Pints And Steins

Last Saturday, I visited the Santiam Brewing taproom in Salem, Oregon see what Fall seasonals were on tap.

Today, let’s talk about two Santiam beers – Hoppy Froppy (with Amarillo hops) and Coal Porter which is available on cask in the taproom.

Santiam Brewing’s Coal Porter

Now that winter is nigh, it’s a good time to start digging in to porters, stouts and the darker beers that are perfect on a grey, Oregon day.

Coal Porter is made with North American barley and English roasted and crystal malts. It’s a medium bodied stout that has a distinctive hop flavor that is 6.2% ABV and 29 IBUs. The beer is black licorice in color and contains hints of coffee and malt flavor.

The earthy hop backbone shines in this cask ale. I loved the slight beige head with yummy roasted flavors. Coal Porter balanced and an utterly perfect dark beer.

Santiam Brewing’s Hoppy Froppy Ale

Everyone who knows that I love my fresh hop ales. This September-October timeframe is my favorite as we have all sorts of pale ales and IPAs that are enhanced with powerful fresh hops.

Over at Santiam, the guys have prepared a few fresh hop ales and today we’ll look at Hoppy Froppy. This time when I was at the taphouse, there were two versions of Hoppy Froppy available – one with Cascade and another with Amarillo hops.

Hoppy Froppy pours almost-clear in color with a slight reddish tint. It presents a light head and has very light carbonation. This ale has a mild, but citrussy hop profile that is wonderful with the Amarillo hops coming forward. It’s hop-forward but not overly bitter or cringe-inducing. My wife, who isn’t as much as a hop-head as me, found it to be floral and refreshing.

Hoppy Froppy Amarillo is a crowd-pleasing fresh hop pale ale that comes in at 5.8% ABC and a moderate 70 IBUs. Pick it up today at the taphouse – they have a few kegs left so you should get in to Santiam in the next week or two! 🙂

(Disclosure: samples were provided to profile in this blog post. Thanks to Matt Killikelly for the samples!)

Tags: Coal Porter, Fresh Hop Ale, Hoppy Froppy, Santiam Brewing