Land-Grant Brewing Company

One of the fun perks of traveling for bicycle racing is visiting the new craft breweries that are springing up everywhere. Today we headed to Columbus for the Tour of Franklinton Criterium. And as luck would have it for me, Land-Grant Brewing Company was right on the course. So while Elli got all her bike gear together and warmed up, I went to the brewery, ordered a sampler, and headed to the front windows to watch some bike racing and sample some beers. They only had four of the five beers listed available—they were out of Greenskeeper, the session IPA—so the beers left to right in the picture below follow the comments from top to bottom.

Creamsikölsch: Their dry-hopped American Kölsch infused with orange and vanilla. Nose carries creamsicle, as does initial flavor in the front, followed by graininess and hop bitterness. Good flavors, but a bit uneven across the profile; would be more enjoyable and balanced without the bitterness in the finish, but I am sure it does well as a summer beer. 

1862 Ale: This is their dry-hopped take on a traditional German Kölsch. It has the doughy rounded malt character of a Kölsch; it is clean and bright, with hop flavor and bitterness coming through in the middle, and some lingering grainy bitterness in the finish. Overall, a nice American interpretation of a German classic.

Son of a Mudder: Described as “a drinkable and balanced American brown ale.” Chocolate and caramel in the nose with a slight creaminess, with a medium body and mouthfeel, followed by cocoa and chocolate flavors. Bitterness comes in in the middle to final third. Balanced and clean overall, although it could use a touch more body. Very drinkable, though. 

Stiff-Arm IPA: A West Coast IPA interpretation with orange, orange pith, and pine resin hop aromatics in the nose. Orange citrus and slight candy malt in the front, followed by a clean, pleasant bitterness in the middle. Citrus and pine lead into the finish, with some lingering resin bitterness. Well-balanced—not as extreme or punchy or aggressive as many West Coast IPA interpretations, which is meant as a compliment. 

Stiff-Arm was my favorite of their offerings, although the 1862 Ale was a close second. As a whole, all of their beers were clean and well-made, And it appears that cans are soon to be released, so I’ll be certain to keep my eye out for those. Especially since I’ll be spending a fair amount of time in Columbus in July! 

(6/7/2015)

Lexington Recap

For the second to last cyclo-cross race of the season, we headed to Lexington. And since Lexington is just far enough away to make driving home after the race a real downer, we decided to get a hotel room, and sample some of the beer offerings about town. After a muddy, muddy race day, we headed to Gratz Park Inn, our domicile for the evening. After some de-mudding, we hit the town.

Our first stop was Country Boy Brewing. Initial web-based research had indicated they had a Gose on tap, so I was especially excited. While I’ll admit I wasn’t surprised when it wasn’t on tap when we got there, I was still disappointed. Enough so that I didn’t take notes on the sampler we had. I just kept thinking how I really wanted to try the Gose. Color me predictable. Anyway, our second stop was West Sixth Brewing Company. Yes, the one that has been in the news as of late. We had a sampler of their beers, including PRHBTN Lemongrass Wheat, Saison, IPA, Double IPA, Smoked Mild, and their Christmas Ale. The best two were the PRHBTN Wheat and the Smoked Mild. PRHBTN Wheat was surprisingly not gummy—it had none of the usual downsides of American Wheat beers—and instead crisp and bright. The lingering lemongrass (as opposed to hop bitterness) was an especially nice touch. Smoked Mild was my favorite: the smoke malt was in the nose and the finish, and the base beer was excellent, with chocolate, cocoa, and hints of toffee to balance the light hints of bacon greasiness from the smoked malt. Well made and delightful. The IPA was solid, but you all know about that. If not, go pick up a six of the cans. Elli did note that it was more subtle when fresh, which, I will note, is a high compliment from her. The Double IPA was more of the same, but bigger. I was disappointed by the saison; it was slightly phenolic without much else in the way of yeast character, followed by under-attenuated candy Pils malt. It had neither the mineral bitterness or juicy dry body you find as the most common splitting point between saisons. Instead, it was just blah and in between with too much body on the tongue. Finally, the Christmas Ale was pretty much a Christmas Ale—big, malty, and sweet with spices—although not an offensive one, which was nice. After these two stops, we headed to the Village Idiot for dinner, followed by a final couple of beers at Lexington Beerworks, both of which were within walking distance of the hotel. I was excited to see Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere on tap at Lexington Beerworks. Color me served. And afterwards, sleepies.

