Beer #164 - Bigfoot Barleywine 2009, Seirra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico California

Consistently one of my favorite Barleywine style ales each year! Let's try the 2009 -

It pours a caramel color with a thin head.

The aroma is dominated by molasses with sweetness and caramel. There is also a slight hop apparent.

As it warms, a complex mixture of molasses, oak, sweeteness and roast malt are evident in the full body. Alcohol tones arrive later and it finishes long with bitterness, biscuit and caramel.

The aftertaste hold roasty malt notes with oak sweetness and a bright citrus hop at the very end.

Something that ages well, buy enough to enjoy now and later!

Cheers!

Alleycat Amber Ale, Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe, Eureka California

A brewery that I do not have too often is the Lost Coast Brewery. Their beers are available with decent distribution throughout the west coast. Let's give their amber ale a try...

It pours a brilliant amber/copper with a decent sized tight head.

The aroma is dominated by caramel malt with a fair amount of sweetness.

The medium body holds caramel malt on the tongue. Mild hop bitterness is apparent in the body, as well. The sweetness arrives at the end, but does not dominate the beer. It is crisp on the tongue, but finishes smooth.

The aftertaste is caramel with hop bitterness winning out over the sweetness. A lingering biscuity malt leaves a nice flavor on the breath.

Though I am not the biggest fan of ambers, this one hold some interesting character without becoming too sweet or falling into blandness.

Cheers!

Meyer ESB, Thirsty Bear Brewing Company, San Francisco California

In San Francisco there lies many a great beers. During a recent trip, my friend Jason and I found our way to the Thirsty Bear, the first stop of many that night! They had a decent variety on tap and their menu looked good as well, but I went with the Nitro Conditioned (from a traditional "Firkin" keg) ESB.

It pours a deep copper with a tight head.

The aroma is very slight with some floral hop and light sweet malt.

It has big molasses right off with some sweet malt and burnt sugar developing in the body. This is rounded off by a soft floral hop bitterness at the end, but fails to completely curb the sweetness in the finish. Some may enjoy the finishing sweetness, I tend toward a cleaner finish rather than sweet and this one fell a little on the sweet side.

The aftertaste is burnt sugar with bitterness that builds. Sticky molasses dominates the palate.

If in the city, it would be worth the time to hunt the Thirsty Bear down and give it a try, since they aren't bottling...

Cheers!

Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Stone Brewing Company, Escondido California

It's been a long while! A few trips have led me to Colorado, New Mexico, California, BC and Alaska...Where many great beers have been had! I will get back on the blogging wagon and post some of these soon! For now, it's good to be back in Portland, the land of beer. I will continue sampling some new beers as I post some of the delicious beers from my trips...

For now here's an old favorite of mine...At 7.2% and available year round in the 12oz bottles, there is never a bad time for a bastard...

It pours a deep copper with a thin head.

The aroma is big oak with vanilla sweetness. Roasty malt is evident as well.

It has a big full body although it starts mellow. The flavors develop quickly in the body, the roasty malt and oak combine giving it a lot of character. There isn't the sweetness that is evident in the aroma.

The aftertaste is bitterness and oak which lingers nicely.

A good experiment is to get a regular Bastard and an Oak Bastard, line 'em up and try 'em!

Cheers!

Belgian Style Tripel Ale, Stone Brewing Company (& Collaborators), Escondido California

The Belgian Tripel Ale raised to new heights with a collaboration between 3 breweries - Stone, Alesmith (San Diego) and Mikkeller (Denmark). At 9.5% it is available - for a limited time in the 12oz bottles. I picked mine up at Belmont Station a bit ago. Act now, because I'm sure it wont be around long...

It pours a bright amber with a thin head.

The aroma is white pepper, orange peel, citrus and yeast.

There is big yeast right up front. In the medium body, the citrus and white pepper build. It's a complex beer with a lot of tones that appear throughout the beer. Some are subtle like the coriander that drift around the palate - others are stronger like the citrus tones.

The aftertaste is just as complex as the body. Coriander and white pepper are evident with the yeast. It finishes bitter and viscous.

An excellent beer! Cheers!

