Tag: Ninkasi Brewing

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Review – Double Latte fron Ninkasi Brewing & Sierra Nevada

I will be reviewing ALL 13 of the special Sierra Nevada Beer Camp collaborations this month.  I had my non-drinking wife randomly select the order and the third beer is from Ninkasi Brewing, Double Latte.

“Double Latte combines two of the greatest things in life: good coffee and great beer. Oregon’s Ninkasi Brewing knows their way around a good cup of joe. Featuring cold-press coffee from the legendary Stumptown Coffee Roasters and a dose of milk sugar, this coffee milk stout is a rich and roasty treat.”

When scanning the list of beers, this was the one that made me nervous.  See L.A. has a premier example of a coffee milk stout.  It is Naughty Sauce from Noble Ale Works.  Even with Stumptown Coffee, how could this beer compare.

Time to find out.

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This Double Latte of a beer pours with a big, foamy espresso colored head to it.  That foam recedes fairly quickly leaving a ring around the glass and plenty of lacing.  The aroma is straight up coffee though milder than I expected.  The taste is a blend of coffee and a chocolate chip sweetness.  There is a sense of cream taste from the lactose but it isn’t pervasive.  It is almost a milk chocolate covered coffee bean flavor.  The coffee is certainly bitter.  There is also a bit of carbonated zing in the middle of each sip as well.  All of the flavors that I taste are fantastic but I don’t know if they blend into one beer that rivals the Naughty Sauce.  That is a tough goal and one that the Double Latte valiantly fights but doesn’t quite win.

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Review: Spring Reign from Ninkasi

Thanks to the folks in Eugene, I got hooked up with the spring pale seasonal ale and now is the time to review some Ninkasi beer.

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Spring Reign pours a very clear light tangerine color. With little to no head at all. There is a slight citrus aroma to it that fools the drinker into expecting a traditional pale ale but then that first sip and subsequent ones are very British ESB’ish. Loads of minerality to it. That saltiness combined with the grain taste make an interesting combo. As it warms, you get a slight touch of orange at the back.

And us in L.A. are also lucky enough to find their Czech pils, Pravda and their IRA. I would suggest getting all three for an Oregon taste test.

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Two New to start 2014 with

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1) Mother Earth – Sin Tax

“Premium British crystal and roasted malts meld with a Maris Otter base and American hops, giving way to a brown sugar and peanut butter essence that finishes beautifully.” So writes Co-Founder and Head Brewer Kamron Khannakhjavani on the label back.”

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2. Ninkasi – Dawn of the Red

“This beer has the bitterness and drinkability of an India Pale Ale and uses some newer hops that create a real juicy flavor profile of mangos, papaya, and pineapple,”

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Ninkasi in LA

I have talked about how happy I am that one of my favorite Oregon breweries, Ninkasi is in Los Angeles now and not just in Seasonal Sampler Packs.  I love the Oatis and Vanilla Oatis and I have a Sleigh’r in the ‘fridge awaiting the true Holiday ale season (AFTER Thanksgiving).

Further proof was a recent dinner that they held for the L.A. Beer Bloggers at the Library Alehouse.  I wasn’t able to attend but the intrepid Rich Rosen was there and sent back the photographic proof……

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Here is the menu: Squash meets Ninkasi

Total Domination IPA / Tricerahops Double IPA – Vegetable Curry Served in a Roasted Delicata Squash
Believer Double Red – Spice-Rubbed Chicken Roulade with Yam Puree
Sleigh’r Dark Double Alt Ale & Vanilla Oatis Oatmeal Stout – Pumpkin Panna Cotta w/ Chocolate Ganache and Oatmeal Cookie

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If you haven’t had the food at Library Alehouse, it rivals the beer list is all I am going to tell you.

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The Goddess of Beer comes to SoCal

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Ninkasi Brewing has been showing up in Los Angeles with their Tricerahops Double IPA.  I first spotted them at the Blue Palms 5th Anniversary party and then on tap lists for the Food GPS Beer Blast.   The craft brewery based in Eugene (Home of lightning yellow football uniforms) signed agreements with independent wholesalers here as well as Orange County and and San Diego County. Flagship and limited release offerings are on the way in 22 oz. bottles and kegs.

 

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Review – More Brown than Black

Since I am Los Angeles based, I decided to review Southern California beers to start off 2012. I probably will review many more before the year is out. So, without further ado, here are my video thoughts on More Brown than Black a collaboration between Stone Brewing, The Alchemist and Ninkasi Brewing…..

And here are some thoughts from Stone Brewmaster Mitch Steele,

“Appearance: Deep brown, a bit hazy, with tan foam.

Aroma: Whoa! This beer is all about, resiny, piney, dank and citrusy hops! The first shot is intense blend of pine and orange rind, and then as your sense of smell just starts to recover, the dankness and resiny herbaceousness come through with hints of grapefruit. This is a powerful hop blend!

Taste: The hops also dominate the flavor of this beer. Orange and grapefruit rind take center stage in the flavor, followed by, you guessed it: piney / resiny notes. The beer has a modest body…not sweet at all…and has a lingering bitter, drying end. Beyond the bitter end there are light hints of roasted malt and chocolate in the finish.

Overall: The hop character in this beer is unique and very pronounced. Galaxy is a newer hop variety from Australia that we think has strong tropical fruit and stone fruit characteristics. Citra and Delta are newer American hop varieties — Citra possesses strong citrus and dank flavors, while Delta has a milder profile with melon and berry notes. And of course Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand has its intense namesake’s white wine notes along with—surprise!—more dank notes. They all blended together well in this beer, a tribute to one of our favorite styles.”

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Stone is a serial collaborator

Stone Brewing really picks interesting combos for their collaborations. Whether it is a big trio of Dogfish, Victory and Stone or a Japanese theme, they really explore many different breweries. And the latest duo to combine with Stone are Ninkasi (fresh off a collaboration with another Stone collaborator, 21st Amendment) and The Alchemist (the famed East Coast brewer that is on my long, long wish list of brewers to try).

Nelson Sauvin, Delta, Galaxy & Citra hops combined into More Brown than Black a brown/black ale with proceeds going to help The Alchemist dig out from flood damage caused by storms earlier this year. Maybe this will be the medium roast version of the Escondidian that was good but a little too roasty for the hops (which appears to be a trend in the Black IPA/CDA style).

Bottles should be available now and would make excellent stocking stuffers!

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Renewal for the New Year

Ninkasi Brewing from Eugene, Oregon is kicking off 2011 with a new red ale.

Here is what their label tells us….”A new year a new beer! Each year, Renewale will be something new and special to enjoy while winter runs its course. For 2011, we brewed a delicious Irish-style red ale that’s smooth and refined with a hint of toasted malt and a clean finish. A great beer for a new year, cheers!”

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Maiden the Shade

If you haven’t tried Ninkasi, then you are missing out. You could start with their July release….
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Maiden hits 72 on the IBU scale with the help of seven hops: Summit, Centennial, Simcoe, Columbus, Crystal, Palisade and Amarillo. So expect some bitterness. The ABV is 7.8%.
According to the brewery it should be available in early July and will probably be gone before August finishes up. It will be the brewery’s entry at Portland’s upcoming Oregon Brewer’s Festival.