Snoqualmie Avalanche

Here’s a local winter warmer from Snoqualmie. This beer features Chinook and Cascade hops, but the website doesn’t list the malts. You’ll be seeing a lot of winter warmers in the next couple of months, so let’s how this one compares.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 6.8% ABV. 48 IBUs. Washington. Winter Seasonal.

Dark copper in color. Nice head and lacing.

Nice grainy, malty nose. A little bit of dark fruits, but it’s just got this nice grainy sweetness that invites you to drink it.

Nice, full body. Just what I want in a winter beer.

It’s all about the malt here, and it has a nice grainy and bready flavor that give way, slightly, to some brown sugar and plums. It’s balanced with enough hop bitterness, but doesn’t bring much hop flavor.

Decent brew, if a bit boring, but worth a purchase. 88 points

Snoqualmie Harvest Moon

This is a Fall seasonal from one of my favorite Washington breweries. This beer features Munich malt and German Spalt hops. Let’s see how this domestic example compares.

Stats:
Marzen. 5.3% ABV. 24 IBUs. Washington. Available September-October.

They describe this beer as fire-orange, which is actually perfect. Not too much head here.

The nose is pretty closed. I’m just getting a little bit of malt and sweetness.

Mouthfeel isn’t bad. It’s medium bodied with quite a bit of carbonation.

The palate is better than the nose, but it’s not overwhelmingly flavorful. I get some sweet malts that bring an apple and vanilla component. Just a hair of bready-ness. It does have a nice malty length.

Not a bad beer, but doesn’t excite me too much either. Worth a buy in my opinion. 86 points

Snoqualmie Plant 1 Powerhouse IPA

This is a recent release from one of my favorite Washington breweries. It’s named after the power plant at Snoqualmie Falls.

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 7.5% ABV. 85 IBUs. Washington. Spring Release.

Orange, not as coppery as most. Head is decent, but it leaves fantastic lacing.

The nose has a nice malt and hop profile. It’s got a bit of grain and a nice citrus, piney hop profile. I’m getting this cigar component that I like quite a bit, but a bit of diacetyl does come through.

Mouthfeel is perfect, it borders on full body, with a nice level of carbonation.

Heavy pine, a little bit of citrus, lovely grain. Diacetyl does make an appearance, but it’s not obnoxious. Good all around flavor with good length, as well.

This is just your classic PNW IPA. It’s a bit aggressive, but doesn’t knock out the malt. It’s got flavor to fill the palate, and length to keep the flavor there, all while still being well-balanced. It’s really not all that bitter. Just a solid brew. 88 points.

Snoqualmie PGA

This is Snoqualmie’s amber. I’ve been a pretty big fan of their stuff in the past, so I’m hoping this one will be a winner too.

Stats:
American Amber Ale. 4.0% ABV. Washington.

Caramel color with fine sediment. A little bit of head and some decent lacing.

The nose is very closed. It’s slightly nutty with brown sugar and peaches.

Mouthfeel is great, nice body and drinkability.

Caramel is the first thing I notice with a little bit of nutty-ness and some slight hop presence that gives it an even nuttier taste. There are some brown sugar, honey, and vanilla notes that I often get on this style.

The flavors are nice, but this beer is just way too delicate. If they could somehow just amplify everything, this beer would be fantastic. As it stands, it’s okay, but cannot be paired with food as it’ll just taste like water. 81 points.

Snoqualmie Summer Beer

Well this is an interesting one. Snoqualmie calls this one a pre-prohibition Pilsner brewed Alt-style. So you can kind of think of this as an ale version of a Pils if that makes sense. It’s also brewed with a little bit of corn and Czech Saaz hops.

Stats:
Czech Pilsner. 5.6% ABV. Washington.

Light orange to yellow with an actually very nice head. The lacing is ridiculous. It’s also pretty full of sediment.

The nose is lighter than many Pils, but this one has a more spicy hop aroma than grain.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, with a frothy carbonation. Not bad.

Snoqualmie didn’t shy away from hops here, and I like that. This is the opposite of a crisp, clean Pils. It’s got a ton of hops that bring a floral and light fruit note with a hint of black pepper. There are some peaches, apricots, and other light fruits. The finish is quite bitter with a hint of cracker malt, but the hops are a bit heavy handed which cover up a lot of the malt.

I’m surprised this Pils is so hoppy. I like it for what it is, but I actually prefer a more crisp Pils. This isn’t bad though, and certainly worth a purchase. I think this is just gonna be way too bitter for a lot of people. 87 points.

Snoqualmie Falls Copperhead

Again, Snoqualmie has a terrible website and doesn’t have much information about their beers, but this is a pale that I actually just had on nitro the other day at the brewery. I wasn’t a huge fan of it on nitro, let’s see if it’s better out of the bottle.

Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.3% ABV. Washington.

Light coppery color with an alright head, it fades quickly.

Lots of honey on the nose and has a slightly toasted almond aroma. Pretty big hit of citrus and blueberries.

Nice mouthfeel borders on the light to medium bodied as carbonation is fairly high.

Honey and diacetyl right away, with a surprising amount of bitterness which isn’t as balanced as I’d like. Some of those fruit flavors come through but seem to be muted by the charred flavor and the tobacco on the end. I really love this honey flavor though.