All in all, a pleasant and enjoyable evening. While we didn’t make it to Blue Stallion Brewing, there is always next time; I’ll try to be more upbeat regarding Country Boy next time as well. And I can tell you when next time will be: while down there, I was excited to find out about Jeff Rice’s upcoming conference on beer writing: Craft Writing: Beer, The Digital, and Craft Culture. You know I’m already registered. So here’s to the next opportunity to try out Lexington’s finest, and hear some damn fine speakers to boot!

(12/8/2013)

Yellow Springs Brewery Grand Opening

Finally. Today was the day Yellow Springs Brewery was going to officially start crafting truth to people’s mouth. And, not surprisingly, I volunteered to help. I pitched in two weeks ago for the soft opening for locals, which was crazy nuts. So I was expecting more of the same today. Let’s just say it: it got brought. Big time. From the official opening at 1:00 pm to almost 8:30 pm, there was a solid line of people waiting to be served—sometimes running as many as 20 deep out the door. Sure, at times that line became almost manageable—almost—but mainly it was the beast that needed constant care, vigilance, and attention. I haven’t had to be that helpful, well, umm, ever, and I was a bartender for five years. Maybe this will help provide perspective: we sold out of growlers.

Doors were at 1:00 pm; the first indication of the coming day was the people milling around in the parking lot when Jeff Fortney and I arrived about 12:15. Since we walked straight in, some tried to follow suit. And got denied. Once we got inside and everyone arrived, Jeffrey and Lisa ran everyone through the roles they would be playing. I was told I would taking orders and would be the face greeting them—hence my aforementioned description of the line that was my day-long nemesis. Time for that game face! In addition to the five regular beers on tap, there were also five special beers that would be tapped over the course of the day. Being that I am a wise man, I took the brief respite before the doors opened for business to try the Captain Stardust, since I knew would disappear quickly once it went up. I also tried the Smoked Brown Ale, which I’ve been harassing Jeffery to make since the last time he made it. About time, Jeffrey! Hey, you know what they say about patience, right?

Once the doors opened the tasting room was inundated with people. Everyone figured out their roles, and some semblance of détente was established, aided mainly by drafting those who showed up to work later into earlier service. Yes, it was sheer pandemonium. Which, if you have worked in the service industry before, you always come to expect. Although never quite to this degree. The question I answered the most: “when is Captain Stardust/ English Dark Mild/ German-style Hefeweizen/ Smoked Brown Ale going to be tapped?” The good thing about not being in charge: deferral is always an acceptable answer. When it was time to actually announce the tapping of one of selections, Jeffrey told me to do it using my “teacher” voice. Which I took as license to be loud. Very very loud. After all, I will admit to a certain joy in projecting my voice over that of a loud and boisterous room full of beer drinkers. Especially when that announcement brings cheers.

Besides the tapping announcements, though, most of the rest of the afternoon and evening is a blur. I recall the shock of realizing it was already 6:00 pm, and the brief respite where I wolfed down some fish tacos from the Harvest food truck. Elli showed at around 7:15 pm, and I talked to her briefly, and then it was 8:30 pm, and the first real lull in the day. There is one other thing I clearly remember: poor attempts at homonym humor. Special note to dudes: when there is a Blonde on tap—Towhead Blonde, in this case—think before you speak. I know you think comments like “I’ll have a Blonde, and then I’ll have a beer” or “I’ll have a Belgian and a Blonde, and a beer later” or any of the other numberless variations on this theme are clever. But they’re not. Not at all. If they were already lame and passé the last time I worked behind a bar in the mid-90’s—and they were—then they’re still going to be painful and tedious today. So just let it go. I may smile, and even pretend to laugh, but trust me when I say that everyone involved will be happier if you refrain.

