Pyramid Rollick Amber Lager

Ahhhh Pyramid.  One of those breweries that has so much potential but I just don’t see them taking advantage of it too much… maybe until now… I have to admit that when I saw the label on this one I was surprised… it sure didn’t follow the traditional label style, opting for an edgier version but keeping clever with they Pyramids smartly designed in.  Of courese I had to buy some and here you go… Pyramid Rollick Amber Lager (nice work on the new site!): this is a sneaky lager… a golden body (see below) with an earthy nose that drinks clean and light.  There is a slight lager aftertaste but offset by the balance of malt and hop that they used. This 6.0% ABV beauty actually isn’t bad at all.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again 

Cheese:

Of course, I have been on a pairing kick lately and so I figured we could start using the DugPo Rating System to get some of our pairings up here.  This time around it is Beecher’s Flagship Cheese.  Beecher’s comes to us from Seattle and is probably one of my favorite local cheese makers although I haven’t branched out that much yet.  Their Marco Polo and No Woman are outstanding if you get a chance to try them.  This one is a slightly sharp, creamy but dry white cheddar that crumbles just a bit as you cut through it with the knife.  It is still creamy enough to stick, though and is super smooth and easy as it heads down the gullet.  This paired really well with the Rollick and mellowed out a few of the edges without compromising the taste. 

DugPo Rating System©: For the Win (cheese)

 

Pyramid Sno Cap

Pyramid has been hit and miss for me to some degree, but I really do like this local brewery.  I was excited to try their Pyramid Sno Cap this year since we didn’t get a chance to blog it last winter and it is going to make a nice addition to the winter ales list for sure. 

Dark and heady.  Yeasty and hoppy.  Smooth and fiesty.

That pretty much sums up this solid brew.  If you have to go with one of the locals in the northwest, this is probably the one… it won’t disappoint.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Pyramid Broken Rake

Pyramid Broken Rake… COME ON DOWN!!!  You’re the next contestant on the fall seasonal beer tour!  As noted on the Redhook Late Harvest Autumn Ale post, I love the seasonal ales.  We started the blog too late in the year to really have any fun with this genre last year, so we have to make up for it this year for sure.  So far we have a few good contestants (in rating order):

1. Redhook Late Harvest Autumn Ale
2. Deschutes Brewery Twilight Ale
3. Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale

So the big question should be… where does Broken Rake come in… drumroll…

Not so hot. Hwah, hwah, hwahhhhhh…   Probably just after the Twilight Ale and just before the Harvest Moon.

At first sniff, you smell Pyramid Amber Ale.  At second sniff, you smell… Pyramid Amber Ale.  And so on and so forth.  At first sip, you taste Pyramid Amber Ale.  At second… ok… you get the point.  While this may have been a competetive move just to capture a piece of the seasonal market, I don’t think Pyramid put much into it, to be honest.  It smells, tastes, and finishes like Pyramid Amber Ale.  I don’t catch the addition of the Cascade hops or the sweet finish.  Just tastes middle of the road. 

If you think I am full of it, you could ask my neighbors, as well… everyone concurred that while they were able to finish this beer, it wasn’t something they would likely buy again.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Pyramid Apricot Ale

I think this is a duplicate… the same beer called two different things to be sold in different areas.  I think this is the same as the Pyramid Apricot Weizen that was already covered on this blog. 

No review, then… I will post what was on the Weizen review and call it good since I wouldn’t change a thing.

Pyramid Apricot Ale

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Pyramid Hefeweizen

I am actually starting to like Fridays more and more… I am very lucky.  I had zero meetings today.  Zip.  Zero.  Zilch.  I was actually able to stay on top of email and get A LOT of stuff done.  This may be the first time in at least a couple of years and by god if it didn’t feel good.  I am going to have to start making it a habit, I tell you. 

So… I worked in Bellevue at Lincoln Square from about 7am to 2:30 and then decided to beat the traffic and get closer to home and work a bit more… so I ended up at a wonderful little afternoon happy hour again at Sockey’s in Monroe.  Sockey’s first came up on my review of Skagit River “Steelie” Brown Ale.  While that beer was middle of the road, Pyramid Hefeweizen definitely is not.  I was super surprised to see that we actually hadn’t blogged about it yet, so here it is.

For me, this is one of their signature beers.  I think it rates right up there with Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen in that it is a pure, clean, wonderful hefe that really beats the heat on a hot summer’s day and whisks away the worries of a long week.  I had a couple over the course of a couple of hours and boy am I glad.  Very tasty and it may just have to be what I drink when I go there… although they have a few others that may be worth reviewing.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

Pyramid Crystal Wheat Ale

A quickie tonight.  Tried this yesterday and didn’t like it that much… read a few things about gold medals, so thought I would try another and I haven’t changed my mind.  So what is all the hubbub about Pyramid Crystal Wheat Ale anyhow? 

My biggest issue is that this is just simply a very so-so beer.  I can taste the wheat undertones… but the beer just doesn’t pop.  Maybe it is because it is American-style and I expectations are that it will taste like Bud or Coors… put on a scale against that type of beer, I would agree that this is great beer.  Put on a scale against all of the other great ales out there and this one just doesn’t do it for me.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Pyramid Amber Weizen

Two things went wrong for tonight’s beer:

1. I came in with too lofty a set of expectations
2. It was so smooth as to be unremarkable

I have a fine respect for the Pyramid Brewery.  They make good beer that I enjoy, as noted on our blog.  I especially like enjoying a beer at their place across the street from Safeco Field in Seattle… beats getting robbed by the prices inside the stadium, that is for sure.

So, coming into tonight’s beer, the Pyramid Amber Weizen, I think it was a bit set up to fail.  Don’t get me wrong, it was a good beer, but as I poured it into the glass and then drank it with dinner, I forgot about it no more than 5 minutes later… and it isn’t like I had a lot on my mind at that point. 

So, the standard amber color, the standard sized head, and the so-smooth-there-was-barely-a-taste flavor just leave this one as forgettable for me.  Don’t worry, though, I still like their beer and this isn’t enough to keep me away… I swear.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Pyramid Apricot Weizen

Short and sweet tonight, folks…   Too much time catching up on email has left me tired and short winded.

Pyramid Apricot Weizen was on the list, chosen by my daughter, thank you very much.  Clean pour with limited head but a really nice very-slightly-cloudy color to this fine brew.  Definite taste of the apricot but not overpowering in the least.  Super refreshing… super clean.  I will absolutely be buying this again in the summer months.  Sold!

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen

3rd beer of the night, Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen… a special brew that is as easy to drink as the name implies.  I am generally not a big fan of the hefe’s, but this one is really top notch.  Not too fruity or thick, drinks more like a pilsner.  Very nice.  This is about the 4th time I have bought this beer and it will continue to be a regular in my fridge.

 This beer led me to my second movie of the night, Balls of Fury.  Another crap movie with little redeaming quality.   I feel dumber for having watched it.