Beer Review: Boundary Bay Brewing Co. Mai Bock

Lots of good vibes in this photo

Style: Mai Bock

ABV: Unknown, but I would guess 7 or 8%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:  

Oh, Boundary Bay, how I love you. As stated in this post, I went college in Bellingham and I suppose Boundary Bay was more or less my formal introduction to good, craft beer. Soooo, thanks college? I guess? Anyways, it's named after a bay just north of Bellingham where bootleggers used to run booze via boats between the US and Canadian border during prohibition, says Wikipedia. I actually did not know that until just now. Man, prohibition was hilarious.

Thoughts: 

I haven't really had many mai bocks before. Well, that's what I thought before I found out Rogue Dead Guy Ale is actually a mai bock. That stuff is great! But, wow, that name is misleading. Anyways, a mai bock is a light colored and nicely hopped German style lager traditionally enjoyed in the springtime. I filled up a growler of Boundary's mai bock on a recent trip up to Birch Bay and it was some really nice sunny weather beer. It was a bit on a sweet side, almost too much. Tasted like there a bit of honey flavor in there, which helped balance out the fairly strong ABV (which the internet simply cannot fill me in on exactly, dang it!). Apparently this is pretty much gone for the year now, since it was their spring seasonal, but I'll keep an eye out for it next year.

Rating: 4/5

Beer Review: Two Beers Brewing Co. Crooked Belgian Wit

 

Style: Witbier or Belgian Wit for y'all 'mericans

ABV: 5.2%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:  

 

From their slogan ("Life is just a little more honest after two beers") to their colorfully designed cans, Two Beers has quickly become a Seattle favorite of mine. They seem to focus on solid, smaller ABV session beers and they were one of the early adopters of using cans in the Seattle area. They started in a garage in 2007 and have rapidly expanded. They opened a new brewpub earlier this year at their brewery in Sodo and I've been meaning to check it out ever since.

Thoughts: 

According to their web site, the Crooked Belgian Wit was Two Beers first concoction they released. Now it's their summer seasonal and only available on draft. So, if you went to college parties or if you frequent dive bars, you're probably familiar with Blue Moon and Hoegaarden beer. Those are like the Budweiser of this style, I guess. Crappy and mass produced, but drinkable enough in a pinch. Because of my exposure to this style first through those aforementioned crappy beers, I'm been pretty skeptical of all wheat beers/witbiers. Well, obviously that skepticism shouldn't apply to fine companies like Two Beers because their version of this style is quite good. It's nicely carbonated with a lots of orange and coriander flavor, and unfiltered and wheaty of course. Just tangy and spicy enough to notice, but it won't overpower you at all. Basically, a good, well rounded session beer that isn't meant to blow your hair back or anything. I approve.

Rating: 3.75/5

Beer Review: Victory Brewing Company Summer Love

SO GOOD.

 

Style: American Blonde Ale

ABV: 5.2%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:  

As a child of parents who grew up in Maryland before heading west, I'm genetically predisposed to not really like anything from Philadelphia. I hate all their sports teams, well really all of Pennsylvania's sports teams. Their stupid bell they have has a big crack in it. Cheesesteaks are by and large overrated. All Pennsylvania transplants I've met have been total dicks. The list goes on and on. Well, I found one thing I like: Victory Brewing. Founded in 1996 by two buddies who had both had tons of experience and success with other East Coast breweries, a lot of their beers have a distinct German influence.

Thoughts: I simply cannot get enough of this beer. I can't quite put my finger on it, but this just might be the best hot weather beer I've ever had. Better than Fremont's Summer Ale even, which is fantastic. But, man, something about this one just does it for me. It's crisp, refreshing and smooth, but with just a little hoppy bite to it. Just enough to roll around on your tongue. There's a hint of lemon and orange to the flavor, which fits in right with wheat malt. It has a slight lager feel to it, which makes me unique compared to most blonde ales, which are usually like the diet Cokes of the beer world. Anyways, I had tried a few Victory beers in the past and none had really impressed me, but this summer seasonal is just awesome and I guess I'll just have to horde some to enjoy year round. Big fan of the label artwork, as well.

Rating: 4.75/5

Beer Review: Sierra Nevada/Russian River collaboration - Brux Domesticated Wild Ale

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Style: Belgian-influenced American Wild Ale

ABV: 8.3%

Fun Fact About the Breweries: 

This is the 2nd annual collaboration between Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Russian River Brewing Co., two of the best and brightest in the world of craft beer. Sierra Nevada is distributed literally everywhere, which mean most folks take their brews for granted. In addition to making really solid standard stuff like their pale ale and various IPAs, they do a handful of specialty releases every year, like this one here. 