Not surprisingly, the announcement of last call was not met with the same excitement as earlier proclamations. Still, for those behind the counter, it was time to call it a day. After the tap room was cleaned and cleared, there was a short after-hours party featuring a couple of fancy bottles in celebration of a successful day, including Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus and Lou Pepe, along with several other delights. As well, we got to sample the last remaining bottle of Jeffrey’s Orval clone, courtesy of Jeff Fortney, whose cellaring power exceeds my own—I drank the bottle I had stashed away (with both Jeff and Jeffrey, of course) like 6 months ago.

All in all, today’s Grand Opening was a smashing success. Congratulations to Lisa, Nate, and Jeffrey! Your dream is now a reality!

(4/13/13)

Yellow Springs Brewery

One of the big downsides when I first moved to Dayton was the lack of craft beer. Sure, I could find a decent selection to purchase in local stores, but finding it on tap in local bars was, when I first arrived, a much more difficult proposition. Happily, that day has passed. And even better, it appears that we are on the cusp of resolving the next dilemma, the lack of locally produced beer. Last spring saw the opening of Dayton Beer Company, and now we are on the cusp of a second opening, Yellow Springs Brewery. And I’ll be honest—I’m much more exited about the opening of this one, primarily because I know people involved with the brewery, specifically Jeffrey McElfresh, who is the head brewer. You all, of course, should remember Jeffrey: he currently ranks somewhere between England and North Carolina in the postings. Something tells me, though, that just like the Jeffersons, he’ll soon be moving on up.

So since I know Jeffrey, I’ve been lending a hand whenever I could. After all, opening a brewery requires a hell of a lot of planning and work, the vast majority of which focuses more on the thank-less drudge-like variety than on the dreamy rock-star brewer variety. Nonetheless, it has had its moments. Scrubbing the residual pepperoni smell out of the walk-in cooler was an experience: who would have thought that pepperoni had such staying power? Talk about your funk of 40,000 years! Then there was the day I spent taping insulation around glycol lines. I learned two things that day: 1) mindlessly repetitive tasks can, on occasion, be enjoyable, and 2) Chris Wyatt, while scientifically-minded and logical, can’t tape worth shit.

But all of this brings me to today. Today was the pay-off for the previous days, because today was a brew day. Just like at home with the homebrewing, but on a much, much larger scale. Much larger. I’ve provided a couple of pictures—yes, just acouple—from a day spent revelling in brewing on a professional scale: we brewed a saison using 3711 and Nelson Sauvin, which means that the beer contains everything a growing boy (or girl!) needs in saison form. Sure, I could have probably taken more photos (and I did), but we can save some of those for later. After all, I’m pretty certain there will be more on Yellow Springs Brewery in the near furture. And as the grand opening looms closer, I’m also guessing there will be more opportunities for hijinx and chicanery, and well as more of the diligence and hard work alluded to before. Which is all just a fancy way of saying both thank you and welcome to Yellow Springs Brewery.

(2/23/2013)

Swamp Head Brewery

After the speed visit to Cigar City, we got to hang in Gainesville for several days and relish all that it had to offer. And this included sampling the the wares of new addition to town Swamp Head Brewery. Sure, Swamp Head was around prior to our arrival, but it wasn’t here the last time we were in town (when I convinced a certain someone to abandon Gainesville for Dayton), so we’re treating it as brand spanking new. Historical revisionism is always like this: arbitrary and subjective. Plus, since I miss Gainesville, I get to be nostalgic and no one can make fun of me.

Our first taste of Swamp Head actually came when we were out on the town; we had the Big Nose IPA on tap a couple of times prior to our visit to the brewery itself. And since their saison has gained some online traction, I was excited to sample it, since I hadn’t seen it during our earlier perambulations. Sadly, that dream was not to be fulfilled, for while they had recently brewed the Saison du Swamp, it wasn’t yet on tap at the Wetlands, their tasting room. Trust me, I asked. And snooped around, as later pictures will attest. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Elli and I met Anne, Elli’s sister, at the brewery for a drink or two. The taproom is narrow and deep, and there are several small tables located next to the brewery that are located by open roll-up doors. Thus we went for the almost outside seating. One nice thing about Florida in the winter: outdoor seating is pleasant and enjoyable. Take that crappy Ohio winters! I went for Cottonmouth, their Belgian wheat beer, while Elli went for Stump Knocker, their APA. I think Anne went for the Big Nose, but I’m not certain; you can look at the picture and try and sort out the colors. We all ended up passing around and tasting all of them anyway, so not like it makes much of a difference. All were good; the Cottonmouth still tasted a little too much like an American Wheat to me—the Belgian yeast wasn’t doing enough to cover over the wheat gumminess. But I persevered and finished it. Can you taste the dedication?

