g&g

Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Double IPA.

boycek2 — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:07:03 +0000

Brewed by Hair of the Dog, one of Portland’s premier craft breweries, this double IPA pours at 7% ABV and 80 IBUs. In the glass, its a golden orange with a white head for a moment, that clears quickly. The nose is of orange zest and bread. On the palette, the citrus hops are strong but balanced with caramel and toffee notes from the malt.

A hoppy, double IPA that doesn’t scream bitter or alcohol, although it is in the description, equates to a very well crafted beer by people who know what they are doing. Anything from Hair of the Dog is going to be good, and this simply follows suit. Way to live up to my expectations.

Latona turns 25.

boycek2 — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:00:10 +0000

Latona Pub, the Greenlake neighborhood beer bar and restaurant of the 3Pubs group, is turning 25 years old in August of 2012. To celebrate, they are releasing “a new custom beer each month from January to (their) birthday in (A)ugust”. They are known to pair up with different local breweries, since they don’t have brewing capabilities themselves, and are bound to create some delicious creative concoctions. This late summer I got the chance to enjoy a fresh hop ale brewed by Boundary Bay with hops from Fiddler’s patio—it was an awesome collaboration that involved the 3Pubs crew engaging with local breweries. I hope that this series of limited edition releases proves to be a similar sharing of ideas and opinions of Seattle beer experts.

Here is what Latona said about the first 25th Anniversary Run, to release this Thursday, January 5, 2012:
“Brewed by North Sound Brewery in Mt. Vernon this 25th anniversary beer features Galaxy and Meridian hops. It will be pouring on regular draft and cask conditioned. Come meet the brewers, enjoy the first taste of Latona’s 25th anniversary run, this Thursday, beers on tap at 5, festivities at 8. See you there.”

Every Christmas.

boycek2 — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:23:39 +0000

Every Christmas my dad makes his much anticipated stout brewed with espresso, cinnamon, vanilla and shaved Mexican hot chocolate. He bottles in 22s with red, green and gold caps, and doles them out to everyone he sees fit—his best customers, the Christmas tree farm owner, and every family member who has the palette for beer.

Its a great beer. The coffee and chocolate are apparent both on the nose, and the tongue. It pours dark brown with a heavy cream head and medium bubbles. Heavy on the malt, using both crystal and chocolate malts, and light on hops, this stout screams winter.

And due to its issue date each year, this beer now reminds me of family, and giving, and my dad. Once again, beer is not just about a delicious alcoholic beverage, but a beverage that has lived through many holidays being shared among family and friends.

Happy holidays!

Hilliard’s Saison.

boycek2 — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:58:00 +0000

In the past two years Saisons have exploded. The yeast makes nearly every kind enjoyable with natural Belgian spice and herby undertone. They are so naturally tied to spice, that many have experimented with variations with ingredients like peppercorn and hibiscus. The Saison Du Buff was a collaboration by Dogfish Head, Stone, and Victory. Beyond hops and barley, they added parsley, thyme, sage, and rosemary. The flavors were so intricate it made you want to pair it with a roasted pork tenderloin, at the same time as not daring to cover its flavor with any paired food.

With Saisons on the scene, Hilliard’s is making quite a statement to have theirs as a flagship beer—making the claim that Saison is now season-less. I hope it stays that way.

Contained in the Hilliard’s coined herringbone tall boy, the Saison pours a cloudy yellow with a light pale head. Naturally spicy on the nose, the Belgian yeast does wonders for an otherwise light flavored beer—their Saison is the same recipe as their Pilsener, simply replacing the yeast. It comes off wheaty with a light malt, permitting the trueness of the yeast to speak for itself—spice and light citrus. Overall a true Saison.

Grabbing a beer in Baghdad.

boycek2 — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:40:10 +0000

Wired.com covers an article written about a place in Bahgdad where people who want a beer can grab one, safely.

Read the article here.

Dogfish Head, hopping on the bandwagon, or helping?

boycek2 — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:42:05 +0000

Not quite ready for the holidays, but launching in January, Dogfish Head is debuting a gluten-free beer with a mild sorghum base. Tweason’ale is the answer to the narrow and predictable flavor profiles of gluten-free beer. Dogfish Head wanted something “off-center” and created fruit-forward ale that tastes of pit fruit and molasses, with a punch of buckwheat honey.

Although they may just be jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon, I’m glad that fermenting geniuses are catering to the 2 million people in the U.S. that suffer from Celiac. I’m kind of interested to try it, too.

When ceramicists love beer.

boycek2 — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:04:55 +0000

Although their mothers may have been concerned that nothing would come from a degree in ceramics and a robust vocabulary in craft beer terminology, alas a joining of the two passions—Handcrafted ceramic growlers to make all of your friend’s jealous.

Portland Growler Co. makes gorgeous crafted growlers to tote your craft beer from bar to home. My favorite—the sprocket handle. Check them out on their site, PortlandGrowlerCompany.com.

NOTE: The day after I originally published this post, Fast Company Design wrote about it. Check the article out here. They included it in their 2011 Top Things Wanted.

Beer robot.

boycek2 — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:19:26 +0000

Arnold R + D, a think tank of technological creatives that claims their goal to be “creating memorable experiences for people”, have created a better way to serve beer in the office. They brew, bottle and label their own beer, and then dispense it from a smart vending machine that can talk to you—even help you decide which beer you’d like. Arnie, the interactive beer vending machine even Tweets, and orders refills when a certain brew runs out.

How’d you like Arnie in your office?!

12 Beers of the Apocalypse.

boycek2 — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:14:58 +0000

According to thebestcraftbeer.com, Elysian and local comic book publishing company, Fantagraphics, are pairing up for limited editions beers for 2012, until the apocalypse “predicted” to be on 12.21.12. On the 21st of each month, a special beer with label artwork by Charles Burns. So far the ingredients seem to be interesting, including yerba mate, heather, cardamom, persimmons, and they plan to play with a pile more.

What would you last 12 beers look like?

Stone’s 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale

boycek2 — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:51:48 +0000

I was excited to be able to grab this one on tap. It is a Belgian Strong Ale brewed with Anaheim chillies and cinnamon for the fun date of 11.11.11, although I didn’t get my hands on it until December.

It poured a chestnut brown with a cream head. Sweet on the nose with natural spiciness that comes with Belgian yeast. No sense of cinnamon or chillies on the nose, and barely discernible when tasted. It’s quite full-bodied, with light carbonation and has a lovely roasted malt flavor that makes it a great winter beer. Although the cinnamon and chillies don’t come through strongly, its a nice Belgian Strong.

This edition sold out so quickly, that the guys at Stone thought it would be nice to share the recipe. Here’s a link to make it yourself!