Russian River, of course, is like the hottest shit on the block for beer nerds. They're like the Ryan Gosling of the craft beer world. Everybody wants them some of dat.

Thoughts: 

I opened one of these bad boys up to share with Cassie's dad and step mom on their recent visit to our place. This is a very limited brew, only made once. I actually purchased 2 bottles, one to enjoy now and one to age a year or so. Wild ales are pretty interesting because they all age differently depending on the various yeasts that are used. This one in particular uses Brettanomyces bruxellensis (hence the name, good one nerds!), which tends to get more sour and funky as it ages. The yeast itself basically causes food spoilage on its own, but when mixed with other yeasts in beers, they basically do battle at a molecular level and just have all kinds of crazy effects on how the beer tastes depending on how long you let them duke it out before drinking it.

Seeing as this beer was probably less than a month old when I opened it, it hadn't gotten very sour or funky yet. It was actually very smooth, refreshing and nicely carbonated. It had lots of fruit flavors going on, pear being the strongest, and just a bit of spice. Very well rounded. If I see any more hanging around the shops, I'd be tempted to get one more. Should be interesting to see how my other bottle of Brux tastes in a year or so, depending on how patient I am. 

Rating: 4.25/5

Beer Review: Silver City Brewery Fat Scotch Ale

Beer Our Sonics would be a much more eye catching slogan, really.

Style: Scotch ale

ABV: 9%

Fun Fact About the Brewery: Founded in Silverdale, WA, in 1996, Silver City has won over 60 awards in various beer competitions according to their web site. They got too big for their britches and moved the operation to Bremerton in 2010. Right now, their beers are only available in 22 oz. bombers and on draft.

Thoughts: I've been meaning to try more Silver City brews, but I always get this one when I see it because it's really good and I love me some Scotch style ales (also known as "wee heavy" ales, nerds).  This is the only other Scotch ale I've had that gives Boundary Bay's Scotch ale a run for it's money. This is almost a whole 3% stronger, though.  It definitely has a strong, boozy smell, but it's surprisingly smooth. Has some hints of fruit to its flavor, as well. Big fan of this beer and I look forward to trying more of Silver City's offerings.

Rating: 4.25

Beer Review: Unibroue Maudite

Pure coincidence, I swear.

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

ABV: 8%

Fun Fact About the Brewery: 

Holy shit, French Canadians ARE good for something! They make fantastic Belgian style beer, as well as ridiculous videos on their ornate web site explaining the origins of their beers. Unibroue is simultaneously the nerdiest, most uncool shit ever and the nerdiest, coolest shit ever. I mean, all their beers world class. They've been one of the most highly respected breweries for a long time now. You can get bottles of La Fin Du Monde (bad ass name) and Maudite in pretty much any store that sells beer, so you can kind of take that for granted. But finding it on tap can be a bit more rare. Apparently, the Unibroue crew came through Seattle recently and hooked it up for a few bars, the Burgundian being one of them.

Thoughts: 

So very delicious and refreshing. Perfect on a hot day. They call it a red Belgian, but to me the color was more orange-ish. Not very dark at all, but cloudy, yes. Just the right blend of sweet and spicy. It's pretty easy to see where all the hype comes from. Those French Canadians are nothing if not slaves to their craft.

Rating: 4.5/5

Beer Review: Uinta Brewing Cockeyed Cooper Bourbon Barrel Barleywine

Bonus Bobby T. Hodge content!

Style: Barleywine

ABV: 11.1%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Founded back in 1993 in Salt Lake City, Uinta seems to be the biggest name in beer in Utah. I was in SLC for one day and it was single weirdest place I've ever been. If I went there again, I'd probably just hang out at Uinta Brewing. They make one of my very favorite beers, the Dubhe Imperial Black IPA, which will probably make it's way onto this blog at some point.

Thoughts: 

Barleywine! My favorite. The Cockeyed Cooper is part of Uinta's Crooked Line of beers, which are sold in 22 oz corked bottles. Very classy vibe. I'd been wanting to try this for a while now, but it's always pretty pricey. I had never seen it on tap before. so it was game on. You can taste the bourbon from the aging, but it's not overpowering. Overall, it's a very smooth and drinkable barleywine. Not too sweet or hoppy. So, I don't know, it's a little middle of the road for a barleywine, but that can be a good thing depending on where you are in your evening. I can't fault it for being nice and drinkable. But, if you're looking for a more complex or challenging barleywine, this isn't it.