Hop Stoopid Ale, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma California

I am tempted to put our next tasting down simply as...
Hop Bitter Perfection,
but I will elaborate. Warning: this beer is only for those willing to brave the bitter of the bitter - with 102 IBU's and 7.7%!

It pours a copper color with a nice head.

The aroma is citrus/orange. Big hop floral and bitter tones jump all over.

It is bittery goodness. I lean toward the extreme of things and this fills that craving to define the boundary of what is reasonable. I love it. Hopped up with big earth and flowery tones with some citrus. Bitter...so bitter...

The bitterness let's go of your palate and a nice floral hop remains in the aftertaste.

I HIGHLY recommend it to those of us who love the big IPA's.

Cheers!

Pils, Czech Style Pilsner, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma California

This Saaz hopped lager is a lot different from the Pilsner from yesterday. I love Lagunitas beers, but lagers have a tough time getting on my good side, so let's see. Yesterday's was a surprise, so you never know....

It pours a pale wheat color with a thin head.

The aroma is very mild caramel, hop and brown sugar.

The taste is refreshing and crisp. Mild honey and mild orange are present in the body with a soft straw-ish flavor.

The palate resets quickly, it is mildly sweet with mild hop and finishes dry.

Unfortunately, this beer wasn't as dynamic as last night's Pilsner. It is a soft flavored beer and would be best suited for a hot afternoon in the spring/summertime...

Cheers!

John Barleycorn Barleywine Ale, Mad River Brewing Company, Blue Lake California

And I'm back...

Our next ale is a first for me - we return to the wonderful world of Barleywine. This one is 9.1 % with 96 IBU's and as it says on the bottle brewed in 2008 "celebrating the harvest".

It pours a deep caramel with a thin head.

The aroma is sweet sugary malt with mild vanilla tones.

Delicious. The full body is balanced, so the sweetness isn't overwhelming. It is roasty and slightly smoky in the finish. It's thick, but retains a nice freshness, as well. The roasted malt and bitterness are a nice complement to the alcohol tones that accompany the finish. There is a slight grapefruit flavor that develops in the body and is slightly noticeable in the aftertaste as well.

The aftertaste is roasty, but also fresh - surprisingly so for a barleywine. The bitterness and sweetness seem to balance themselves out and a nice general malt lingers nicely.

This is an excellent barleywine - something to try out for sure. I found mine at Belmont Station here in Portland and I think their beers are fairly available on the West Coast.

Cheers!

Moonstone Porter, Six Rivers Brewery, McKinleyville, CA

Our next beer comes from the Six Rivers Brewery in Mckinleyville in Northern California. It was a present from my sister, who was there a while back with her husband. They enjoyed the Six Rivers Brewpub, giving their beer, food and view a great review. Indeed I received a text picture and it did look great! I am looking forward to checking it out on our next drive down 101 - for now I will enjoy the Porter. This is my first from the brewpub that, until now, I didn't know about...

It pours opaque with a small tight caramel colored head.

The aroma is quite mild. There is subtle malt and sweetness with vanilla.

The moonstone porter has a nice full body. It has a characteristic smoothness that is complemented by a not-too-sweet vanilla flavor. Roasty malt arrives in the body along with some mild hop. It isn't too coffee or chocolate in the finish, but holds to the malt roastiness with a very very mild smokiness to it. A mild yeast holds lightly on the tongue.

The aftertaste is nice and malty. It leaves a roastiness in the mouth.

A great porter, it holds up nicely, with a personality to it. It is 6.9%. I'm not sure what kind of distribution they have, this was a 12 oz bottle.

Great White, Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe, Eureka California

Our next beer comes from just down the coast a bit. I've been through Eureka many many times, but - and I can't explain why - I've never stopped off at the Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe. Next time...

Their "White Beer" offering is available in the 12oz bottles with fair regularity throughout the Northwest.

It pours an unfiltered very very light straw color with a thin tight head.

The aroma is Blonde Ale-ish, light yeast and mild general spice.

It is fairly crisp in the light body. Coriander is big right away, then some milder spice tones arrive in the finish. The yeast carries all the way through, balancing out the spices, except for the coriander, which stays bold. It has some nice orange/citrus tones that carry from the body into the finish as well.

