March 3rd, 2010
I haven’t heard much blog talk about Seven Brides these days, and I’m wondering how often their beers see taps in the Portland area. That’s neither here nor there though. On my way to work today I swung by Roth’s and saw that Seven Brides finally has their main line up in bottles. Roth’s in North Salem had the LPA, Oatmeal Ellie, Lils Pills, Emily’s Ember, and Black Cat Porter. The bottles labels are simple with the same photo used for each bottle with a different color. This though seems to make the bottles more beautiful.
I know in the past I’ve had a love hate relationship with Seven Brides. My first experience involved Lil’s Pills out of a picnic setup at the Cherry City Music Fest. The beer I tried tasted horrible and I swore off Seven Brides forever I thought. Then, somewhere about May, I began training for a group home opening in Salem. The company opening it was located in Mt Angel, and during my trainings there I heard several people rave about Seven Brides beers. Thinking they deserved a second chance I swung by the brewery one day after work. Jeff was friendly and between him and their Ember he won me over as a fan. Over the year I’ve had a few interactions with Jeff DeSantis, and have grown fond of Lil’s Pills, Ellies Ember, and if I’m in the mood the Black Cat Porter. I have however found other beers they make no bueno
Anyway if you can’t find ‘em on tap give a bottle a try.
Tags: Emily's Ember, Jeff DeSantis, Lil's Pills, Oatmeal Ellie, Seven Brides
Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments »
February 18th, 2010
A while ago Jeff over at Beervana had a post about a beer brewed with Apricot stone fruits called Everything But The Squeal. Interestingly the beer in question received more criticisms then praise from the readers. That’s because the fruit of apricot pits contains a chemical called amygdalin. This chemical is present in most fruit seeds including apples, and normally passes through your body tucked safely away in the seeds protective coating. However when you boil the seeds, open them up, or eat them this chemical is processed by your body and turned into cyanide. The FDA hasn’t thoroughly researched this chemical though, so the degree to which cooking eliminates amygdalin and the dosage at which it becomes lethal is debated. There’s no doubt though that some people are concerned. With the increasing use of alternative flavorings and herbs in beer though just how much are we exposing ourselves to “bad” or “dangerous” chemicals?
Within the alternative medacine community there seems to be a view that as long as it’s a plant it has to be better then the stuff you get from the pharmacy. What with all those nasty side effects of medicines it has to be true. Sadly many herbs contain similar or same chemicals that are found in some drugs. This means brewers should be paying close attention to interactions between plant chemicals, the way the body processes some chemicals, and the effect boiling in wort can have on the chemicals. Instead though many brewers just toss in the herbs without a lot of regard to this. Luckily for us the side effects of some herbs like sweet gale are over exaggerated and like the amygdalin in Cascades “white port/raspberry/apricot seed beer” are present in low enough levels for the body to process.
Just for fun here are some beer ingrediants that are considered dangerous or have known adverse side effects.
Ginko Biloba – Not very common, but you occasionally hear of one off beers brewed with it.
Ginsing – Oregon Trails Ginsing Porter pops to mind first.
Liquorice root – Common in dark heavy stouts, winter warmers, and sometimes barlywines.
Fruit seeds – Contain amygdalin. Cascade is the only one I’ve heard of actually brewing with seeds.
Sweet Gale – Reported in old brewing texts to be narcotic
Sassafras – traditional flavoring for root beer and some herbal beers. considered a carcinogen
Posted in Ramblings | 9 Comments »
February 10th, 2010
So I logged on tonight to do a quick review of OPA. I drank my original bottle last week, but didn’t take notes and felt it was worth buying another to get something detailed. However tonights bottle was an entirely different story. Either this bottle is so very bad, or this brewery is having trouble. So to be fair I did a from memory review of the first bottle, and a while I torture myself review of this second purchase. Both bottles were bought at the same store within a short time of each other, so I’m eliminating that as a factor. If you’ve had the OPA mutiple times, please tell me beer 2 is not it.
Bottle 1
Aroma
Some biscuity/bready aromas, hay
Appearance
Copper color, just the slightest haze. Decent head
Flavor
I remember lot’s of bready malts, some grassyness.Almost no bitterness. Slight citrus note if I remember right.
Overall
A good beer, and very drinkable. The phrase pale ale has little to no place in the name though. Neither enough hop flavors nor enough bitterness to tip the scales away from the malt flavors. Would buy it again.
Bottle 2
Aroma
buttery, caramel, leather
Appearance
Very dark amber color. Slightly opaque, no head, very little carbonation.
Flavor
I’m afraid to try it, but here goes. Sharp bite up front, but not from bitterness. Not sure how exactly to describe it. Sickly sweet, with little malt flavor. Fruity finish with a light lingering bitterness. Medium mouthfeel.
Overall
Get it away from me! Never going neer this beer with a 10 ft pole. Thought it’d be worth stocking again, but one bad bottle is enough. Still might stock their stout.
Tags: Fire Mountain, Fire Mountain Brew House, OPA, Oregon Pale Ale
Posted in IPA, Reviews | No Comments »
February 9th, 2010
I finally found a use for that notes function on my cell phone. Turns out it works much better then writing beer reviews on bar napkins.
