Sound Dubbel Entendre

Here’s the second beer, of the three, that I was able to get from this brewery. I havn’t seen too many dubbels being made in this state, so let’s see how this one turns out.

Stats:
Dubbel. 8.8% ABV. 21 IBUs. Washington.

Typical dubbel color. Dark chocolate brown.

Lovely nose, and also typical of the style. It’s got a Belgian yeast component with chocolate, banana, and cloves. Baked apples make an appearance with a hint of cinnamon spice.

Mouthfeel is fantastic. It’s got a nice medium body, with a higher amount of carbonation, but you would expect this with a Belgian style beer.

Banana, cloves, cinnamon, chocolate, and Belgian yeast combine for a beautiful example of the style. Long finish of plums, brown sugar, and spices.

What a great beer. As good as any American dubbel that I’ve had. 91 points.

Sound Humulo Nimbus

This is the first beer that I’ve had from Sound Brewing in Poulsbo. I’ve wanted to try their beer ever since I saw how gorgeous their packaging is. This is a double IPA, but they don’t list the hops or malts. Let’s check it out.

Stats:
Double India Pale Ale. 8.5% ABV. 74 IBUs. Washington.

Rich copper color. Nice head as well.

The nose is fantastic. Piney hops meet a tropical fruit sorbet with a hint of vanilla bean and bread pudding.

Mouthfeel is very nice. Great medium body with similar carbonation.

The hops bring a mostly pine flavor, which gives it a West Coast aggressiveness, but then has layers of vanilla and baked fruit. The finish has a malty breadyness and lasts forever.

I’ve wanted to try this brewery for a long time, purely because of how great their packaging is. Luckily for me, the beer matches. I’ll reserve judgment on this brewery until I have a couple more of their beers, but if they are as good as this, then we have another amazing Washington brewery. 91 points.

Dogfish Head Faithfull Ale

This is an ode to Pearl Jam’s Ten record, on it’s 20th anniversary. I actually really enjoyed the Bitches Brew, but didn’t get to try Hellhound On My Ale. I randomly saw a bottle of this at a local beer store and had to get it. I couldn’t believe there was one on the shelf. This beer is a golden ale with currents added to the boil.

Stats:
Belgian Golden Ale. 7.0% ABV. 20 IBUs. Delaware. Limited Release.

Light golden color with a nice white head.

The nose is a bit closed but I get a little caramel malt aroma with a fruity and citrus play. It actually smells a bit tart and I wouldn’t guess currants, but I can see them being in here.

Mouthfeel has high carbonation and a medium-light body.

Some fruity-ness up front, which subsides to a caramel and slight bready malt profile. It’s got a little bit of sweetness and just a hint of tartness. It’s got this almost leather like component in the middle. The finish is fairly malty with a hint of grape jelly.

I like this one, but like many DFH beers, I wouldn’t buy it again. It’s solid, but not worth the price. 89 points.

Pike Double IPA

I could have sworn I’ve had this beer before, but I have no review for it. Apparently, it’s a year round brew, but I don’t see it too often. It’s brewed with Pale, Maris Otter, Crystal, Carapils, and Munich malts with Columbus, Centennial, Chinook, and Cascade hops. It’s then dry-hopped with Amarillo and Palisades.

Stats:
Double India Pale Ale. 8.0% ABV. 80 IBUs.

Nice orange color. Does leave a pretty decent head on here.

The nose is on the citrusy side. Hint of pine, but this is all about the citrus. It actually smells a little tart, as well.

Mouthfeel is pretty nice. Perhaps a tad light, but I’m not complaining.

Lots of citrus here: orange, grapefruit, limes, lemons. The citrus plays with the pine just a bit, but, again, this is all about the citrus. Lovely length that’s reminiscent of vanilla and custard.

A very nice little beer. It’s no Pliny, but that’s okay. It’s got a nice little thing going on and I would recommend this for the local hop heads. 89 points.

Lompoc C-Note

They call this an Imperial Pale Ale, but it really sounds like an IPA. It’s got a huge hop profile with Crystal, Cluster, Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Columbus, and Challenger hops. This is the first I’ve had from this brewery. I believe their main brewpub is called the New Old Lompoc Brewery.

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 6.9% ABV. 100 IBUs. Oregon.

Nice dark copper color with a small head. Leaves a little bit of lacing on here.

Decent nose. It’s got a nice hop spice in there with some caramel. It’s a very mild smelling nose if that makes any sense.

Mouthfeel is pretty much, fairly medium body with a higher carbonation level.

Just a hint of pine at the beginning which turns into a little bit of an earthy and floral mid-palate. Medium bitterness on the back with a hair of diacetyl.

It’s a decent brew. I don’t have too much to say about it, a bit boring. 84 points.

Schmaltz He’Brew Jewbelation Fifteen

This beer has 15 malts, 15 hops and weighs in at 15% ABV. Are you ready for this? The malts: 2-row, Vienna, Munich, Wheat, Chocolate, Crystal Rye, Dark Crystal, Rye Ale, CaraMunich 40, Carapils, Kiln Amber, Chocolate Wheat, Flaked Spelt, Flaked oats, Flaked Quinoa. (I guess that’s not technically 15 malts.) The hops: Ahtanum, Amarillo, Apollo, Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Columbus, Crystal, Fuggle, Golding, Palisade, Simcoe, Summit, Tettnang, and Willamette. At this point, you might be asking “why”? I have no idea.