The aftertaste is subtle general spice with the coriander still holding on. Mild yeast with the orange/citrus lingering nicely. A different kind of white beer than I've sampled recently - I didn't taste my favorite white pepper flavor that is at times apparent in White Ales, this one leans more toward the citrus side of things.

From the bottle, we learn that it is made with Two-Row malted barley, unmalted wheat and ale yeast.

Chocolate Stout, Bison Brewery, Berkeley California

Our next beer comes loades with 2-Row, Camel, Chocolate, Roast Barley, and Munich Malts. Bison is an organic brewery from Berkeley, CA. Let's see how these malts taste!

It pours opaque with a tawny tight head.

The aroma is cocoa with a roasty malt.

The taste is roasty malt with a medium body. It thickens as it warms and finishes with big chocolate tones. Dark cocoa and a little coffee develops as you enjoy.

The aftertaste is deep cocoa.

This is a deep dark delicious dessert beer.

Cheers!

Deep Enders Dark Porter, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville California

Anderson Valley....Consistently one of my favorites!

It pours opaque with a tight head.

The aroma is all malty.

The taste is smooth, very smooth. It's malty in the full body with a slight sweetness. There is bitterness in the finish, but it is very light. It is chocolaty and roasty without dominating the palate.

The aftertaste is roasty malt and it resets quickly. It's smooth, very smooth and doesn't stick around being sticky and thick.

A great smooth porter!

Cheers!

12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Stone Brewery, Escondido California

Our next sampling comes from the excellent Stone Brewery. This is a limited release, but has been fairly available at most places I've looked. Let's give it a try....

It pours opaque with a dark brown head

It smells of dark cocoa and mildly sweet. The sweetness is rounded off by a distinct roastiness.

The taste is rich and bitter. It is creamy and the chocolate forms in the body, giving big cocoa notes.There is a little sweetness, but it is cut off by the roasty coffee tones in the end. It finishes chewy and thick.

The aftertaste is biscuity chocolate and slightly bitter. The cocoa takes you straight through.

This is an excellent big bold chocolate taster. It's 9.2% and available in 22oz bottles.

Cheers!

Bison Barleywine, Bison Brewing Company, San Francisco California

Well, I'm not sure if you are able to get your hot little hands on this wonderful Barleywine - They only brew 1200 cases a year and I'm not sure how far their distribution reaches (us Portlanders are blessed with a fair supply of their beers). I highly recommend this barleywine style ale - in fact I've had a few Bison beers and recommend them all. And with this next sample - I stand by my enthusiastic support. Let's try it out....

It pours a dark toffee color with a tight caramel colored head.

The aroma is dominated by sweet sweet malt.

The taste is subtle up front. A mild ale/alcohol taste that leads into a full malt body. This all leads to a bitter end with toffee tones that lingers nicely.

The aftertaste is big malty sweetness with substantial bitterness.

All - in - all it is truthfully a little sweeter than I personally enjoy. I still recommend it heartily.

It is 9.5% with 85 IBU's.

Cheers!

Old Godfather, Speakeasy Ales and Lagers, San Francisco California

Our next Barleywine comes from a favorite brewery of mine, Speakeasy in San Francisco. I haven't been there yet, but I've got my New Year Resolutions this year!
Let's sample....

It pours copper with a thin head.

The smell is all sweet wheat.

Two tastings:
Colder: It has a medium body, the wheat and bitterness is apparent straight off. The sugar builds in the body, but doesn't go too far. It's not overly sweet by any means.
Warmer: Fuller body and more bitter. The sugars get thicker, the beer becomes more oak-y.

There is a big strong aftertaste which is fairly complex. There is a slight sourness that rounds off the sweetness. A strong alcohol taste with the wheat remains - it is definitely a warmer! It settles into the palate for awhile.

All-in-all an enjoyable beer. Maybe not as outstanding as their other offerings, but quite a contender.

I find Speakeasy beers here and there - they seem to pop up with some regularity - though mostly their IPAs. I'm not sure how widely released the Godfather is - I found mine at Belmont Station in SE Portland -

Cheers!