I think this beer is all over the place. I like the honey and fruit flavors, but they seem to get so muted by the hop bitterness. The beer really isn’t hoppy, it’s just hop bitterness. I actually didn’t notice the bitterness at all on the nitro, though. 80 points.

Snoqualmie Falls Spring Fever Grand Cru

I took a trip up to the nice little town called Snoqualmie recently. Partly because they have a beautiful and awesome waterfall, but also because they have one of the best breweries in Washington. I had their Spring Fever, which I also took home a growler of, as you will see. I also had their pale on nitro, which was interesting, but wasn’t a big fan of.

This is their Spring seasonal beer, which BA calls a Belgian strong pale ale. Snoqualmie Falls is expanding, and I hope that includes an updated website.

Stats:
Belgian Strong Pale Ale. 7.0% ABV. Washington. Spring Seasonal.

Orange color and very, very hazy. Lovely head and great lacing.

Nose is definitely Belgian. Lots of yeast come through with coriander, orange, honey and caramel.

Mouthfeel is actually pretty big, nice body.

Honey, coriander, black pepper, yeast, and then it finishes with a little bit of bitterness and a big dose of spice and honey.

A little bit too hoppy for the beer’s own good, but I really dig this one. It’s a nice Washington version of a Belgian, and I’d recommend you check this out. It is bottled, so grab it if you find it. 87 points.

Snoqualmie Triskaidekaphobia 13th Anniversary

This beer has an impossible to pronounce name, but apparently it means the fear of the number 13. That’s appropriate, see, cause it’s their 13th anniversary beer. This beer is a Belgian tripel, so it should be interesting to see a small American brewers take on the classic style.

Stats:
Tripel. 8.6% ABV. Washington.

Golden color, leaves a little head on it.

Actually has a big nose with a ton of fruit coming through. A little alcohol and a bit of spice and yeast.

Decent mouthfeel for the style.

A ton of flavor. Just a bunch of light fruits and spices coming through. It has this really amazing floral honey flavor on the front end that just blows me away. The finish is a bit strong on the hops, perhaps too much so.

I was actually really impressed with this beer, and I was expecting to be. I think the alpha acids are a bit high, but otherwise a great Belgian-American style beer. 91 points.

Snoqualmie Steam Train Porter

Snoqualmie’s porter is brewed with Chocolate, Brown, and Crystal malts with Fuggles hops. I’m trying to grab as many of their beers as I can, because I believe they are producing some the better beers coming out of Washington state. Let’s see how this one tastes.

Stats:
Porter. 5.0% ABV. 28 IBUs. Washington.

Dark colored that leaves a really nice tan colored head with decent lacing.

Really nice nose. Very chocolatey and a bit of coffee. I get this like chocolate dessert component that I really like. It’s got this bready/yeasty/slightly sour thing going on.

Actually really light mouthfeel, with pretty high carbonation.

Oddly enough, the hops come through right away on the palate, giving a slight pine taste. Actually really light flavor with some chocolate and coffee, then finishes with a roasted flavor.

Not too bad, a bit light and pretty straight forward.. 86 points

Washington State IPA Blind Challenge Pt. 7

Beer 4-8 pairing.

Very similar in color between these beers, but beer 4 is a bit darker. Both have really nice heads, but beer 8 has better lacing.

Beer 4 has some caramelized malts coming through. Apple, vanilla, a bit of citrus. Pretty dark nose. Hops are coming through, though. Pine aroma is definitely there. I really do like that baked apple component, that makes me think of a nice dessert. Now on beer 8, I’m getting a pretty vegetal component with a lot of pine, grass, asparagus, and mushrooms, and just a hint of mint. Now it also has that caramelized action, with apples coming through. So a really baked apple component on this one, as well, which I’m really liking. Now, going back to the beer 4, the pine scent comes through a lot now. Almost like an aerosol, candle pine scent.

Beer 4 is pretty light to medium bodied, while beer 8 is much thicker and has a bit more carbonation bite.

Beer 4 is light, but I’m getting a bit of vegatal, baked apple, caramel, cinnamon, lime, orange and brown sugar. A bit of bitterness on the back, giving it that burnt meat component with a hint of apple and butter. Beer 8 brings that vegatel component, as well, but also balanced with fruit. Almost more full flavored and has a more pleasant backend, if slightly more bitter and off-balanced.

So, I do think beer 4 is pretty alright, beer 8 is the winner in my book. It’s has a better mouthfeel, more complexity, even if it is a tad bit more off-balanced. Beer 4 is just too light and hollow.

In second place is beer 4, which is Diamond Knot IPA.

Diamond Knot IPA
Stats:
India Pale Ale. 6.2% ABV. 40 IBUs. Mukilteo, Washington

This one has Galena and Columbus hops, but not sure on the malts. I think I’ve only had one or two other beers from Diamond Knot before, but I should give some more of their beers a try.

And our winner, and the best Washington State IPA that I’ve had is…

Snoqualmie Wildcat IPA
Stats:
India Pale Ale. 6.6% ABV. 75 IBUs. Snoqualmie, Washington

This beer has a lot more IBUs than the Diamond Knot. It’s brewed with 100% Columbus hops, and has Two-Row, Munich, Aromatic, Carapils, and Crystal malts.

I’m pretty psyched that this beer won. This had the highest BA rating out of all the beers and it ended up proving it’s worth! This is a solid IPA, not world class, but good none-the-less. Give it a try if you can find it.

And just to wrap things up, here is the final bracket: