30th Birthday Brewery Stroll

This post is about 2 months overdue now, but I wanted to just post a few photos from my 30th birthday party. A group of my good friends and I set out to make it to six breweries in the Fremont/Ballard area and we made good on that promise. Here's the proof and some thoughts to go along with it.

We started off on a high note at Fremont Brewing, which never disappoints. Had the new Bonfire session winter ale and the Sister imperial IPA, both are fantastic.

Molly and Bobby with the birthday boy, gettin' pumped

More of the crew

Then we strolled over to the Asgard Tasting Room by Odin Brewing. Not the most mind blowing beers in Seattle and the place doesn't have much character yet as it's still fairly new. But, Thor's Equinox is a great brew.

Cassie and Molly tryin' to get service from the lady bartender who did not care for other ladies it seemed

Next up was the funky ol' Outlander. Hands down one of the oddest brewpubs in Seattle, both in terms of the place itself and the wacky small batch beers they make. For some reason, I really like the place. Only the 2nd time I'd been there since their opening. Had some low ABV ESBs and other English style ales that were awesome.

Us chillin' in the weird upstairs of the Outlander, which is basically some dude's rec room. Note devoted Miami Hurricanes fans Matt and Jess watching the game on their phone

After that, we took a long stroll to Ballard and stopped first right by the Ballard Bridge at the fairly new Peddler Brewing. Guess what, they like bicycles. Details get a bit fuzzy past this point. Beer here is good, though. I like that they try some more diverse styles than a lot of newer breweries.

Joe Shoop bein' all Joe-ic (TM)

Yep

While Jim, Justin, and Cassie (Bless their lil' hearts!) made a side trip to pick up some pizza from Zayda Buddy's for us, the rest of us stroll on to the very new Stoup Brewing. The tap room has a very cool vibe. Feels very Ballard, whatever that may mean. Beers are uncomplicated and very solid. I recall the porter being very good. Keepin' my eye on these guys to see what they put out next.

Just a lil' cool bathroom light fixture selfie at Stoup, don't worry bout it

Then we made it to the final stop, conveniently 2 blocks away. Reuben's Brews! Next to Fremont, they might make my favorite beers in Seattle. We got there just before last call and this is the only photo I snapped. Cannot remember the dog's name but he was adorable and shook my hand.

Dirty Thirty Brewery Stroll accomplished. Thank you to Cassie and all my friends for making it a great birthday.

Rare Midwestern Beer Round-Up: Surly Darkness, Surly Smoke, and New Holland Dragon's Milk

Greetings! Once again, I've returned from a prolonged blogging absence to share some thoughts on beers. Wow, it's been since August? Good grief. Practically missed a whole season. Lots to get caught up on, starting with a bit of a hodge podge post centered around some rare Midwestern beers I've enjoyed lately.

The photo above is the incredible haul I received for my 30th birthday (yuck!) in November from my generous Minnesotan in-laws, The Dufresnes. Jim did the legwork of acquiring the beers and Nora schlepped them out here on one of her regular business trips to Seattle. Huge thank you to both of them. A truly special gift consisting of Surly Darkness, Surly SeVIIn (which I reviewed awhile back here) and 2 bottles of New Holland Dragon's Milk.

Let's get to the reviews!

Surly Brewing Co. - Darkness 2013
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.3%

Thoughts:

Yep, that's a bottle of Surly's ultimate rare beer, Darkness. Yes, that means my father-in-law bought a ticket and stood in what I can only assume was a massive line just for the opportunity to buy a few bottles of this much-hyped monster beer. For that, I salute you, good sir!

Onto the beer. Well, I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've had beer that has score of 100 on Beer Advocate and I gotta say, it fully lived up to the hype. It has that typical Russian imperial stout kind of dry, malty feel to it, but then there's SO MUCH depth more to it. It rolls around your taste buds and just has a party in your mouth. There's chocolate, coffee, maybe some vanilla, and what sort of tastes like chocolate covered fruit in there, too. And the alcohol is hidden very well, even at 10.3%. The only other Russian Imperials that I've had that come close to being this good are Firestone Walker - Parabola and the barrel aged version of Old Rasputin. Darkness takes the top spot, though, no doubt about it.

