Our first review of the themeless April beer reviews is Longboard Island lager from Kona Brewing Company.
What the brewery says, “Longboard Island Lager is a smooth refreshing lager fermented and aged for five weeks at cold temperatures to yield its exceptionally smooth flavor. A delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma complements the malty body of this beer.”
Oregon Beer Review # 2 – Mediator from Heater-Allen
Here is the scoop on the second reviewed Oregon beer from my college town of McMinnville, “Dopplebock started out as a Lenten beer for the monks in Germany. During Lent they would forgo solid food and get all their sustenance from beer. Needless to say it was big beer with lots of unfermented dextrins. Once the public got a taste it became very popular. We call our beer Mediator because we think that a 22 ounce bottle is probably better shared than drunk alone. It’s rich, toasty and malty, with a few plum notes on the palate and the slightest roasted character in the finish. I think this would go really well with a number of cheeses.”
Here is my review of Mediator from Heater-Allen
Cellar Experiment # 1
Since 2009, I have been slowly but surely amassing what I think is a quality beer cellar. And with beer space getting tight, it is time to start cracking open some of these aged brews to see what time has done to them. Since, I am not a deranged millionaire like John Hodgman, I usually only have one bottle which precludes comparing with other aged beers but if I have sampled the beer before, I will include my initial review as a counterpoint.
The impetus for breaking some of these bottles out was a lovely bottle share party that I attended last night at Casa de Gev. Many great beers were poured from other peoples collections. Including: 
Enough of the luxurious rarities, here are my notes and photos from the first of what I am calling my cellar experiments.
The Beer – Red and White
The Brewery – Dogfish Head
My initial review on June 15th of this year – “Pours a red/orange color. Aroma is a bit off-putting. I am getting medicinal notes. Kind of harsh. maybe it’s the combination of wine and spice that cancel each other out. not a favorite.” I rated it 2.6 out of 5.
Aged from the bottle Red & White was a lot better than the initial review. It still had some harsh medicinal qualities and it lacked a certain fizz that would undercut that note but it was certainly an improvement. It paled though in comparison to the CismonTAPS barrel aged saison and the Dogfish Head / 3 Floyds collaboration Poppaskull that were also being passed around. I do think that more age would improve it and give it more texture and sweetness and continue to offset the medicine notes that I tasted.
Overall a good start to my cellaring experiment.
Holiday Beer review – Sleigh’r
The first Holiday beer to be reviewed this month is from Eugene, Oregon and Ninkasi.
from the label: “A delicious northwest seasonal brewed with winter in mind. A dark double alt, malty, nourishing and delicious, it’s sure to keep the winter at bay, and yes, Sleigh’r does rock!”
Review – Vertical Epic 11/11/11
The latest Vertical Epic from Stone Brewing is next for review…..
All you need to know about the latest Epic
11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale, the penultimate installment of its legendary series. Begun on February 2nd, 2002 (02.02.02), these bottle-conditioned ales have all been Belgian-influenced, but they share little else in common, with each year’s release revealing its own twist and turn in the plotline.
Each beer is unveiled one year, one month and one day from the previous year’s edition, with all of them designed to be aged until sometime after 12.12.12, at which point they can all be enjoyed during an epic “vertical” tasting. This year’s recipe starts with a base beer akin to a Belgian amber, and is tweaked with the addition of mild but flavorful Anaheim chilies from New Mexico’s Hatch Valley and cracked cinnamon sticks.
“Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale is NOT your typical chili beer!” explains Brewmaster Mitch Steele. “The famous mild green chilies from the Hatch Valley in New Mexico add layers of delicious flavor with a very mild heat component. And the cinnamon doesn’t dominate the beer’s flavor by any means, instead adding a subtly complex spice note that blends amazingly well with the Hatch chilies and the banana esters present from the yeast.”
Review – Double Bastard
Double Bastard from Stone Brewing is next for review…..
This is the word from Stone on Double Bastard….
“This is one lacerative muther of an ale,” the braggadocious bottle warns. “It is unequivocally certain that your feeble palate is grossly inadequate and thus undeserving of this liquid glory… and those around you would have little desire to listen to your resultant whimpering.”