We also got to walk around the corner and look at the brewing equipment. A lot of pretty copper. They also has a small enclosed room that contained several barrels and a couple of kegs—I know, since the room had a nice glass window I could take a picture through. If you are reading this, you’re already probably something of a beer voyeur, so don’t look askance at me. I visit breweries to examine how things are set up and organized—what’s your excuse? The beer? Please. After we finished our first round, we grabbed a pint of their Midnight Oil to sample, and I bought a 750 ml bottle of Batch 300, their Belgian Tripel, to take home with me. Don’t worry, you’ll hear about it soon enough. The coffee stout was roasty and clean; the coffee had none of that artificial coffee flavor you find in many beers, which was a distinct pleasure.

I also took the opportunity to visit the restroom, which since it was located back in the brewery, meant I took small license in poking about on the way. It was during this excursion that I found several firkins of Saison du Swamp with various Brettanomyces strains listed in blue painter’s tape. I also got caught by Dan Wade, one of the brewers, taking pictures of those said firkins, which led to a quick albeit very pleasant conversation, during which I found out that I would not be getting any of the Saison du Swamp during this visit to Gainesville. The horror! At least I got it straight from his mouth. And this also gives us a reason—not that we actually need one—to return to Gainesville in the near future. I want to hang out more at the Wetlands!  

(1/8/2013)

Cigar City Brewing

Travelling leads to opportunity. Sometimes, however, that opportunity can only be slightly indulged; that, my friends, is today’s lesson. Today’s trip was from Bonita Springs to Gainesville; along the way, we decided to stop at Cigar City for a quick dose of whatever they had to offer. Like they could let us down.

Since there was more driving ahead of us, we went for a couple of the samplers. The first one was all lighter hoppy beers: Invasion Pale Ale, Itsa Pale Ale, Stine’s Hoppy Wheat, and Mosiac IPA. Of the four, Itsa Pale Ale really stood out for the combination of malt and hop flavor; the others were good, but nothing revolutionary on our palates. The Mosiac IPA was less exciting than we expected—the Nugget parentage seemed more prominent than the Simcoe, which was the inverse of most descriptions.

Our second sampler had less vision: it was a mish-mash of beers we wanted to try, and included Tony Jannus Pale Ale, White Oak Jai Alai, Neal’s Black Saison, and Kalevipoeg Baltic Porter. The White Oak Jai Alai was mainly to get some more, since it is so delicious and we have so few opportunities to drink it, while the Tony Jannus was to round out tasting all the hopy beers. I chose Neal’s Black Saison (big surprise, I know) and Elli picked Kalevipoeg Baltic Porter. The fruity yeast character and the dark malt clashed in the saison—it needed better balance and to choose a direction rather that trying to do everything. The baltic porter was good, but needed a cleaner, more lager-like finish. Still, all were enjoyable.

On the way out the door, we grabbed a couple of 750s and a growler of the Itsa Pale Ale to take with us, and headed for Gainesville. All told, we were at Cigar City for a little under an hour. While more time would have been nice, there is always next time. Plus, good times were waiting in Gainesville.

(1/4/2013)

511. Sun King Osiris Pale Ale

So today was all about the adventure. Which means we threw a hung-over Jeffrey in the backseat, and headed to Indianapolis to check out Sun King Brewing. After all, if you win all of the GABF medals in the world in one year, you’re probably a brewery worth visiting. Especially when you’re only a short two hour drive away.

