Drinking for the Phoenix

Much of my new drinking has been driven by what I am writing about for The Providence Phoenix. Some have already trickled onto the blog already, but here are the ones I have neglected to this point:

Irish Ayes

Murphy's Irish Red Beer, Score: 5
O'Hara's Irish Red, Score: 5
O'Hara's Irish Stout, Score: 8
Strangford Lough Legbiter, Score: 6
Strangford Lough St. Patrick's Best, Score: 5

Justified Arrogance
Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale, Score: 8
Stone Double Bastard Ale, Score: 9
Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale 2006, Score: 8
Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale 2009, Score: 7
Stone Russian Imperial Stout 2006, Score: 9
Stone Russian Imperial Stout 2009, Score: 8
Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, Score: 9

Eco-Friendly

Eel River Climax Noel, Score: 6
Neumarkter Lammsbrau Organic Pilsner, Score: 8

Pinkus-Mueller Organic Ur Pils, Score: 7

Samuel Smith's Organic Raspberry Fruit Beer, Score: 3
Samuel Smith's Organically Produced Ale, Score: 8

Have Beer, Will Travel

21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer, Score: 1
Butternuts Moo Thunder Stout, Score: 4
Central City Red Racer Pale Ale, Score: 6
Oskar Blues GUBNA Imperial IPA, Score: 5
Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, Score: 8

ProPho: Eco-friendly

The second coming of organic beer
By JOSH SMITH April 21, 2010

Once upon a time, before the heyday of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, all beer was organic. And now organic is back for good.

A case can be made that organic beer should not only be better for our planet, but better tasting. After all, superior ingredients make superior beer. Besides, a brewer that goes to the trouble of finding and using quality ingredients is obviously very intent on creating good beer.

This theory, however, hasn’t always been supported by the facts in these early days of organic beers’ second coming. And last year’s closing of Magic Hat’s Orlio line proved craft beer drinkers aren’t willing to waste time and money on poor quality organic beers.

Nevertheless, in the past few years organic beers have become much more widely available. Craft brewers tend to be a progressive lot but, more importantly, that word “organic” on the label is one more selling point in the uber-competitive craft beer marketplace. So I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that some games are being played with the O-word.

In 2002, some of the industry’s larger brewers lobbied the government to consider beer organic even if non-organic hops were used. Consequently, some inorganic chemicals still make their way into organic beer — as long as 95 percent of the total ingredients are organic. Such is life, I suppose. While a handful of 100 percent organic beers are starting to pop up, today let’s explore seven brewers that make beer which meets the official organic designation and is available on the East Coast.

German brewer PINKUS-MULLER was the first to sell an organic certified beer in 1980. The UR PILS is still around today, grainier than most pilsners and very crisp. NEUMARKTER LAMMSBRAU ORGANIC PILSNER is another solid light German lager with heaps of pale pilsner malts. In the UK, the iconic SAMUEL SMITH offers several natural beers ranging from the well-balanced ORGANICALLY PRODUCED ALE to the tasty dessert beer, ORGANIC RASPBERRY FRUIT BEER.

However, it isn’t Europe but the West Coast that lays claim to the title of home for organic beer. California’s chocolaty EEL RIVER’S ORGANIC PORTER proves that organic beers can be more than light session beers. Even better is NORTH COAST’s flavorful OLD PLOWSHARE STOUT, which gives me hope that the quality of organic beers as a whole will continue to improve as more elite brewers such as North Coast join the fray.

And while many of their beers are not yet available on this coast, I must note that the Oregon beer scene has essentially gone organic; most every elite brewer now boasts an organic beer in its repertoire. Newcomer Hopworks Urban Brewery is poised to take the genre to the next level with an all-organic lineup, sustainable brewery, and some of the highest scores I’ve ever given to a single brewer. So for any of you beer distributors reading: We want Hopworks!

Sadly, Rhode Island and Massachusetts haven’t quite caught organic fever yet. I doubt that New England brewers hate Mother Earth so much as organic ingredients aren’t readily available. Otter Creek out of Vermont has impressively managed to put out a dozen organic beers with their WOLAVER’S line. The IPA and OATMEAL STOUT, in particular, get my seal of approval. Maine’s beer portfolio includes an all-organic brewer of its own: PEAK ORGANIC BREWING COMPANY. Both the NUT BROWN ALE and IPA are tried-and-true brews, but it is their ESPRESSO AMBER ALE that captures my imagination. I love the added depth the coffee lends to this typically one-dimensional style.

In the spirit of Earth Day, though, I have to raise the question: is being organic enough? Is an organic beer really good for the planet if it is then shipped a few thousand miles? I doubt it. For that reason, I can’t in good conscience endorse Samuel Smith’s organic beers (but I’d put moral concerns aside for a drop of some of those natural Oregon brews). While organic is good, you can also go green this year by supporting your local craft brewer.

Thoughts on seasons

Those of you who have had the honor of getting a beer with me lately know that I always carry around a list of my complete beer ratings. (Some 900 beers long, the font is getting pretty small on that sheet of paper at this point!) As you can imagine, the guys would rip on me pretty good about that... until I got them a list of their own! They admit it is pretty handy.

So it is in that spirit that I am going to take George up on one of his suggestions: previewing seasonal offerings. Often when you walk into a liquor store there is a bewildering display of different seasonal offerings (about two months early, mind you, but that is a post for another day...) Now, it is pretty annoying when, looking for a decent winter warmer, you spend $9 on a six-pack of Harpoon only to find out that it is like chewing on a pine cone. With that in mind, here are a few winter beers with Josh's seal of approval.

Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale -- a lot happening in this full-flavored beer

Gritty McDuff's Christmas Ale -- brought a mini-keg of this to Christmas a couple of years ago... a great choice.

Rogue Santa's Private Reserve -- my favorite Rogue beer

Sam Adams Holiday Porter -- possibly the last Sam beer I really look forward to drinking

Shipyard Prelude Special Ale -- this might be its only year on the list since Shipyard is streaching the length of prelude's season every year...

Shipyard Longfellow Winter Ale -- leave it to Maine to keep the Porter as a seasonal alive

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale -- an IPA as a winter seasonal? i love it!

It is worth noting that I limited this list strictly to seasonal offerings; strong ales (Geary's Hampshire Special Ale), barleywine's (Sierra Nevada Bigfoot), and just about any Russian Imperial Stout, also work well on a cold winter night. Now I am going to wait a couple more weeks before breaking out any winter beers, so let's wrap up with the last of the new fall seasonals.

Pennichuck The Big O Octoberfest Lager
22 oz -- Kappy's, Falmouth
kind of amateurish label but apparently this won a couple of medals at the great international beer festival. first impression upon sniffing this beer is: what is the abv on this one? still not sure, but i have to think it is on the high end for marzens... 6%? lots of malts but being a lager it doesn't bog you down. flavor didn't totally mesh for me, but i thought this was a solid beer.
Score: 6

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin
22 oz -- Cork's, Mansfield
the great name and sharp label will probably be enough for this to be a runaway success for shipyard. (definitely a step in the right direction after their hokey summer ale with a lobster on the label...) freakishly clear pour with clean aroma of malt and spice. you actually taste some pumpkin, which may not seem like a big deal but most pumpkin beers are just heavily spiced. (cinnammon and nutmeg are still present though.) definitely taste the alcohol, but not off-putting. nice balance from what is typically a malty style. really good, i thought.
Score: 8

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumkin Ale
Bottle -- Gordon's, Waltham
dark pour with overpowering aroma of nutmeg. spice upstages pumpkin flavor in taste as well. alcohol is a little too strong for my liking at 8% even. good warming beer for a cold fall day though. relatively light and easy to drink.
Score: 7

Wolaver Will Stevens' Pumpkin Ale
Bottle -- Julio's, Westborough
named for the organic farmer who grew the pumpkins for the brew. so you have to like that. very powerfully spiced though and a little thin.
Score: 5

West Coast Beers

Sadly, the last of the beers I brought back from the honeymoon are listed below, along with a few west coast brewers that are a little more widely available.

