[BW] Beer Blog

Brewery: Oregon Trail Brewery
Style: Porter
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: B (Community)
RateBeer.com Rating: 3.68 (93rd percentile)
Serving: 22oz Bottle

It has been entirely too long since my last post, so to make up for my absence I am reviewing a beer that I’ve wanted to try for quite some time. The Oregon Trail Brewery is a small, local brewery in Corvallis, Oregon mostly notable for their Wit. However, they also brew a slew of other beers and one just happens to be a bourbon porter.

The bottle itself is dipped in red wax and a price tag (almost $12) that easily scares off the weak of heart. I’m not intimidated though, as I love huge porters and stouts. From their site:

Oregon Trail Bourbon Barrel Porter is as big as the West, masterfully brewed in the true pioneer spirit. This robust porter is aged in Kentucky oak bourbon barrels. The result is a pitch-black brew, rich with oaky smoothness, bold bourbonesque aroma, with hints of fruit and vanilla.

Sounds delicious. Let’s find out!

Appearance - While not absolutely pitch black as advertised, not much light gets through this one. One can easily tell that it’s clearly a porter and not a stout. A couple fingers worth of tan head also appear upon pouring.

Smell - I smelled bourbon the second I popped the cap. Upon getting my nose in there, I was bombarded with a whole ton more of bourbon. I’ve had bourbon-inspired beers before, but none greet you like this one. Behind the bourbon is a little bit of vanilla tagging along for the ride.

Taste - This beer is exactly what it says it is. This is no ordinary porter by any means. The bourbon taste is immediately apparent, as is the vanilla. Only after the initial taste dissipates are you reminded that this is a porter. I have to say that I expected this to be a porter first and not the other way around, but Oregon Trail made an incredibly delicious and unique brew. Take your time with this one too as the 11% abv will knock you on your butt.

I highly recommend getting your hands on this if you can.

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Brewery: Coeur d’Alene
Style: Maibock
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: C+ (Community)
RateBeer.com Rating: 3.16
Serving: On Tap

First of all, I’m back! It’s been entirely too long since my last post and I apologize. Now that the busiest time of the year is wrapping up, I’ll once again have plenty of time to review new beers. I’m also excited because in 5 days from now I move back to the Portland area. This means exponentially more beer for me and a lot more interesting reviews for all of you.

Today’s review is yet another brew from Coeur d’Alene. I figured this is my last weekend in Pullman for the next three months, so I might as well hit up the Ale House one last time. I hadn’t been there in a while and was pleasantly surprised to see that they have a seasonal maibock.

Appearance - Dark copper color with a healthy amount of white head. Looks like a pretty standard maibock. Think maybe a tad darker than how Dead Guy pours.

Smell - Smells like a typical maibock as well. Pretty standard mixture of flowery hops and caramel-type malts.

Taste - I have to say this tastes like a typical maibock as well, but with a more pronounced alcohol taste. From what I’ve read, this brew is only supposed to be about 7% ABV, but mine tasted closer to 8.5-9%. Perhaps this year’s batch is just boozier.

Either way, this is a fairly typical maibock that will hit the spot of that’s what you’re craving. If you want something completely unique, perhaps try elsewhere. At the very least, this will please you if you’re craving a Dead Guy.

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Just want to let you all know that I am very much still alive. Posting new reviews has gotten mighty slow around here and I apologize.

In my day-to-day life, things have gotten insanely busy. Not only is my first year of grad school coming to a conclusion in about three weeks, but I’ve also been put in the position where I get to fill the role of two positions at once until the summer hits.

Truth be told, I also haven’t had any truly inspiring beers lately. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been taking the time to enjoy a brew every now and then, but none of the new ones I’ve tried lately have really sparked enough interest to write about them.

For example, a couple nights ago I had the chance to try Hale’s Mongoose IPA. Does everybody use the same recipe for IPAs? Is is that hard to make an IPA that actually tastes original? Perhaps my palate isn’t sophisticated enough to pick up on the intricacies of IPAs, but 99% of them taste exactly alike to me.

Hopefully this should all change in about three weeks when not only is the semester over, but I’m moving back to Oregon for the break. While I’m definitely enjoying my time out here for school, Pullman isn’t exactly a beer town. Expect much more frequent updates soon enough. Until that time comes, expect maybe a post a week if I’m lucky.

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Brewery: Anheuser-Busch
Style: American Macro Lager
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: D- (Community) F (The Bros)
RateBeer.com Rating: 1.16 (0 percentile)
Serving: 12oz can

While my thoughts on beer in cans have been beaten to death at this point, I have to make an exception for this one. Regular readers will also know that I’m usually not a fan of lagers. Fortunately, a good friend of mine recently brought back this gem for me from a recent trip to the east coast.