Recently I tried Ommegang Adoration. I was directed towards this beer by Jack. Apparently Nick Lopez, the new man behind Venti’s Bar, decided to stock this one off beer. Venti’s is charging $15 a bottle for it, so I kinda wish I had a friend with me to share the bottle, and the tab. I had Hooper rinse out the snifter that my Old Crustacean was poured in and used that for tasting. After trying it I can’t see why this Beer only has a B+ on Beeradvocate. So much for Jeff defending them. I know people have different tastes, but this beer should have preformed much better then it did.
Aroma
I always do aroma first so I can catch the scents stirred up from the pour, I always sniff the bottle opening too. Aroma is plum, very spicy. Smells very malty. Fairly complex blend of aromas. Some orange peel as well.
Appearance
Mahogany color. Large off white head, very effervescent. Needs to be poured slowly. Big bubbles. More of a pillowy head
Flavor
Orange peel hit first followed by dark fruits, spices, and some tartness. Definitely get a little funk. Possibly Brett? Wouldn’t surprise me. Maltier then I thought it would be. Definite dark malts. The spices might be a little much, but I like their strong presence.
Overall
Great beer. Complex with alot going on, but neither too much that it muddies it, or any flavor so strong it drowns the others. I know this goes contrary to my comment about the spices strong presence, but I think it compliments the beer rather then subjugate it. Out of all the Belgian Winter Ales I’ve tried this winter this one takes first.
Tags: Adoration, Belgian, Christmas Ales, Ommegang, Winter Ale, Winter Warmer
Posted in Belgians, Reviews, Winter Warmers | 2 Comments »
February 2nd, 2010
My laptops power cord has ceased functioning again which means that a review of OPA is on hold. I will however try to get some stuff done in the mean time.
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
January 28th, 2010
I’d never heard of Fire Mountain Brewery until…. 11 hours and 40 min ago. Apparently Roth’s in North Salem now carries both their Steam Powered Stout and Oregon Pale Ale. Apparently these are also the only t2o beers they produce as I can’t find any info on others. Their bottles though say they make lagers. I poured their Steam Powered slightly warm. As it’s date night and I’m already making Rachel wait while I write this I’ll review OPA at a later date.
Aroma
Lots of roasted grain but no burnt/black patent aroma Nothing to distinct on aroma.
Appearance
Black with dark head. Definitely stoutish. Opaque
Flavor
Good lord that’s not what I was expecting. Strong hop bitterness followed by roasted grain flavors and a slightly sweet medium body. Was expecting a Guinness, instead I got something much more substantial and extremely palatable. It doesn’t stick to your mouth like other medium bodied stouts. Clean and good.
Overall
While not the best stout I’ve had it’s definitely one I would stock and serve. Good flavors, even if it’s a bit one dimensional. I’m hoping their OPA blows me away. Definitely not what I expected for a stout from a small unknown brewery. In fact I may have to visit Carlton someday. Sometimes a good, clean, well executed beer can be more impressive then something unique.
Tags: Fire Mountain, Fire Mountain Brew House, Oregon Pale Ale, Steam Powered Stout
Posted in Reviews, Stouts | 5 Comments »
January 25th, 2010
I was just given a copy of the February issue of Maxim magazine yesterday. The person who handed it to me told me there was an article I needed to see. The Article? The 25 Best Beers In America. The verdict? Fail.
In order to understand the fail you need to know the 25 best. Here they are, in no particular order.
1. Porkslap Pale Ale
2. Drifter Pale Ale
3. Hass Rye Lager
4. Hoptober Golden Ale
5. Haywire Hefeweisen
6. Helios Ale Saison
7. Ten Fiddy Imperial Stout
8. Samual Adams Nobel Pils
9. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
10. März Hon Märzen
11. Brew Free Or Die IPA
12. Indian Brown Brown Ale
13. Old Stock Ale
14. Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout
15. Green Lakes Organic Ale
16. Upslope Pale Ale
17. Blue Ball Porter
18. Calico Amber Ale
19.Fat Squirrel Brown Ale
20. Local 1 Pale Ale
21. Tumble Off Pale Ale
22. UFO White Wheat
23. Union Jack IPA
24. Phoenix Pale Ale
25. Bud Light Wheat
First off, Haywire and Bud Light wheat as 2 of the best 25?? And if you needed more proof that the writer has no clue about beer 8/25 are pale ales. Also of the 25 beers only three are from Oregon, where as five are from CA and we CO has four. So much for Oregon being lightyears ahead in the beer scene. Looks like if we go bye numbers alone CA is Beervana…. Hmmm Maybe the Doc was right. Wait, scratch that. According to Maxim Philidalphia has stolen the best beer city crown. Oh look, only two beers on the list come from the city of brotherly love, and one of them is called intercourse. Wonder if it made it in the mag because of the name.
Anyways, who buys into these beer lists that mens magazines are constantly putting out? Let’s see if we can do better?? It shouldn’t be hard after all. So together let’s come up with 25 regularly available beers that one could find distributed at least regionaly. Up for the challenge?
