Review: Gilgamesh Dark Prince
Editor’s Note: Today is day two in our Twelve Days of Christmas series on Pints and Steins – where we’ll be letting you know about a winter beer every day between now and Christmas Eve.
In today’s Twelve Days Of Brewing Christmas post, we highlight a brew from Gilgamesh Brewing. Gilgamesh is one of the oldest operating independent breweries in Salem, Oregon. The company started in the neighboring city of Turner, Oregon and moved to the industrial district of SE Salem a few years ago.
Today, let’s consider Dark Prince from Gilgamesh – a Cascadian Dark Ale, which means it’s a proprietary style of Oregon origin that’s heavy on hops and malt.
Now that we’ve established the medium where CDAs exist, let’s judge Gilgamesh’s Dark Prince. So – about that name – apparently someone at Gilgamesh has a crush on Will Smith, because it’s a thread that weaves many ales that come from the Salem brewery. “Fresh Prince” IPA, “DJ Jazzy Hef” and “Dark Prince” are all ales that stem from Will Smith roots.
What does it taste like?
Dark Prince pours a dark amber colour. The amber colour dominates and this beer has almost no head – and the lack of carbonation in the first sip is instead dominated by nutty malty brilliance.
The dark grain backbone shows through heavily on this beer – it has almost no hoppy brilliance and instead comes through with dark grain flavors instead. In this beer, it’s almost as if the brewer chose grain and malt instead of hops, which is rare in a CDA – typically is BIG on hops at first and then rushes in the malt. Instead….Gilgamesh skipped the hoppy overtones and instead relied upon the aftertaste.
So, in a few words, Dark Prince from Gilgamesh is absolutely delicious.
Should I buy it?
Oh yes. Go now and buy thee. This beer gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from this beer nut.
You’ll find it at your local taphouse in draft. If you can’t find it. I have pity upon you.
Review: Gilgamesh DJ Jazzy Hef
The summer is upon us and the lighter beers are out now. For me, a nice unfiltered wheat beer is a perfect summer beer because it’s flavorful, smooth and crisp.
Gilgamesh Brewing is a local brewery here in Salem, Oregon and has been making waves in the past few months. With a very nice lounge in downtown Salem, Gilgamesh is prominent in the local beer scene.
Today’s beer review is DJ Jazzy Hef – a light colored ale that pours a cloudy wheat color. According to the Gilgamesh, this hefeweizen ale is brewed with organic ingredients and a heaping does of jasmine tea.
The smell of jasmine is pretty noticeable with DJ Jazzy Hef, and this is a good thing. This hefeweizen just glides down your throat as you take your first drink. At first the sip tastes a little empty, but then the aftertaste kicks in and it’s really rewarding.
This is a flavorful beer that leaves your mouth tingling and wanting more. DJ Jazzy Hef is the perfect summer beer for hot days that demand a flavorful but rewarding brew.
This ale has an IBU of 9 and an ABV of 5.4%.
Review: Gilgamesh Ridgeway IPA
I’m a huge IPA fan. I love hoppy, bitter, hoppy beers. Did I say I love hops? Well, I do.
I also love local brew. In fact, in my town of Salem, Oregon, there are only a handful of breweries in the local area. We have Pale Horse in town, Seven Brides out in Silverton, and another brewery called Gilgamesh a little south in Turner. I’ve always been very curious about Gilgamesh, but never got the opportunity to try their beers, until now.
Gilgamesh Brewing has had a pop-up store of sorts in the Reed Opera House in downtown Salem since Thanksgiving. I wandered in last weekend and met Eric Lopez, Gilgamesh Brewing‘s Marketing Director. Nick gave me the run down of the current selection of seasonals and year-round brews available in the temporary “Winter Ale House”.
The first beer I bought to review is Ridegeway IPA, which I chose based of the description and my love of IPAs. According to Ridgeway’s description, here’s the rundown:
Dominated by citrus and pine flavors, this reddish beer features three of our favorite hops (Columbus, Simcoe, and Amarillo) added every minute for an hour during the brewing process. The three pounds of hops per barrel forge a well-balanced, full range of hoppiness, in this medium body brew.
The color is defininly red – I would actually say it’s more copper colored. At first sip, Ridgeway IPA tastes of light bitterness but more of a strong amber ale. This is a light-bodied IPA.
The IBU rating on the Gilgamesh website states the beer is 100+, however this bitterness rating doesn’t translate into the real-butter tastefulness of this beer. This IPA will be favorable for beer fans who love a hint of hopy-inspired bitterness, but don’t want to be punched in the face with said taste.
I never picked up on the hint of pine flavors, but the citrus definintely comes through mid-sip.
I’d recommend this beer wholeheartedly.
Have you had Ridgeway IPA from Turner’s Gilgamesh Brewing? If so, what’s your opinion?