Rating: 3.75/5

Beer Review: Hopworks Urban Brewery - Brouwer's 6th Anniversary Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Style: Imperial Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 10.5%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Okay, Hopworks Urban Brewery aka HUB brewing is just about as stereotypically Portland as you can get. I'll let them speak for themselves:

"Hopworks Urban Brewery and Hopworks BikeBar are Portland’s first Eco-Brewpubs. We offer handcrafted organic beers and fresh, local ingredients, all served in sustainably-built and operated buildings with a relaxed, casual atmosphere.
Hopworks incorporates many aspects of sustainability.  From composting to rain barrels, and from pervious pavers to hand dryers, we have made every effort to protect 'our' future with a thoughtful alternative.  Hopworks is 100% renewably powered and 'cradle to gate' carbon neutral."

I mean, my inner hippy is like "wow, mannnn, that is awesome!" but every other part of me is like "pssssssssssshhhhhhhh." But, they do make pretty outstanding beer and not that many microbreweries go to the trouble of going fully organic, so that is pretty neat.

Thoughts: 

I saw this on the menu at the Burgundian and was like "YUP." I do love me a good oatmeal stout and this is a one time, limited release brew made to celebrate Brouwer's pub 6th anniversary. It was only available at Bottleworks, the Burgundian and Brouwer's (all owned by the same folks FYI). This is a top notch stout. Hints of chocolate, molasses and even kinda fruity. Very strong, but smooth and easy to drink. Apparently it's a variation on HUB's 7 Grain Survival Stout, but without the coffee flavors. Good stuff.

Rating: 4/5

Beer Review: Firestone Walker Wookey Jack

Brewed fresh daily on Kashyyyk (this is the only Star Wars joke in this post, I swear)

Style: Rye Black IPA
ABV: 8.5%

Fun Fact About The Brewery:

Founded in 1996 by a couple of dudes with wine making backgrounds down on the central California coast, Firestone Walker specializes in using oak barrel fermentation and barrel aging for many of their beers, which makes for fantastic beer. Their web site is on some super serious, sepia-toned photos and pro gear/pro attitude shit. Apparently they win awards and shit, too. You know, one thing I like about craft beer culture is that it's really laid back. FW's web site gives off a real snooty winery kind of vibe. Like I bet if I showed up to their brewery wearing shorts, they'd give me a dirty look. Come on guys, I'm just trying to stay cool.

Thoughts:

I had this on draft at the Pine Box on Capitol Hill, where this mind blowing Andy Sidaris movie poster was hanging in the mens room. Anyways, I'm pretty sure this is the first rye black IPA I've tried. Bit of a rare bird. Tasted like a porter or a stout, but with IPA hoppiness. Pretty overpowering flavor wise, but in a good way. Just kinda sizzles on your taste buds the way good black IPAs should, but even more so because of the rye. Very strong, too. Would drink again.

Rating: 4.25/5

Beer Review: Great Divide Wild Raspberry Ale

Kinda sexy, right?

 Style: Fruit ale

ABV: 5.8%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Great Divide is another outstanding brewery from Colorado. Founded in 1994, they do things all green and hippy and sustainable-like, which is very cool. Recycled glass and cardboard, eco-friendly ink, all that good stuff.

Thoughts: 

I've never been a fan of fruit beers, but I'm always down to try them. I'd never had a bad beer from Great Divide and I like raspberries a lot, so I gave it a shot. It's very refreshing and a good summer time beer. The raspberry flavor really came through in a very earthy and authentic way. Can't say I'd drink this regularly, but as far as fruit beers go, it's one of the best I've tried. I remember when I was younger I though Pyramid Apricot Ale was good, but it's not. It's rather mediocre, as is all of Pyramid's stuff. This, though, this is good. Drink this instead.

Rating: 3/5

Beer Review: Boulevard Brewing Co. The Sixth Glass

Style: Quadrupel aka Belgian Dark Strong Ale
ABV: 10.5%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Boulevard Brewing Co. is old as far as microbreweries go. Founded in 1989 when I was kindergarten, their web site informs me that they are the 2nd largest brewery in all of Missouri! Or Missourah as the locals say it.

Thoughts:

Well, my good friend Jim, who has terrible taste in just about everything, claims this is one of his very favorite beers. He is no expert on Belgian beers or any beers in general. But, this beer has his full-hearted endorsement and he buys it whenever it's on sale at QFC, so take that as you will.

