Great Divide Denver Pale Ale

Had to have this one again last night since I forgot about it pre-July 4th.  Great Divide Denver Pale Ale actually surprised me as I got into it last night.  It hit hard and fast.  I had thought this would be a mild beer that would sit nice with dinner but it was a very in-your-face beer that still sat nice with dinner.

Overall, very hoppy, pale in color, good nose, good body, and good aftertaste.  If I were in the mood for hops, this would be on my list of ones to buy.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Snoqualmie Copperhead Pale Ale

Snoqualmie Copperhead Pale Ale

Had this the other night at a friend’s going away party.  He is moving to the sunshine, far away from the rainy crap we have to deal with up here.  Best of luck Mike!

I was very surprised to see this at the Shell station in Duvall, to be honest.  I stopped for some Rock Star and just happened to see this and the Wildcat in the fridge.  Of course I picked up both.

Copperhead was a solid Pale Ale.  This followed the Wildcat, which may or may not have had much to do with the fact that it felt pretty mild on the hops… although not too mild.  Still had a bit of kick.  Good copper color (maybe where the name comes from ) and very smooth finish.  Drank it cold and it was good like that.  Didn’t need to warm up to be enjoyed at all.

So far, I have been pretty impressed with Snoqualmie.  Si and I need to make a visit over their way and see the works.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Lucifer Belgian Golden Ale

Not quite as devilish as one would hope for, but the first mouthful of Brouwerij Riva’s Lucifer has a spicy kick that catches at the back of your throat and lets you know this is one decent bottle of beer. In the glass it’s a vivacious little thing, a dirty blonde ale with a whallop of carbonation from the secondary fermentation that really tickles at first but soon settles down as you work your way through it.

Winner of a World Beer Cup Gold in 2004, it’s pretty yeasty on the nose (in a good way) and served very cold it manages to hide some of the high ABV so the alcohol doesn’t overpower the light notes of fruit (apples?) and a certain spicy hoppiness that gets stronger as it warms up. Refreshing and strong, it’s a good combination and one I’ll be back to in the future.

Of coruse, the obvious question is “how does this stack up against Duvel?” - and right now, I really don’t have an answer. I like them both, but in different ways… perhaps that’s another idea for a comparative tasting

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Rolling Rock Extra Pale Ale

This past weekend I decided to go a little old school and bring out The Rock… that is, Rolling Rock Extra Pale Ale.  I have to tell you folks that this isn’t going to be good… you have had your warning.

First and foremost, this isn’t an ale… this is lager all the way… American Lager if that is any indication… and moving on…

Latrobe’s brew tastes a bit like a skunk’s secretion gland… but skunky isn’t quite adequate.  I see now why their advertisements are actually so cool and their marketing team is doing a good job… they have to… the beer can’t sell itself.

This green bottled beer isn’t meant for anything but consumption by folks that either don’t know any better or don’t have a choice.  As you open the bottle, your nostrils are assaulted with that skunky beer smell and you wish you hadn’t bought an entire six pack… damn it.  The taste isn’t any better and just leaves you unsatisfied and unfulfilled.

Needless to say this one won’t consciously be making it into my belly again.

JBB6 Rating: Just Not Right

New Belgium Mighty Arrow Pale Ale

Seems like no posts for a long time.  That would be due to travel and craziness.  Well, I think we are back for at least the long weekend and I hope to drink plenty and post plenty.

Picked up one of the best sampler 12 packs ever the other weekend.  New Belgium’s Folly Pack.  This one came with New Belgium Mighty Arrow, which I am reviewing here and they say is new, but according to good ol’ Chipper Dave, you can also find it with Old Cherry Ale (which I think I would really like).  My pack also came with the 1554, Mothership Wit, and Fat Tire.  All outstanding beers.

As far as the Mighty Arrow is concerned, I really, really liked this pale ale.  I opened it as my first beer on a freakish 90 degree day in the Seattle area and it immediately quenched my thirst.  Bright and sunny, this beer out of the bottle hit my taste buds like a refreshing Fresca but with some really nice hops.  I let the rest of the group know that this beer was not to be forgotten.  Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Juniper Pale Ale

Lunch at the Issaquah Brewhouse, finished up with frosty pint of Rogue’s Juniper Pale Ale. I’m really glad I didn’t kick our tasting session off with this, because I don’t think I’d have bothered moving on to anything else after just one.

So - the pint itself. A wheaty golden colour, a whif of hops and, as the name suggests, a whallop of juniper make for an interesting experience. Reasonably bitter, very refreshing, a little bit sweeter than your usual pal ale I think. I polished this one off in rapid time, and was sad that I had to head out of the old Issaquah Brewhouse and go do something else. I’d have loved another one of these, and so one day in the not too distant future I’ll be back for another.

Good times. Thanks Rogue!

JBB6 Rating: For The Win

Sterbl Stout Dry Irish Stout

For history on this post, check out our review of Sammamish Pale Ale. 

Unnamed beer number two or Sterbl Stout a dry irish stout was our second beer from our good friend Mr. Sterling Blackheart.  We were all feeling pretty good about where we had just been with his pale ale, so on to the stout.

