#147, Invasive Species IPA, Captured by Porches Brewing Company, St. Helens Oregon

Our next beer comes from the tiny Captured by Porches Brewing Company in tiny St. Helens - just west of Portland, Oregon. I caught up with the brewer at the Green Dragon here in Portland and sampled the Invasive Species IPA.

It pours a thick unfiltered copper.

The aroma is heavy floral hop with mild citrus.

It has a medium body that is very smooth. It starts flowery, and the hop builds on the tongue with big citrus (orange/grapefruit) tones. The bitterness is not overwhelming but builds in the finish. The strong citrus tones resonate.

The aftertaste is big orange/citrus on the palate with dominating bitterness. It has a slight sour finish and as that dissipates, there is a slight pine flavor.

Available around Portland and St. Helens, Oregon

Drop City IPA, Trinidad Brewing Company, Trinidad Colorado

Flying along the highway between Colorado Springs and Taos, we took a brief break from the road in the small town of Trinidad. It's an interesting little town and we were lucky to meet the very friendly people at Trinidad Brewing Company. I tried their IPA...

It pours a brilliant amber with a big head.

The aroma has strong earthy hop - it's a nice full aroma.

It has a full earthy hop with a nice medium/full body. Bitterness builds strong, exposing the big earthy hop.

The aftertaste is bitter, lingering nicely...

If you happen across this small town, pay a visit to the brewery - it's a great way to spend the afternoon -

Cheers1

Compass Cask IPA, Bristol Brewing Company, Colorado Springs Colorado

Our next beer (another brief departure from my month of darker beers) comes from the Bristol Brewery in Colorado Springs. A great little place I had the pleasure of visiting in May - When I was there, they had the Compass IPA on Cask.

It pours a honey color with a big head.

The aroma is mild grapefruit and citrus with mild yeast.

It is creamy with a medium body. Very smooth with a nice earthy hop that arrives toward the finish. The bitterness builds at the end - it's an easy drinker.

The aftertaste is bitter on the tongue lingering for awhile...

The cask mellow the bitter edge of the beer and it makes for a nice velvety beverage.

Cheers!

La Fleur Amere, Pelican Brewery, Pacific City Oregon

This weekend I had the fortune of coming across the 2009 Brewer's Summer Games at the beautiful Pelican Brewery. This was my first beer festival on the beach and it really is as good as it seems...One of the best beers I had was the La Fleur Amere (The Bitter Flower) brewed right there at the Pelican Brewery. It is a Belgium yeast based English IPA - Nice!

It pours copper with a tight head.

The aroma has a slight sourness but with nice flowery notes.

It is bitter and the yeast is right up front. Dry-hopped, it the bitterness develops in the body. It is balanced, but with some bold taste that has a lot of character.

The aftertaste is mildly tart, and dry with yeast.

I'd recommend trying this one, but it is hard to find! They had it at the brewery, but only available for take-away in a growler.

Other notable beers I enjoyed: Lompoc Bald Guy Ale, Vaporizer IPA from Double Mountain, Oatmeal Pale from Fort George and Silver City Whoop Pass Double IPA -

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!

Sampler, Big Horse Brewery and Pub, Hood River Oregon

On the promise of sun and warm weather, we hit 84 East to Hood River. Unfortunately, when we arrived, it was shrouded in cloud. It's a great little town and we found the Big Horse Brewery for lunch. With a view of the town and the Columbia River, we ordered a Sampler of 8 of their brews and food.

1) Easy Blonde - 5.0% with Mt. Hood Hops.
- It pours a cloudy straw color.
- The aroma is mild yeast and mild hop.
- It is crisp with slight honey. Well hopped, it's more dynamic than most Blonde's I've had - offering a crisp dry finish. It is an easy-drinker and makes me yearn for the summer!
- The aftertaste is crisp and resets quickly with a nice yeast lingering on the palate. It was a surprisingly good, as I do not usually enjoy Blonde's. This one was quite good.

2) Pale Rider IPA - 6.7% with Columbus Hops
- It pours a deep amber.
- The aroma is light with just a touch of mild flowery hops.
- The hop builds in the medium/full body, offering up a nice earthy, lightly flowery bouquet.
- It finishes big with big hops and big bitterness that rests on the palate for a bit. There is a nice hop residue on the tongue that also lingers nicely. I love IPA's and this one had me wanting more!

3) MacStallion Scotch - 6.9%
- It pours a deep amber.
- The aroma is of mild smoke.
- It offers up a lot of flavors. It is smokey right away, but in the body, there is a slight fruit flavor that rises and stays through the finish. Malt and barely are evident.
- The aftertaste is mildly bitter with a nice smokiness. It is the most dynamic Scotch ale I've had that offers up a lot of taste and flavors to enjoy.