In a world full of glittery pageants and overproduced Hallmark holidays, it has become difficult to isolate what is worth celebrating, while eschewing the insipid propaganda that is spoon-fed to the masses. But rest assured, Double Bastard Ale’s annual unleashing is no such hornswaggle. Nay, it is a moment of gustatory excellence to be met with fervorous revelry and tintinnabulation.
Double Bastard Ale first graced our little blue oblate spheroid in 1998, sanctifying the one-year anniversary of Arrogant Bastard Ale. Nothing less than creating an embiggened version of the already elephantine Arrogant Bastard Ale would befit such an epochal occasion.
Double Bastard Ale is strictly for those with an unfettered predilection for bold unapologetic flavor, and it is for this enlightened minority that this annual tradition carries on today. However, for those who may have been at all frightened by this obstreperous and bombastic admonition, then please, close the dictionary you took out and hit delete now. Forget all you’ve read here of the Double Bastard Ale, and acquiesce into an insufferable purgatory of fizzy yellow nonsense. Remain one of the blissfully nescient, one of the mindless, barefoot sheeple, aimlessly wallowing in a cromulent cesspool of mediocrity. Sleep. Sleeeeeeeeeep…”
Review – La Citrueille Celeste de Citracado
La Citrueille Celeste de Citracado from Stone Brewing is first up for review of the three Escondidian ales that I will tackle this month.
Here is the full spiel from Stone….
“All of us are kind of known for big, imperial beers, and the fact that we came together to make this mellower pumpkin beer… I think it was very restrained and dignified of us,” jokes Rue. “And I think we brought some really interesting spice additions to the table.”
The eclectic mix of ingredients was selected to introduce a decidedly different spin on traditional pumpkin beers. “The taste starts with citrus and herbal notes, but then a very smooth roasted malt character comes into play,” Steele explains. “The yam and pumpkin make their appearance on the finish, with some Eastern-influenced spiciness and trace maple notes from the toasted fenugreek, combining with hints of birch. This is no pumpkin pie beer. No cloves. No nutmeg. No cinnamon.”
Stone Brewing Co. President Steve Wagner had been tossing the idea around for a pumpkin beer with Elysian Brewing Company for over a year. Elysian, well known for conjuring up an impressive variety of pumpkin beers as well as hosting the annual Elysian Great Pumpkin Beer Fest, was quick to come on-board and loved the idea of working with The Bruery, which is highly respected for its innovative beers including Autumn Maple (made with “a lot of yams”).
“That’s the great thing about collaboration beers,” explains Cantwell. “Everyone brings their own strengths and awareness to the project.”
“This is one of the more unique beers I have ever been involved with,” says Steele. “A very cool beer, and I toast the creative minds of Patrick Rue and Dick Cantwell for their willingness to put this recipe together with us.”
Halloween Beer # 3 – Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin
The last beer of the Halloween season is the Smashed Pumpkin from Shipyard Brewing.
Halloween Beer # 1 – Newcastle Werewolf
The first Halloween beer to be reviewed comes from Newcastle. It is their new fall seasonal for the True Blood set….Werewolf
Golden Road – the first batches
I had the good fortune to sample the inaugural beers from the new Golden Road Brewing last night at 38 Degrees Alehouse and I am pleased to report that I thoroughly enjoyed both.
I started with the Point the Way IPA. I have to admit that I was concerned due to the brewer’s Dogfish past and the fact that I am not a big Dogfish IPA fan. (I know it’s heresy) But this was a solid effort. Especially considering it’s new equipment and the first batch. It poured a dark orange with a big head on it and the aroma was pure pine. The flavor stayed that way too and for a 5% abv, I got some heat off of it too. Once it warmed up a little some citrus kicked in as well to really round the flavors off.
The hefeweizen also was helped by warming up. And again it was citrus that crept onto the palate. But this citrus had a candied quality to it. And again it really balanced out the big banana flavors and the clove spiciness. This is a great example of the hefe style with a little twist that adds to it instead of overwhelming.
Overall this was a great start for Golden Road. I was expecting some work to be done but these are really good on their own right out of the gate.