Rating: 5/5

 

New Holland Brewing Co. - Dragon's Milk
Style: American Imperial Barrel Aged Stout
ABV: 10%

Thoughts:

New Holland is based in Michigan and is one of those hyped Midwest breweries that us West Coasters get jealous about like Founders, Great Lakes, and well, Surly. So I was pumped to try this, especially since it's a barrel aged stout in a 12 oz bottle, which is the perfect amount of a strong beer for when you're just having a beer at home and not looking to bust open a 22 ouncer of some 12% monster beer and fall asleep on the couch by 8:30....ahem. Mr. Dufresne described it as similar to chocolate milk, and that pretty much nails it. Super smooth mouth feel, lots of chocolate, oak, vanilla, and then a big ol' hit of bourbon. Awesome beer.

Rating: 4.25/5

Surly Brewing Co. - Smoke 2012
Style: Baltic Porter
ABV: 8.2%

Thoughts:
I brought this bottle back with me from my trip to Minnesota last December and it aged gracefully for a year in my cellar aka kitchen cabinet. I cracked it open a couple weeks ago and it was worth the wait. Just another fantastically layered and complex beer from Surly. Beer Advocate calls it a Baltic Porter, but it says Lager on the bottle. I'd say it's a mash up of both styles, a modern take on the classic German Rauchbier style. The smoked flavor, which practically tastes like smoked meat, is more of a compliment to the chocolate, roasted malt, and brown sugar flavors that are in the forefront of the beer. As the beer warms a bit in your glass, all these flavors come out even more robustly and the effect is kinda like drinking a delicious porter in front of a campfire while eating maple bacon. Something like that. Great, now I'm hungry.

Rating:  4.5/5

Beer Review: Fremont Brewing Company - SBW #5 Pacific NW Barleywine

Style: American Barleywine
ABV: 9.5%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Might as well just rename this blog ERIC REVIEWS AWESOME FREMONT BEERS, but what can I say? Fremont is my favorite Seattle brewery. On a related note, I just got married to my lovely lady Cassie 2 weeks ago over in West Seattle, and I rented 5 1/6 barrel kegs for the reception. The beer was a huge hit, a combo of the Summer Ale, Interurban IPA, and Universale Pale Ale. And the folks at the brewery were super easy to work with and even gave me 2 free tulip glasses. Anyways, onto the beer!

Thoughts: 

Y'all know I love me some barleywine and this is one of Fremont's first stabs at the style. They brewed a limted amount specially for Seattle Beer Week 5 back in May, but I surprisingly found a bottle of it at Bottleworks a couple weeks ago. It's lighter in color than most barleywines, a nice copper color. Toasty malt and caramel flavors are balanced with quite of bit of hops, but it had almost no head at all. It has just a bit of sweetness, but not overwhelming at all. It cracks me up that they call this a "session" barleywine since it's 9.5% and most barleywines are over 10%, but it is kinda nice to sip on one that won't totally knock you on your ass. If someone had never had a barleywine before, this would be one to try since it's not super sweet, has some hoppiness, and isn't super boozy. But it's pretty scarce at this point so we'll have to wait til next year to see if they brew something like it again.

Rating: 4.25/5

Beer Review: GoodLife Brewing Sweet As! Pacific Ale

Ah, good life, indeed.

Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Hailing from Oregon's other craft beer mecca, Bend, GoodLife Brewing increased their output by over 60% in January 2013 and also began canning a few of their beers. I'm a sucker for pale ales and good beer in cans, so here we are!

Thoughts: Well, since summer is pretty much over at this point, might as well review one more pale ale for old time's sake. This is one fantastically unfiltered and slightly fruity pale ale that just hits your taste buds in all the right spots. Fruity might not be the right word as there's no actual fruit in it, but something about it smells tropical to me. I actually wish the ABV was around 4.5 or 5 because this is the kind of beer that leaves you wanting like 4 or 5 more. It has a lightly bitter, but refreshing finish. Don't let the dumb name throw you, this is a great pale ale. Nice can design and color scheme, too. Grab some for Labor Day and enjoy the last bits of summer before the Northwest grey comes for us all.

