Looks like Widmer is really kicking up their game a notch. So much so that my next Portland visit will most likely include a trip to see what they have on tap.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Rotator series of IPAs so I am banking on these being good too.
8 Bit
My favorite beer from last year’s Canfest was Velvet Rooster from Tallgrass out of Kansas. Now there is a new canned addition by the name of 8 Bit.
And much like the Hopworks Galactic Red, the design is the old school computer look.
Off the Grid
Off Grid Pale Ale is the third gluten-free beer from New Planet Brewing. It is a combo of three different hop varietals, sorghum and brown rice extract along with sorghum and brown rice extract, molasses, tapioca maltodextrin, caramel color, hops, and yeast.
New Planet Beer Company will donate a portion of proceeds from the sale of Off Grid Pale Ale to non-profit organizations who support alternative energy efforts.
You can also try the two other gluten-free beers that New Planet Beer brews.
Tread Lightly Ale – “is a smooth and well-balanced “Pilsner like” style ale with citrus tones and light in body and color. It’s made from sorghum and corn extract, orange peel, hops, and yeast. Tread Lightly supports trail restoration.”
3R Raspberry Ale – “our award winning raspberry fruit ale has just the right balance of fruit flavor and aroma. The raspberry ale is made from sorghum and corn extract, natural raspberry puree, orange peel, hops, and yeast. 3R supports Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle – the 3R’s of waste reduction education.”
50 Beers from 50 States – Arkansas
Thanks to a Christmas gift of beer, I can take Arkansas off the list!
This pale ale from Diamond Bear in Little Rock really worked for me. I love finding new beers that hit the spot!
Let’s Tour…Upslope Brewing
Are you ready for another Colorado beer tour? Let’s go to Upslope then!
Here are their specs and their signature beers…”Brewed with Patagonian hops, high quality Rahr malts, snowmelt and yeast, Upslope’s ales satisfy a wide range of beer drinkers. We have chosen to package our beer in cans because they are portable, light, crushable and the most recyclable container on the planet.”
Upslope Pale Ale
“This clear, crisp, dry pale ale is our signature beer. It’s refreshing characteristics, and signature dry finish, blends smooth malt flavors with a unique spicy hop bitterness. This will be the “go to” beer on any camping trip, fishing excursion or music festival.”
Upslope India Pale Ale
“Our IPA will appeal to the beer enthusiast who desires a bold, deep and bitter ale. With a coppery color indicative of a traditional IPA, Upslope India Pale Ale has a complex malty character and is more well-balanced than most IPA’s, but still offers that bitterness that IPA lovers seek.”
UPDATE:
I was lucky enough to sample the pale ale from Upslope in Boulder. The cans logo and design is striking and simple and that carries through to the beer. It is hoppy but it does not coat the mouth. A great beer for the beach on a summer day. I made room to bring two back home to LA if that tells you anything.
Vaporizer
Double Mountain of Hood River has added Vaprorizer to its regular line-up, joining their Kölsch, India Red Ale, and Hop Lava NW IPA. Vaporizer was a seasonal last summer, and it must have passed the test to graduate a level.
It is a Pale Ale which features hops primarily of the Challenger variety, grown on a single farm in the Yakima Valley and Gambrinus malt. Brewmaster Matt Swihart and his crew dry-hop Vaporizer to amp up the hop. It is 6.0% alcohol by volume with 50 bittering units.
St. Lupulin
It’s early June and the summer beers keep a comin’. That is good news because here in Los Angeles it is almost always summer and we could use as many actual pale ales as we can get.
So here is another option from Odell’s in Colorado.
Farmer’s Tan
Beer labels are artwork in my opinion and this one from Southern Tier is even better than their Christmas Krampus…
It is for a new pale ale from the New York brewery that they dedicate to “… our farmer friends of today for cultivating the ingredients the are responsible for the beers we now enjoy. Their laborious days spent ourdoors under the hot sun earn them respect, as well as a mark of distinction: the farmer’s tan. Yes, the inevitable red and white hallmark of hard work.”
Whip Ale
Saw this tidbit in NW Brewing News and thought, interesting new trend?
“Lazy Boy Brewing has partnered with Michael Wilton (aka Whip) from the band Queensryche to develop a beer called Whip Ale”
It will be a NW style pale ale. The rocker apparently helped create the recipe.
Whose next?
HUB Cross Town Pale
Is it a pale or an IPA?
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