If I learned one thing and one thing only after having two of Sterling’s brews… he knows his stuff.  Really… I figured one great beer could be a fluke (although I didn’t really think that, really) but after I was blown away by his Sterbl Stout, I knew we had a beer-friend for life. 

I promise you that I am not just blowing smoke anywhere because I was fed free beer.  I have more integrity than that and we talked about it.  Sterling wanted the truth… good, bad, or ugly, and he was going to get it.  Thing is, this is another great beer. 

Sterbl Stout is a super-dark, super-smooth stout that has hints of smoke but no burnt taste.  A muddy brown head kept to the top of the brew while the taste settled in light and easy.  You could definitely drink this beer any time of year, any weather.  It wouldn’t have to be cold or wet outside in the least.  I even heard it called that this was better than Guinness, which I agree… a bit of a different ballpark, but much more flavorful while still being silky soft.

Facts and info:

• 5.9 ABV
• Yakima Magnum Hops (double the amount in his pale ale)
• Recipe based on one from http://www.northernbrewer.com/, but with some “improvements”
• 42 IBU
• Another super-smooth brew

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

Sammamish Pale Ale

So… a bit of a change today.  Actually… I think this may be our first real free beer moment that was brought on because of the blog… seriously… I really think it is.  

Today was a wondrous day… a day that will live in infamy as one of the best beer tasting days ever.  It begins like most other days… a few meetings, a few budget reviews, and ends amazingly well with two top notch brews that you can’t find at the local AM/PM…

Our new friend and colleague Sterling Blackheart…

Sidebar: Po and I think this is a pretty damn cool name.  Sounds very medieval… or definitely a good name for a brew master.  Sir Blackheart… nice ring to it.

Anyhow, Sterling stops by my office about noon with a bag and 4 unmarked, dark brown bottles.  The only distinguishing facts about them are two have the numbers 10, written in ink, on their shiny metallic caps and two have dark black caps.  I knew what they were… these were the product of Sterling’s handiwork and our good friend and colleague Marksto happens to know Sterling’s abilities quite well and thought we should all get together and share… we share our blog space and Sterling shares his sweet beer nectar.

So… the beer goes in the beer fridge and we all head off to get some work done.  Skip forward to 4:00pm and our very important meeting… Sterling, Marksto, and their partner in crime MiMead show up and it is time to begin.  Later, we had 4 others join as well, but I am leaving their names out to protect the innocent. 

So… this is the review of the first of two… unnamed bottle #10 or Sammamish Pale Ale.

I will have to say… this being my first true home-brew, I didn’t know what to expect… really.  So… I dusted off my Estonian beer mug, we popped the cap, and poured the copper colored ale into the mug.  Great color… not a real pour, so only a small head.  First smells were key and you could really smell the malt and hops… good smells… not too strong.  First taste was smooth as silk and it only got better.  This was a fine, fine pale ale and all of those that came buy to taste it agreed 100%.  Sterling had done something very right.  Great mixture of hops, malt, and smooth goodness. 

So… long story long… we quickly shared in this great libation, many grunts, smiles, and words of pleasure (all in my little office and all about the beer, I promise) and we were done… with that beer, at least.  Next post on beer number two.

Facts about Sterling’s Sammamish Pale Ale:

• 6.3 ABV
• Admiral and Yakima Goldings hops
• Super secret malt
• Super secret yeast
• 3rd Batch
• 31 IBU
• Created from the mind of Sterling Blackheart, after several English brews, he wanted to go American…
• Sterling has 4 primaries and this is a favorite.  Designed for his wife and doesn’t usually like this type, but this one is just too good…
• Tasting note at time: Smooth, perfect aftertaste, low on the bitterness scale.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

Henry Weinhard’s Blue Boar Pale Ale

Before I really move on to today’s post and the wonderful things that happened on this weird-weather day, I have to get my Henry’s post up.  Henry Weinhard’s Blue Boar Pale Ale was left in my neighbor the other day and I meant to take it back… problem is, it has been my backup beer if I feel like drinking more beer after my new beer of the day, so I am now almost done with the six pack.  I need to make it up to him, of course, but I need to blog about it first.

In general, Henry’s makes really good beer for the money.  As posted in their Hefeweizen review, they make great local beer at a great local price and while they may not have the most depth and complexity, what they do have is simple goodness.  They have decided to brew good, less expensive beer that will appeal to the masses with clean, crisp taste that doesn’t dissapoint and Blue Boar is right in line.

I have been drinking out of the bottle tonight, but ther most notable trait is that there really is true, honest-to-goodness flavor in this beer.  It is light, but definitely flavorful.  The aftertaste is clean and lasts just long enough to not be obnoxious.  I have had a few tonight and the flavor has been consistent from start to finish.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Squatters Full Suspension Pale Ale

Second beer of the day helped to significantly increase my opinion of the Squatters-Wasatch co-op.  Not because it was an amazing beer, but because I started to see some consistency in what they are doing.  This beer was a bit darker, more of an amber color, but it went down hoppy and smooth and had a good lasting taste to it (I was kind of sipping tonight).  Squatters Full Suspension Pale Ale is on the high end of Middle of the Road, but there all the same.  Good work folks!

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road