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!
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