Pints and Steins

Ninkasi Brewing of Eugene, Oregon is our next stop on our beer tour of Oregon.  I have seen this brewery many times as it has a kind of cult following here in the Willamette Valley.  I’ve even seen their beer in Costco and have been curious about the brand.

This review will be the first of three reviews of ales I bought that are from Ninkasi.  If there’s a specific brew you think I should check out form Ninkasi, please leave a comment below or get in touch with me otherwise.

Ninkasi Believer Double Red Ale is an interesting beast.  When I first poured it, I thought it would be IPA-like in flavor. I could immediately smell the hops and other floral scents when I poured this very dark copper colored ale into the pint glass.

For those doing their homework, Believer Double Red is 6.7% alcohol and has 60 IBUs, putting it dead center in the ‘bitterness’ category of ales.  Ninkasi started brewing this beer in 2006 and it’s one of the company’s more popular brews.

How does it taste?  In a word: majestic.  Believer Double Red has a bit of hoppyness, just enough to be present but not too much that it overwhelms.  What is most notable is the malty overtones that persist through your entire sip of this red ale.  This is not a complex tasting beer – rather it’s a very nice balance of bitterness and malty smoothness.

If you like a good, medium-strong ale, you’ll like Believer Double Red.  Any amber ale fan who craves a bit more flavor will go nuts for this beer.  I hope you enjoy it!

Readers of this website know that I’m an IPA nut.  India Pale Ale is by far one of my favorite classes of beer, because of it’s tempting color, bold hop flavor, and smooth finish.

In that spirit, it’s time to conclude the batch of Pyramid brew reviews by checking out Thunderhead India Pale Ale.  As may have already seen, we’ve already checked out Pyramid’s Haywire Hefeweizen and Curve Ball Blonde Ale.

Looking at Thunderhead, this is a bold hoppy IPA.  The reddish-pale color makes you think this IPA might have a light flavor.  The beer has a gravity of 16.7, is 6.7% in alcohol and has an IBU rating of 67.

At my first sip, this beer has a moderate punch with it’s hoppy bitterness.  It won’t knock you off your stool like Hopyard Dog IPA from Pale Horse – and has more of a malt balance than some hop-heavy IPAs, but Thunderhead is flavorful. The aftertaste is pleasant and dissipates quickly.

I would recommend Thunderhead to those new to IPAs as it is a good middle-of-the-road IPA that any beer nut would love to sample.

Pyramid week continues here at Pints and Steins, as earlier in the week we checked out Curve Ball Blonde Ale.  Today’s brew to evaluate is the Seattle, Washington brewery’s hefeweizen.  Haywire Hefeweizen is the company’s wheat beer offering.

As some might now, hefeweizen is an unfiltered wheat beer that is very popular hear in the Northwest.  In fact, the most popular micro-brew from the Northwest is likely Widmer Hefeweizen, as I see that particular beer on tap no matter where I go in the country.

Getting back to Haywire, Pyramid advertises Haywire as

The standard by which all other wheat beers are judged. Our deliciously deranged American-Style Hefeweizen is an award winning take on this Bavarian classic. This refreshingly unfiltered wheat ale delivers a distinctively smooth flavor worth sharing with friends.

In my opinion, Haywire Hefeweizen is an amazing wheat beer that is not to be missed.  This cloudy beer has enough flavor to light up any summer afternoon.  The initial sip brings you a soft refreshing flavor.  The aftertaste is a bit sweet and fruity, enough to be noticed but it’s not overwhelming.

Pyramid’s Haywire is a perfect summer beer and would go great with any type of meal featuring a white meat or even seafood.

What do you think of when you hear blonde ale?  To me, I think of hot summer days that are made a bit easier by an easy-drinking smooth beer that goes down easy with a clean, refreshing finish.

In this light, I try Pyramid’s Curve Ball Blond Ale – a Summer only brew that I have seen on store shelves.  Pyramid is based in Seattle, Washington but is a popular brewery here in Oregon.  The company offers quality beers at a good price, both on draft and bottled in stores.

As far as taste – the Curve Ball is very refreshing at first taste.  It has a smooth beginning that is light and crisp.  However, this ale has an unexpeted wheaty finish that reminds me of a hefeweizen, my other favorite summer beer.

All in all – the Curve Ball will not disappoint.  This beer is the perfect one to accompany a summer hamburger or perhaps even some seafood including crab or lobster.  Check it out at your local pub or beer store.

So over at Farmer Brewing, the guy behind the blog is an apprentice brewer who is from the mid-valley who is doing his apprenticeship up in the Tri-Cities area of Washington.

In his post titled “Is it Time, Salem“, he talks about how Salem is in need of a microbrwerey and asks whether we’d like a brewery here.  My answer (I left a comment) was a resounding YES, PLEASE!

As you can see by this site, I love good beer.  I really enjoy going to Bend, Oregon because there are 6+ microbreweries in and around town.  Corvallis has two breweries including Block 15 and Flat Tail Brewing.  Why can’t Oregon’s second largest city have it’s own locally owned brewery?!  We can, and we shall!

So, if you’re so inclined, head over to his post and encourage this young brewer to come back to Salem and open a microbrewery here in Oregon’s capital.  Let’s do this!

I have covered Pale Horse Brewery before, including a full brewery tour and interview, so I’m a bit of a fan of the brewery and the team behind it.  The Pale Horse guys have a brand new beer out called Mystic Wolf Amber. Let’s dig in and see how this new beer rates.