Rating: 4.25/5

Chimay Grande Reserve Ale (Blue)

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
ABV: 9%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Chimay is one of the big boys of the Belgian Trappist beer world. Founded in 1862 in the Belgian municipality of Chimay, the beer is still brewed by monks in the trappist tradition and is sold to help support the monastery.

Thoughts: 

Pours a very dark, brown/black color with a velvety head that lingers. Lots of spices, figs, and plums in the flavor profile. A very smooth and overall fantastic example of the style. There's a reason why this ale is so widely distributed. You can find it in just about any grocery store and it's definitely worth it.

Rating: 4/5

Surly Brewing Co. - SeVIIn

Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV: 12.5%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Surly Brewing from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, has been one of the biggest crusaders for promoting craft beer in the state. You know how liquor laws differ from state to state? Minnesota used to have some very restrictive laws regarding the brewing and selling of beer.The founder of Surly, Omar Ansari, has been working along with other Minnesota brewers since 2005 to change these local laws. In the last 2-3 years, there has been a absolute explosion of microbreweries all around the Twin Cities. But, so far in my visits to Minnesota, Surly is still king of the hill when it comes to delicious and unique craft beer in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes."

Thoughts: 

As you can probably deduce, this ale was brewed to celebrate Surly's 7th anniversary. My soon to be father-in-law Jim went way out of his way to buy this beer. Apparently whenever Surly releases one of their specialty limited release beers, people go out of their minds and line up around the block for it. More so than any Seattle beer release I can think of. It's a testament to Surly's quality, I suppose. Anyways, huge thanks to Jim for scoring me a bottle and to Cassie for bringing it home from her recent trip to the Twin Cities.

Onto the beer! This one was pretty dang special. It was brewed in a quasi-Trappist style, but also with rye and wheat. One of the few Belgian ales I've had with rye. Very unique and also very strong. This one is a complex, slow sipper. The color is actually very reminiscent of Maudite by Unibroue (the tulip glass is a happy coincidence), a dark reddish amber hue. From what I'd heard, I was expecting the clove spices and banana aroma to be a bit more overpowering, but I was pretty pleased with it. And with age the beer will only get smoother, I'm sure.

Rating: 4.5/5

Beer Review: Alaskan Brewing Co. Freeride American Pale Ale

That label just needs some boarder bro screaming "EX-TREEEEEMMMME!!!!"

Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5.3%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Alaskan Brewing is known for its ubiquitous (in the NW anyways) and very sold standard offerings. You can find the Alaskan Amber just about anywhere. But the brewery also does fantastic smaller releases like Baltic and Smoked Porters and other gems. This new Freeride American Pale ale is apparently going become one of the new standard offerings now that Alaskan has discontinued their other pale ale.

Thoughts: 

I believe I first tried this on tap at a Mariners game a while back. I hadn't heard of it or seen it anywhere before, but I'm always down to try a new pale ale. Anyways, it's darn good. It has a nice floral hop fragrance from the Citra and Cascade hops. It also has a bit of orange and/or lemon zesty-ness to it. Overall it's very smooth and drinkable, though, and the low ABV is perfect for the style. A very solid summer beer for sure, but not quite on the same level for me as Fremont Summer Ale or Victory Summer Love.

Rating: 3.75/5

Shmaltz Brewing Co - He'Brew Jewbelation Sweet 16 Anniversary Ale

 

 Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 16%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Oy vey, where to start? I mean there's at least 2 puns in beer name alone. Shmaltz Brewing, based in both San Francisco and upstate New York, is the contract brewer for both He'Brew beers and Coney Island Craft Lagers. They really go for broke with Jewish theme, as you can see on their web site, but it's all in good fun. Fun fact about the author: the first time I became aware of the classic Jewish movie stereotype was in "Independence Day." Remember Jeff Goldblum's dad in that movie? Oh my goodness.

