!

Cheers!

Spring Reign, Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene Oregon

Well, I raved about the Ninkasi Double Red a bit ago, so now I will rave about there next beer in my sampling, the Spring Reign....Available in 22oz bombers around Oregon, it presents itself with 28 IBU's and 6%...

It pours a honey hue with a tight head.

The aroma is burnt sugar and caramel with a hop tang at the end.

It is roasty malt right up front, hop earthiness appears in the medium body. It is very refreshing with roasty notes at the end. The hop lifts the malt and keeps it from getting too heavy with the sugar notes.

THe aftertaste is bitter with lingering biscuity malt.

More malty than expected but still refreshing with the bold hop backbone. I highly recomend this spring refresher - even if it is already summer~

Cheers!

Allagash Four, Allagash Brewing, Portland Maine

Our next fine, fine beer comes as a wonderful Valentine present from my wife (amyolsonjewelry.etsy.com)! The Allagash Four from Allagash Brewing is an apex of ales....4 hops, 4 malts, four sugars and 4 Belgian yeast strains.....fermented 4 times! It sounds complex and is good to sample by itself. Allagash has continued to prove itself as one of my personal favorite breweries....ever! I visited it nestled in the woods and grocery stores of outer Portland (the other Portland), Maine. It's in a bit of an odd place and there is no brew pub, but they offer all their fine ales, swag and tour. Allagash is available all over, some of their rarer ales are a little more difficult to hunt down - but there's joy in the search! They also have the distinction of having 100% of their power obtained from wind power.

It pours a cloudy amber/caramel color.

The aroma is hoppy at first, which then gives way to a sweet malty alcohol.

The beer is, of course, complex. It starts mellow and the body is slightly creamy. That's where the tastes really begin to develop. The creaminess gives way to a crisp hop brightness. This is immediately combined with a sweet oak malt that arrives at the back of the tongue. It finishes with molasses and burnt sugar tones.

The aftertaste is dominating. It is alcohol and oak with bold sweetness that lingers nicely for awhile before giving away to sugary - but not too sweet, more molasses.

From their website, I've learned that they use Date Sugar in the mashing process. In the boil, Light Candi, Dark Candi, and Light Golden Molasses are added. The final (forth) yeast is added for bottle conditioning in their cellar!

It is 10%, sip well!

Cheers!

Gingerbread Ale, Bison Brewing Company, San Francisco California

Our next beer comes from Bison Brewing Company and I raved about their Pumpkin ale this year - let's see how their Christmas seasonal holds up....The name Gingerbread Ale deterred me at first, as any idea of flavoring beer is a challenging proposition for me, which rarely proves successful, but my last experience with Bison was so good, let's do it!

It pours opaque with a big head.

The aroma is mild gingerbread, lots of malt. There is mild sweetness. Vague cinnamon is there as well.

The taste is big roasty malt. It is very mild in it's spice. The gingerbread is very very mild - I actually think the pumpkin ale was more gingerbready than this ale. It has a full body, and the malt is very biscuit. The spice is mostly cinnamon, but it's very late on the palate.

The aftertaste is mildly sweet and slightly cookie-ish.

All in all, it is a solid ale. I'm not sure it's as gingerbread-y as I imagined it would be, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a big roasty beer that is a great sipper around the fire.

21 IBU's with 2-Row, Caramel, Chocolate, Roast Barley, and Black malts. I found mine at Belmont Station. I've seen it at a few grocery stores such as Whole Foods.

Cheers!

Fluxus, Allagash Brewery, Portland ME

As their anniversary release, Allagash comes out with a "Fluxus" beer each year to celebrate. Each year it's different, and this year, I was able to buy a bottle on the day of it's release from their brewery in Portland, Maine. The brewery is located as you are heading out of town and offers a tour and has a small, but well-equipped gift shop. I highly recommend visiting!

This year, the Fluxus is a double white ale.

The Fluxus pours a bright amber with a big head.

It has a mild aroma, mostly yeast and mild spice.

The taste is mostly yeast, but also has a nice brown sugary taste to it as well. It is very very well balanced, though a little on the strong side, which settles nicely with it's crispness. The slight spice is there (from their website, I learned that it's been brewed with grated ginger). It is a little sweet and very refreshing. It has a fairly light body and cleans the palate easily.

The aftertaste is mildly sweet and mildly bitter. As I said, it's very refreshing and a well crafted brew!

I've seen Allagash beers all over this great beer nation, but mostly just their main standards: Dubbel, Tripel, and Grand Cru. These are all great, but their other beers are extremely worth getting your hands on!

8.7%