In honor of the not bad / not quite good new Terminator movie, I present McMenamin’s Terminator Stout. If I had a glass of this during the movie, I would have been more kind to the plot and direction.
This is a really good example of a stout. I especially like it when it is on the nitro tap.
What's in the 'fridge?
One from Mexico and one from Washington state..
Nice Amber ale with just a touch of sweetness. This would go well with sweet BBQ. Easy to drink and not bland like some ambers can get.
From Red Hook brewery, this is another amber type beer. Nice to drink but lacks a little something. Not bad but I could certainly find more bold tastes in the beer aisle.
Mountain State Brewing
My expertise is skewed to the left coast but I do no want to leave out the rest of the country on this blog so for those in West Virginia and Maryland you can try out Mountain State Brewing “born and brewed in West Virginia. As with alot of our great craft brewers they started at home in the ’90’s and now you can taste the hard work Brian & Willie have put into their beers.
North American Organic Brewers Festival
This June 26-28th is the 7th incarnation of this great festival in Portland, Oregon. Just take a look at this line-up….
Alameda Brew House
Portland, OR
• El Torero Organic IPA • Double IPA
Aspall Cyders
Suffolk, England
• Cyder • Estate Cider
Bison Brewing
Berkeley, CA
• Chocolate Stout • Dry Foreign Style Stout
• Single Hop IPA • Single Hop IPA
Caledonian (pending)
Edinburgh, Scotland
• Golden Promise • Golden Ale
Crannog Ales
Sorrento, British Columbia
• Backhand Of God Stout • Irish Stout
• Red Branch Irish Ale • Irish Red Ale
Deschutes
Bend, OR
• Green Lakes • American Amber Ale
Double Mountain Brewery
Hood River, OR
• Hop Lava •
• Kolsch •
Dupont
Belgium
• Foret Saison • Saison
Eel River
Fortuna, CA
• Acai Berry Wheat • Fruit wheat beer
• IPA • English Style IPA
Elliott Bay Brewing
Burien, WA
• Organic Coffee Stout • Coffee Oatmeal Stout
• Hop von Boorian • Belgian Style IPA
Fish Tales Ales
Olympia, WA
• Wild Salmon Pale Ale • American Pale Ale
• Fish Tale IPA • American IPA
• Organic Blonde • Blonde Ale with Rye
Fort George
Astoria, OR
• Quick Wit • Belgian Style Wit bier
Grand Teton Brewing Co.
Victor, ID
• Au Naturale Blonde Ale • Blonde Ale
Hopworks Urban Brewery
Portland, OR
• Hopworks Organic IPA • Double IPA
• TBD •
Lakefront Brewery
Milwaukee, WI
• Organic ESB • Extra Special Bitter
• Fuel Cafe • Organic Coffee Stout
Lammsbräu (pending)
Neumarkt, Bayern, Germany
• Dunkel •
• Pils •
• Lager •
• Hefeweizen •
Laurelwood Brewery
Portland, OR
• Organic Green Mammoth • IPA
• Something Delicious •
Lucky Labrador
Portland, OR
• Recession Session • Light Lager
• TBD •
MateVeza
San Francisco, CA
• Yerba Mate Ale • Ale
• Yerba Mate IPA • IPA
McMenamins
Portland, OR
• Crazy Enough Blonde • Belgian Blonde
• Gunslinger Pale Ale • Pale Ale
Nelson Brewing Company
Nelson B.C. Canada
• Paddywhack IPA • IPA
• Old Brewery Pale Ale • English Pale Ale
New Belgium
Fort Collins, CO •
Mothership Wit • Belgian Style Wit bier
New Old Lompoc Fifth Quadrant Brewery
Portland, OR
• Bald Guy Brown Ale • Brown Ale
Oakshire Brewing
Eugene, OR
• Watershed IPA • IPA
• Overcast Espresso Stout • Coffee Oatmeal Stout
Pelican Brewery
Pacific City, OR
• Heiferweizen •
Pike Brewing Company
Seattle, WA
• Naughty Nellie’s Golden Ale • Golden Ale
• Monk’s Uncle • Belgian Style Tripel
Pinkus Mueller
Munster, Germany
• Pinkus Munster Alt
• German brown ale
• Pinkus Hefe-Weizen • German Hefeweizen
• Pinkus UR Pils • German Pilsner
• Jubilate • Dark Lager
Rock Bottom Brewery (pending)
Portland, OR
• Oregonic Amber •
Roots Brewing Co.