Tags: 25 Best Beers In America, Blue Ball, Brew Free Or Die, Calico, Drifter, Fat Squirrel, Green Lakes, Hass, Haywire, Helios, Hoptober, Indian Brown, Local 1, März Hon, Maxim, Nobel Pils, Old Stock, Phoenix, Porkslap Pale Ale, Ten Fiddy, Torpedo, Tumble Off, UFO, Union Jack, Upslope
Posted in Ask The Audiance, Rants | 7 Comments »
January 20th, 2010
I know the Doc doesn’t like these diary style posts, but I’m tired, cranky, and hating my new bottle corker.
Back in August I made a wine from all the extra summer squash in the garden. The final recipe looked something like this.
21 lbs of squash
10lbs of sugar
1/4 cup peppercorns
1 can of Grape Concentrate
2 tbl black tea leaves
And alot of orange and lemon slices
The resulting wine is interesting to say the least, and tonight was the night I bottled this interesting concoction.
Thinking I’d try to make my wine look nice I decided to bottle most of it in 750ml Champagne bottles and 12oz green bottles and cork all of them. Doug at Homebrew Heaven store made corking sound easy after all. “The synthetic corks slide into the bottle fairly easy,” he said. Well here I am 1.5 hours later smelling like a Frenchman.
I easily spilt a 12oz bottle worth of wine on myself, sweated like a pig, and my hands are killing me. All in all though I’m happy with the final product. Now I just have to rack these bottles for awhile to let the wine mellow. That pepper flavor is a bit intense.
Tags: Corks, Squash, Summer Harvest, Wine, Zuchini
Posted in Ramblings | 2 Comments »
January 18th, 2010
I know there’s alot of reviews lately. Especially for a guy who didn’t want his blog to be about reviews right? To be honest I’m having alot of work and family issues at the same time and finding a hard time balancing. This means ending the night with a new beer has become a high point in my life. Hence no research, and more reviews. Up now is Old Humbug from Southern Oregon Brewing.
Aroma
Nose consists of some coffee, dark malts, but still has a sweet smell. Sniffers down tonight so it’s hard to get subtle notes.
Appearance
Pours like a flat bottle of rootbeer. Looks about the same too. Rootbeer might be a little thicker and darker on the pour. Not looking up for a big winter beer. No head retention.
Taste
Wow, there’s alot more going on then I expected. Sweet toffee like flavor followed with lot’s of heat. Definite Caramel flavor,some licorice and molasses like flavors, but not distinctly either. A great spicy note that plays well with the heat. Coffee like bitterness on the finish. Sweetness holds out till the very end, but is subtle and not overpowering.
Overall
Not a bad beer, and for tonight it hit the spot. I’m sad this wasn’t one of the bottles opened at Saturdays tasting as it would have preformed well. I’d give it an A for no other particular reason then this beer ended up being just what I wanted tonight. not even the ‘08 Old Rasputin or the W ‘10 could satisfy my palate today. The complexity and variety of flavors combined with the heat just hit the spot. Really though this beer should score a little lower simply for appearance. I’d say it should be marked down for aroma as well, but my sniffer isn’t up to snuff. So reality is a B – B+ beer that is enjoyable. The heavens won’t open up and you won’t feel the hand of God when you drink it, but if you drink it at the right moment it’ll leave an impression.
Tags: Old Humbug, Southern Oregon Brewing, Winter Warmer
Posted in Reviews, Winter Warmers | 3 Comments »
January 14th, 2010
When I started this whole idea of listing Salem’s best beer places I never thought it would be this hard. I figured I’d put out feelers, especially to the bar hoppers, and just review the results. The problem was everyone submitted the same results. Every single time I got a combination of Venti’s, Browns Towne, F-Stop, and Capitol Market for purchasing beer. Normally I would have decided I was wrong about Salem’s beer selection and givin up, but consistantly La Capitale was missing, and I know Browns Towne sucks (a rotation of Widmer and Ninkasi only doesn’t equal a true rotating tap). With this knowledge I was certain there were more places hidden away outside the scope of Salem’s art crowd (Salem’s art crowd makes up a large chunk of it’s beer crowd).
This was confirmed when Rachel and I swung by the Blue Pepper for coffee last week. I’d known the Blue Pepper had a bar, but had always assumed they served wine and a traditional import beer selection. This idea fit with the vibe of the place and the fact that their bar isn’t open that late. However this day the comfy seats up front were taken so we decided to go goof off in the computer chairs while we drank our coffee. While we were back there I decided to check out the bar.
To my surprise they had a decent bottle selection with some variety to it. There were some imports, but also some decent domestics. Granted they only had beer in the bottle, but still, this got me excited. A new beer place to visit in the evenings I thought. I was all set to go try it one of these nights and then rant and rave. I called up the Blue Pepper to get the bars hours and was stopped cold in my plans. The bar is open from 6am-3pm on weekdays only. What the heck???
So while Blue Pepper may have a decent bottled beer selection it’s a fail on the best beer in Salem list. What place seriously keeps those hours?
Tags: Best Beer In Salem, Blue Pepper
Posted in Rants | 2 Comments »