Thoughts: 

Wow, yeah, that 16% ABV is not a typo, nor is it a joke. This is a "hot" one as beer nerds are known to say. The heaps and loads of malt and the other purported 16 ingredients do not exactly hide the alcohol, but it's not completely overwhelming. It's a good sipping beer, similar but different compared to a bourbon barrel stout. The strongest flavor that stands out beyond the roasted malt and chocolate is a bit of plum sweetness, or perhaps cherry. Hard to tell exactly. Anyways, pretty wild and unique beer and I'm glad I picked it up a while back.

Rating: 4/5

Beercation: Adventures in Portlandia

As a reward to myself for finally escaping my own personal IT services hell and landing a job more in line with my educational background and passions with the Urban Land Institute NW, I took a solo trip down to Portland, Oregon, to celebrate the start of a new chapter in my life.

It had been several years since I'd been to Portland, so I went down there with the strict intention of trying lots of delicious Portland beer. And I did just that.

Started the day off at Lardo for an incredible pressed pork meatball bahn mi sandwich and a fantastic Upright Brewing #6, which is a rye saison of sorts. Really complex, yet highly drinkable beer.

*drools*

From there, I walked over to the Deschutes Brewpub in the Pearl District. In addition to all of Deschutes' standard offerings, they have a whole bunch of brewpub-only special brews. I gave the Shifties Pilsner a try and it was fantastic. Great take on the style, very refreshing.

Followed that up with the Deschutes version of the Class of '88 Barleywine, a collaboration between Rogue, North Coast and Deschutes. I was expecting to love it but man, it was really weird even for a barleywine. Way too sweet for my liking and it had an odd lager or pilsner type of backbone to it. It's cool that they were going for something different and the barleywine style allows for lots of creativity in the ingredients, but this one just wasn't quite doing it for me.

Next stop was the 5th Quadrant pub, one of Lompoc's Brewing's neighborhood pubs. Really chill spot with a nice variety of ales and lagers. I wasn't impressed by their IPA offerings, but I rarely am. Not my preference. But the Lompoc Strong Draft (LSD har har) was killer, as were the porter and stout.

Right next door to the 5th Quadrant is Hopworks Urban Brewery, or HUB Brewing, which is very bike-centric and eco-friendly kind of place. Very Portland, but they let me watch Felix school the Blue Jays while I enjoyed a Survival 7 Grain Stout, so it was very cool.

From there, I checked into my cheap, but surprisingly not that crappy motel and then walked over to the renowned Hair of the Dog Brewery. Oh my goodness. Definitely the highlight of the trip. World class beer. I had a sampler of Greg (a squash-based beer), Ruth (their awesome pale ale), Fred (golden belgian ale) and Adam (their killer strong ale). Also had their roasted brussel sprout dish for dinner, which was excellent. Really want to go back to Hair of the Dog like right now.

After that, I walked across town to see the movie "Upstream Color" while enjoying a Breakside Lager because most cinemas in Portland serve beer, which is chill. The movie was captivating and enchanting even though I can never hope to explain it. The soundtrack mixed with the sound and film editing is just utterly immersive.

After the movie, I tried to make it over to Cascade Brewing but I just missed last call. Not like I needed any more beer at that point anyways. I'll have to start there next time I make it down there.

All in all, it was a really fun trip. Had lots of quiet introvert time, which I find myself needing more and more of these days.  Portland, you may be a goofy ass and weird lil' town, but you know your beer, food, and art. I'll be back!

Beer Review: Fremont Brewing Co. Seattle Beer Week 5th Anniversary Organic Pale Ale

Photo doesn't do it justice, but the can design for this beer is top notch

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 4.5%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Fremont Brewing rules, okay? Y'all already know that. I love 'em, you love 'em, and one day the whole world might love 'em. Until then, I dare say they are Seattle's best kept secret in craft beer. This year they were tapped (lol beer puns!) to create the official beer for the 5th annual Seattle Beer Week, which starts May 9th. Go here to see all the events.