21st Amendment IPA
Can -- Superstar Discount Beverage Center, Huntington, NY
sold to me as a drinkable ipa, and it was all of that. very enjoyable. one notch below dale's pale ale, but that is all.
Score: 7

Alaskan Smoked Porter 2008
22 oz -- Cork, Portland, OR
big aroma: smoke, cola, and coffee. smoked meat features in flavor, but it really does fit. very smooth and lively. its a shame i won't see any more of these alaskan beers for a while.
Score: 9

Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Double IPA
22 oz -- Cork, Portland, OR
first thing that strikes you about this beer is the somewhat unusual aroma. sweet, with citrus hops and fruity esters... and very heavy, hanging in your nostrils. malts balance hops nicely, but still finishes with some punch. a fun beer.
Score: 8

Heater Allen Pils
22 oz -- Belmont Station, Portland, OR
a czech pilsner with simple, classy label. nice golden color with thick lacing that clings to my stange glass. sharp aroma of fresh hay. decent bitterness up front. textured mouthfeel, but easy to drink. highly recommended but you may have to be on the west coast to find it...
Score: 8

North Coast Old Plowshare Stout
Bottle -- Luke's, Rockland
an organic stout from one of my favorite brewers. somewhat see-through black. nice coffee aroma and some molasses, i think. tasty, with bitterness giving edge to beer. almost thin, but doesn't necessarily detract from beer. delicious.
Score: 8

Port Brewing High Tide Fresh Hop IPA
22 oz -- Luke's, Rockland
yet another fresh hop beer -- these are really hot lately. hazy, dark golden pour... distinctive cascade hops at work here... sharp bitterness on finish... wears a little thin over the course of the bottle.
Score: 7

Pick of the litter:

Alesmith IPA
22 oz -- Shoreline Beverage, Huntington, NY
especially impressive head on this one, perfectly proportioned. what a great smell: rich and tropical fruit. and the flavor is almost as big, grapefruit and bready malt. as hoppy a beer as you will find, but without being over-the-top. excellent.
Score: 10

Cambridge & Somerville

My friend Heather, who I met in PDX, recently moved to the city of Somerville (located just north of Boston.) This is happy news for many reasons, not the least of which is it will give me a much better opportunity to get to some of the bars I have been meaning to get to on the other side of the Charles River.

Cambridge Common Restaurant
1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA
#1 on my to-do list for several months now. It has an interesting ambiance to it, with both indoor and outdoor seating, dark lighting but bright colors. Heather seemed to think it was a little too trendy, but I thought it struck a good balance that would appeal to most people, whether they are most inclined toward that dive bar or an upscale restaurant. And it is a restaurant. The food is very good, with more of an emphasis on comfort food than the "imaginative cuisine" of cross-town Cambridge Brewing Company. What I will be returning for is one of their "beer dinners," with several courses and an accompanying beer for each. (Stone is coming on August 25th...) As for the beer, there are 30 taps, with way more new options than I am used to. I loved their idea of having a tap for certain brewers, but rotating the style regularly. Berkshire, CBC (which is generous of them), Sixpoint, Troegs, and Rogue all are on this list, which is pretty cool. My sampler tray was great and the service was excellent, so high marks all around..
Atmosphere: 3/5, Selection: 10/10, Quality: 9/10, Service: 5/5, Overall: 14/20, Total: 41/50
Total rating: A-

The Independent
75 Union Square, Somerville, MA
Heather didn't have a good first impression of this place, but I talked her into giving it a second chance. There are three parts to this place: a roped in patio section on the square, a nice looking dining room, and a dark, study-esque bar, which we chose. Very comfortable with lots of leather books lining the walls and the ballgame showing on several TV's. The beer list is pretty impressive in terms of quality, but they are mostly familiar choices (Dead Guy, Boont Amber, Avery Brown, Hennepin, Old Rasputin.) Service was lackluster but the Korean Calamari was delicious! I think Heather was a convert.
Atmosphere: 4/5, Selection: 8/10, Quality: 8/10, Service: 2/5, Overall: 12/20, Total: 34/50
Total rating: B+

And then there were the beers...

Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial IPA
Sample -- Cambridge Common Restaurant, Cambridge
clear with nice head... really hoppy aroma you would expect in a double IPA... grapefruit flavored hops have sharp edge. didn't particularly enjoy this.
Score: 6

Peak Organic IPA
Sample -- Cambridge Common Restaurant, Cambridge
totally see-through... yeasty / grainy smell I can't place... floral taste with light bitterness, very grassy. i enjoyed this.
Score: 7

Rogue Captain Sig's Deadliest Ale
Sample -- Cambridge Common Restaurant, Cambridge
another one of rogue's gimmicky beers, this one a nod to the show deadliest catch. (i find this whole racket very annoying -- let's hope it doesn't catch on...) very cloudy amber with thick head... sharp hop nose... very bitter citrus flavor, verging on grapefruit... very textured and drying. not bad actually.
Score: 6

Sixpoint Righteous Ale
Sample -- Cambridge Common Restaurant, Cambridge
a rye. reddish and translucent with head that coats beer. balanced aroma. interesting, a distinct cherry taste materialzes in flavor. some citrus too, but bitterness is checked. best of the bunch.
Score: 8

Stoudt's Gold Lager
Bottle -- The Independent, Somerville
translucent... grain and light hops on aroma... flavor is malt and mild corn... quite clean, sterile bitterness... perfect beer to accompany most any meal.
Score: 8

PDX: The Best

Drum roll, please...

The Best:
#2. Hopworks Urban Brewery – 2944 SE Powell Blvd, PDX
Hopworks Urban Brewery only recently celebrated its first birthday so it wasn't even on the radar screen during my time in PDX. HUB is an all organic brewery, but get this: it is really, really good! Some 3,000 miles away it was hard to figure out how much of this was hype, but it was obviously at the very top of my to do list. It is a little out of the way on a busy street in the southeast, but once you get there it is nothing but convenient. They have four different types of seating: beer garden, family-friendly restaurant, function mezzanine, and, our choice, the biker bar... as in bicycle bar, of course. Most of the bar is actually made of bicycle parts -- pretty cool. Beyond that they turned some brewery equipment into a fireplace, have a solid stein collection, as well as a pool table and the basketball game on. Food looked good and prices were reasonable. What more can you ask for? Tables are very classy but we sidled up to the bar. Here the bartenders were good and even started you off with a water, which I especially appreciate when sampling ten plus beers. This was a very impressive set of styles, not to mention the highest average alcohol by volume from a line-up of beers that I have ever seen!

I hope you will still read about these beers below, but I have to say up front that this place totally blew me away. It was an almost surreal experience, as each beer seemed to get better and better. By the time I got to the real beers (IPA, strong ale, stout), I was downright giddy. I came in expecting good beer, but for every beer to be this well-crafted and be organic is unheard of. I mean, these guys have only been around for a year and the quality is more consistent than any brewer I have ever encountered yet. Just imagine what is possible for these guys! Or put another way: Hopworks is impressive enough for this cheap bastard to buy a t-shirt on the way out.