As a fan of Amber ales, I will rate Mystic Wolf against other offering from Widmer, Full Sail and other smaller breweries.

First of all, in appearance, Mystic Wolf is very copper-like in color.  Some ambers look more like a pale ale, but not with this brew, it’s a deep reddish color that sets your expectation for a strong taste.  It’s smell is very plain – with no hoppy hints or strong aromas.

At first sip, the beer has a slight bitterness to it that is followed by a malty second wave that leaves you satisfied and wanting another hit.  This is a very well balanced beer that has a medium-powered initial taste with a very smooth and satifying aftertaste.

All in all, Mystic Wolf is an amazing contender in the world of amber ales.  I highly suggest it, and this is coming from a beer enthusiast that tastes a lot of beers in this category.

Prost!

The weekend is upon us and it’s time to consider what we’ll be drinking on this hot summer weekend.

It seems like the entire nation is gripped by a heat wave, so what this weekend calls for is a cool, crisp ale that goes down easy and leaves you feeling refreshed.

Cascade Lakes Brewing of Bend and Redmond, Oregon has just the brew. Roster Tail Ale was the breweries first beer ever made and sold and continues to be a regional favorite.

Rooster Tail Ale is a golden-colored ale that has 5.2% alcohol and only 30 I.B.U.s that makes for a very easy-drinking beer.

In opinion, Roster Tail is *too* easy-drinking.  I’m a fan of crisp summer beers, especially those of the Kolsh variety, but Rooster Tail left me wanting more.  It has a decent taste, but doesn’t have enough flavor or effect to leave me wanting a second sip after the first.

For those wanting a more memorable easy-drinking ale for a summer day, I’d skip Rooster Tale and pickup a Mirror Pond Pale Ale from Deschutes.  Cascade Lakes makes many great beers, but Rooster Tail simply isn’t one of them.

On the “The Early Show on Saturday Morning” on CBS recently, the program highlighted 5 beers.  What is absolutely great is that all of the beers highlighted are from the great state of Oregon!

We have a reputation for being nuts about beer and it’s great to see some great Oregon brews put into the national spotlight.  Which beers did they choose?  They discussed 5 beers from 5 different breweries all around the state, stretching from Portland, to the coast, then all the way inland to Central Oregon (my favorite part of the state).

Here is an excerpt:

Widmer Hefeweizen: A great American version of a German wheat beer. It’s a little tangy, and very refreshing. A great summer beer. I’d pair it with grilled seafood, raw oysters, that sort of thing.

Full Sail Session Lager: The beer world divides its product into lagers and ales; it has to do with the type of yeast used and the brewing process. But an easy rule of thumb is that lagers are like white wine (lighter, crisper), and ales are like red wine (bigger, richer, more powerful). Full Sail makes a great, tasty lager, good with almost anything. Personally, I’d drink it with hot dogs off the grill, but it’s also a classic all-purpose beer: chicken, potato chips, pretzels, you name it.

Deschutes Green Lakes Ale: This is an ale, so it’s richer and darker than the Full Sail Session Lager. What’s especially cool is that it’s made from organic ingredients. Deschutes is based in Bend, Ore., but it has a brewpub in Portland, too. I’d drink this with a hamburger; for me, ales like this are ideal burger wines.

Bridgeport IPA: Another ale; this was a style invented by the British, called India Pale Ale. Hops, one of the ingredients of beer, act as a preservative, so the British made an especially hoppy brew to ship on the long voyage to India. Hops also add flavor-a kind of citrusy, piney, bitter note that’s very pronounced in IPAs. I think they’re great with fried foods — anything from fried shrimp to French fries — the bitterness kind of wakes up your mouth after all that rich fried coating.

Rogue Dead Guy Ale: This is a darker, more intense style of ale (technically, it’s a German style called a Maibock). It’s a bit higher in alcohol — 6.5 percent — with a toasty, malty character and real texture to it. This is my go-to for big, spicy foods: sausages on the grill, barbecued ribs, that kind of thing.

Kudos to these Oregon brewers for churning out great brew and getting some well-deserved recognition!

July is obviously my month!  First of all, my birthday is coming up, and secondly…it’s Oregon Craft Brew Month!

Oregon has an amazing brewing industry and it’s great to see an event to bring everyone together to celebrate our unique beer culture.  I’ll be visiting some breweries in Bend, Oregon – right in the heart of Oregon to kick things off.

Also, there are many events happening and they are visible over at the Oregon Craft Brew website and also at their Facebook page.

Check out events near you and celebrate Oregon beer!

Alaskan Amber is from Alaskan Brewing of Juneau, Alaska.

Alaskan Amber looks more pale in color in the bottle I had than the image on the right.  However, even though I was expecting a Pale flavor, this is very much a classic Amber ale.  It has enough malt and hops to bring forward a flavorful sip that is sure to satisfty.

This ale is a perfect beer going into summer, as it has enough flavor to keep you satisfied, but not so much that you feel overwhelmed.  I can easily see this beer going well with a salmon or other white meat on the grill.

I have also had the Alaskan IPA which is a healthy, hoppy beer, so Alaskan is a beer that comes highly recommended.  The guys and gals up in Juneau know what they are doing when it comes to the brewing!  Nice job guys!