Beer Road Trip

This summer was great for Beer Tasting. It started with Hop Valley in Eugene. The have a cool outdoor patio and a big beer list. The stand out was the Light It Up Lager, nice for a hot summer day. Next Stop was Caldera Brewing in Ashland. They had 40 beers on tap and 5000 bottles of beer on the wall. My wife loves the Ginger Hibiscus, I liked the Hatch Chilli Ale and the Mother Pucker Raspberry Sour. While down there we also went to Southern Oregon Brewing. If you every want to try something from there I recommend the Nice Rack IPA.  Smooth, balanced and Hoppy! Next Leg of our trip we went to Russian River, known for Pliney the Elder. Everything there was delicious. I really like Consecration, a sour ale with currents aged in Pinot Barrels. Driving Back up the coast we stopped by Anderson Valley Brewing. They have a cool little brewery with a disc golf course and tasting room. I had the Experimental Sour which had watermelon in it. Our Last might on our trip we stayed in Portland. We hit Hair of the Dog, Cascade, Commons Brewing and Laurelwood. Stand outs were Michael a flanders ale from Hair of the Dog, Fleur De Blanc a white farmhouse ale with rose and elderflower and Megafauna a rare double ipa from Laurelwood. Eat, drink and  be Merry 

Prost!

Tacoma and Gig Harbor Breweries

Yesterday I went and hung out with my brother, we went out some breweries. We started at 7 Seas Brewing in Gig Harbor. The taproom was really nice and they have their own food truck outside. The first beer I had was the Port Royal Export Stout. It was solid. Roasty and complex, a very good stout. The next beer I had was their flagship beer the British Pale Ale. It is smooth and the hops and malts are balanced

The next Brewery on our tour was Narrows Brewing. They are located in the Narrows Marina. I had a Rye Ipa. This beer had nice hop characteristics, wasn't to bitter and just enough floral aromas. The great thing about this place is the view and will probably be packed in the summer. 

We then went to a place in Tacoma called Red Hots, it is a beer and hot dog place. It was brewers night and New Belgium. I had the La Folie and the. Switched to the Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose. Both were delicious. La Folie is a sour, which really hits the pallete. Anderson Valley was sweet and salty like a traditional gose bit flavored with Blood Orange made the beer pop. 

Last Place we visited was Wingman Brewers I had their Peanut Butter Cup Porter and the Belgian Cherry. Porter wasn't overly sweet. It had the nice balance of peanut butter and Chocolate. The Belgian Cherry was decent. Nice Cherry Flavor blended with the Belgian yeast. 

Thank you to my brother for inviting me out and having a great time enjoy beer and conversation.

Proust!

Stouts

For my birthday I enjoyed a Rum Barrel Aged Cavatica Stout from Fort George. It was tastey once it warmed up. First Sip the Flavor seemed muddled from being cold. Once it warmed up the flavor began to contrast. I do think Stouts are better aged in Whiskey or Bourbon barrels, but I will try any beer once.

Also Fremont finally bottled the Darkstar Oatmeal Stout! I have been waiting for this for awhile! Go grab one today!

Cheers! 

2012 Old Birdbrain

Old Birdbrain is an American Barleywine aged in Rye Whiskey barrels. The first sip was reminiscent of maple. As it warmed up the flavors became more complex and balanced out the Rye barrel. This is satisfying barleywine. The 2014 release is at the end of February, I will be stocking up. Proust!

  

Tacoma Breweries

Saturday the 17th we went on a little outing in Tacoma and checked out two new breweries and swung by Wingman Brewing for Porterpalooza. 

The first stop was Pacific Malt & Brewing. This place is in the old City Hall Building. Nice layout and warm feeling inside. The beer that stands out to me is the 1897 pale lager. It is a recreation of the original beer named by its namesake It was crisp and refreshing and  dances on the pallet. 

The next brewery we stopped by was Odd Otter. They had a huge list. The standouts were The Luck of the Otter Stout, Jolly Otter ESB, and the Blind Otter(barleywine aged in Woodenville Whiskey barrels). The Blind Otter was my favorite. I also feel this place is is trying too hard up front, making to many experimental beers such as the Winterface winter ale and Strawberry blonde ale. 

We stopped by Porterpalooza at Wingman. They released  10 versions of the P-51 porter, including the bottled Peanut Butter Cup Porter. With it they had on tap a Bourbon Stout that was phenomenal. I had to buy a bottle.  

If you are ever in Tacoma swing by these fine establishments you will not be disappointed. 

Cheers!

Delicious Ales

Let start with the Common's Brewing 2013 Bourbon Barreled Little Brother. This is a belgian style aged in bourbon barrels. I was dubious of this at first, but the flavors blended nicely! The second one was Hair of The Dog Doggieclaws 2014, this beer had the flavor and is delicious. You get notes of figs and dates; however this batch did carbonate well which I thought made 2013 version. Thirdly I tried Fremont Cinnabomb. It is the Abominable ale aged in bourbon barrels with cinnamon and coffee. This beer was amazing. The flavor were balanced and danced on the taste buds! I can't say enough good things about this   beer. I have been recommending it to everyone, so go get a bottle! Proust!