Visiting the brewery goes like this: on the way into the tasting room, you’re given coupons to sample their beers—four for regular beers, and two for fancy beers. Small samples, certainly, but if they want to dole out the free beer, who I am to stop them? Since it was Saturday, they were also doing tours, so while Jeffrey signed all three of us up, Elli and I started the sampling process. About half way through our samples, we got called for the tour, so after a quick refill, we wandered over to begin the shenanigans. Our tour guide drove the truck during the week, but seemed to be having a good time leading us through the brewery, and putting up with Jeffrey’s questions and both of our desires to poke our heads everywhere. Visiting a brewery becomes a lot more fun when you actually have a sense of the way things work. I did like the pink fermenter that Sun King uses for lagers—so cute! After the tour, we finished our samples, ogled the GABF medals and the small science lab through the window (with yeast slurries on stir plates!), and then got our growlers filled up to take with us. We opted for the Osiris Pale Ale, while who the hell knows what Jeffrey got, since he brought like eight growlers for everyone he knows. Afterwards, to bask in the glow that is Indianapolis, we went to Brugge Brassiere for
lunch and a beer (I had a Harvey, Elli had a Bee’s Knees IPA, and Jeffrey had a sampler), followed by a quick one at Upland’s Tasting Room (the brewery is in Bloomington), a visit to 21st Amendment (beer store, not the brewery—it’s in San Francisco, silly!), and then we hit the road back to Dayton. And, as you can undoubtedly guess, that growler of Osiris became our beer for the day.

Osiris Pale Ale pours a rich, burnished gold—it is clear with a white head that mostly hangs around. In the nose, there is biscuit and caramel malt mixed with pine and resin hop aroma, although the hop character is subdued and comes into play after the malt—the aromatics are subtle and pleasant, performing a delicate dance that offers a pleasant initial encounter with the beer before tasting it. Once in the mouth, flavors start with biscuit and a light breadiness that border on doughiness before the hop flavors—again, pine/evergreen and resin—come into play. The middle features a clean and refreshing bitterness, bright and present, but certainly not overpowering—again, it comes in after the malt flavors. The biscuit returns in the tail-end of the middle and on into the finish; it combines well with the hop bitterness in the finish, creating a clean finish where the bitterness hovers briefly before disappearing. While carbonated, the beer is soft on the palate. There is a slight bite from both the carbonation and the bitterness in the final third of the beer as it turns towards the finish, but again it is subdued and restrained—this beer is a model of balance in both flavor and profile. Osiris is both well-made and approachable; it is an excellent example of an APA, one that would be refreshing and enjoyable all evening long, and certainly worth seeking out. Nice job, Sun King.

ABV: 5.6%
IBU: 50

(2/18/2012)

508. Two Beers Heart of Darkness CDA

More perambulations in the Seattle region. Two Beers Brewery is located in a light industrial wearhouse district in south Seattle—just south of the West Seattle freeway. We’ve been enjoying as many of their fine canned products as possible during our time here, so we figured a trip to the brewery was in order. Plus, who doesn’t love poking around? Thus, while this is not our first beer from Two Beers, it is the first one we’ve bothered to inform all you lovely readers about. I hope you don’t take it personally—it’s not you, it’s us. Oh, and let’s be honest—straight up awesome name for today’s beer. Even Joseph Conrad would approve.

Since we got there early, we had to sit in the car for five minutes or so before they opened the tasting room for the day—we didn’t want to start out by pushing our luck barging in, and it was raining (Seattle and rain? No way!). We were the first ones in, and after surveying the beer offerings, Elli went with the Echo IPA while I opted for the Heart of Darkness CDA—Cascadian Dark Ale for all of you that don’t know—it’s just a black IPA with a fancier name. Heart of Darkness was a luscious deep chocolate with a tan head; the nose was a mix of spicy resin and evergreen hops coupled with sweet caramel and a touch of roast/oatmeal. Flavors open with malt—light roast and sweetness with accompanying lighter chocolate and coffee hints. The hop flavor comes in after the initial malt rush, with spicy and resin hop flavors and reciprocal bitterness peeking through the darker malts. The finish features a touch of roast with a creamy bitter finish, and lingering flavors of roast and resin on the back of the tongue. There is a little warmth and graininess in the mouthfeel—the spicy hops contribute to the impression of warmth, but it is also 8.4% ABV, so it ain’t all just the hops. The creamy, rounded flavor leads me to suspect oatmeal or rolled barley in the grist, but the underlying beer strikes me closer to a sweet stout than a dry stout—the roast is subdued, allowing the sweet caramel flavors to come to the forefront. Nonetheless, an excellent beer—this is by far the best and most approachable CDA I’ve tried—the fresh flavors and bright, spicy hops make the beer pop, and it is certainly delicious.

