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  • Frosty 10:40 pm on December 10, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Ho ho ho holy moley. Ninkasi Sleigh’r is awesome! 

    2009-11-19 18.14.59I love winter time in beer land. More so than any other season, brewers seem compelled to pull out all their tricks and come up with new and fun beer concoctions. And because its so cold for most of America, they tend to be on the darker side, which of course makes Frosty a happy boy. Ninkasi’s winter brew, Sleigh’r, is no exception. Now, yes, I’ve been hard on Ninkasi in the past, but to be fair all their beer is just so damn hoppy. Imbued with all the narcissism only a guy with a beer review blog can have, I’ll go ahead and claim that they heard my cries, and have decided to make a brew truly worthy of my lofty praise. ;) Either that, or they just mined the stream of awesome brewing they’ve always had. And struck gold, they have.

    Sleigh’r is a Dark Double Alt, and its does its style proud. Super dark, super malty, and super yum. It has the great distinction of being one of the few 22’s I look forward to drinking straight through, regardless of the drunken consequences. As I froze my tukus off putting up Christmas lights the other weekend, just the thought that it was in the fridge warmed my bones.

    It won’t be around long, so for those of you with a sense of taste (skylark: Alameda Papa Noel a 1? Come on…), pick some up, ditch the egg nog, and make Santa proud.

     
    • Ivana Goodbeer 8:38 am on December 11, 2009 Permalink

      We should leave this beer by the fireplace on Christmas Eve for the big man. Perhaps we’ll find a few extra ‘toys’ on the following morning! :)

  • Frosty 3:01 pm on November 30, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Bring in the old! No. 38 Stout that is. 

    2009-11-29 18.01.38Naming a stout after a train can really go wrong: either by implying a certain coal-tar flavor (mmmm…burnt), or with a foreshadow to the effect the stout will have on your head after drinking. Lucky for me, neither apply to North Coast Brewing’s Old #38 Stout. Its more like a smooth ride down a track of air than the smoky clackety rumble its name implies. This stuff is good. Real good. Smooth, and “just right” flavorful, it puts to shame all the stouts that feel the need to brew themselves with some other flavor to mask the funk (Abyss excepted of course).

    I had never seen this before, and frankly found it in the bargain bin of Market of Choice. I’m not sure why, but if I see a 6 pack of this lying around, it will most certainly become an automatic buy. If you can find it, I give a hearty thumbs up, as its now one of my favorite stouts of all time.(Sorry Black Seal, it was a good run)

     
  • Frosty 1:34 pm on November 19, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    I like old school Amber Lager, or his name isn’t Karl Strauss. 

    2009-11-11 18.47.05I wasn’t always a beer snob. In fact, I used to hate beer. But when I think back, I can always point to the one brewery that taught me that beer didn’t have to taste like urine (go keystone!). And that brewery was headed by the jolly, slurring, german guy who would pipe up on the radio, “its the best beer you’ve ever tasted, or my name isn’t Karl Strauss”. Now, its not the best beer I’ve ever tasted, but it is damn good, so I’ll give old Karl the credit and let him keep his name.

    It may be the DayQuil I’m on talking, but this beer really brings me back to beach bonfires and lost time with semi legal substances. Karl has many beverage options, but the Amber is the classic. Its smooth and crisp.  And perhaps its just nostalgia, but it epitomizes what I think of when I say “easy drinkin beer”. Its the perfect summer beer….which in San Diego, feels like its all year round.

     
  • Walt Liquor 10:45 pm on November 15, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Black Hart “Irish Style” Dry Stout (now with more potato & cabbage) 

    black_hearts “Irish style”?   You’re just inviting disaster by naming a beverage with alcohol in it “Irish style.”   While of course they mean to refer to the excellent tradition of fine brews to come from Ireland, they’re risking providing fodder for the equally rich tradition of drunk Irish jokes.  What’s the recommended serving method for “Irish Style”, cracking the bottle over some doof’s head in the pub?  They should save the trouble of bottling it — just pour it straight from the bottles onto walls of buildings, about waist-high, during the St. Patrick’s day parade in New York.  (I’m allowed to make these jokes, by the way, as I’m one of the 83% of Americans who claim Irish descent.  Here’s my proof-of-Irish card.)

    And what’s with the deer-escaping-from-a-chess-rook logo?  The deer has a look of ennui about him, despite being consumed up to the neck by a castle turret while the ground to either side inexplicably sprouts wings.  Maybe he’s confident because he’s carrying a gunpowder horn around his neck.  What the hell?  At first glance the diagram passes for your typical old-world style coat of arms, particulary being rendered in black and white on a subdued beer label.  But it’s astonishingly surreal upon close inspection, and must be downright bewildering after drinking an entire six-pack of this stuff.