Hopworks HUB Lager - Sample
An organic Czech pilsner -- my kind of Budweiser substitute. Fresh hop and pilsner malt aroma. Light hops make this very pleasing. As light as you are looking for.
Score: 8

Hopworks Totally Raddler - Sample
I am going to rate this one and try not to hold it against the brewer. They took that delicious lager I just rated and added 30% lemonade. So, of course, Kelly had to order it. Obviously that delicate lager is totally overwhelmed by sugary sweet lemonade. I'll try not to hold that against HUB, but it was quite sad.
Score: 3

Hopworks Anniversary Cream Ale - Sample
Above the bar where we were sitting HUB had a huge chalkboard with all of the beers on tap listed down to the original gravity. At first glance I didn't see any beer weighing in below 5% abv... except for this one at a still healthy 4.7%. Nitro pour produces creaminess you would hope for. Nice pale malt flavor and again gently hopped. Nice!
Score: 8

Hopworks Crosstown Pale Ale - Sample
An organic pale ale. Clear golden. Potent grassy hops. Flavorful. Sessionable. This was the point that I started getting excited after starting off with three exquisitely crafted beers, in three not-so-exciting styles, mind you! What will they do with an ESB?
Score: 9

Hopworks Velvet ESB - Sample
Attractive red pour... minor fresh hop aroma... caramel malts dominate, not hops as you might have expected in an ESB... chocolate malt and oats do create a very velvety texture... billed as a session beer, which really does. An incredibly unique ESB, and I loved it!
Score: 10

Hopworks Secret Alt - Sample
German Altbier... fruity hop aroma... beautifully balanced flavor... very smooth like all their beers so far.
Score: 8

Hopworks Terry Porter - Sample
Obviously the Trailblazers are huge in town, so how is it possible no one had thought of this beer name yet? Anyways, great name for a beer. Chocolate malt aroma... definite hop presence, with lightly charred malt... heavy aftertaste. When all was said and done, this would actually be the least impressive of the bunch. And it was a pretty good porter!
Score: 7

Hopworks IPA - Sample
Spiderwebs nicely on glass. Big sweet, grapefruit hop aroma. In flavor, hops are deliciously citric and piney. Sweet and lemony flavors come through as well. Flavor has great bitterness, without rawness of East Coast IPA's. Very smooth for an IPA. Probably one of the best IPA's I have ever had... and remember, it is organic!
Score: 10

Hopworks Deluxe Organic Ale - Sample
Well, this is certainly a different sort of name for an American Strong Ale. I had a sense of what I was in for right away since there is no hint of the 6.9% abv on the nose. Any alcohol blends in perfectly with malts in flavor. Lots of caramel malts but very smooth. It would be easy to drink a few of these, so you have to be careful. What an amazing beer!
Score: 10

Hopworks Survival "Seven Grain" Stout - Sample
They used coldpressed Stumptown espresso... and it smells like it too. Coffee in flavor is quite sweet and velvety smooth. Delicious and enjoyable.
Score: 9

Hopworks Rise Up Red - Sample
Cask-conditioned. Strong hoppiness I love in these West Coast/IPA reds. And just like that, HUB's beers finished as strong as they started. This was simply one of the greatest beer experiences I have ever had. Now I cannot in good conscience call them the best brewer in Portland after 1 1/2 hours of drinking their samplers. However, if Hopworks is still churning out beers of this quality next time I get to try them again, they will be sitting atop this list. Go Hopworks!
Score:9

#1. Deschutes Brewery & Public House – 210 NW 11th Ave, PDX
But until that point, Deschutes reigns supreme. One of my favorite trips from my previous time out in Oregon was a road trip to Bend, home of Deschutes Brewing. Since that time they have opened a brewpub in the heart of the previously discussed Pearl District. Huge place with very classy look of a Scottish bar with the large paned windows. Inside there is lots of wood -- from the tables to the spectacular carved murals hanging throughout the building. Good space inside, with several different types of seating, including out on the street. Beautiful stone fireplace and popular gift shop. Did I mention this place is big? We had dinner here and one thing I was not expecting was the quality of the food. Kelly's spicy Tillamook mac and cheese was one of the best meals we had all week. Best of all, they had 17 taps! Yes! Fortunately, I had already had my two favorite Deschutes beers earlier in the week, and was ready to try some new stuff. I had a blast here and it is actually very fulfilling to see one of my very favorite brewers reaching this wider audience. Ladies and gentlemen, the number one brewpub from Josh and Kelly's Beer Trip / Honeymoon! (And yes, that order is correct...)

Deschutes Black Butte Porter - Bottle, Tin Shed Garden Cafe
Deschutes beer was one of the things I was most looking forward to about our trip out to Portland, so it didn't take long for me to find one of their beers. Deschutes Black Butte Porter was available with our first breakfast at Tin Shed Garden Cafe, so I couldn't very well pass. I reranked this beer just a few months ago, so let me just say this beer also goes well with biscuits and gravy.
Score: 10, Original Score: 10

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale - Bottle, Downtown Chapel Cafe
My #1 favorite beer from my time in Portland. Picturesque pour of amber body with tight head. Distinctive aroma of Cascade hops. Sweet citric hops blend perfectly with crisp malt. Balance and smoothness makes this a perfect beer for session drinking, with a meal, or on its own. If I could only drink five beers for the rest of my life, this would still be one of them.
Score: 10, Original Score: 10

Deschutes Cask Conditioned Bachelor ESB - Deschutes Brewpub, Sample
Oh boy! One of my favorite ESB's from a cask! Big creamy head... sweet malts play with bitterness... served a little colder than I would like, which made it even smoother than normal. Top notch session beer, that is even better from the cask.
Score:9, Original Score: 8

Deschutes Red Chair IPA - Sample
63 IBU, 7% abv. Hops are almost singularly sweet on nose... some of the most flavorful hops I have ever encountered. This IPA is almost creamy with pitch perfect balance. Wow, what a beer! What I wouldn't give for an IPA of this caliber in Massachusetts.
Score:10

Deschutes Inversion IPA - Sample
How have I never rated this beer? Citrusy, but it is caramel that strikes senses first, which is impressive. Hops do tickle your tongue (in a good way.) I would never in my wildest dreams guess this was 80 IBU. Awesome.
Score: 9

Deschutes Obsidian Stout - Sample
Dark with hot chocolate-like head. Unmissable chocolate malt aroma with solid roastiness in flavor. Very tasty. Perhaps a little thin. Still, a great beer, that belongs in class with flagship pale, porter, and IPA.
Score:9, Original Score: 9

Deschutes Cascade Ale - Sample
Hazy golden. Healthy dose of floral hops actually. Graininess is present as well. Refreshing to see a pale ale weigh in at an appropriate 4.6%.
Score: 8

Deschutes Pilsner 005 - Sample
Light color. Recognizable skunky, German malt and a little banana if I am not mistaken. Seemed a little directionless to me. Didn't make it.
Score: 5

Deschutes Twilight Ale - Sample
Three American pales on tap? Niiice. By this point in the trip, my new found allergies were limiting my sense of smell. But my wife was kind enough to observe: "Hoppier in aroma than taste. Hops smell funny, like wort." Okay... I think I know what she means. Nice lacing anyway, with pretty lemony flavor. Pretty good.
Score: 7

Deschutes Armory Extra Pale Ale - Sample
Now correct me if I am wrong, but I thought Extra Pale Ale's were usually lighter, right? This has big sweet hop aroma with sharp bitter finish. Seemed unusual to me. Not bad though.
Score: 6

Deschutes Miss Spelt - Sample
I was curious to see the style designation on this one too, but neither beer was listed on BeerAdvocate (their coverage is much better on the East Coast...) Anyways, cloudy appearance, strongly spiced, flavor of bananas and clove. Not a bad Belgian.
Score: 7

Deschutes Big Mountain Bock - Sample
A Maibock. Sweet malt but raw mouthfeel. Not badly brewed, but a pretty superficial beer.
Score: 5

Deschutes Streaking the Quad - Sample
I ordered this on my first sampler paddle, but quickly realized that if I drank this quadruple (9%) and the barleywine (11%), I would be done. Second sampler paddle later, there strong beers had conveniently arrived at room temp. Deschutes brewed this Strong Belgian Ale for Portland's Cheers to Belgian Beers competition. Smell all of 7% and robitussen. Like taking a shot... specifically like taking a shot of bourbon/whiskey. Too much, unpleasant.
Score: 3

Deschutes Mirror Mirror- Sample
Supposedly Deschutes took the recipe for Mirror Pond and doubled it for this beer. What a great idea. Clever name too. Forget "hint" in description, strong raisin smell. Taste of sweet cherry and licorice, or maybe just cough syrup. I really liked it.
Score: 8

And there you have the top 10 brewpubs we visited in Oregon. Now before you think this series is over, we still have another 18 beers to rate from several other top-notch western brewers. I think you all might appreciate some of the pictures from our beer trip too... stay tuned.

PDX: The Better

Okay, this is going to be a long one. Another 37 beers from Beervana. You have been warned.

Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention last post was that I decided to spice up the order in which I usually list the beers. Being my perfectionist/obsessive-compulsive self, I usually carefully list the beers in alphabetical order. Instead, I thought it would be interesting to list the beers in the order in which I drank them. As I mentioned, most all of these beers were drank as samplers, so I was careful as to the order in which I drank them. Now, as I have talked about in past posts, the order isn't so simplistic as lightest to darkest as most brewpubs will tell you, but rather, considers alcohol by volume, IBU's (bitterness), and heaviness of the beer. More of a judgement call that you would think since I was drinking so many high-IBU IPA's...

The Better:
#7. Roots Organic Brewery – 1520 SE 7th Ave, PDX
I am pretty sure that Roots was Portland's first all-organic brewery, which is worth something. Despite this, I feel like Roots kind of flies under the radar of a lot of Portlanders with its small, somewhat out of the way location. I've always loved this place, since it proved to me that organic beers can be good too. The island theme is pretty fun -- bright colors, surfing, reggae, etc. Outside seating is available and the back of the restaurant has an industial thing going with the brewing equipment fully visible. Probably the least pretentious place on this list, which is just what you need sometimes.

Roots Burghead Heather Ale - Sample
One of the most unique beers you will ever try since it doesn't use hops! How is this possible you ask? Why heather tips, of course. And this is what I love about Roots -- talk about adventurous. (The absense of hops makes it a Gruit, by the way.) It was a little flat, but that was because I got the dregs of the keg (they switched out immediately after...) Lot of fruity esthers, which translates to a certain juiciness. Light and drinkable too. Highly recommended, just to say you once drank a pretty good beer that contained no hops.
Score: 6, Original Score: 7

Roots Organic Pale Ale - Sample
Very nice bitter hops early without bite at end... some bready malts balance this out very neatly... they call this an English style Pale Ale, but it would have to be an English Pale on roids!
Score: 7, Original Score: 8

Roots EXXXcalibur Stout - Sample
One of my fondest memories of PDX was this delicious, smooth Imperial Stout. Sure enough, this is still one of the smoothest beers I have ever tried... big coffee roast and sweet nose... silky sheet of a head... flavorful chocolate joins roast sweetness in flavor while hops work quietly in the background. Love this beer. Best stout in PDX.
Score: 9, Original Score: 8

Roots Woody Organic IPA - Sample
Haven't rated this yet, but I have drank it. Pours a striking orange... big hop aroma... dual hop nature blends in taste, both citrus and grapefruit... what a flavorful IPA... nice body to it too. This is their most popular beer.
Score: 8

Roots Island Red - Sample
Billed as a "red stout"... oats do give this one a heavier body... rosy amber, nice lacing... malts with coffee note and hops in aroma... balanced flavor... very nice red.
Score: 7

#6. Amnesia Brewing – 832 N Beech St, PDX
Probably my favorite brewpub from my time in Portland (of the top 5, 1 is outside the city, 2 are new brewpubs, and 2 brewers I had never tried before...) Basically, it is a tin shed with an enormous partly covered patio of long, communal picnic tables. Very German. As is the food, brats grilled right in front of you, year round. How awesome is that? And there is live music. The beers rotate and are very hop-centric. Most everyone orders pitchers. So basically, it is heaven on earth.

Amnesia Dusty Trail Pale - Sample
Harsh bitterness at end, very bready... lighter than you might expect... flavor/palate is a little unrefined... I really enjoyed the Pale Ale's in town, but you can find better.
Score: 5

Amnesia The ESB - Sample
Nice looking beer with steady carbonation and a creamy head (like seemingly all of Amnesia's beers)... bitter up-front... fruitty overtones and quite nutty... well-balanced but missing some umph.
Score: 7, Original Score: 7

Amnesia Copacetic IPA - Sample
Shockingly creamy head... all oranges and plums in aroma... and flavor... very smooth and creamy mouthfeel... a unique and delicious IPA. Not to mention probably the greatest name for an IPA in the history of the world. How did no one else think of this?
Score: 9, Original Score: 8

Amnesia Slow Train Porter - Sample
Nice tan creamy head... sweet chocolate nose... roastiness seems to cake mouth... little watery. Amnesia specializes in the hoppy, but this really isn't a bad dark.
Score: 7

Amnesia Blonde Beech - Sample
Okay, now hold on. Their seasonal is a blonde ale with 7.2% abv?! Just wow. Smell is grainy German malts... taste is an odd mix of alcohol, skunky yeast, and indescribable fruitiness. You feel all of the 7% and I am pretty sure Kelly got drunk off the first 4 sips of her pint. Don't believe me? Here is Kelly's only rating of the weekend: "Very beery beer but beery delicious! Easy drinking but full of malt flavor with a light hop taste... Beautiful golden color... Gets you buzzed in a hurry... Yum..." If that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what one is.
Score: 6, Kelly's Rating: 9

Amnesia Desolation IPA - Sample
PDX just does IPA's right... thought for sure this 6.2% IPA would be over the top, but surprised me with complexity and subtlety once again. Fruity hops. Mouthfeel has real huskiness at end. Step below Copacetic, but an almost equally cool name.
Score: 7, Original Score: 7

Amnesia Double Dry Hopped Desolation - Sample
Description reads: "If you have to ask, you probably shouldn't order it." Little Arrogant Bastard thing going, I like it. Hoppy aroma is both citrus/grapefruit... extent of malts was unexpected. Missing bite of double IPA, but thought this was more on par with Copacetic.
Score: 8

#5. Laurelwood Public House & Brewery – 5115 NE Sandy Blvd, PDX
Laurelwood has an impeccable reputation about town, so this was at the top of my to-do list. They have a few sites (including pizza pubs) but we went to their main brewery on the Northeast side of town. Whole brewery is visible from the street... it's like chem lab meets garage. Hugeness of place is immediately apparent. Somewhere on the three floors you are going to find the kind of place you are looking for to drink your beer. We chose the rooftop, with a very attractive wooden balcony, replete with a garden boxes everywhere you look. Didn't try the food, but sounded very organic, original, and appealing. Beers were very solid (if a little too slickly marketed), but I feel like if I returned a year from now, the beers on tap would be the same...

Laurelwood Bottled Blonde - Sample
Yellow in glass, not quite see-through with decent head… minor hop aroma, mostly spicy… slight taste of banana comes through… served too cold, so mouthfeel isn’t all that pleasant. Not really true to style at all -- definitely hoppier than most blonde’s.
Score: 4

Laurelwood Mother Lode Golden Ale - Sample
Entirely translucent… grassy hop aroma and taste. I liked this much better than the Golden I just tried at Alameda… Kelly thought this was too one-dimensional, and weak on the malts. What a bride!
Score: 5

Laurelwood Free Range Red (Organic) - Sample
This beer has some buzz around town, and is seemingly available everywhere. Once again very translucent (apparently a common characteristic at Laurelwood.) Mild malt aroma, and hops only punch through in aftertaste. Light/medium body and quite well balanced. Very nice.
Score: 8

Laurelwood Workhorse IPA - Sample
Won a competition as the Best IPA in America! So that is impressive. A clear golden with remarkably potent smell of pine needles and cat dander (it works though)? Aroma stands out as unique, which is hard to do when you are beer number 800-something… Aroma transfers to flavor, and is somewhat balanced at same time. Very lively. Not going to call it the Best IPA in America, but reputation is deserved.
Score: 10

Laurelwood Hooligan - Sample
Is this an amber? A brown? Clear again with note of coffee in aroma. Otherwise nondescript malts are balanced by bitter hops. Not bad. (P.S. It is a brown.)
Score: 6

Laurelwood Hop Monkey IPA - Sample
Slightly darker than the Workhorse. Grapefruit hops on nose alongside small malt profile. Quite bitter and really dries out mouth.
Score: 7

Laurelwood Organic Tree Hugger Porter - Sample
Coffee/cola smell… dry barley flavor with a little chocolate… translucent and fairly light bodied for a porter. Judging by their menu of organic this and free range that, I think tree hugger is meant as a positive attribute…
Score: 7

Laurelwood Space Stout - Sample
Creamy chocolate, heavy roast, and medium bodied. Like most darker beers in Portland – it is well-brewed but doesn’t stand out.
Score: 6

#4. Alameda Brewing Company – 4765 NE Fremont St, PDX
I had walked by Alameda several times but never actually went in. In a very trendy part of town, but I will try not to hold that against it... A lot of different things going on here: concrete, brick, metal, wood, and these pretty cool burlap tapastries hanging on the wall. I kind of liked it. They have a lot of taps on and serving temperature was actually about right. We hit happy hour so prices were really excellent. Seemed pretty busy for a weekday afternoon, mixed crowd. Nice place.

