Fruit, haze, coffee and an imperial stout, this week's list runs all over the beer style spectrum. Whether your palate enjoys similar diversity or you prefer a tighter flavor profile something on here should find its way into your glass because they are all stellar.
Urban Family Aprium Dream - Huge thanks to Chris for sharing this foeder-fermented American Wild Ale (and for snapping a great pic!). Starting with a sweet tart aroma that follows through the to the flavor, it finishes fruity and clean. In case you were wondering, apriums are a real fruit, a hybrid of apricots and plums that Urban Family sourced from Collins Family Orchards and introduced to their house Brett-Saison culture. What a wonderful match!
Block 15 Fluffhead - This hazy IPA smells juicy and has a flavor that follows. Balancing the beer is a slight hop bite from the late addition hopping with Mosaic, Chinook and Azacca hops.
North Jetty Discover Coast Coffee Stout - We've had this beer before but not on nitro and that is most certainly the way is should be served. Starting with a nummy, nutty aroma that is followed by a chocolate milkshake flavor with just the right amount of sweetness, it finishes with a slight bitterness.
Alesong Mocha Rhino Suit - An incredibly smooth 12% beer that is a blend of imperial stouts aged over 10 months in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels and finished on Eugene's Coffee Plant Roasters' Costa Rican coffee beans and Chocolate Alchemy's Honduran cocoa nibs, don't let the slightly sharp aroma faze you. It's adult beer candy that isn't overly sweet and if you can get your hands on this, don't hesitate to do it.
Both the North Jetty and Alesong were enjoyed at a the new Imperial Bottle Shop and Taproom on NE Alberta. If you haven't been, put it on your list to check out. Alex and Shaun have created a worthy sister location to the original on SE Division.
Four of the best things we drank this week come from a PDX Beer Week event that we hadn't even planned to attend. Big thanks to Larry and Kate for inviting us to join them at Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom's 4th Annual Weird Beer Bonanza!
54ยบ 40' Vita-Beer Shandy - Who remembers Sunny-D? Yes, you can still buy it but for those of similar age to us you may remember when it came on the market. Around our house that was considered a treat so there are good memories linked to it. This beer brought back those memories right from the start with its aroma. The flavor continued to take us down memory lane, although it is lighter and less sweet than the juice drink. And while its 4.8% is a sessionable ABV it drinks like there's no alcohol in it at all and we suspect it would make great beermosa.
Baerlic Fancy Umbrella Drink - In addition to making an appearance at Imperial, this was also Baerlic's entry for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival and available in their taproom starting last weekend. With a great guava aroma and nice tartness (although minimal/no salt) it certainly lives up to its tagline: "Toes in the water, ass in the sand, a smile on your face and a Fancy Umbrella Drink in your hand."
Trinity Sour Cherry Threads - Tied with the Wolf Tree entry for highest ABV of the fest at 12% and similar in the use of cherries, this one hit much higher notes for us. Both have tons of cherry on the nose, but where that one goes down the Belgian road, this oak barrel aged lactic beer displays the lovely horse blanket funk that we love along with cherries. It was most certainly worth the additional tasting ticket!
Nectar Creek Raspberry Chocolate Mole Mead - This mead definitely lives up to its "weird" billing when one considers the gorgeous, rich berry color that the eyes behold but the disconnect as one takes in the aroma of mole. But it works. It's super fun and tasty, with the smoke and spice from the ancho and chipotle peppers being balanced by the chocolate, raspberries and wildflower honey. Being the other two ticket offering at the event, it, too was worthy.
As our time at Imperial wound down Larry and Kate mentioned that they would be heading over to The Commons as they had heard that Biere Royale was on tap. A beer we enjoyed multiple times in 2013, we were just as pleased with it now as we were back then. And the color...can't get enough of its beauty!
The remaining three to make this week's list all came our visits to The BeerMongers, shared by and with our frequent drinking buddy, Chris.
Alesong Touch of Brett: Mosaic - A dry, French-style Saison, the Brett it was fermented with is just slightly more prevelant than the Mosaic hops that provide ripe pineapple, mango and grapefruit flavors. Both components are favorites and this one masterfully blends the two.
Modern Times Monsters' Park Aged in Bourbon Barrels (Mexican Hot Chocolate 2017) - Modern Times has been a frequent flyer on our list and this 14.6% barrel-aged imperial stout is simply fabulous, especially after it sits for an hour and the full flavor profile - cinnamon, cocoa nibs, chilies and vanilla - blooms.
Fremont The Rusty Nail - Fremont makes good beers but where they really shine are with their aged, high ABV beers. This one begins with an oatmeal stout base, brewer's licorice, smoked barley and pale malt aged on cinnamon bark. That beer, called The First Nail, begins its second life after spending 15 months in 12-year old bourbon barrels, the result of which is an amazing dark, sour and smooth creation whose 13.2% is an afterthought.
PDX Beer Week continues through Sunday, offering plenty of options for great, unique beers and events. And even if one isn't attending "something special" there always seems to be special things waiting on the shelves and taps of our favorite places. Here's hoping you're finding some gems!
Since 2017 started I've been contemplating what this year will hold for Beer Musings. As of late I've not felt very inspired...for multiple reasons. I briefly let the idea of calling it quits roll around in my head but it didn't seem to take hold. Hopefully inspiration will return and you'll see more content than I've been posting lately. Perhaps committing to a weekly post...let's call it "The Best Things We Drank Last Week"...will be the momentum needed to get this ball rolling again. Expect to see it mid-week and while there may be some out-of-market beers listed with the wealth that surrounds us you'll likely be able to find most of it up around town.
Clearly we're mid-weekend, not mid-week but as to not put off what can be done today and also because of the snow/ice/cold those of you in Portland are experiencing (hopefully weathering safely at home) here's a recap of the five best things we drank during the final week of 2016.
Surly Pentagram (2015) - Cracked during our New Year's Eve gathering this sour, wine barrel aged beer is still outstanding. And at 6.66% ABV it's not gonna knock you down if you scurry off into a corner and drink the whole bottle yourself.
Alesong Shake Your Tree - Matt, formerly of Oakshire, has been killing it with what I've tasted from his new venture so far. This sour ale aged with peaches smells and tastes like summer, something I need to be reminded will eventually come as we make our way through the darkness of winter.
Phantom Carriage Deadly Harvest - Relatively new to the Portland market, they've made an impression on me. Another fruitted sour, this one is a barrel aged blonde made with boysenberries, a fruit that transports me back to the carefree days of gobbling down pancakes soaked in Smucker's Boysenberry syrup.
The Commons Trillium - Easily one of my favorite Portland breweries, they know what they're doing with farmhouse beers and hit particularly high notes when they make sour ones. "Sweet Tarts in a glass without being gimmicky" was my impression as I thoroughly enjoyed it with the friends who so graciously shared it.
Perennial Savant Beersel - I do love me some Brett and this beer, made with wine grapes and aged in French oak Cabernet barrels is "all that and a bag of chips."
Clearly sours are one of my favorite styles and I had a wealth of delicious ones to close out a year that most of us can agree was quite sour. Thank goodness "sour" beers like these are the polar opposite of a "sour" year. Cheers to more delicious beers in 2017 and a year that is hoppy...happy...whatever!
