Brew Review #21 (and #20!)
OMG, my bloggy beer drinkers! Can you believe that I haven’t posted a brew review since August? CRAZY!
So, since then, there have been two brew reviews.
The first, on October 1, 2010, was at Hair of the Dog.
I cannot find my notes, and I know I didn’t take any pictures, so let me sum up thusly.
1. The beer was fine.
2. The food was fine.
3. The service was completely & totally atrocious.
4. The best tasting beer (of course, I don’t remember the name) was not available as a full pour, only a sample.
5. The location/ambiance was good! I’d been there in May for Fred Fest when they weren’t quite street legal yet, and it’s turned out really cute! I’ll go back in a few months to see if they’ve gotten their service act together.
AND, Brew Review #21 – at the new Columbia River Brewing (they are located in the old Laurelwood Hollywood location) on December 10, 2010.
First off, this was my third (possibly fourth) trip here. I love the location. I volunteer near there. And I love everything else about them, too.
I, of course, started off with the sampler tray. And here are our reactions! (I am including the brewery’s description of the beer by the name…
- Vienna Lager (78 IBU’s, 5.5% ABV)
- The gazelle: warm, crisp winter beer; hints of caramel, slightly smokey
- A.S.: (This may not be an accurate interpretation) Young, crisp; nice crisp mouthful
- Double Vision (Belgian Dubbel Style Ale) – Brilliant deep reddish in color with a moderately strong malty complex taste. It has malty nutty flavor with a fruity aroma. 23:IBU, ABV: 7.8%
- The gazelle: Overly sweet, not a lot of body; mild malt
- The architect: The gazelle is dead wrong; very good, highly recommended; nice dark & smoky flavor.
- ESB (Extra Special Bitter) – A nice balance between Malt and hops designed around the old English Style beers. 37.6:IBU’s, 5.7%:ABV
- The gazelle: Rather weak, not very bitter at all; unbalanced; bad aftertaste
- Ground & Pound (Double IPA) – An American style IPA with a combination of 6 malts, 4 hop additions and 2 dry hop combinations. This beer has a brilliant amber-copper appearance, and smooth medium bodied mouth feel with out the hop derived astringency associated with higher hop beers. 86 IBU’s, 7.7% ABV. This one is worth fighting over.
- The gazelle: Nice, full hop; nice caramel malt balance
- A.S.: Very drinkable; floral overtones; good & hoppy; thumbs up!
- Hop Heaven (IPA) – Another Great American IPA with 5 malts, 5 hop additions and 2 dry hop blends. Classical citrus aroma and light in color. 78 IBU’s, 7.5% ABV.
- The gazelle: Grapefruity, crisp hoppy flaovr; not as rich as the other IPA, but still very good
And, the big hit of the night!
- Paddler’s Porter (Baltic Porter) – This will be a special treat we will feature for the first time in this year’s Portland Holiday Ale Festival December 1st through December 5th at Pioneer Square. Paddlers Porter is a Chocolate, Vanilla Bean Baltic Porter with a 8.4% ABV. It’s one smooth and creamy Ale. Hope to see you at the festival!
- The gazelle: One of the best porters ever, vanilla 7 chocolate – melts in your mouth!
- S.L.: Hello!! Soooo delicious. Tasty wonderful melty goodness.
- A.S.: Velvety chocolate goodness! Tastes like a smoother version of Rogue’s Chocolate Stout. Add a scopop of vanilla ice cream & you’ve got a kickass float!
And others concurred. That porter was fantastico! The only thing I’ve had to rival that was Old Market’s Maple Vanilla Stout…..might have to make a special trip to Multnomah Village just to have some more of that! YUM!
Other beers were consumed, but not written about.
Food was eaten, and lo! It was good.
I would say, a good time was had by all. This is definitely one brewpub I’ll be frequenting!
And – next up! Breakside Brewery! See you there (I’ll try to do better at posting these in a timely fashion).
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