    But I kid!  Before I make any more superficial, completely-beside-the-point complaints, let me just say that this a tasty little straightforward stout — no tricks, no bells or whistles, no chocolate or cumin or rutabaga.  Just a quality glass of pretty much exactly what you’d expect.  The randomness of my earlier comments attests to my difficulty in finding anything substantive to critique about this beer — Black Hart’s stout hit the spot in that coffee/chocolate/pleasant bitterness way of all good stouts.  Try it “Irish Style” with some smoked salmon in a smoky pub while it’s pouring rain outside, and you’ll feel a bit Irish, no matter where you hail from.  Unless you’re a deer — in that case, watch your step and keep your powder dry…

     
    • Brian 9:45 pm on November 23, 2009 Permalink

      That hart could definitely kick your ass if it had legs.

  • Frosty 3:07 pm on November 7, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Tiiiiiiiime is on its side. A year does well for The Abyss 2008. 

    2009-11-06 18.50.52I wasn’t super excited about The Abyss last year. It was good, but not great. But then Doug tells me, “no you need to put it in the fridge for a year, and drink it when the new batch comes out”. I was skeptical, but now I just feel dumb that I didn’t store more than one.

    Wow! Yum! What a difference a year makes. It was smooth, thick, and oppressively dark. The flavors of licorice and molasses were there, but they have certainly taken the backseat to the excellent “stout-ness”. It also seems to have gotten more alcoholic during its stay in the meat locker. Either that or my liver has just given up even trying, cause … whew.

    So now I’ve bought the 2009 batch. This year I buy more than one. And as I shove it into cold storage, I realize this is going to be a long year.

     
  • Ivana Goodbeer 8:30 pm on September 11, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Bridgeport Porter 

    porterHops-scotch and his betrothed joined us last weekend for some fun and frivolity so of course Frosty and I would be totally remiss if we didn’t start their Portland experience with some great beer! We decided to take them to the Bridgeport brewery downtown for some lunch vittles and of course some awesome beer.  Hops-scotch ordered their Black Strap Stout while his wife-to-be and Frosty ordered Haymakers.  I went for their porter.

    Lets just say… I’ve fallen in love with porters and Bridgeport’s is no exception.  The smoky smooth taste made for a flavorful, yet easy to drink beer.  I honestly can’t think of anything that wouldn’t taste good with a porter.  I’d even drink a porter with chocolate cake!  (Ohh… that sounds so good….) Ok… maybe I should change my name to “PorterSlut.”

     
  • skylark 6:09 pm on August 30, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA Fueled Bachelor Night 

    This Friday was bachelor night at the Stewart household so I went down to the local Freddies for the beer selection. Fred has recently remodeled and it appears the months of construction is paying off big. They have quadrupled their beer selection, including a daunting selection of Point 2s. It is going to take me months to work through it but I look forward to the challenge.

    Freddie's Beer Fridge

    Freddie's Beer Fridge

    While I was there I took back some bottles that had been piling up. After waiting in line with 6 other people while the attendant tried to get more than 3 of 4 of the machines working I vowed to lobby the state legislature to change our bottle return system. But that’s another post.

    After staring at the wall of beer with what must have been an expression of pure agony, I settled on a 4 pack of Dogfish 90 minute IPA. The box said, “Quite possibly the best IPA in America” or something like that so I figured it had to be good.

    Next stop was dinner. We’ve been driving by a local Ochoa (Mexican cart) for weeks and remarking about how many people  were there at all hours of the night. I decided Tacos Lupitas would be my source for bachelor nourishment.

    Tacos Lupitas

    Tacos Lupitas

    On the corner of 87th and Beaverton Hillsdale Highway the location is less than ideal. It’s nestled between a pawn shop, an eyeglass repair shop, and a place called “Private Rendezvous” that deals in erotic massage. I’m not sure what people thought when the Skylark rumbled in but a couple thumbs-up made me feel welcome.

    Once home I queued up Richard Pryor Live from the Sunset Strip, opened the Dogfish 90 minute IPA, and dug in to my Carne Asada tacos. The meat was subpar but the salsas, grilled onions and peppers, and pico de gallo was amazing.

    Psst… Story time is over, here’s the review!

    As for the Dogfish 90 Min IPA, it was like nothing I had ever tasted. To call it an IPA merely hints at the experience. At it’s heart, the 90 min is an IPA. The taste is driven by the hoppy goodness I love about IPAs. However, that is just the beginning. The taste builds to resemble something more akin to a bourbon or whiskey. It kind of resembles  a barrel aged beer but the taste is more complex and goes well beyond a hint.