Proving Ground IPA, Magnolia Pub and Brewery, San Francisco California

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! This year aims to be a great year for beer - I'm going to brew my second ever beer this month, more about that later. The holiday ale sampling went great - I tried as many as I could get my lips to, but there are so many! I still have one or two, so it's not over yet! I'm trying to catch up with myself, so the next few posts will be beers I sampled last year - but didn't get the chance to publish.

We took a short trip to San Francisco and, upon arriving, promptly found the Magnolia Pub and Brewery on Haight Street. It's a great little pub and brewery - good food - good beer and great people watching. I highly recommend it!

I had two beers here - the previously blogged Winter Warmer and this one, the Proving Ground IPA, which was on cask.

It pours a glowing amber with a big foamy head.

The aroma is like 100% flowery hop goodness!

The taste is smooth, very smooth with a full body. The bitterness is balanced by the fact that it is on cask, which tends to mellow the taste, a bit. It is a great sipper - I suggest a second or third beer, as it tends to dominate the palate.

The aftertaste is mild bitterness with a lot of hop floral.

It is 7.1% with 100 IBU's - so it's not for those who don't enjoy the hop!

Winter Warmer, Magnolia Pub and Brewery, San Francisco California

We took a recent trip to San Francisco and were lucky to discover the Magnolia Pub & Brewery on Haight Street. They had their Winter Warmer on tap, so we gave it a try -

It pours opaque.

The aroma is roasty mild sweetness and malt.

The taste is roasty malt finished with vanilla. However, it is not too sweet at all. There is no spice, but a full-body malt that gets better as it warms.

The aftertaste is mild bitter with mild vanilla sweetness.

I definitely recommend it to anyone in San Francisco - I don't think they bottle at all, so you have to go to them - which isn't a bad thing at all!

It is 7.8% with 15 IBU's

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!

Beer #50! Double Daddy IPA, Speakeasy Ales and Lagers, San Francisco California

BEER #50 !!!!
So we are already to beer 50. It's amazing! I had to celebrate this momentous occasion with a beer from my favorite style - the Imperial IPA. It's one my wife brought home for me, one day and I was excited to try it - it will be my first Speakeasy beer....

It pours a brilliant amber hue.

The aroma is all hop with big citrus and floral smells.

The taste slakes my need for big hop. It is both earthy and citrus. The bitterness is quite apparent.

The aftertaste is flowery hop which lingers with the bitterness. A definite for hop heads like myself. There isn't much too blog about, in that the beer lives up to it's style - There is big hop all around - I think it's delicious!

I've had good luck finding these beers, but am not sure at all how limited their distribution is - mine was from here in Portland at the Food Front in NW. I've seen their beers at several finer grocery stores.

9.5%
Hops include 4 varieties (unspecified on website) of Pacific Northwest Hops and three additionals.
Pale Malted Barley and German Munich Malts are used along with Speakeasy Ale Yeast.

Cheers!

Celebration Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico California

Our next ale comes from Chico, California from a brewery I'm sure nearly all of us have at least heard of - if not tasted. The Sierra Nevada Pale ale is just about everywhere, but let's take a sip on their holiday offering - the Celebration Ale.

It pours amber with a nice head.

The smell is mostly hop with mild malt. There is also a little honey apparent.

The taste is fresh and hoppy. There is plenty of bitterness there and it lingers through the finish. The malt does a good job balancing the beer, so it isn't overly hoppy. It has a medium to full body. There isn't any apparent spice, but their balance of malt and hop make the beer nice and holiday tasting. I think this is a nice lively beer that would be my #1 pick to take to a holiday party. I believe it would go with a lot of holiday cooking - check their website for great food pairings.

The aftertaste is mostly a subtle hop and bitterness. It finishes on the palate nice and fresh.

It is 6.8% with 62 IBU's. The bittering hops are Chinook. Cascade & Centennial hops are used for finishing. It is dry hopped with Cascade and Centennial. The malts are Two Row Pale and English Caramel. A top-fermenting ale yeast is used.

It is available just about everywhere I've been!

Cheers!