Alameda Bavarian Hefe - Sample
Cloudy with thick lacing… Belgian cloves… lemony, yeasty flavor… good carbonation. A very flavorful Hefeweizen. Seems more Belgian inspired than German, but whatever. I was very impressed by this beer.
Score: 8

Alameda East Village Amber - Sample
A German altbier, that is, half ale, half lager. Toasted caramel aroma… very malty with note of coffee… hops play on tongue… medium-bodied. Not bad.
Score: 6

Alameda Klickitat Pale Ale - Sample
Look is a very opaque amber-orange. Piney hop aroma with a very fruity flavor. Nicely balanced too, which makes me think this would be a good candidate for a starter beer.
Score: 7

Alameda Irvington Juniper Porter - Sample
Juniper as an ingredient, huh? Well, that is new (and exciting.) Brown color, creamy coffee aroma. Nearly charred coffee bean flavor with only a glimpse of juniper at front of taste. Kelly picked it out of the aroma, but I failed to. Interesting beer.
Score: 7

Alameda El Torero Organic IPA - Sample
Copper-orange color… flavor is balanced with malts and an assertive grapefruit bitterness. Another good IPA. Wish New England good figure out how to brew organic beers this well…
Score: 8

Alameda Black Bear XX Stout CO2 - Sample
This is Alameda’s much hyped Stout. Sweet chocolate and cocoa aroma, vanilla makes its presence known in flavor. Simply robust bitterness. Creamy mouthfeel. Enjoyable.
Score: 7

Alameda Black Bear XX Stout Nitro - Sample
Should I rate the nitro separately? They are visibly different beers, so I think so. Nitro produces much bigger, creamy head you would hope for. Smoother and creamier too. Seemed less hoppy – not sure why that would be. I would definitely give the nitro the nod between the two.
Score: 8

Alameda Wolf Imperial IPA - Sample
I have found this to be the case with several other double IPA’s, but there seems to be a tendency toward a very pleasant peach/apricot taste. Not that I am complaining. Really does dry out mouth and you do feel all of the alcohol.
Score: 7

Alameda Siskiyou Golden - Sample
A kolsch. Stale wheat taste. What can I say? This is bad.
Score: 3

#3. Full Sail Brewery – 506 Columbia St, Hood River, OR
Hood River is a very nice little city about an hour east of PDX on Columbia Gorge. Wind surfing on the river is huge here, with lots of good wineries and hiking around as well. Full Sail was one of the first microbreweries to start up in Oregon and is pretty popular as a result. Whole place is employee owned too. Last time I was out here I took a tour of the brewery, but this time Kelly and I had dinner, which was surprisingly good. They had redone the bar and opened a patio since I was last there. Very comfortable atmosphere with good staff and the game on. The beers speak for themself.

Full Sail Chris's Summer D-Lite: Red - Sample
This was a beer drinking experience I was looking forward to after reading about Full Sail’s experiment with the Berliner Weiss on my favorite PDX beer blog, Beervana. This distinctive German style adds flavored syrup to the beer, and it’s your choice, you can order the green or red. The red has an uber-sweet aroma of pixie sticks or a red snowcone. I suppose you could call flavor tart raspberries. Very smooth and easy drinking but it has this syrupy sweetness that sticks to lips and creates kind of odd mouthfeel. Nevertheless, I would choose this over most fruit beers.
Score: 6

Full Sail Chris's Summer D-Lite: Green - Sample
The green was my pick of the two. More traditional smell of subdued hops and spice. For taste you should think of a Flemish sour – which I really like. Very fun sessionable summer beer. Recommended.
Score: 7

Full Sail Session Lager - Sample
Session was one of my fondest memories from Portland. Can't miss it in its stout 11 oz bottle. Light golden, fresh grain aroma, perfect sweetness and modest bitterness in hops, very clean. Session is beautiful in its simplicity. Earns its name -- as good of a session beer as you will ever find.
Score: 9

Full Sail LTD Series - Bottling 03 - Sample
Apparently this is the third of this year round series of rotating seasonals. Stronger bitterness than I am used to in a lager. Crisp and still light, but doesn't translate to an especially nice mouthfeel though.
Score: 5

Full Sail Pale Ale - Sample
Very appealing fresh hop aroma. First impression of taste: delicious! Great flavorful hop mix that is balanced with just enough malt presence. Love that balance! Crisp. One of those beers you would love to drink a few of. Somehow I don't remember trying this beer when in Portland, but this was my absolute favorite Full Sail brew.
Score: 10

Full Sail Keelhauler Brewmasters Reserve 2009 - Sample
Expected malt aroma... flavor has a kick to it... but it is kind of a little off. Didn't run across many Scottish Ales in the Pacific Northwest, so it was nice to find it, but once I did it was nothing special.
Score: 5

Full Sail IPA - Sample
Leaves lacing... modest aroma... at first I read the delicateness of taste as balance, but I really didn't pickup much of a malt profile. Kind of a weak IPA, in truth. Drinkable enough though.
Score: 7

Full Sail Grandsun of Spot - Sample
A double IPA. Would be interested in the story behind the name here. Sweet, strong hoppiness you are expecting. Bit much.
Score: 6

New brewers to town

I have found that in order to find new brewers, I have to try a little bit harder these days. A couple of months ago, I took a swing down through my old stomping grounds of Fall River and came up with a couple of these new brewers. The other two came from two of my favorite local haunts: Luke's in Rockland and The Jury Room in Quincy.

Eel River Certified Organic Porter
Bottle -- Chris Gasbarro's, Seekonk
another good california brewer. color is brown with definite reddish tint... lots of chocolate on nose... creamy texture actually makes bigger first impression than flavor... subdued taste of caramel malts, chocolate, faint roasted coffee, and somthing close to vanilla. tasty enough, but i have had better porters.
Score: 6

McNeill's Extra Special Bitter
22 oz -- Luke's, Rockland
first time i have found this fairly well-known vermont brewer. a robust esb for sure, with big flavorful piney hops. decent balance but seemed to break down towards the end of the bottle. wouldn't rush back for this one but am curious to try another.
Score: 6

Snapperfish IPA
Can -- Pour Judgement, Quincy
felt bad ordering this can when dale's pale ale was available but i can rarely pass on a chance to try a new brewer. snapperfish is from upstate new york. a milder ipa, with hops taking on a grapefruit-like coarseness. if ever faced with this choice, go for the dale's without a second thought.
Score: 4

Troegs Pale Ale
Bottle -- Cardoza's, Fall River
i have been waiting for this popular harrisburg, pennsylvania brewer to make it up here, and was some excited when it did. light copper color... malts are quite sweet in the aroma -- think honey... hop character is closest to earthy... flavor is a little bland with an not altogether pleasant bitterness... light mouthfeel, well-balanced... good, not great.
Score: 6

Best bet:
Troegs Hopback Amber Ale
Bottle -- Cardoza's, Fall River
shallow amber with reddish tint and neat head. wow, now this is my kind of amber! big, flavorful citrus, piney hops on nose. hops in taste are balanced by solid malt profile. robust bitterness at end. smoothness only lends to drinkability. my excitedness to finally find troegs was totally justified. order this beer!
Score: 8

Good Winter Beers

December is my busy season. I work for a charity that delivers Christmas gifts to families in Massachusetts, so I work some crazy hours right through Christmas Eve. And while I don't get out to new bars as much as I would like in December, I do still work steadily through some good winter beers.

Now when I say good winter beers, I don't necessarily mean winter seasonals. Many brewers take the Christmas season as an opportunity to produce a muddled, overly-spiced brew (think Harpoon's ridiculous Winter Warmer...) Instead, what I look for in a winter beer is a beer with some color and warming alcohol. So on this list you will find a lot of stouts, and some dark Belgian and German beers.