4) Nightmare Stout - 6.5% - let this one warm up a bit before sampling.
- It pours opaque with a good head.
- The aroma is a nice deep maltiness.
- It has a medium body with a nice oatmeal chewiness.
- The aftertaste is mild bitter and chewy (with a slight biscuit) that lingers heavy on the palate. Probably the weakest link in this Octet of beers.

5) Unlucky Lager - 5.2% - German style, hopped with German Selects.
- It pours a bright straw color.
- The aroma is very mild hop.
- The taste is mild hop, very creamy in the body. Easy to drink.
- Mild yeast/hop resets quickly in the aftertaste. Another of my "not so favorite" style of beers, this one stood strong.

6) 10-Speed Espresso Porter - 6.2% - Brown Porter with 10-Speed Coffee's Kick Stand Espresso Beans.
- It pours a cloudy dark brown like iced coffee.
- The aroma is straight up coffee/espresso with a mild smokiness.
- It has big iced coffee/espresso notes straight away. It is very thin - not too malty or chewy. It has a nice chocolate tone in the finish. It wasn't as deep as I'd expect for espresso, so I kept tasting more of a coffee flavor.
- Coffee/espress0 with mild malt that dominates the palate for awhile before resetting.

7) B.O.G.Inator - 8.0% - Smoked Doppelbock
- It pours a dark amber.
- The aroma is smoky with mild malt.
- The taste is big creamy smoke that appears right away and stays with you until the finish. It has a rich full body and was one of the favorites.
- The aftertaste is smoky with mild sweetness.

8) 2007 Phat Dog Barley Wine - 12% - Aged 2 Years.
- It pours a bright amber.
- The aroma is real light malt.
- It offers up a big flavor in the full body with malty burnt sugar and caramel. It finishes with molasses.
- Sugary Malty Goodness!

Head brewer Jason Kahler has my kudos for creating a dynamic and delicious round of beers. This was an excellent discovery and comes HIGHLY recommended. They have growlers for some take-home fun.

Cheers!

Double Haul IPA, Kettle House Brewing Company, Missoula Montana

Our next brew announces a first for the blog. I, like many, will freely admit my wariness of canned beer - but we shouldn't let that interfere with giving them a try. I don't know much about the Kettle House Brewing Company. Their website announces they use cans because they are recyclable (made from 80% recycled material), opaque (less susceptible to flavor changes), and easily transportable. Good reasons, let's give it a try. This was a gift from my friend Jason - he picked it up on a recent move from Boston to SF, so Jason - this one's for you - Thanks!

I'm not sure what their availability is - this is my first encounter. It is a 16oz can at 6.6% with 65 IBU's and made with Cascade hops in the bittering, flavoring, and finishing.

It pours bright amber with a nice tight head.

The aroma is all hops, of course. Big, bitter, fresh flowery hop - to get a good idea of what Cascade hops are about - this is the beer to try.

The taste is big crisp hop. It has a medium/full body and the bitterness expands right after sipping. It finishes flowery and bitter - a great testament to hops! It is not overly hoppy and has a nice crispness that keeps the palate lively and fresh.

The aftertaste is mild bitter and flowery.

This is by far the BEST canned beer I've ever had - don't let the aluminum fool you!

Cheers!

Two Hearted Ale, Bells Brewing, Galesburg and Kalamazoo Michigan

So about 10 years ago, I took a road trip to Michigan with my friend Kevin. We were into beer, but not that into it - more into just drinking it. If only I had come across this fine brewery (at the time known as the Kalamazoo Brewing Company). But I did have the fine fortune of picking up a 6 pack somewhere along the road on a recent move from the East to the West Coast. Bell's beers are available throughout the middle states, but unfortunately not on the coasts. I've only had the Two-Hearted Ale, but it blew me away. I recently found out that my friend Dave, who's wife is from Michigan, had this beer at their wedding. He was a brewer for sometime (Boundary Bay, etc) and ran the beautifully stocked BottleShop (R.I.P.) in Bellingham, WA, but enough of my ramblings...

It pours a bright amber with a big foamy head.

It has a nice full aroma with flowery hop and mild citrus.

It has a medium body full of flowery hop. It is noticeably bitter that carries nicely throughout enjoying.

The aftertaste is bitterness that gives way to hop citrus that lingers nicely...

I love this beer, as you can tell by the lengthy introduction. It's well worth finding and once you do, please enjoy one for me....