As it so happens, I pretty much agree that the Sixth Glass is really, really good. The name and the little devil guy on the label makes me think that the brewers want you to have this brew as your sixth beer of the night, but at 10.5% the joke will probably be on you the next morning. It comes in both 22 oz. bombers and regular, normal people sized 12 oz. bottles.

Rating: 4.25/5

Beer Review: Orval Trappist Ale

That pimpin' goblet was free with purchase, sucka!

Style: Belgian Pale Ale
ABV: 6.9%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

One of the perks of being a monk, well probably the only perk, is that you get to brew and drink delicious trappist beer. This is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years and continues to this day. Orval is one of the bigger and most popular of the old Belgian monk breweries. According to the official Orval web site, the Orval Abbey was founded in 1132 (lol wut!) in Villers-devant-Orval, Belgium, but the modern day brewery was built in 1931. What else does the web site tell me? Take it away, Euros!


"Lovers of Orval's beer bear witness to a fidelity that continues to amaze us.  They seem to have influenced their friends to such an extent that this so typical beer is in very high demand.  As a result, both stores and taverns are running out of this beer too often and too quickly!"

God, I love broken Euro-english.

Thoughts: 

Not overly sweet or spicy, which makes it highly drinkable. Tastes fairly fresh out of the bottle, nothing too skunky. Calling it a Belgian Pale Ale pretty much sums it up. It has a similar feel to a pale ale, but with that extra Belgian-y kick

Rating: 4/5

Get To Know Your Reviewer: Eric Sanford

Your faithful blogger "deep" in "thought" at Flathead Lake Brewing in Missoula, MT

 Bio:

-Boring white dude from Seattle in his late 20s who works in ITS despite having little to no background in it
-Loyal, self-hating and joy-starved Seattle Mariners fan
-Nicolas Cage superfan
-Wrangler of this little shithead

Current beer preferences:

Being from the Northwest, I'm much more familiar with North American ales like porters, stouts, IPAs, pale ales and so on. Lately I've really felt the urge to expand my pallette and try more European beers, especially Belgians and German beers. I've gotten pretty tired of IPAs because I feel like there's some law now where every single NW brewery has to have 3 IPAs going at all times and they've all started to taste the same to me. The bitter hoppiness just tends to overwhelm my tastebuds and then I can't taste anything else. But, I still like double/imperial IPAs and I really dig fresh hop IPAs. Those are the best. But, overall I'm a fan of bold, but balanced flavors and any sort of experimental small-batch brews that some crazy brewmaster decided to throw together.

Most beer nerds would consider me a novice, I'm sure. I've never done any homebrewing. I don't really understand what IBUs are. I mean, I kind of do, but not really. But, I know what I like and I know quality when I taste it.

Top 5 styles:

Barleywine - Because there is so much variety experimentation within the style. And I love how the aging process can completely change how they taste.

Porter - Whether they're smooth and sessionable or imperial and super strong, I love 'em all.


Stout - I'm pretty sure the first beer I really experienced was a Guiness stout on tap while in London when I was 18. Now, while we all know Guiness is rather pedestrian for beer nerds, the stout style had an impact on me. Always a favorite.

Black IPA -  Or "Cascadian Dark Ale" as some nerds call it. I love this style because it has a lot more depth in it's flavor than regular IPAs.

Scotch ale - I went to college in Bellingham, WA, home of Boundary Bay Brewery. Their Scotch Ale is the reason why this style is among my favorites. It can be a bit overwhelming and heavy, but it's a great cold weather style. That reminds me how much I love winter ales....hmm.

Top 5 NW breweries:

Fort George Brewing in Astoria, OR - I LOVE microbrews in cans and their Oatmeal Pale Ale is absolutely incredible.

Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham, WA - I spent 5 years in Bellingham where I remarkably did not drink very often in my college days. Now I realize even more how special this place is. Their sweatshirts are ubiquitous for a reason.

Deschutes Brewery in Bend, OR - If The Abyss was the only beer Deschutes made, they'd be on my list. But, they make tons of other great ones, too. Black Butte Porter and Obsidian Stout are both top notch.

Fremont Brewing in Seattle, WA - They've only been around a couple years but they just keep getting better and better. Their Summer Ale is particularly awesome this year.

North Sound Brewing in Mount Vernon, WA - A brand new brewery up north that's giving Boundary Bay a run for it's money, in my opinion. Their new imperial pilsner is, as my friend Jim always says, "phenaaaah-menal."