Cisco Captain Swain's Extra Stout

750 ml -- Luke's

very nice pour with neat tan head. sharp bitter hop aroma. big malt flavor as well, with accompanying sweetness. very dry. a very solid extra stout, albeit a little pricey at $7 a bottle...
Score: 7

Lagunitas Censored
Bottle -- Luke's, Rockland
aka The Kronic, a "rich copper ale." i believe this is meant to be a winter seasonal since there is missletoe on the label... smell is of sweet caramel malts and some fresh hops. taste doesn't jump out at you, like say, lagunitas' sirius cream ale. take a pass.
Score: 5

North Coast Old No. 38 Stout
Bottle -- Luke's
all chocolate nose, some hops and hint of alcohol. coffee taste and strongly bitter. slightly acidic. everything these guys touch turns to gold.
Score: 8

Ommegang Rare Vos
750 ml -- Luke's
a belgian dark ale. deep amber color (or amethyst according to Kelly) with big snowy head. big fruity aroma, yeast and spices -- definitely the strongest component. flavor is an almost bland grain, white grapes, and bitter grassy hops. extremely dry. expectations were too high, i suppose.
Score: 7

Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout
Bottle -- Luke's
sweet roast and smell of carbonation come through first. bitter hops define this flavor in my opinion, with some coffee and molasses in back of taste. this really reminds me of a thin porter... not what you look for in an oatmeal stout. i really want to like these organic beers too...
Score: 4

My pick:
Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock
(Swing-top) bottle -- Luke's
murky in appearance, no head but oily legs. malts in aroma are much more complex and appealing than most heavy-malt beers. alcohol comes through in both aroma and taste. full flavor includes both of these as well as dark, tangy fruit. creamy mouthfeel. i originally bought this beer to marinade meat in, but that would definitely be a crime. a simply fantastic beer.
Score: 10

A Week of Beers, From A to P

Alesmith Old Numbskull

750 ml -- Cork's, Mansfield

the celebratory drink on election night as a tribute to... you guessed it, our outgoing president. a pretty standard barleywine if you ask me: nice looking, big aroma, very alcoholic flavor, and thick/syrupy mouthfeel. i have enjoyed the alesmith brews i have tried, but at $13 a bottle i am going to have to deduct a point here.

Score: 7

Leinenkugels Oktoberfest

Bottle -- Weymouth

ah, the brewers of fruit loops, so we meet again! this is as bland as the other one is obnoxious. sweet crystal malts and very watery. never would have guessed this is an oktoberfest.

Score: 4

Mayflower Thanksgiving Ale

Tap -- Union Brewhouse, Weymouth

i had never heard of this until i found it on tap at union brewhouse in weymouth. very muddled taste with unknown unpleasantness hidden towards the back... think oak, smoke, vanilla, and whiskey. yeah, it didn't really go together. i like the concept of a beer tailored for thanksgiving, but not the final product.

Score: 3

North Coast ACME California IPA

Tap -- Union Brewhouse, Weymouth

kind of a high abv for an ipa at 7+% but i didn't really pick it up in the flavor. hops in this ipa are definitely citrusy in nature. very refreshing and smooth. i still haven't met a beer from north coast that i haven't liked...

Score: 8

Peak Organic Espresso Amber Ale

Tap -- Union Brewhouse, Wemouth

espresso in an amber ale? another awesome idea. huge smell of espresso and flavor is overwhelmed by coffee beans as well. however, the flavor is so intense that this beer doesn't have the drinkability i might have hoped for in an amber ale. i'd like to play around with this concept as a homebrew further

down the line...

Score: 8

Three cheers for Jeff Merkley (and that Obama guy too...)!

I could not have been more confident in an Obama victory last night. I have been following this race every day for two years and knew the poll numbers and electoral scenarios inside out. Obama was going to win. And yet, I didn't sleep the previous four nights. And after voting on election day, I found myself back at home, hyperventilating, rocking back and forth in the fetal position, surrounded by 30 pages of maps and electoral counts.

In times like these, you need a sure thing, a beer that that is going to deliver an all-around pleasant drinking experience. I had just the ticket, thanks to my friend Heather Angell's visit to the Great State of Oregon. Heather brought me back three beers from the beer heaven that is the Pacific Northwest: Deschutes Black Butte Porter, one of my very favorite beers; a new organic ale from Deschutes; and a new IPA from Fish Brewing Company in Olympia, WA.

(As for the title of this post, Jeff Merkley is my one-time landlord and now junior U.S. Senator from Oregon, after defeating incumbent Republican Gordon Smith by the narrowest of margins. Congratulations, Senator Merkley, and I'll drink to that with a good Oregon beer! And hooray for you too President-elect Barrack Obama! My friends know I am not one to get too political, but... for the last eight years -- my entire political life -- I have watched with increasing desperation as Bush and his band of thieves have run this country into the ground without any regard for the general welfare of its citizens. As someone who follows politics closely and cares deeply for this country, it was too much for me to take; I am a beaten man. But our long national nightmare is over. Put it on your calender: Saturday, January 17th, 2009 will be my Bad Bush, Good Beer party! This is a serious cause for celebration...)

Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Bottle -- Portland, OR
black butte porter appears at the top of one of my first beer posts as a perfect 10... but nothing further is said about this beer. let me do so here. first things first, deschutes puts out some very appealing, simple labels that really draw you in. (also: purchase before date clearly printed on label, a feature that should be common, but isn't.) a dark brown, kind of mysterious pour. lots of roasted malts, a little sweet caramel, and faint hops on nose... a full aroma for sure, and avoids cola-like smell of many porters. malts are more burnt in taste, and finish is coffee. could not possibly be more perfectly balanced by bittering hops. very smooth, healthy carbonation, and medium-bodied. full aroma and taste, easy drinking... not much more you can ask for. i was very glad to discover that this beer withstood the test of time and my changing tastes. just as good as i remembered; if i had to drink five beers for the rest of my life, this would be one of them.
Score: 10

Deschutes Green Lake Organic Ale
Bottle -- Portland, OR
this is an amber ale... and a deschutes beers that i had not tried yet! dark copper in glass... aroma of hops jumps out at you, both citrus and piney... very nice. malts in up taste are up front, followed by those delicious hops. superbly balanced. very smooth going down and quite sessionable. i love the hop flavor in this one, and really it is the best organic beer i can remember trying.
Score: 9

Fish Tale Organic India Pale Ale
Bottle -- Portland, OR
hazy orange, thick head. floral, piney hops on nose. flavor is of grapefruit hops and very bready... bitterness is mild at best. easy drinking but the flavor wasn't my favorite. not bad at all, but there are much better ipa's out there.
Score: 6

What I've Been Drinking -- August

Allagash Black

750 ml -- Kappy's, Peabody

a belgian strong dark ale, and a beer that has been on my wish list for a few months now. pours as black as promised. however, aroma and taste were shockingly subtle. the whole beer was kind of meh, not what i was expecting. wasn't offensive at all, but i had to downgrade this one considering it costs $12 a bottle.

Score:6

Berkshire "Shabadoo" Black & Tan Ale
750 ml -- Kappy's, Malden
this was my first "real" black & tan, meaning it was purposely brewed and not just blended. honestly, my expectations going in were low, but i liked it. appealing aroma, complex & balanced flavor, and so smooth. try it.
Score: 8

Bison Organic Chocolate Stout
Bottle -- Ohio
my friend mark brought this back from ohio -- not something i have seen around here. thickness evident from start in the pour, and the mouthfeel is very syrupy... always a turnoff. rest of the beer isn't much better, very subdued, dull even.
Score: 5

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Bottle -- Kappy's, Peabody

18% abv... unbelievable! fairly certain i haven't had a beer close to this strong. no hiding it either -- almost like drinking a whisky really. an interesting beer without a doubt, but not exactly a pleasant drinking experience. at $10 for a 12 oz. bottle, i would take a pass. this was my least favorite beer from dogfish head to date.

Score: 6

Fisherman's Brew IPA
Bottle -- McKean & Charles, Waldoboro, ME
almost ruby colored with a lot of suspended particles -- you see this in some ipa's. floral boquet on nose... bitter, kind of spicy finish... balance is not something that you will find in this beer, but not bad.