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!

Yellow Snow IPA, Rogue Ales, Newport Oregon

Nothing truly says winter like Yellow Snow. This IPA from Rogue Ales is one of their winter seasonal offerings. This is the first year that I've tried it - I love the idea of an IPA in the dead of winter....

It pours bright yellow with a big foamy head....Of course.

The smell is big earthy hop.

It is all big earthy hop with a slight spice. The bitterness is evident throughout, but it's not over the top or too biting. It is balanced back in the medium body. It has a bitter and hop finish.

The aftertaste is bitter with flowery notes at the very end.

I love IPAs. There isn't a whole lot to say about this one - it's delicious and clean. Not too extreme. It offers a great reprieve from the big malty winter brews that rule the season. Definitely recommended for any hop fan - it is available in fairly wide distribution.

From their website: Two Row Pale, Cara Foam & Melanoiden malts. Hops: Amarillo. Yeast: Rogue's Pacman Yeast. 70 IBU's.

Another fine ale from one of my favorite breweries!

Cheers!

Finestkind IPA, Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth New Hampshire

The bold and the beautiful - my name for our next beer, Finestkind IPA from one of my favorite breweries, Smuttynose in Portsmouth, NH. This brewery makes several fine ales and they are available all over the Northeast. I HIGHLY recommend sampling ANY of their beers. I don't think it will be something you'll regret!

Although I try to be impartial about the beers I drink, it is hard to suppress that this is tied for number 1 in my list of IPA's. What's the other one? Another time, another post...

It pours a glowing amber with a big foamy head.

The smell has a full hop aroma. It is flowery, with a slight citrus. There is also a very subtle yeast aroma, as well.

The taste is all big hop flavor. It is quite bold and hop front. There is both a coppery and a flowery flavor to the hops. It isn't overly bitter, but there is bitterness there. For being so hoppy, I feel it still has a smoothness to it. It is crisp and refreshing.

The aftertaste is all hop with bitterness. It is full strong hop.

The Smuttynose website states that this is a beer for Hopheads, and I agree. It slakes my need for the hop! It has 65 IBU's and is unfiltered, so don't be afraid if there is some sediment floating around in your pint. It is dry hopped (hops added late in the brewing process).

If you like hops and have the chance to sample this beer, please do and let me know your thoughts!

Cheers!

Shipyard IPA, Shipyard Brewery, Portland ME

Well, studying is only so much fun. Let's deviate from our beer lessons with wild abandon and take a look at another IPA, the Shipyard IPA...

And just so we don't loose all of our geekiness, IPA (India Pale Ale) is a beer from the 17th Century and was developed with the beer trading between Britain and India. American IPA's tend to be more extreme with their hoppiness. Okay, more about that in a later beer lesson, let's drink...

The Shipyard IPA pours a mellow amber with a creamy head.

The smell is of mild hop, not too florally. It has a little spicy aroma to it.

The taste is quite mellow and mild. It's a little on the bitter side, but nothing extreme here. It is crisp and refreshing. I think it goes well with the fall weather outside, which feels the same. From their website, I learned that this is a single hop beer (made with Fuggles hop, which is a traditional English hop). So, that explains it's balanced character. It is a medium body and fairly smooth.

The aftertaste is mild hop and slightly bitter, but dissipates quickly.

So, if you are a reader of this blog, you will notice that I try not to pass judgement on ranking beers. I am tempted at times, but I think it is important that all beers, like everything, have different purposes and different intents. Some align with my taste, some don't. What I am interested in, is understanding the intent of the beer along with it's history. So, I will continue to try to be as impartial as I can....but I do have my favorites!

Shipyard is available all around the Northeast in beer stores and bars. The gift shop at the brewery in Portland, Maine is massive and they have their beers available with lots of other swag. On an interesting note, I did find Shipyard's Pumpkinhead beer out here on the West coast last week and will blog about that in the upcoming days.

Cheers!

Long Trail IPA, Longtrail Brewing Company

Well, I'll be the fist to admit that I have a hard time letting go of summer. So in honor of the passing season, I'll take a few posts to enjoy the remaining IPAs in my fridge. This one comes from the Long Trail Brewing Company in Vermont. Their beers are found all around the Northeast, but the brewery is great if you can make it. We stumbled across it by chance on a trip to Woodstock, Vermont. A great coincidence....

Their IPA pours an unfiltered amber with a thin head.

The aroma is of mild mild mild hop with some mild citrus.

The taste is very slight, first citrus, then a little hop. It has a medium body and is very crisp and refreshing.

The aftertaste is slight floral hops with citrus with a mild bite.