In our discussions with the gentleman running the tasting room, we found out that the Echo IPA is a Northwest IPA, while the Evolutionary IPA is closer to a San Diego-style IPA. We tried the Evolutionary in conjunction with the Echo, and both concluded the Echo is far better, which kinda struck us as odd, since Evolutionary is Two Beers’ flagship IPA. We also got to wander around in the back and check out the brew kettle and the conicals, and ask a couple of questions. All in all, an afternoon well spent—we’d happily visit again anytime the opportunity presented itself.

From the Two Beers website: “Whether it’s hiking a moonlit trail or sleeping under the stars, our senses are heightened in the dark. We notice the little things and discover the word anew. This complex Cascadian Dark Ale is our tribute to those moonlit experiences. This hoppy yet smooth ale is an adventure all its own.”

ABV: 8.4%
IBU: 67

(1/6/2012)

505. Fremont Brewing Bourbon Abominable 2011

Today’s goals were modest: check out a couple of things in Seattle, go shopping at REI, and then head to Fremont to tour the Fremont Brewery. After all, breweries in Seattle are like Simpsons reruns: ubiquitous and yet silently informing our national consciousness. (Note: I spent 20 minutes trying to come up with an appropriate simile involving Dayton, but I failed miserably. My only consolation: Elli couldn’t come up with one either. Jeffrey and Kevin, the ball is in your court.) Which means that we need to choose carefully. Fremont Brewing is at the top of the list—after I tried the Harvest Ale, they jumped to the front of the line. Damn, that beer was good. Plus, they decided to tap a keg of their Bourbon Abominable Winter Ale today, which is the regular Abominable Winter Ale aged in bourbon barrels. Thank you, beer gods, for always making me feel like a rock star.

Fremont Brewing’s tasting room is located on the edge of the brewery—our table looked down a row of the fermenters. While I chose the Bourbon Abominable (try saying that 10 times fast, by the way), Elli went with Interurban IPA, which was super-fresh and yummy—the hop aroma itself was worth the price of admission, and the rest of the beer followed suit. Bourbon Abominable, or B-Bomb, pours a rich, deep chocolate with a long lasting tan head. The nose is bourbon and chocolate mixed with burnt sugar, vanilla, and a touch of oak. The front features flavors of caramel, burnt sugar, toffee, and vanilla, while the middle exudes creamy bourbon and chocolate. The mouthfeel here is also slightly slick, like you would find in an oatmeal stout, and the finish features a touch of roasted malt with chocolate and coffee, followed by vanilla and oak. The carbonation is light, while the mouthfeel is chewy yet slick—the medium-heavy mouthfeel is simultaneously rounded and smooth while also rich, even, and creamy. There is some alcohol warmth and flavor, but this is still a young beer. The key element to describe this beer is balance—while it is a big beer, it is far smoother and more evenly balanced than many other similar bourbon barrel-aged beers. Part of this might be via the winter ale body, but I think it also has something to do with production—there is bourbon flavor, but only as it complements the beer. A damn fine beer that will only get better.

From the Fremont website: “Lovingly referred to by Fremonters as the B-BOMB, this bourbon barrel-aged edition of our winter ale has a warming spicy aroma and rich carmelly notes of bourbon, wood and vanilla added to dark roasty chocolatey malt flavors and subtle hopping.”

ABV: 9.5%
Malts: Pale, Crystal, Munich, Roast Barley, Chocolate & Carafa
Hops: Centennial, Willamette & Goldings

I also tried the Universal Pale Ale Shandy cask—this beer featured their normal UPA, but had a bag of ginger and lemon zest in the cask. The nose was lemon and lightly hoppy, while the front was a mix of lemon citrus and ginger bite, leading into a gentle bitterness that rolls into the finish—flavors were fresh, clean, and sharp. While there was a slightly astringent note that lingered on the tongue, the beer as a whole was pleasant. The one criticism would be that this beer might not be best served as a cask—it would be better with some brighter, spritzier carbonation. But I was told that this was day 2 on the cask before I got it, so I was given due diligence.