Score: 7

Harpoon Old Rusty's Red Rye Ale

750 ml bottle -- Kappy's, Malden

part of harpoon's 100 barrel series. a cool concept, but i wasn't a huge fan of the first one i tried, their smoked porter. nice looking pour of orange with a reddish tint, but it is the smell of fresh hops that draws you in. taste takes me aback a little, not quite what i was expecting for some reason. crisp malts, mild spice, some piney hops -- nice. clean and medium bodied; one of the strongest components of this beer.

Score: 7

Long Trail Belgian White
Bottle -- Shovel Shop Spirits, Easton
cloudy, pale pour with appropriate head... citrus and lemon in aroma (everything you would expect in a belgian white to this point)... the flavor, however is overly fruity. dan complained about the citrus -- which i do notice -- but i was most struck by the lemon, and even moreso, the taste of liquorice. this might be an acceptable intro to the style, but it didn't quite do it for me.
Score: 4

Long Trail Hefeweizen
Bottle -- Shovel Shop Spirits, Easton
i was surprised at the extent of the bouquet of banana, spice, and wheat in this one... grassy and citrus flavor, mild bitterness, and clean... i offered this one up at my first barbeque at my new house and it went over well. barely qualifies as a hef in my book, but very drinkable.
Score: 5

Tuckerman 6288 Stout
Bottle -- Kappy's, Malden
first off, 6288 is the height of mt. washington, thus the odd name. expected appearance, muted aroma. taste of burnt chocolate, a little sour and alcoholic. this reminds me a lot of an oatmeal stout (although i don't think oatmeal is one of the ingredients.) i should also note that this has an oddly abrassive mouthfeel. not bad.
Score: 7

Pick it up:
Lagunitas Sirius Ale

Bottle -- Kappy's, Malden

this one jumped off the shelves at dan and i: "a silky high-gravity imperial cream ale." did they know their audience or what? definitely an unusual cream ale, but i really liked it. rich, complex flavor, but strong hoppiness in the middle of taste is really what sets this one apart. at 7.6% abv, you will feel this smooth drinker in a hurry.

Score: 9

Randomness

Okay, time to talk about a few beers that have been forgotten in the shuffle. Here are my notes on a few random beers sampled over the past several months.

Casco Bay Brown Ale
Bottle -- Kappy's, Malden
dark pour... sweet and roasted malts in aroma... flavor again of sweet malts, some nuttiness, and molasses -- kind of boring really... syrupy texture... another one-dimensional brown.
Score: 4

Newport Storm Gloria (Cyclone Series)
Bottle -- Cardoza's, Fairhaven
a pumpkin ale. good size head on pour... heavily spiced aroma -- think pumpkin pie... sweet malts, cinnamon, even some finishing hops in taste... lively mouthfeel... surprisingly good.
Score: 6

Newport Storm Regenschauer Oktoberfest
Bottle -- Cardoza's, Fairhaven
a marzen style lager. nice looking amber pour... odor of sour grain and yeast... taste is of toasted malts, and maybe a little skunky... slightly bitter finish. has many of the characteristics of a mild belgian. not bad.
Score: 6

Sam Adams Triple Bock
Bottle -- Liquor Warehouse, Fall River
okay, so in the interest of full disclosure i started with high expectations for this one... although i think that is fair since an 8 oz bottle cost $10. however it wouldn't have mattered how low my expectations were since this was absolutely horrendous, totally undrinkable. all you taste is alcohol and soy sauce. dan, his brother matt, and i (all of whom appreciate a good brandy) could not finish the bottle. i think it is still on top of his fridge. mercifully, jim koch actually retired this one.
Score: 1

Stoudts Scarlet Lady ESB
Sampler -- Northampton Brewery
minimal aroma... i was surprised to find caramel and toffee malts dominating the flavor -- bland overall... watery body. i like my extra special bitter's bitter; simply too malty.
Score: 5

Wolavers India Pale Ale
Bottle -- Cardoza's, Dartmouth
translucent, golden, thin whispy head... tempered hop aroma... tangy, piney, bitter hops and fruit in taste -- very flavorful. this is one of the best organic beers i have had.
Score: 7

G.I.S.B.F. Part III

Berkshire Traditional Pale Ale
aroma and flavor contain a lot of sweet, caramel malts for a pale ale. not bad, but not what i expected at all.
Score: 7

Brooklyn Brown Ale
earthy, nutty, roasty. very good texture. come to think of it, this is the best offerings from brooklyn that i have had yet.
Score: 8

Brooklynator Doppelbock
i still haven't warmed up to this style and couldn't get past those distinctive belgian malts. too sweet as well.
Score: 5

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter
the hops really jump out at you on this one... definitely overboard. lots of harsh alcohol and smokiness, almost a tar-like flavor. i can't believe it is rated at 98% on ratebeer.com.
Score: 5

Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat
typical wheat flavor and flat. poor.
Score: 2

Ipswich Summer Ale
wheat and yeasty aroma. also a few hops and some fruit in flavor. light body - no doubt by design - but still kind of weak.
Score: 4

Magic Hat Hi.P.A.
citrus hops are much more present in aroma than flavor. pretty middle of the road.
Score: 7

Mayflower Porter
a very typical, roasty porter. this is the second offering i have had from mayflower and both have been solid but played it very safe...
Score: 7

Newport Storm Henry (Cyclone Series)
okay, so i have been duly unimpressed by newport to this point, but have heard good things about their annual limited release and cyclone series. henry is the first cyclone i have tried, and i was surprised at the extent that sweet molasses were present for a strong ale. better.
Score: 6

Olde Burnside Dirty Penny
this black and tan was a mix of their scottish ale and stout. very dark pour with full aroma of roasted coffee and chocolate. very tasty with great balance of malts and bitter hops. one of my favorites of the day.
Score: 9

Olde Burnside Ten Penny Ale
you could tell on the pour that this was an unusual scottish ale; it was just too light. flavor dominated by bready malts with some accompanying bitterness. however, it's lacking the sweetness normally found in this style. still not bad though.
Score: 6

Orlio Organic Black Lager
now my notes from the show have the word citrus underlined, but i am not seeing anything about citrus hops from my fellow raters on ratebeer.com. perhaps it was a little too late in the afternoon for me to rank this one effectively...
Score: 5

Otter Creek Otter San
i was suckered in to this one after reading something in the commercial description about sake being used. in reality, all i could identify here was a general skunkiness...
Score: 3

Paper City Batch 108 / Coffee Porter
aroma of burnt coffee. hops emerge to create rich flavor. smooth yet chalky texture. a very respectable offering of one of my favorite styles.
Score: 8

Paper City Blonde Hop Monster
floral, citrus hops with sharp bitterness characterize aroma and taste. i deducted points since a little too much alcohol came through for an imperial ipa.
Score: 8

Paper City One Eared Monkey
tastes very much like peach juice, or even cheap champagne with all of that carbonation... exceptionally bad.
Score: 2

Paper City PC Blue
you know what jumped out at me about this one? pepper. not what i am looking for.
Score: 2

Pennichuck Bagpipers Scottish Ale
sweet and smoky. kind of a wierd taste.
Score: 5

Pennichuck Black Lager
this i liked much better. smoked gouda is what comes to mind, with some good complementing bitterness. very smooth body.
Score: 8

Pennichuck Engine No. 5 Firehouse Red Ale
a pretty bitter amber... i don't believe this is really a red. a little too light bodied in my opinion.
Score: 6

Pennichuck Halligan RyePA
an extreme ipa. rye is relegated to background. pretty dry. not bad at all.
Score: 7

Sherwood Forest Archers Ale
apparently this is an english pale ale... i don't think i've had one of these. fairly bland wheat and malts. eh.
Score: 5

Sherwood Forest Sheriffs IPA
strong, floral hops rule the day here. very solid, if slightly typical.
Score: 8

Stone Coast Knuckleball Bock
malty, with a bit of coffee somewhere in there... watery and weak though.
Score: 4

Stone Coast 840 IPA
a double ipa. very hoppy and high in alcohol... but overall a nice flavor.
Score: 8

Stone Coast Sunsplash Golden Ale
watery... who would have guessed it with a name like sunsplash?
Score: 2

The Tap Bock
this was the only beer from the tap that i hadn't tried. malts that should be expected in a bock along with some coffee... solid, as always.
Score: 7

Trinity Brown Ale
reddish brown with subdued aroma. nuts, chocolate, and i think they used belgian yeast in this one... good but not great.
Score: 6

Union Station (John Harvard's) Belgian Tripel
golden pour with appropriate thin white head. sickeningly sweet, like candy, cotton candy. also present is fruit, spice, and bread. kind of a simplistic tripel... not a great first impression from john harvard.
Score: 4

Woodstock Inn Pigs Ear Brown Ale
i wanted to like this one more than i did. nice malts, but very, very watery.
Score: 5

Great International Spring Beer Festival Part I

This past weekend I attended the Great International Spring Beer Festival at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. There were approximately 35 brewers with a couple hundred beers. $35 bought us entrance and unlimited samples. It was pretty awesome.