    The final sip revealed only one inevitable flaw. That would be alcohol content (9%, probably more). After two I was pretty much done. Not trashed, but pretty darn close. Maybe I’m a lightweight but damn, this beer kicked my ass. Of course, that only means that my brain now has a pavlovian chemical association with the 90 that will only make me love it more.

    A few weeks ago I had the 60 minute (almost blogged about it!) and although the two beers share a few syllables, they are much different. I still got the impression I was going to be trashed after a couple, but they really stood alone. I guess that is why they make two versions.

    So, one beer in the Freddie’s fridge down and a couple hundred more to go. Tonight Deschutes Brewery’s Red Chair IPA is queued up. I think I might review it too, but don’t bet on it.

    —Skylark

     
  • Downtown Brown 5:59 pm on August 24, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Surpise! An IPA in the Belgian section 

    cimg0048Until today I had never tried anything from the Marin Brewing Co. Partly because my local store doesn’t offer too many from this brewer, but mostly because it is in the belgian ale section of the case. What I refer to as ‘Hellz NO’ territory.

    It has been pretty frustrating, as lately my local store keeps running out of my favorite IPA, the Pizza Port Wipeout. Last time I went I just walked out with no beer (a sin I know). This time I felt the need to sac up and just try something, hey, if its got alot of alcohol it can’t be that bad?

    This IPA from Marin Brewing Co. comes in at 6.8%, which is pretty respectable. Most IPAs that can really be called IPAs are in the 6-8 range; to be honest they are so bitter that when the alcohol content gets higher its hard to notice. According to the bottle it has won all kinds of awards, like the World Beer Championships and the Great American Beer festival. So it has some clout. How does it stand up?

    As IPAs go, this is pretty smooth tasting, not overly hoppy, and a beer that I would probably give to a friend who might be up for their first IPA. The aftertaste is also pleasant. That might sound weird, but considering the aftertaste of Stone’s IPA feels like a skunk holed up in your oral cavity, this is a welcome respite. Priced around $4 a bottle make the wallet happy as well.

    Frosty, I might just get you to enjoy an IPA yet.

     
    • Frosty 1:55 pm on August 25, 2009 Permalink

      Ha! fat chance. I do have taste you know.

      Zen koan for consideration:
      “If an IPA has to be less like an IPA for me to like it, is it really an IPA at all?”

    • Downtown Brown 3:28 pm on August 25, 2009 Permalink

      It is a shame the belgians have killed your tastebuds. How about “though containing the ingredients of a classic IPA, it sidesteps its bitter tradition for a more refined drink.”

      You might like it.

      It might even help your balls drop. ;)

  • Frosty 8:34 am on August 22, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Upright #7: So much tastier than those other numbers. 

    2009-08-21-121242I know deep down that the bartender was just trying to sell me the more expensive size, but when he handed me the gigantic glass of Upright #7, I was both appreciative and afraid. “Man, I hope this doesn’t taste nasty.” Perhaps I was influenced by the amazing Pok Pok food (best Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings I’ve ever had. Come to think of it, the only Vietnamese fish sauce wings I’ve ever had). Perhaps it was the fact I was insanely thirsty. Or maybe, just maybe, this little Portland brewery who prefers obscure and unhelpful beer names really does make a fantastically awesome beer.

    This stuff was great. A “belgian farmhouse ale” for those of you who know what sort of thing means. For everyone else, it means a sort of tart, mildly orangy flavored beer. Golden and cloudy, this stuff was awesome from the first chug to the last sip, making me be sure not to leave any behind. And that’s some feat. I mean I love beer, but sometimes even the best can tend to get a little gross as the minutes roll on, leading to the inevitable “one for my homies” pour into the sink. Any beer that makes me want to drink every last drop, even when the glass is like 22oz, deserves an immediate 5.

     
    • Ivana Goodbeer 11:35 am on August 22, 2009 Permalink

      Sounds refreshing! I can imagine that the beer went perfectly with the Vietnamese food.

  • SwillJockey 6:25 pm on August 14, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    10 Barrel Summer Ale: My new favorite beer 

    Today was the second time that I’ve had this beer while having lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings in Tanasbourne. Both times this pale ale was welcome treat. The first time because I’d never tried it before and it tasted good and the second because it backed up my initial positive tasting.

    Most pale ales these days want to smack you around with hops and make your cheeks beg for mercy. Not this one. Well balanced, light, and malty, it’s the perfect “I want a beer, but not a challenge” beer.

    It’s tasty on multiple levels and not vapid like your former college roommate’s blonde girlfriend from years past. I wish this stuff was bottled, but until then I may have to pay the people at Buffalo Wings more visits.

     
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