While some brews, such as The Abyss or Heineken, build up monumental amounts of hype only to disappoint, Busch Light stands in a league of its own. This world-renouned premium lager not only meets its hype, but exceeds it. If mathematicians could quantify to what factor Busch Light exceeds its hype I’d certainly post it, but since the human race has yet to fathom a number that high I feel it is appropriate to use infinity. Busch Light infinitely exceeds its hype. That’s a lot.

Appearance - Large, frothy white head sitting atop what can only be described as absolutely beautiful. I don’t know if I even want to drink this. Instead, I feel as if this should be placed in a protective glass case and placed somewhere in my home as a decorative piece. No, that simply won’t do this brew justice. Every museum on Earth should have a glass of Busch Light on display.

Smell - Unfortunately I have a cold today, but I can only imagine how blissful the aroma is. My guess would be somewhere between a field of wild flowers and fresh laundry.

Taste - To steal a line from the great James Lipton, words cannot describe how delicious this beer tastes, so I am forced to make one up. Scrumtrulecent. This beer is scrumtrulecent. Busch Light is so delicious that I briefly lost consciousness and upon waking, realized it was due to the most powerful orgasm I have ever experienced. Yes, this beer is orgasmic.

While most beers simply end their career as beer, Bush Light goes one step further. Upon finishing the case I purchased, I became 70% more intelligent, 40% more humorous, 55% cooler, and every woman I saw looked 3000% more beautiful. I believe I’m going to start every day off with eight or twelve Bush Lights from this day forward.

It is clear that we have a winner. All other breweries should cease operations as all pale in comparison to Busch Light.

Happy April Fools Day.

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Brewery: Unibroue
Style: Fruit/Vegetable Beer
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: B+ (Community) B+ (The Bros)
RateBeer.com Rating: 3.73 (93rd percentile)
Serving: Champagne bottle

First of all, yes, I am alive. Things have been ridiculously busy lately and unfortunately my blog has suffered. I hope to completely redeem this lack of attention by reviewing a beer I’ve been holding onto for a while.

Normally I have plenty to say about a beer before I taste it, but this one is just plain odd. I’ll let Unibroue do the explaining for me:

This versatile beer was specifically developed as a winter beer because, when warmed to 70ºC (160ºF), it can be taken as a hot drink. On the other hand, on the rocks, it is a wonderful aperitif. The cherries are soaked for months in slightly bitter ale before being blended into the beer. Quelque Chose is made with dark roasted malts, and the end result is something commonly known as an authentic nectar. The most original of the Unibroue line, it is highly appreciated by winter-sports enthusiasts.

I absolutely had to try this beer, if for anything, because of how incredibly odd it is. Best served over ice or warmed to 160F? Maybe I’m a little old school, but I’m going to drink this chilled. I’m not comfortable with ice in my beer yet. Let’s see how this goes:

Smell - Smells just like spiced wine with cherries. For some reason I didn’t believe the bottle and, for that, I look stupid.

Appearance - A light mahogany with a consistency much more similar to wine. In fact, you could easily fool somebody into thinking this is wine.

Taste - Tastes like spiced wine with cherries! I like spiced wine, so I’m a fan. However, I can see how traditional beer fans could be turned off. The cherries are very apparent, but in more of a vehicle used to bring the spice to your pallate.

The taste is alright slightly chilled, but I’m going to go the suggested warmed route and see what happes:

Taste (warm) - Bolder cherries, spicer spice, and way more apparent alcohol! This is really, really good stuff when warmed. Luckily it’s snowing here (yes, I know it’s late March), so this is the perfect beverage for a night like tonight.

I’ve still got some left, so let’s see what it’s like with ice:

Taste (iced) - Definitely more refreshing and drinkable, but the tastes are very much muted. My personal preference thus far is warmed.

That was officially the most unique experience I have had thus far with a beer. Warmed is definitely the way to go, but I can also see how some people would prefer to drink this over ice. I honestly can’t think of a beer even remotely similar to this, so kudos for Unibroue for trying something unique. If you’re a fan of hot spiced wine, give this a shot.

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Brewery: Bison
Style:Chocolate Stout
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: B (Community)
RateBeer.com Rating: 3.54 (87th percentile)
Serving: 22oz Bottle

I actually had the opportunity to try this once a little over a year ago, but I never wrote a review for it. For those of you who have drank with me before, you already know one of my all time favorite brews is Rogue’s Chocolate Stout. Since then I’ve been on a mission to try as many chocolate stouts as I can to see what other people are brewing. Needless to say I was completely elated when I discovered Bison, who in my eyes is one of the nation’s premier breweries, brews one of their own.