And as much fun as it was, I was a little surprised at how young the crowd and exhibitioners were... perhaps I shouldn't have been. But nevertheless, I was hoping for a few more people who were serious about beer to be in attendance. Which brings me to the first of what will be several posts about this momentous occasion.

Today I would like to share some overall impressions of the brewers present, looking at who impressed me and who didn't. All I was really looking for was a brewer to bring some good beers, some well-crafted beers, some adventurous beers. Some brewers did it right, others didn't. Next will be a guest post from fellow attendee, Dan Cedrone, of http://danshumidor.blogspot.com/ And our last installment will be my ranking of the 30 new beers that I sampled.

The Good

1) Olde Burnside- Black and tan. Scottish ale. Private reserve. Now those are the kind of beers that you should bring to a beer festival. Not to mention that their taps were hooked up through the wall of their purple minivan. Very cool.

2) Pennichuck- Black lager, red ale, scottish ale, rye pale ale. I was excited to finally find these guys from New Hampshire, and with good reason.

3) Paper City- Their Hop Monster and Coffee Porter were two of the best beers of the night. Well done.

4) Trinity Brewing- These were the most passionate guys in the whole place (and I liked that they had the hops and malts they used at the show.) Big points for serving their Russian Imperial Stout too.

5) Brooklyn- Their brown ale was the best one I had at the whole festival. And while I didn't like it, a Dopplebock is exactly the kind of beer that a brewer should be serving.

6) Orlio Organic- Only organic brewer at the show. And it was drinkable too.

7) Victory- I had tried all four of the beers they brought, but they were all good ones. Probably the best brewer present.

8) Woodstock Inn Brewery- One of the few exhibitors to actually strike up a conversation with us. Neat place that I had never heard of.

9) Berkshire Brewing Co.- One of my favorite local brewers.

10) The Tap- They are from Haver Hill. Need I say more?

The Bad

1) Sam Adams- I am not surprised that they topped this list. Stubbornly, arrogantly, they brought their atrocious Cherry Wheat to the show. We wanted Utopias!

2) Buzzards Bay- Not only did they only bring their two boring flagships, but they taunted us by displaying several harder to find and more interesting beers... and refusing to serve them. Not to mention that they were also poorly brewed.

3) Heineken- "Dude, the girls there are so HOT. If you don't go there you are totally gay." This conversation with a fratboy in the restroom pretty much says it all. Seriously, why were the macros even invited?

4) Sierra Nevada- Only offered their four widely available, very basic, flagship beers. You traveled from California for this? I was excited to try something different of theirs too.

5) Guinness- Guinness. Smithwicks. Smirnoff Ice Light. Smirnoff Strawberry. Smirnoff Mojito. Are you kidding me? Although those Mojitos did keep the girls quiet for a bit...

6) Flying Dog- Sub par, over-hyped beers, as always.

7) Magic Hat- Another one I was looking forward to, but they only had two offerings. Weak.

8) Shipyard- Nothing exciting here.

9) Long Trail- Ditto.

10) Cottrell- I know you only brew one beer, but why even show up here?

Foreign Beers

As I have mentioned, my focus to this point has been on trying American microbrews, and especially local domestic brewers. So most of the foreign beers that I have tried are either widely available macrobrews, or beers that I have encountered while traveling. And as I also mentioned in my first post, my appreciation for microbrewed beer increased dramatically after a year of watery, flavorless African beer. So you are going to see a lot of lowly rated beers on this list... not to mention a few beers that are unavailable in the States. This probably won't be my most helpful post, but eventually (it could be a while...) I will return to this topic by starting to work through some of the better European brewers.

10
Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout
a perfect beer

8
Rodenbach Classic, Belgium
really interesting... quite sour but complemented by fruity overtones

7
Belhaven Scottish Ale, Scotland
good pour, more alcohol presence than you would expect for 3.9%

Guinness Draught, Ireland
most beautiful pour i have ever seen, but there are a lot better dry stouts out there

Newcastle, England
my pick of the mass-produced beers

6
Bass Pale Ale, England
a weak, if widely available, pale ale

Castle Milk Stout, South Africa
sweet, bitter, roasty taste -- this was by far the best beer i had in africa

Negra Modelo, Mexico
my favorite of the macro-mexican beers

5
Dos Equis XX Amber, Mexico
very watery, but definitely complements spicy mexican food

Sagres, Portugal
washes portuguese food down well, but too much sweet corn in the taste

Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout, England
disappointing -- kinda thin with overbearing alcohol presence

4
Carlsberg Brown, Malawi
wow, what a relief to find that carlsberg brews in malawi -- tastes heavenly

Samuel Smiths Old Brewery Pale Ale
didn't like it... too much yeast in aroma and taste

Singha, Thailand
i actually like this one -- it cuts the spiciness of thai food perfectly

3
Asahi Super Dry, Japan
dry maltiness is what you are getting here

Carling Black Label, South Africa
a surprisingly good lager

Corona Extra, Mexico
flavorless and overpriced... but sometimes the best option available

Guinness Extra Stout
very dry, kind of sour

Hansa Pilsener, South Africa
more flavor and complexity than its rivals

Heineken, Netherlands
okay when it isn't skunky... which is often

Modelo Especial, Mexico
quite bad -- skunky wheat flavor

Sapporo Premium Draft, Japan
clean taste, like most japanese beers

St. Pauli Girl Lager, Germany
a skunky macro

St. Pauli Girl Special Dark
not good

Windhoek Lager, Namibia
i would get this beer whenever available -- smooth, nice flavor, and organic

2
Bell Lager, Uganda
bland but better than rival nile

Fosters Lager, Australia
tinny out of the can

Safari Lager, Tanzania cheap but better taste and more alcohol than rival "premium" lagers

Taj Mahal, India
grassy nose but poor finish

Tiger Beer, Singapore
very popular in asia... but i'm not sure why

Tsingtao, China
generally has a skunky smell... i don't think this one travels well

Tusker Lager, Kenya
not a badly crafted beer, but i was still surprised to see this one in the States

1
Castle Lager, South Africa
watery, with faint corn taste

Kilimanjaro Premium Lager, Tanzania
watery and flavorless

Kuche Kuche, Malawi
commercial description says all you need to know: mova watu watu.

Mosi Lager, Zambia
again, water and sweet corn flavor

Ndovu, Tanzania
ndovu is swahili for elephant... that is the only interesting thing i can say for this beer

Nile Special Lager, Uganda
bland and not as good as bell

Primus, Rwanda
not unpleasant but nothing going for it either

Serengeti Premium Lager, Tanzania
cool label but another watery and flavorless lager

Uganda Breweries Pilsner Lager, Uganda
watery and flavorless

0
Chibuku Shake Shake, Zambia
this is hands down the strangest beer i have ever had, so i have to say a few words about it. they brew it, ship it in a cardboard carton, and drink it in the same day. but you have to shake it first to unsettle it. even then it is so thick is coats your mouth and you kind of have to chew it. worst "beer" i have ever had, but if you can force it down you will gain a lot of respect from the locals.