Thoughts: 

Instead of creating some high ABV beast or crazy experimental concoction, they went the gentler route of creating a fantastic and sessionable organic pale ale. It's perfect for the oncoming warmer weather. As you'd expect from Fremont, it's pretty hop-forward for a pale ale and with just a touch of astringent aftertaste. They used my two favorite hops, Citra and Simcoe, so there's some citrus and piney flavors and smells in the mix. It's a limited release, so grab a six-pack while you can. As noted above, Fremont continues their streak of really nice artwork and branding on the cans.

Rating: 4.25/5

Massive Beer Review Catch Up Time!

Hello! Yes, I am still alive and still enjoying great beers. I've just been slacking really hard on this whole blogging thing. So here we go, a bunch of short reviews on all my favorites that I've had since November 2012. The best of the best, if you will.

Alesmith Brewing My Bloody Valentine Ale

Style: American Amber/Red Ale

ABV: 6.66% (lol the devil!)

 

Thoughts: 
Shared this with Cassie on Valentine's Day (d'awww). Truly excellent and well-balance mix between an amber and a red ale. I have yet to try anything not awesome from San Diego's Alesmith Brewing. I only wish we could get Alesmith on draft in Washington, but for now it's 22 oz bottles only.

Rating: 4/5

Alesmith Brewing Speedway Stout

Style: American Imperial Stout

ABV: 12%

 

Thoughts: 

One of the very best stouts you can buy in a 22 oz. bottle. Worth every penny and it appears to be available year round, depending on stock. When Alesmith started getting distributed in WA last year, all I heard were rave reviews about Speedway Stout and it did not disappoint. Smooth drinking with really nice coffee and chocolate flavors. Just fantastic.

Rating: 4.5/5

Deschutes The Abyss 2012

Style: American Imperial Stout

ABV: 11%

 

Thoughts: 

Where to even start? The Abyss has been pretty much my favorite beer since before I really even knew very much about beer. My old friend Matt gave me a bottle for Christmas, must have been 2007, I think. And it just totally blew my mind. I'd always leaned towards stouts over hoppier, more bitter beers ever since I first acquired a taste for beer, so this was like someone who loves cars but drives a used 88 Ford Taurus and giving them a brand new Bugatti. Anyways, the 2012 version turned out just fantastic and I ended up hording a few to age so we'll see how it's tasting in the years to come.

Rating: 4.75/5

Deschutes Brewing The Dissident 2012

Style: Flanders Oud Bruin

ABV: 11.4%

 

Thoughts: 

This one will tickle your taste buds. Deschutes only brews the Dissident once every 2 years, but I was able to snag one at the Thriftway in West Seattle long after most places had sold out of it. Anyways, this beer is very sour. Like slap you in the face and make your brow sweat a little bit sour. The main flavor is cherries, so if you don't like cherries then this isn't the beer for you. Using wild yeast with Brettanomyces, they age the Dissident for 18 months before releasing it. Next time I see it, I'm buying two bottles!

Rating: 4.5/5

Flying Dog Brewing Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout

Style: English Stout

ABV: 5.5%

 

Thoughts: 

I had this on my last trip to Minnesota. Flying Dog is a great brewery from Maryland, but sadly they do not distribute in Washington. Your preferences on oysters and shellfish will pretty much dictate how you feel about this beer. Luckily, the oyster flavor is really just a bit a saltiness to go along with the chocolate and malt, making for a pleasant salted chocolate bar kind of vibe. Nice and dry with a low ABV, this would go great with any seafood dinner.

Rating: 3.75/5

Fremont Brewing The Lamb

Style: American Saison

ABV: 6.5%

 

Thoughts: 

This beer was Fremont's first foray into this style of wine barrel-aged corked beers using wild yeast. They brewed it once last spring, I think it was. I really like saisons, especially in warmer weather, and this is a solid example of the style with the added feature of Brettanomyces for aging. I bought two so we'll see how the aging goes sometime later this year maybe.