Portland, OR
• ROTATING TAP •
Samuel Smith
North Yorkshire, U.K. • Organic Ale
• English Pale Ale
• Organic Cider • Sweetened Cider
• Organic Lager • English Lager
• Organic Raspberry Ale • English Ale with Raspberries
• Organic Strawberry Ale • English Ale with Strawberries
• Organic Cherry Ale • English Ale with Cherries
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
Sant Cruz, CA
• People’s Porter • Porter
• Pale Ale • Pale Ale
Silenrieux (pending)
Cerfontaine-Silenrieux, Belgium
• Sara Buckwheat Ale • Double IPA
Standing Stone Brewing
Ashland, OR
• Hefeweizen • Hefeweizen
• Double IPA • Double IPA
• Oatmeal Stout • Oatmeal Stout
Schneider (pending)
Kelheim, Germany
• Edel-Weiss • Double IPA
St. Peter’s Brewery (pending)
Suffolk, UK
• English Ale • English Pale Ale
Ukiah Brewing Company
Ukiah, CA
• Pilsner Ukiah • Pilsner
• Emancipator Dopplebock • Dopplebock
Upright Brewing Co
Portland, OR
• Reggae Junkie Gruit • Farmhouse Gruit
• Seven • Farmhouse Golden
Wandering Aengus Cider
Salem, OR
• Heirloom Blend Cider • Cider
• Semi-Dry Cider • Cider
• Dry • Cider
Widmer
Portland, OR
• TBD •
Wolaver’s Organic Ales
Middlebury, VT
• Ben Gleason’s White Ale • Belgian Style Wit bier
• IPA • IPA
1st Anniversary of The Bruery
First things first. Kudos to all at the Bruery for throwing a great party. There wasn’t even any sour faces at the sour bar.
I will begin with the beer reviews. My goal was to sample new offerings first. I started at the aforementioned Sour Bar and I was glad I did. The Gypsy Tart was an excellent Flanders red. Easy drinking, full of flavor. Tart without being puckery. On par with the Ommegang Flanders Red.
The next beer truly surprised me. I selected it mostly out of curiosity. Melange # 1 is a mix of Russian Imperial Stout and Flemish Red. I truly loved this beer. They got the mix just right for my palate. Dark and fruity. Like having chocolate and raspberries. I recommended it to all that I talked to yesterday. Anytime I see it, I will order it up.
I followed that with their anniversary beer, Papier. To me it was a little too much. It is close in flavor to the Melange # 3. Both are dark and bourbon-esque. Good to sip by the fireplace in the cabin by the woods.
Next was the Hottenroth Berliner Weisse. The sourest of them all wasn’t at the Sour Bar. I really enjoyed it. 3.1% alcohol. So easy to drink. I could see adding some fruit syrup to balance out the sour but it was great on it’s own.
100% Brett Saison de Lente was very good as well. Full bodied almost amber. A very balanced beer. A complex beer.
That was the end of the beers I had not tasted before. To finish, I had the Humulus Blonde and the White Zin. The blonde is nice but tasted differently from one I had previously at Blue Palms. Not as hoppy as I remembered. The White Zin was good as usual. Zippy with a nice sharp wine taste to it.
Food wise the BBQ from Beachwood BBQ was great. Even tried a fried pickle. The dessert plate was awesome. Belgian waffle, three types of cheese and bacon wrapped in chocolate. Heavenly!
new from Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen
The great Imbibe magazine/website alerted me to this new beer set to arrive in June. When I get my hands on some, I will give you a review. Sierra Nevada is branching out into newer beers. First there was the Torpedo IPA now a hefe. I wonder if this will be in the banana/clove style or the Widmer wheat style.
Rubicon Brewing
As part of American Craft Beer Week, I tasted two from the Sacramento brewer, Rubicon.
First up was Monkey Knife Fight Pale Ale. Now usually, I am not impressed by Pale Ales. To me they all tend to blur together. This one stands above the masses. Has a slight spice taste and not too hoppy.
Second was the Purple. A helles-maibock. It’s a good solid beer but not very bold. This would be better served with food. Something spicy like good kung pao chicken.
NEW LOGO – NEW TAGLINE – SAME MISSION
One of my beer rules is that you cannot be afraid to try something new. Be it beer with vanilla beans or beer floats. In that spirit, Beer Search Party has a new logo (thanks to TooLogo for the great design) and a new more descriptive tagline.
The passion for craft brewed beer remains the same as does the goal of connecting people to better ales and lagers. Check the “About the Search Party” tab for the map, so to speak, that the Search Party will use.
Cheers!!
Christmas in May
In my travels this week, I came across a deal to good to pass up. A nice big bottle of St. Bernardus Christmas Ale on sale! $9.99 to be exact. So I snapped it up.
This doesn’t quite fill the winter warmer category but it does carry an alcohol punch to it. Surprisingly light and malty with a touch of spice to it. Personally, this would go great with turkey and cranberry and stuffing. But make sure to share it will catch up with you.
American Craft Beer Week!!!
I did my small part by having THREE American Craft beers at the lovely Blue Palms Brewhouse.
First I had the new Lagunitas Correction Ale – quite nice a bit hoppy upfront that melts into a nice wheat type beer. Very good summer beer. Makes me wonder what the next new beer, Sumpin’ Sumpin’ is going to be like.
Then I had Ommegang’s Flanders Red – Sooo good! Sour and fruity with a great aroma. I could drink alot of this. Makes me want to drive to Cooperstown.
Lastly I had a taste of Stone’s Vanilla Bean Porter on cask. Interesting but overpowering vanilla. Lost the beer to the vanilla. Easy to drink but tastes like I am in the kitchen making cookies.
As usual the good people at Blue Palms have an excellent list of beer to try.