This time around, we welcome a new face into the stable of home-brew heroes: Todd Stadelhofer. When not battling the ravages of bad software code, Todd takes the time to make some ridiculously meticulous beer varieties. Todd has the current distinction of being the only guy in cubicle land who posts his recipe outside his cubicle. Beer geeks are awesome!

Todd’s inaugural beer was a tasty dry hopped Pale Ale title “Springboard”. I couldn’t tell you more about the varieties of hops or anything, cause that’s not the sort of thing I do. I can tell you however, that despite not generally liking overly hoppy beer, I found Springboard to be wonderful for an all night design session. I was hesitant at first, but man, nothing makes a crap-tastic project go by quickly quite like a 22oz. of refreshing Pale Ale.

So here’s to you Todd. May your brewing skills live on, and your beer geekery reach new heights. My liver salutes you.

Alameda Klickitat Pale Ale

The other day, while browsing Freddy’s beer selection I put back my first choice in favor of a Hopworks Crosstown Pale Ale. Although I never regretted my decision I vowed to go back for the beer I left behind. That beer was an Alameda Brewing Klickitat Pale Ale. Alameda as in the Portland neighborhood, not Alameda, California. The extreme-localness™ of the company really caught my eye.

So tonight, on another run to Fred’s for some random groceries, I returned. There she was, cold, a little proud, but eager to prove herself. Reunited at last. But, you know how you dream of times gone by only to realize they aren’t as good as the memory? Maybe I just built it up too much.

Reflecting on my last sip I guess this Pale just a Pale. Nothing to write home about but a good pale nonetheless.  I mean, I want to write more but I’m just not inspired. I’ll definitely try another Alameda brew.

Freddy's Point Two Selection... or so I thought.

This weekend I stopped by my local Fred Meyer’s and was once again blown away by the beer selection added with the new remodel. The selection is vast and varied and this day I discovered an entirely new section (to me at least).

I selected an Alameda Brewing Klickitat Pale Ale and satisfied with my choice wandered down the isle toward the checkout counter. I glanced over at what I thought was the imported section. I’m not really an import kind of guy, although I do have a fondness for Trapist Monk-brewed Tripels. I think Heineken and Amstel soured me at an early age.

However, upon closer inspection I discovered that the section was entirely devoted to organic beers! Actually, I’m not really an Organic beer fan either but only because of a couple bad apples in the bunch. This isn’t one or two organic beers. About a hundred beers from about 40 different breweries both domestic and imported make up this section. I ran my Alameda Pale back down to the other section, pledged to come back and try it someday and made my way back to the organic section.

There were many choices but I decided to stay away from the mainstream. I’ve never had good luck with organic brews. Deschute’s Green Lakes, Mothership Wit from New Belgium (tastes the same as all their other beers… surprise!), and even a Fish Tail Organic Cask Conditioned IPA always seem to under deliver. It is almost as if the focus on removing all things non-organic leaves you with a beer that is missing something. Maybe a little fertilizer in my beer adds to the finish.

A friend had mentioned Hopworks the other night and the design of the bottle (I am a sucker for well-designed packaging) caught my eye. The interesting thing I noted is that all of Hopworks’ beers are organic. Maybe they would deliver where others failed because they were totally devoted to being organic.

I chose the Crosstown Pale Ale  and headed home a little nervous about my choice. I hope I would not regret putting the Alameda back. Crosstown did not disappoint. This wasn’t some candy-assed, watered down hippie beer. It was BEER. It just happened to be organic. Between Deschutes and Full Sail make up the majority of the beer I consume and every once and a while something special comes along and lets me know what I am missing. Crosstown didn’t mess around. Balanced, complex, and full of the hoppy goodness I expect from a Pale.

In the end, I didn’t feel like I had done something good for the earth, but I did feel like I had enjoyed something special. I might have to make this a series on Hopworks and I will definitely make it down to the brew pub.

]]> http://www.frostygoodness.com/491/more-goodness-from-the-freddys-fridge/feed 0 http://www.frostygoodness.com/453/10-barrel-summer-ale-my-new-favorite-beer http://www.frostygoodness.com/453/10-barrel-summer-ale-my-new-favorite-beer#comments Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:25:02 +0000 SwillJockey http://www.frostygoodness.com/453/10-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.

By all accounts, I would consider HUB’s Crosstown Pale a good beer. It’s not cheek smashy, not bitter, not burnt, not watery. In other words, nothing like Widmer beer. It’s only flaw really was that it was just too hoppy for my tastes. Slightly less hops, and this would have been a superstar. I drank the whole thing, but I really don’t think I would ever buy it again.

On the bright side, since it’s made locally, it’s an organic beer. That way, the hops that turn me away weren’t also pesticiding my insides.

Hoppy where you don’t want it, tart in the rest, its just some kind of beer experiment gone wrong. Like, the flavors so bad that they decided to overcompensate by adding citrus “flavors”. “Needs more dog” as the saying goes.

You know, the bottle has this tagline on it. “Brewers of Quality Beers”. Really? My sink doesn’t agree. Don’t get me started on Widmer, whose business lobby makes you pay for little things like tatoos and stickers. Somewhere along the way, local Oregon brewery turned into cash obsessed money machine. And the taste of the beer seems to gone along with it.

A lot of people (especially those from the East Coast) get offended when you say something like, “The East Coast doesn’t know what real beer is.” They bring up something about Sam Adams “inventing” micro-brewing. Whatever. I’ll give you Sam Adams but that is pretty much the only contribution worth mentioning. They may have started it, but we Northwesters have taken it to the next level. Thats right, and I’ll kick the crap out of anyone who says otherwise.

Anywhoo, my last trip to NYC led me to believe that the other coast was completely devoid of good beer. I’ve heard that DC has some good beers too. Who knows, maybe 20 years from now some East Coast dude will be hatin’ on Northwest beer like its old news.

Now I see where some other people people got wildly different experiences from the Cherry Wheat than I did after my first taste of it. My first taste of the stuff was when it was VERY cold and it tasted wonderful. Today, it was just slightly cold and tasted of “cough syrup cherry flavoring”.

I was disappointed that the mere change in temp could affect this beer so drastically. I finished the beer, but the experience knocked a few points off of my previous rating.

I am thankful I wasn’t able to find this stuff sold by the case and didn’t end up saddled with lots of warmish beer flavored cough syrup.

Moral of the story: drink this shtuff cold or don’t drink it at all!

This pale ale is almost trying to be an IPA, but fails. There is a lingering aftertaste that reminds you of drinking and overly steeped cup of tea. I think the brewer left the teabag in this stuff way too long. If you like the wake up in the morning, cotton mouthy taste that this stuff leaves behind, by all means swill a case of this stuff.

It starts out tasting OK, but then quickly goes down hill with the hoppy, gritty, tea-baggy after taste. OK, no jokes about tea-bagging, but Frosty, you know who you are.

I’ll not be buying any more. I might not even finish the two that are left in the fridge. I think I’ll let the kitchen sink choke them down.