Rating: 3.5/5

Hair of the Dog Brewing Doggie Claws

Style: American Barleywine

ABV: 11.5%

 

Thoughts: 

Hair of the Dog Brewing from Portland gets some serious hype all over the country and for good reason; they make pretty incredible and distinct styles of beer in small-batch quantities. Next time I'm in Portland I'm just gonna kick it at their brewpub for a day or so. Anyways, I am a barleywine superfan and this is one of my new favorites of the style. It has very low carbonation, which might detract some. It strikes a fantastic balance between piney hoppiness and that classic sweet and syrupy barleywine flavor.

Rating: 4.25/5

Hair of the Dog Brewing Ruth

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5%

 

Thoughts: 

Y'all know I can't resist a solid, low ABV pale ale. This one is very unfiltered with lots of citrus notes, but still a bit on a bitter side.

Rating: 3.75/5

Leinenkugel Brewing Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout

Style: Russian Imperial Stout (durr)

ABV: 9.5%

 

Thoughts: 

So Leinenkugel Brewing from Wisconsin, for those unfamiliar, is ubiquitous in the Midwest. Much like Pyramid or Red Hook on the West Coast. Leiny's makes some solid summertime easy drinkin', borderline-macrobrews, but the Big Eddy series is their crafty lil' subdivision of limited releases. This one seems like the most hyped one for some reason and it was long gone when I was in Minnesota last December, but then I found a bottle at the Beer Junction in Seattle when I got back. Verdict: good, not great. Nicely priced, though, for a RIS. The fruit flavors are very much in the forefront, which is kind of unique.

Rating: 3/5

North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin XV Anniversary Barrel Aged Stout

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 11.9%

So the regular version of Old Rasputin, which is readily available year round most places, is a fantastic and very strong RIS. This is the barrel aged version and holy moly it's probably the best RIS I've ever had. My buddy Matt gave me this bottle for Christmas and it was just exquisite. The bourbon and oak flavors help hide the alcohol a bit more and make it incredibly smooth. A world-class beer.

 

Thoughts: 4.75/5

Olvalde Farm Brewing Ode to a Russian Shipwright

Style: American Porter

ABV: Unknown!

 

Thoughts: 

This is one of the strangest and most perplexing beers I've ever had. I brought it back with me from my last trip to Minnesota. The label calls it a Porter Stout, which is silly, and it's brewed with spruce tips. As you can see in the photo, it was extremely carbonated and poured a huge, thick, and rocky head. Beer Advocate calls it a Porter, so we'll go with that. Anyways, it drinks unlike most dark beers. Very bitter, surprisingly hoppy, and then the spruce tips add this crazy almost spicy flavor. It's super weird, but in a good way.

Rating: 3.5/5

Ommegang Brewing Seduction

Style: Belgian Dark Ale

ABV: 6.8%

 

Thoughts: 

Brewery Ommegang in New York is perhaps the finest brewery in North America to exclusively brew Belgian style beers. A family friend gave me this bottle of Seduction and it's a rather unique Belgian Dark Ale. Most beers of this style are heavy on the sweet and malty side, but this one throws in a lot of chocolate flavor. It kind of covers the Belgian yeast profile a bit, so I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's not real familiar with the style. But, as a big Belgian fan, I really dug this one.

Rating: 3.75/5

Surly Brewing Co. Coffee Bender

Style: American Brown Ale

ABV: 5.1%

 

Thoughts: 

Simply put, this is one of my favorite beers in the world. Surly Brewing is truly awesome and whenever I go to Minnesota I try to consume as much of their brews as I can. The regular Bender is an awesome brown ale that almost tastes like a porter. This version of it is steeped cold for 24 hours in coarsely ground coffee beans from the Vinca Vista Hermosa plantation in Guatemala. Y'all know I love my coffee beers. This one is nice and smooth, very drinkable with a low ABV. Perfect for watching a 10 AM football game or for in between games of pond hockey. Maybe that's why Surly doesn't distribute to the West Coast. No pond hockey whatsoever. Anyways, if you find yourself in the upper Midwest, track this one down and then bring me some.

Rating: 5/5