From their website:

5.9% with 56 IBUs

Malts: Crystal and Two Row

Hops: Nugget and Cascade

It is listed as an English IPA which explains the mild hop flavor.

Cheers!

Ipswich IPA, Mercury Brewing Company

And I'm back. Tonight's beer hails from the Mercury Brewing Company in Ipswich, MA. The Ipswich IPA is available throughout the Northeast, but alas - no luck finding it out here...yet. I will keep a lookout though and if anyone finds it here on the West Coast, let me know because I am stoked on this IPA.

It pours a nice copper color with a medium head.

The smell is definitively hoppy, with a slight citrus and without sounding pretentious, I really did taste orange peel.

The taste is a full-body malt. It is a very thirst quenching and refreshing beer. It is a little thick, and slightly strong, so the taste holds it's own. It is not overly hoppy, but rather well balanced with the malt. From the website, I learned that U.S. and Belgian malts are used with Cascade and Warrior hops. Roasted barley is also used, which I think helps with the balancing of the beer and creating the full body.

The aftertaste is slightly bitter, but not-overly hoppy. Again, it finishes very well-balanced. A great evening beer. I had it with a veggie burger and black beans and it went well (especially with the spicy beans.)

It is 6.3 % with 60 IBUs.

Haverhill Leatherlips IPA, Haverhill Brewery

Let's take a quick exploration into the hoppy-side of the beer world. Our next beer comes from the Haverhill Brewery in Haverhill, Massachusetts - Leatherlips IPA. First, a note on the brewery which is referred to as "The Tap Room". If you in New England and looking for great brewpubs to explore - give this one a chance. We didn't explore the town too much - it's a small post-industrial town on the Merrimac River, the Tap Room has a very nice deck that overlooks the river and the train bridge. It is a great place to relax with friends and try their many beers on their rotating taps. By the way, the building the tap room is in is an old shoe factory - their taps are actual antique wooden shoe forms from the buildings history. Americana and beer drinking, ahhh.

The beer pours a bright amber color. It has 50 IBUs, which is International Bittering Units (a common measurement which we will explore more in depth when we crack the books on beer). So we expect a bitter beer - which I admit I am partial to.

The smell isn't overwhelmingly hoppy. I remember having the beer at the brewpub and the smell was a lot more aromatic when it is drawn from the tap. I can gather a slight citrus smell with the hop.

Leatherlips uses a combination of Centennial and Chinook hops. The taste is hoppy and bright. It is bitter but not overwhelmingly powerful. It comes with a clean, dry finish. I tend to think of IPAs as one of two flavors - Flowery or Coppery. Some have this very flowery, fresh taste and some with a more copper feel in the mouth - not unpleasant, probably not the best description. Soon we will delve into what these tastes are and how it is effected by the kinds of hops used.

The aftertaste is dry - leaving you wanting more. Not a bad thing, except I only brought one bottle with me and haven't found that they export to the West Coast at all. My palate seems to reset fairly quickly, but a nice slight bitterness remains in the back of the mouth.

If you happen to stumble across this gem of a brewery, then find your way towards Portland, OR - let me know! They bottle just a few of their beers, but if your quick, we can share a growler!

Cheers!

Pelican Brewery, IPA

It was a beautiful weekend on the Oregon Coast and made for the perfect time to be at the Pelican Brewery. The Brewpub is situated on the beach at Pacific City. If you haven't been there and are remotely close - Go! If your not remotely close - Go! You won't regret it.

So back to beer - to reiterate, I will start basic and together we will educate ourselves to a higher level of beer tasting.

My first beer is the Pelican IPA (India Pelican Ale). This is one of my favorite IPA's, ever. In true My Year In Beer fashion, I made notes about the beer on my beer coaster - had my wife try the beer - made notes from her, then...left the coaster right there on the table when we left to go walk along the beach. So, memories....

It has a hoppy aroma - but not overwhelming. I was a little surprised There wasn't more. The initial taste is hoppy though - Cascade hops are used and the taste is not overly flowery or spicy. It strikes a good balance with the bitterness. I'd say it has a full body - but what the hell does that mean?! I guess it helps describe the balance of flavor and bitterness while not disappearing too soon. The aftertaste leaves a little bitterness in the back of the jaw and a nice flavor in the mouth. We enjoyed the seafood quesadillas which were an excellent paring, in my taste, with the beer. The slight spiciness of the meal was enhanced, then controlled by the beer. It's own citrus spiciness wins out and refreshes the palate. That's the best I can do off of memory.... Next time, I'll bring a notebook instead of using the coaster...