This richly textured, roasty dry stout has a boost of bitter and charismatic flavor from the addition of cocoa powder in the mash. We blend five unique organic malts to create Bison’s most award winning beer.

Appearance - Pours a rather thick brown that’s about one shade from black. Only an incredibly thin lace of tan head laces the top of the pour until dissipating shortly after.

Smell - Definite hues of chocolate burst through, backed up by coffee and malt. While definitely chocolaty, this doesn’t present the same level of bombardment as Rogue’s offering.

Taste - Definitely a lot of chocolate, however I think this one could easily get mistaken for a porter due to its rather light mouthfeel. I’m also surprised as to how bitter the chocolate is in this brew. Don’t get me wrong, the chocolate is certainly there, but this isn’t nearly as rich or creamy as some other chocolate stouts. This is definitely an alternative if you’re not a huge fan of drinking a stout that tastes like it’s brewed with Hershey’s syrup. With that said, this brew still satiates ones yearning for a chocolate fix.

All in all I still say this is a great brew and a definite hallmark of organic brewing. While I still believe Rogue’s offering is the king of the hill, Bison’s is certainly in the top 10% at worst. I’m also not aware of any other organic chocolate stouts out there (that isn’t to say there aren’t), so props go to Bison for venturing into this area. This makes for my fourth Bison brew and so far they have yet to disappoint.

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Brewery: Kuichi Brewery
Style: Winter Warmer
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: B+ (Community)
RateBeer.com Rating: 3.65 (92nd percentile)
Serving: 12oz bottle

My experience with Asian beer has been disappointing thus far. I’ve lived in South Korea and have had ample access to Asian beers, yet so far not one of them has been an enjoyable experience. This isn’t to say that there isn’t good craft beer being brewed in the far east, it’s just that none of it has reached my palate.

This is where Kuichi comes into play. I’ve seen their beers at Asian markets such as Uwajimaya, but out of ignorance wrote them off as expensive lagers. This, however, isn’t the case as Kuichi’s line of Hitachino Nest brews are a whole array of different styles of ale. After hearing great things from a couple friends of mine, I had to give one a shot. Of the three I had access to, I chose their seasonal Celabration Ale.

Full bodied beer with sweet wheat flavor and beautiful dense foam. Pleasant bitterness and unique spicy aroma with Orange Peel, Coriander, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, and Vanilla Beans.

Appearance - Big, couple fingers worth of off-white head. The beer itself is a dark golden color that is obviously very much wheat-based due to how hazy it looks. There’s also quite a bit of sediment from the bottom of the bottle.

Smell - Smells very yeasty with strong hues of orange peel. Virtually no hop or malt presence.

Taste - Sweet, tart, and not a whole lot else. Maybe I just got a bad bottle or perhaps I’m missing something, but I’m not picking up what other reviewers seem to have found. All I’m finding is a fairly uninspired wheat beer with a lot of carbonation and a higher alcohol content.

I really don’t know what else to say other than I’m obviously disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that Asian breweries are finally deviating from brewing crappy lagers, but crappy ales won’t get you much further. I’m definitely going to try another one of Kuichi’s ales before I write them off, but I’m not a fan of this one. This beer seems to have a lot of fans though, so read over some other reviews before you take my word for it.

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Brewery: The Matt Brewing Company
Style: Oatmeal Stout
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: B- (Community), C- (The Bros)
RateBeer.com Rating: 2.95 (40th percentile)
Serving: 12oz bottle

This is a beer I’ve been meaning to review for quite some time. I received this as a gift from a friend of mine last December and for whatever reason just haven’t gotten to it. So, before we go any further, I’d like to thank Brittany for making this review possible.

Saranac Oatmeal Stout is brewed with a delicate balance of the finest grown oats, selected hops, and our traditional ale yeast. Look for a sweet, dark chocolate and roasted taste.

Sounds good to me. Let’s see what this is all about.

Appearance - Pours surprisingly thin for an oatmeal stout. The color is your standard jet black with an incredibly thin lace of a tan head that dissipated almost immediately.

Smell - Very welcoming aroma of oats, coffee, and a little bit of chocolate. Somewhat of a sweet smell.

Taste - I don’t know if this makes any sense, but think of this as a light oatmeal stout. I believe this is the reason why this brew hasn’t gotten much love from the greater internet community. Still, my nose hit the hues on spot and it doesn’t try to be anything other than an oatmeal stout. While the body is quite a bit lighter than most stouts, it’s still pretty tasty.

