Category: I would love to taste,,,

These are the beers that I wish I could taste for the first time.

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Modern Times are Common….

…and good too!

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Portland meet San Diego, and vice-versa as the Commons Brewery collaborates with Modern Times Beer to make some Good Problems.

The beer is the 1st collaboration for Modern Times Beer and broke in the Commons new brewery in Portland. It is a rustic saison with Brettanomyces from both breweries. The beer was aged on Nebbiolo wine grapes from the fruit loop near Hood River in Mosier, Oregon.

Another entrant in the wine/beer hybrid arena that may challenge fruit IPA’s for dominance this year.

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Terry Porter

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I remember being up in Portland on one of my many visits and being in a taproom that was pouring a porter simply called Terry. I didn’t know then if the beer was sanctioned by the former Portland Trailblazer, Terry Porter or not and what the legal ramifications of the name were. Oh and the beer was pretty good.

Fast forward to 2016 and Gilgamesh Brewing from Salem has actually teamed up with the former Portland Trail Blazer point guard for a limited-edition charity beer.

Porter and Gilgamesh have partnered to create a new, limited-edition beer called The Terry Porter. which was brewed to raise money for the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Usually, in these instances the brewery would donate a portion of each bottle sold. But in this case both Gilgamesh and its distribution partner, Columbia Distributing, will donate $2 to the foundation for each bomber bottle AND $40 for every half-barrel keg sold in bars and restaurants across Oregon. If you happen to be in the Oregon State capital and to the Gilgamesh taproom, $1 will be donated for every Terry Porter pint purchased which is doubled to $2 during Blazer games.

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Flaviar

Flaviar is an odd duck of a website and spirits idea that I am not sold on quite yet. The website doesn’t seem geared to people who are picky, more to those who want monthly gift boxes.
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Much like Amazon, you can shop for individual spirits without buying a membership, which they also refer to as prime.You can choose auto-selected boxes of whiskey, gin, rum and others or you can self-select what you desire. It arrives to you in science-y looking beakers for tasting.

I appreciate the idea as a tool for exploration but without knowing what it would cost to buy the full bottle, I feel like I could get told any price for one of the tasters. The selection looks strong and unique and different from the mini-bar bottles you could normally buy but at a liquor store you can compare prices.

Filing this under, website to monitor and maybe purchase from later.

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Nitro Merlin

January 6, 2016 marks the Central Coast foray into Nitro with Nitro Merlin Milk Stout from Firestone Walker. The variant of the original Velvet Merkin will be available on draft all year-round and will be introduced with a series of “Milk & Cookies” events that will include another Central Coast business, Brown Butter Cookie Company.

What makes NMMS different? It is basically Velvet Merlin oatmeal stout, but…. “with one critical twist: the inclusion of non-fermentable lactose sugar (a.k.a. milk sugar), the ingredient that transforms the beer into a milk stout”
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You can read more about Milk Stout HERE and more about Nitro HERE.

Details on upcoming Milk & Cookies pairings will be posted HERE.

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Heavier than Juice

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I am wondering if breweries are too close to Farmer’s Markets. Every other beer has some sort of fruit or vegetable in it. Now we have New Belgium adding to the craze with Heavy Melon Watermelon Lime Ale that has “a splash of fresh watermelon and a touch of lime…”. Sounds tasty for a smoothie but I do not know how it will translate into beer form. The new beer will be a 12 ounce bottle and can offering.

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Adding Anything Else?

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I will be talking about this particular IPA trend at the start of January but Dogfish Head beat me to the punch with Romantic Chemistry, their new spring seasonal.

Somewhat similar to the 61 grape must IPA this new Romantic IPA will mix up mangoes, ginger, and apricots. They really like apricots, I guess what with Aprihop around. Will the flavors balance, that is a good question.

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All 7 Kingdoms

What do you drink when you are in the unruly and unruled Seven Kingdoms of Westeros?
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Seven Kingdoms Hoppy Wheat Ale joins the brewery’s Game of Thrones beer series in March, 2016. “This edition is a hop-forward marriage of Belgian and American style wheat ales, that finishes strong at 6.9% alcohol by volume.

Ommegang Seven Kingdoms features Bravo, Centennial, Citra, Cascade, and Columbus hops, plus white and red wheat. Available in 750 milliliter bottles in March.”

Have it ready when the new season debuts.

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Family Truckster of Beer

Fish Brewing of Washington, State has followed up their Hobbit inspired line of beers with three beers based on the Chevy Chase movie, Christmas Vacation.
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“Yule Crack Up, Gingerbread Stout with Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger and Nutmeg – A big electrifying strong ale combined with seasonal spices to give you a warm glow like Clark’s house lighting up in the winter. Drink in moderation so you don’t blow a circuit.”
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“Cousin Eddie’s RV, Imperial Brown Ale – A warming Imperial Brown Ale loaded with complex malt flavors and balanced to style with subtle hop additions rounding out the brew. Sure to convince Cousin Eddie that this is better than Ellen’s eggnog.”
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“Family Wagon, Imperial India Pale Ale – A bold imperial India Pale Ale loaded with early malt flavors and finished with multiple hop additions to create a beer that is sure to fuel your family trickster.”

Now I guess I will have to wait for the Jessica Jones or Daredevil beers.

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No Label

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The new BrewDog beer has a lovely label even though the beer is called, No Label. And maybe, when their planned Ohio brewery is up and running, it will be available over here because the cause behind the beer is very worthy and with their usual Scottish aplomb they have used the ingredients of the beer to highlight the issue.

The brewery says that, “No Label is the world’s first ‘non-binary, transgender beer’ designed to reflect the diversity of the area and champion inclusivity,” according to the company’s website, which goes on to explain further that, “This 4.6% ABV Kölsch has been brewed with hops that have changed sex from female to male flowers prior to harvest. We have used these to emphasize that, just like humans, beer can be whatever the hell it wants to be, and proud of it.”

My smattering of agricultural knowledge did not include memory of binary hops so back to my beer library to see what else I can learn about the Jester hop that was used in the beer.

BrewDog will donate all proceeds from sales of the beer will be donated to the LGBTQI+ organization Queerest of the Queer, a U.K.-based group, to support charities for transgender youth.