Stats:
American Strong Ale. 15.0% ABV. California. Limited Release.

Dark chocolate color, with no head.

Interesting nose. Sweet raisins, vanilla, baked plums, brown sugar, and a little bit of booze.

Mouthfeel is actually very nice. It’s thick and boozy, but has a definite carbonation spritz.

Very sweet and a bit boozy. The booze is fairly well covered, but it’s definitely present. Lots of sweetness and a raisin and dark fruit play on the palate. There’s a wine quality about it.

Very interesting beer. It’s a nice dessert beer, but I can only drink so much of it. 90 points.

Firestone Walker Walker’s Reserve Robust Porter

Here’s a porter from Firestone Walker. This beer features 2-row, Maris Otter, Crystal 77, Crystal 120, DH Carafa, Chocolate, and wheat malts with oat flakes, US Goldings, East Kent Goldings, and Cascade hops. Looks like this beer also touches some oak.

Stats:
American Porter. 5.8% ABV. California.

Nice dark chocolate brown to ruby color with a tan head.

The nose is actually fairly closed but it does have a nice touch of chocolate, banana, and roast.

Mouthfeel is perfect. Nice medium body with a perfect amount of medium carbonation.

Some chocolate and a hint of roast come through here. Just a hint of caramel and coffee. Nice little espresso finish.

Solid beer, but doesn’t blow me away. It just lacks “umph”. 87 points.

Beer Club 01/13/12 Stouts

This month’s beer club was all about stouts. Nothing in particular, just a random assortment. We had our biggest beer club yet. There were about 13 or 14 people. As I suspected, this was a bit too large of a group. It was more of a party than a tasting, but those are fun too.

We started with the Deschutes Obsidian. It’s a classic, in my opinion, and I think it was still one of the better stouts of the night. Full flavored, but the most sessionable of the bunch.

Next up was the Pike XXXXX stout. I’ve really liked this beer in the past, but was amazingly shallow after the Obsidian. This was a very forgettable beer during the tasting.

We had a couple oatmeal stouts after that. The first being the American Caboose. This was the first time I got to try this beer, and it was another great offering from the Sasquatch in Edmonds. This one had a little more roast quality than the previous beers.

Ninkasi Oatis is one of my favorite stouts and the tasting didn’t change my opinion. It actually showed a huge vanilla component, and had a little bit of sweetness. I think this was one of the favorites of the night.

Another local brew, the Skagit River Trumpeter from Mt. Vernon was next. This one did not show well. It tasted very sweet, with a very heavy caramel component. Most found this beer to be overbearingly sweet and lacked the roast.

Then the Yeti attacked. I was pretty excited that the soy sauce component was recognized immediately. It’s a very common flavor profile on high ABV stouts, and this one showed it big time. Still a great beer, and was probably one of the best made beers. Very complex and delicious.

Port Brewing’s Old Viscosity is an oak aged stout. I’ve always liked this one and the oak compliments it nicely.

The Cappuccino Stout from Lagunitas was a shock to the palate. The coffee actually came across as a very green, almost salad like flavor. I got green peppers, while cilantro and lettuce was also mentioned. This wasn’t very well liked, and it really is a beer that should be enjoyed on it’s own.

We ended on a delicious note. The Mokah is very delicious, but well-balanced. The high ABV is very well hidden. This might be my favorite of the Blackwater Series.

Oakshire O’Dark:30

Here’s a new beer from Oakshire in Eugene. This black IPA features Cascade and Centennial hops, but not sure about the malt profile. Let’s see how this example of a new style fairs?

Stats:
American Black Ale. 6.3% ABV. 70 IBUs. Oregon. Spring Seasonal.

Dark brown to ruby in color. It’s got a nice, little, off-white head and leaves some really nice lacing.

It’s got a nice hoppy nose that brings a little bit of pine and citrus, but you can also get some of that malt, which brings a nice chocolate component.

Mouthfeel is pretty decent. Perhaps just a hair light, but nothing to complain about. Medium carbonation.

Citrus and pine meet on the initial attack but then it eases into the malts which bring a chocolate and caramel flavor. The finish is long with a medium bitterness and a pine component.

This is actually a pretty delicious beer, and I’m surprised by how well the hops and malts play in here. They really complement each other and this is one of the better examples of the style to date. 90 points.

Yo-Ho Yona Yona Ale

Here’s the second beer that I’ve got from Yo-Ho Brewing. This is a canned pale ale. I thought the porter was pretty solid, so let’s see how this one fairs.

Stats:
English Pale Ale. 5.5% ABV. Japan.

Dark gold color. It has a fluffy white head.

Sweet malts and honey come through on the nose. Very bready and sweet.

Mouthfeel is on the light side, but it’s not too bad. Very drinkable.

Very sweet and bready with a lot of honey coming through. Just a hint of pine and citrus on the back. Has a bready finish, but it’s actually got some length.

Not too bad a brew. It’s much too sweet and bready for me, but it’s an easy drinking sessioner. 83 points.