Pints and Steins

I love flavorful beers.  This is probably why I’m such a fan of IPAs, which are known for being extremely hoppy and bitter.  It wasn’t until recently that I stated liking the really dark beers, such as those similar to Pelican Brewing’s Tsunami Stout.

Stout is amongst the strongest beers both in flavor, presence and alcohol content.  Typically thiis ale type, along with porter, are considered winter beers because of their heavy nature.  Stout, particular, is an interesting creature.  It is as black as night and one cannot see through it at all.

Tsunami Stout is no exception, this brew is black through and through with a dense creamy head.  This beer has a soft scent that prepares you for a rich flavor.

Is Tsunami Stout think and hard to drink?  Hardly, don’t let the appearance fool you.  This beer does have a full body but it is well balanced and does not leave you with a rock gut feeling.  This stout is a rich mixture of barley and malt that leaves you wanting a second pint immediately.

If you are looking to start checking out dark beers, Tsunami Stout joins Black Butte Porter as must haves, especially with the holiday season approaching.

I’m becoming a huge fan of Pelican Brewing’s ales.  This amazing brewery is located on the Oregon Coast in Pacific City, Oregon – right on the beach in fact.  So far, I’ve reviewed Pelican’s IPA as well as a yummy Scottish Ale.

For today’s review, I’ll be checking out Pelican’s Dark Ale.

Doryman’s Dark Ale is one of the head brewer’s first brews ever made.  He started brewing this ale way back in the day and according to the website, Dark Ale is amongst Pelican’s favorite beers.

When I hear Dark Ale, I think more malts and perhaps a bit of a nut brown taste – kind of like a traditional British Ale. Doryman’s Dark Ale is exactly like this.

This Dark Ale has an expected dark brown flavor.  At first sip you can sense the roast malt.  It isn’t very hoppy but you do get a sense of the aroma as your drink continues.  Doryman’s Dark Ale has a smooth finish with no noticeable aftertaste.  It’s a great Fall beer for those wanting a bit more flavor than a Pale Ale, but aren’t ready to go all dark with a stout or porter.

Doryman’s Dark Ale is recommended by this beer lover – check it out at your local store.

Pelican Brewing, as said before, is located on the Oregon Coast in Pacific City.  This amazingly beautiful spot on the beach is augmented by the fact that there is a very strong brewing presence in town in Pelican Pub and Brewing.

Today’s Pelican ale we are evaluating is India Pelican Ale.  This brew is named after the mascot of Pelican Brewing, Phil the Pelican.  This IPA (amongst my favorite type of ale) is made with Cascade hops, giving it a noticeably sweet aroma.  However, this isn’t a sweet citrusy beer, the hops are balanced with a mild malty flavor that provides a bit of spice.

At first sip, India Pelican Ale has a strong hoppy bitterness.  You can definitely tell that Pelican Brewing uses a robust mix of hops to give an initial bitter sting.  However, India Pelican Ale transitions quickly to being a smooth tasting balanced beer.

Any IPA lover (even the picky ones) will feel at home with an India Pelican Ale in their hands.  It’s a familiar taste, making this brew a very good example of what any Oregon IPA should strive to me.

For this latest series of brew reviews, we’re going to take a trip out to the Oregon Coast.  Located in beautiful Pacific City, Oregon is Pelican Pub and Brewery.  The Brewery is right on the beach and features amazing views combined with succulent food and amazing beers.

Today’s brew to check out is called MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale.  For those not familiar with Scottish or even some English beers, they typically have a smooth taste, but end with a bit of a twist of malty bittery goodness.

MacPelican’s keeps this tradition alive.  It’s a copper colored ale with a punchy and surprising taste. In the ingredients, Pelican Brewing describes the two malts used including a caramel variety.

The malty overtones are very present at first sip, it’s smooth – and ends with an interesting kick that can be described as rich and a little hoppy.  It’s refreshing and surprising and this ale is definitely not one you will regret trying.

MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale ranks as my favorite Scottish Export style beer.  This is saying a lot, considering I was in England last June and I tried quite a few Scottish and English beers of this variety.

We’re beginning a new series this week, featuring a fantastic smaller brewery in Portland called Laurelwood Brewing, in NE Portland.

Laurelwood is a Pub on NE Sandy Blvd and is a hotspot for any Portland based beer lover.

We who our outside of the Portland area are lucky that Laurelwood also bottles a few select beers, including today’s highlighted beer, Laurelwood Free Range Red Ale.

Free Range Red Ale is a very colorful ale what has a really well ballanced hoppy beer.  I think Free Range Red is Laurelwood’s ‘signature’ brew and it is a good beer to carry that honor.  When you see Free Range Red, it’s rich copper-coloring stands out.  According to their website, this beer is made from organically grown malts.

At first sip, Free Range Red has a medium body and is very drinkable.  It has a nice hoppy start and a smooth malty finish, making this a perfect all-around beer to have around for any occasion.  At 5.9% and 60 IBUs, this brew will make anyone who likes a good beer happy.

The beer is so good, it won the Gold Medal at the 2004 World Beer Cup, which is a very high honor for any brewer.

My feeling on Free Range Red: I would recommend this beer to anyone who likes an Amber, Pale Ale, Bitter or anything in between.  It is so versitile and refreshing, yet flavorful authentic.

Free Range Red is a perfect way to start out my series on Laurelwood.

The series on Ninkasi beers is coming to an end today with this review of this hop happy India Pale Ale from the Eugene, Oregon brewery.  After reviewing Radiant Ale and an excellent Red Ale, I was ready to move on to a bitter hoppy IPA to round out this Ninkasi series.

So, how to describe Total Domination IPA?  This is a very light colored ale that is heavy in flavor.  There are multiple blends of hops that make this a very flavorful brew.  Total Domination has only has an IBU rating of 65 and an alcohol percentage of 6.7%.

Even though the IBU rating is only 65, I almost think this is an error, based on how hoppy and bitter this beer is.  It’s very flavorful and will make serious IPA lovers happy.

Total Domination won’t leave you puckered up with absolute bitterness, but it’s a strong brew that will leave you wanting more.  I would put Total Domination in my top 5 of IPAs (right up there with Broken Halo from Widmer).

Check it out – I hope you enjoy it!

The series on Ninkasi beers continues today with a refreshing summer beer for you all to check out.  Oregon summer days can be hot and sunny, and nothing goes better with summer sunshine than a light refreshing ale.  Well, you can add a good burger to the mix to make the combination complete.

Ninkasi’s Radiant Ale is a clearer ale that goes tastes exactly as it is described.  Radiant Ale  has a very low bitterness rating at 40 IBUs.  This light ale is said to have a unique hop character that is balanced by a light malty finish.

As I said, this beer tastes exactly as described.  It’s a light tasting beer, even lighter than a pale ale, such as Deschutes Brewing’s Mirror Pond Pale Ale, but not as lhtig as a blonde ale.  Radiant Ale has a slight hoppy initial taste that is followed immediately by a smooth malt-influenced finish.

Honestly speaking, Radiant Ale is a good summer beer, but it’s a bit forgettable.  If I were in a pub, I would definintely order this brew, but it’s not a summer favorite that I would go back to time after time.

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.