Top 5 non-NW breweries:

Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn, NY - Oh, how I covet breweries that aren't distributed in Washington. I've loved everything I've tried from Brooklyn Brewery.

New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, CO - Their Fat Tire amber is available pretty much everywhere in America, but it's all their seasonal and experimental limited releases that make New Belgium awesome.

Surly Brewing Co. in Minneapolis, MN - I've only tried 2 of their beers, Bender and Furious, and I can't wait to try more next time I'm in Minnesota. Sadly, not distributed in Washington.

Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa, CA - Okay, so a beer nerd liking Russian River is like a pastor enjoying reading passages out of the bible. They just go hand in hand. RR is always in high demand and they're not in any hurry to increase their capacity. One of these days I'll get my hands on a glass of Pliney The Younger. Maybe.

Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont, CO - One of the very earliest adopters of releasing microbrews in cans. Their Dale's Pale Ale is always a go-to brew for hanging out with folks and everything else they make rules, too. Colorado has a lot of awesome breweries.

Top 5 Favorite Seattle beer spots:

Beveridge Place Pub - I would move to West Seattle in a heartbeat if I found a place for cheap nearby BPP. Heaven on earth. They know their shit, but they're never snobby about it. They just provide a laid back atmosphere with unbeatable tap selection.

Uber Tavern - Near and dear to my heart since I used to live right up the street from Uber and still live pretty close by. Their recent remodel made the place even classier looking and created a bit more seating. It's really a toss up for my number spot between Uber and BPP. I can never decide.

The Yard - This new-ish place in Greenwood is unassuming when you first see it, but they keep some really interesting stuff on tap. A few weeks ago, they just randomly had The Abyss on tap, which gets released in November typically. Takes patience to sit on a keg of The Abyss for that long. Made my night, big time. Plus, they have a menu of fantastic, non-gringo mexican food.

The Burgundian - It's nearby my house, they have a ridiculous selection AND unreal chicken and waffles. Yes, please.

Collins Pub - Recently discovered this downtown gem. Really wish I'd found it sooner as it's become my go-to spot for a beer before Mariners games. Elysian down by the stadiums is pretty good, but this place is really mellow and much more my style. The owners know their shit and keep a great selection going. Good food, too.

And my go-to beer shop is Bottleworks in Wallingford. It's close to where I live and love how dark and dingy it is. I also love doing mix and match six packs. Great way to sample new beers without fully committing to buying a whole bunch of 'em.

Other internet activities:

Follow me on Twitter @sanford_and_son where I retweet lots of depressing things about the Mariners and post really angsty things while riding the bus.

This is my other blog, Rep-Detect, where I write (rant) about pop culture stuff. Mostly just movies, though.

Welcome to Sanford's Beer Blog: Guiding Philosophies and General Information

Hello! Join me as a start this remarkably stupid and corny white person endeavor where I will share my thoughts on various aspects of craft beer culture with the stark, cold and unwelcoming internet.

So anyways, beer drinking! Here I will be trying to legitimize and rationalize an unhealthy yet mostly socially acceptable habit. Alcoholism is super sad and nothing to joke about. But, I believe there is a massive difference between alcohol destroying your life and celebrating and enjoying delicious, well-made beer in moderation. Because let's face it, people. Life is bullshit so it's important to find joy in what we can. Lately for me, I've found great joy and curiosity in exploring the ever-expanding world of craft beer. I've always been a collector, an archivist, a completionist...whether it be baseball cards, comic books, movies or LPs. I don't know why, but these things just click in my brain. I don't tend to get all OCD about it, but I do love doing research on stuff I don't know enough about. I like to know the whole story. Basically, I have a "gift" for remembering minutiae and utterly useless trivia, as well as a curse for of being awful at math, science and other more important things.

The obvious difference between having a giant shelf full of records and having a fridge full of micro brews is that one of those things is actively bad for your health. Staying active is important. I'm super lucky to have a lovely girlfriend who is both a certified personal trainer and a clinical dietitian, so she helps keep me very active and feeds me well. Seriously, just typing that sentence makes me realize I cannot overstate how lucky I am. Anyways, like all things in life, moderation is key.

Things you'll find on this blog:

- Reviews of beers that are available for purchase in Washington!
- Updates and thoughts on top Seattle and greater NW beer spots!
- Beer travelogues on brews not available in Washington!
- Other dumb shit probably! Who knows!

Cheers, y'all.