While there are certainly more inspired oatmeal stouts out there, this one is probably the most drinkable. I can also see how this would be a great brew to introduce non-craft beer drinkers to stouts. Thanks again to Brittany for picking this one up for me on her trip to New York.

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Brewery: Deschutes
Style: Imperial Stout
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: A+
RateBeer.com Rating: 4.16 (100th percentile)
Serving: 22oz Bottle

The Abyss is perhaps the hottest beer in the United States, if not the world right now. Like most of us, I never had a chance to try Deschutes’ first run last year. This year is different though as I marked my calendar for the date of this year’s release to make sure I’d get a bottle. This review may seem a little late as The Abyss has already been reviewed a million times already, but I wanted to make sure that I was truly in the mood for an imperial stout.

The Abyss has immeasurable depth inviting you to explore and discover its rich, complex profile. Hints of molasses, licorice and other alluring flavors draw you in further and further with each sip. And at 11% alcohol by volume, you will want to slowly savor each and every ounce.

January 2008 marks the return of this rare and eclectic ale. Limited availability in wax-dipped 22-ounce bottles and on draft at a few select establishments.

Russian Imperial Stouts have experience somewhat of a renaissance lately, so I’m excited to get this underway.

Appearance - No false advertising here. Absolutely pitch black with zero light shining through. Big, couple fingers worth of tan head.

Smell - Big hues of malt, chocolate, and licorice. The alcohol definitely shines through as well. Once again, no false advertising.

Taste - Surprisingly a lot creamier mouthfeel than I expected. Big hues of burnt coffee, chocolate, and licorice. The cask conditioning really shines through as well as the bourbon barrels definitely did this brew justice. For its 12% alcohol content, the taste really isn’t strong at all. I completely understand how this brew has received its accolades as it has accomplished something no other imperial stout has in terms of balance and complexity.

However, I’m going to go on record and say if given the choice between a pint, I’d still choose Stone’s Russian Imperial Stout. Stone’s isn’t as complex and obviously isn’t conditioned in bourbon barrels, but there’s something about Stone’s variation that is more enjoyable for me. Perhaps this just stems from the fact that I’m not a huge licorice fan.

That said, The Abyss is still an amazing brew that any imperial stout fan should try. Aside from Stone’s Russian Imperial Stout, I can’t think of a single imperial stout even remotely near The Abyss’ league. The Abyss is a truly unique brew that shows how dedicated Deschutes’ brewers are to creating world class beer.

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Brewery: Oskar Blues
Style: Red/IPA
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: A- (Community)
RateBeer.com Rating: 3.86 (97th percentile)
Serving: 12oz aluminum can

For those of you who read my Dale’s Pale Ale review, you may remember my policy on beer in cans. If you are brewing craft beer and decide to put it in a can, I will drink it like beer in a can. Last time I drank Dale’s Pale Ale straight from the can, however, this time I decided to use the proper glassware. Behold a first in [BW] Beer Blog history; using a red Solo cup as proper craft beer glassware. Think of the ping pong ball as a garnish.

Gordon is a hybrid version of strong ale, somewhere between an Imperial Red and a Double IPA. We make it with six different malts and three types of hops, then dry-hop it with a mutha lode of Amarillo hops. It is 8.7% alcohol by volume, and has 85 International Bittering Units. Originally our winter seasonal beer, it has become a cult favorite of extreme-beer lovers, so we now brew occasional batches of Gordon throughout the year.

Well folks, let’s see what an 8.7% strong/red/IPA tastes like out of a Solo cup.

Appearance - Completely irrelevant

Smell - Very sweet with apple-esque hues similar to what you’d smell from an English style barley wine. Unlike a barley wine, that smell is also accompanied by a healthy amount of hops. The alcohol is very apparent by just the smell. This is going to be interesting.

Taste - My nose pegged this perfectly. Tastes like a really mellow English style barley wine with a hop kick. Just enough sweetness and just enough hops to where this isn’t completely unbalanced. In terms of drinkability, I can’t see myself having more than one. I’m all about making a session out of stronger ales or hoppier ales, but the combination of both makes it much more difficult to consume. I’ve never had a brew like this before though, so I can definitely see how this can have a following.

Do I feel bad for reviewing a $4+ can of beer from a Solo cup? Not really, but I will admit that I’m sure this stuff is amazing coming from a tap. I understand how Oskar Blues brews in cans just to be unique and that I really should take reviewing their brews more seriously, but if they get to be unique with their brewing then I get to be unique with my reviewing. Gordon is a good craft beer, but not great. Give it a shot if you want to try something unique, but I wouldn’t say it’s a “must have.”

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