Pelican Brewing’s Spring Seasonals

A 4-day trip to the Oregon Coast has to include at least one stop at Pelican Brewing for a taste of what’s new and some bottles to take home. And what’s a greater reward for a 1,200ft ascent up Cascade Head than a refreshing local craft beer?

I had their Riptide Red, which was a more traditional take on a red ale than most local breweries might offer. Not bitter or hoppy, this red had some rye notes to the finish and a solid bready malt flavor. It’s medium-bodied, fairly light on the palate, and not at all sweet. There’s a hint of clove and spice in the flavor, but nothing overwhelming. This is definitely a red you’d drink after a hard day’s labor. It was perfect on a warm yet overcast coastal day, just as the Irish would like their red ale.

Kathy had  the Nestucca ESB, which was completely different than I’d expected. The aroma is strongly green hop, very bright and fresh, nearly grassy. But after that green hop aroma comes a malty, bready flavor that washes away any astringent hop notes. There’s some caramel and toffee in the finish, but it’s well-balanced so the final flavor isn’t at all sweet. It has a medium to slightly fizzy body, a hint of esters in the flavor, but winds up crisp and refreshing without being overhopped. I thought I’d hate this ESB, but it was really good! If growlers at Pelican weren’t so expensive ($15 with your own bottle, $23.50 if you need a new bottle) we would have gotten one of the ESB.

Drop by Pelican Brewing some time this spring and give their offerings a try! They’re also working on some Belgian styles that are bound to be interesting. We’ve got a 22oz bottle of Saison du Pelican that I can’t wait to taste.

Hopworks Dubbel Suplex Belgian Abbey Ale

Since I can’t make it to the Cheers to Belgian Beers festival this year, I’m taking a little time out to try Hopworks’ brew for the event. The Dubbel Suplex is a rich Belgian Abbey-style ale brewed with the Wyeast 3822, Ingelmunster yeast strain per this year’s festival rules.

Served in a tulip glass (they called it a chalice) on account of being 8.1% alcohol (can you imagine a couple of pints of that?), it sure is a pretty beer. Dark amber, red hues, clear like a ruby, with little head retention (a little foam around the rim of the glass). The up front aroma is of alcohol then warm malt and a hint of spice, like cloves or nutmeg.

It has a bubbly medium mouthfeel appropriate for the style, not too creamy or flat, but not too effervescent for the flavor. There’s a lot of malt and spice flavor, with a little caramel sweetness. A bit rich, but not overwhelming. There’s a slight tartness or tang in the finish that clears the palate and keeps the beer from being too sweet and sticky.

The Dubbel Suplex is pretty right-on for abbey style, and has matured nicely. I almost wonder what it would be like if aged in a bourbon barrel, but that might be over the top, making it too sweet and rich to drink in any quantity.

8.1%

Laughing Buddha Ginger Pale Ale

Since I’m still on the lookout for good ales brewed with ginger, I had to grab a bottle of Laughing Buddha’s Ginger Pale Ale. It’s brewed with ginger and coriander, so be ready for it to taste a little like a grand cru. The aroma is strongly of savory ginger, some spice, and a hint of malt. It pours clear and the color of copper-tinted honey. It’s not over-carbonated, and has a medium bubbly mouthfeel much like you’d expect from a pale ale. The ginger flavor is definitely present, both up front and in the finish, but isn’t astringent.

This is actually an ideal beer for a warm spring day – full enough to take the chill off you when the wind blows, but light and crisp to compliment the warmth of the sun on your face. I could see it pairing nicely with sushi, or even udon. Something that doesn’t have strong spices that would overwhelm the ginger notes.

It reminds me a lot of the experimental ginger hefeweizen I brewed a couple of months ago, only more carbonated. I hope that my brew gets a bit more bubbly!

Also, it turns out that Laughing Buddha had to change its name to Trade Route Brewing due to a legal dispute. Since the brewery is in Seattle, I’ll have to check it out the next time I go north.

Hawaiian Mead in progress

Lehua blossom, source of delicious honey

I just got back from a week on the big island of Hawai’i, home of Pele’s volcanos and the Ohia tree with its gorgeous red lehua flowers. Lehua honey is especially delicious, more buttery than any other honey I’ve tasted, and we thought it might make a good mead. So we returned with 10lbs of lehua honey in our checked baggage (yep, it’s ok to bring honey back to the mainland, but you can’t bring bees – go figure) and dreams of tasty mead.

Since you need 15lbs of honey to make 5 gallons of mead, I’ve added 2.5lbs of pasteurized agave syrup and 2.5lbs of raw agave syrup to lighten the color and flavor of the mead. I figure it worked well with the first mead, so why not try it again? I’m also going to pitch kolsch yeast along with champagne yeast with the hope of duplicating the success of my first mead-making accident. It turned out to be fantastic mead!

So here’s to Ohia and Lehua, whose love are making this (hopefully) wonderful mead possible! Cheers!

99, 98, 97 Bottles…

Ever wished there was a site where you could easily post beer reviews, read about beers people have tried, and make a list of beer you want to try? Maybe you find Beer Advocate, Rate Beer, or The Full Pint intimidating or frustrating to use? Enter 97 Bottles — currently in private beta — made by the folks at BlueFlavor.

It’s an ambitious project, since there are other beer review sites out there, but this one is geared more toward the “average Joe” reviewer. Some people have complained about having to fill out too much information for reviews, but I’d argue that in order for a review to be helpful there need to be some basic standards for information. Users are prompted to select the beer source, serving type, and even free-form some attributes to help with tagging. Don’t know what “mouthfeel” means? No worries! You can post your review anyway.

I’ve added a few reviews to the site, including some for beers not cataloged in their database, but I just can’t get in to the habit of using the site. The reviews are almost too subjective and “average” as to have no meaning. One person may love every beer made by Leinenkugel, but I know I think they’re all mediocre. The quality of the reviews seems to have a direct correlation to the type of beer. For example, the more rare, Belgian, stout, or exotic a beer is, the better the review might be. More experienced beer drinkers seek out these beers, and the reviews are more detailed. Other times, a relative newbie to craft or specialty beers might post a review that just describes the beer as “pretty good” with no details on why they thought this.

While it’s nice to get a list of all currently reviewed beers sorted by style or brewery, it doesn’t match up to the experience of going to a bottle shop and scanning the shelves for that rare find or favorite malty friend. In a town like Portland with so many fantastic pubs that carry all kinds of specialty beer, I’m more likely to follow a pub on Twitter and read about their latest tap list, or mosey over to a favorite brewpub and try something new. I know others aren’t this lucky, so I’d be curious to see if 97 Bottles has more value or interest for people who don’t live in Beervana.

And I think that is why I forget to use the site; it doesn’t match the experience I want to have when I’m seeking out new beers. I don’t really care what other people may think of it, the joy is in the hunt for something new and trying it without knowing what you might be about to drink. If I want to write about a beer, I do it here. If I want to tell more people about that beer, I’ll do it in person or on Twitter.

If you’re curious to find out about 97 Bottles for yourself, let me know. I’ve got a few private beta invites left and would be happy to share them. I know the team at BlueFlavor is looking for feedback on the site!