Oh, and I do feel compelled to observe: B-Bomb is just more proof that West Coast breweries invented and perfected the Winter Ale. So suck it.

(12/30/2011)

502. Prodigal Son Christmas Carol(e)

When you’re on a long road trip, an interesting destination along the way makes the time pass faster. Our destination: Prodigal Son in Pendleton, OR. And since we’ve never been one to let a little thing like 2,147 miles get in our way of fun, off we went! Only one problem: when we got to Prodigal Son, they were featuring a whole slew of guest taps by Terminal Gravity, which is in Enterprise, OR. Foiled again. Or, in the immortal words of Homer Simpson, d’oh! Prodigal Son did, however, have their winter warmer, Christmas Carol(e), on tap, so we started with that, followed by Terminal Gravity IPA.

Christmas Carol(e) was served in an 8 oz. glass (ahem—we did have to drive another 300 hundred miles, thank you very much); the beer was copper brown with a long-lasting tan head. The nose was super-delicious—it was a mix of fruit and esters with a touch of alcohol—and it pretty much embodied the “old ale-like” character Elli pointed to last week in the Ill-Tempered Gnome. Christmas Carol(e) starts with a mix of fruit and bread, specifically fig, pear, and apple, mixed with bread and caramel malt; in the middle, there is a lighter fruit character and a touch of alcohol. There are also hints of malt chewiness, but it tastes a bit too young to come fully through, while the finish is clean with a touch of heat and alcohol lingering on the palate. The mouthfeel has a corresponding light alcohol warmth that fits with the lighter, gentler carbonation. Christmas Carol(e) is good but young; I’d love to see what this turns into next year at this time. A good first impression. I would have loved to try Bruce/Lee Porter (one of the reasons we stopped here), but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe on the way home.

From the Prodigal Son website: “The Christmas Carol has arrived–A seasonal winter warmer featuring Golden Promise and French Aromatic malts. Dark Crystal and Belgian Candi sugar mingle with herbal Noble Hop bitterness, creating a beer which is ideal for any celebration.”

ABV: 9.0%
IBU: 62

Terminal Gravity IPA came in an imperial pint glass (nice touch, Prodigal Son), and was a hazy caramel—it looked like liquid Werther’s. The head was thin and white, but hung on like the dickens, while the nose was a delicious mix of spicy and resin hop aromas with a touch of floral in the background and clean hop bitterness. This beer was also super fresh and tasty—the hop aroma jumped out of the glass, and flavors really danced on the palate. Flavors started with restrained bread and biscuit malt, along with floral and citrus hop flavors mixed with a slight fruitiness that tasted yeast derived, although we could be wrong. A pleasant clean bitterness also began in the front and continued into the middle, which also contained a faint hint of caramel malt followed by spicy hop flavors. The finish saw a return of the bread flavors before concluding with a lingering clean bitterness. The body was medium as was the carbonation, although it was bright on the palate. The breadiness builds on the palate as the beer warms, as does the hop spiciness, revealing a touch of alcohol warmth. There is also a slight astringent/vegetal note that emerges as the beer warms. Nonetheless, a delicious, approachable, and super-drinkable beer. Too bad we couldn’t stick around for more. But the sweet siren song of the road was calling....

From the Terminal Gravity website: “Terminal Gravity’s ‘India Pale Ale’ is pale copper in color but big in flavor with a heady hop character. It is a true beer drinkers beer and brings a smile to many a face. We use spring water and snow melt from high in the Eagle Cap Wilderness! This is the beer that was named Beer of the Year by the Oregonian.”

ABV: 6.9%
OG: 15.2° P
FG: 3.2° P

Funny side note: all of this photos were shot blind. I broke the viewing screen to our digital camera some time during the first two days of the trip. Color me smooth. Turned out alright, though.

(12/21/2011)