West Coast Review Part 2

As I mentioned before, Rick @ BW Beer Blog and I exchanged some beer recently. Previously, I reviewed some great offerings he sent me from Laurelwood Brewing Company. The other four beers he sent me were very interesting.
I'll start with Tricerahops Double IPA from Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene Oregon. I'm not
normally a double IPA kind of guy, but I was up for something new. From the looks of it, theses guys love their hops, and Tricerahops is no exception! It pours a dark honey gold with a thick, three finger off white head. An abundance of citrusy, piney aromas hit you at first. Fizzy carbonation masks some of the citrus sweetness and lingering hop bite. Your really can't taste the 8.8% alcohol, wonderfully balanced with some maltiness and sweetness. A lot of citrusy sweetness, coming from the large amount of hops I imagine. I was suprised that I liked this as much as I did. Not something I could drink often, but quite good.

Snoqualmie Wildcat IPA from Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company. I was surprised to learn on their website that this beer is a whopping 75 IBUs of bitterness. That doesn't come out in this beer. I think the reason is that there is an abundance of sweetness and citrus. This beer pours a cloudy pale orange with a finger of off-white head. Strong citrus, lemony hop aromas. Very interesting mouth feel, almost a chewy/creamy mouth feel and the head never dissipates. Very hoppy, but not bitter until the very end. I would compare it to Bell's Hopslam in taste. A thick citrus hop flavor dominates the beer. Definitely not as crisp as some other IPAs I've had, much more on the creamy side. If you like citrusy West Coast hops, this is about the extreme of the spectrum!


Dick's Cream Stout from Dick's Brewing Company was a bit of a change from the hoppy beers that Rick sent me. Glad he sent this along though, as it was an outstanding example of a cream stout. This beer pours jet black with a half finger of tan head. Aroma of roastiness and slight bitter chocolate aroma as well. Wonderful, creamy milk chocolate mouth feel with some nice roastiness and a slight bitterness in the finish. Great flavors of chocolate, coffee and some roastiness throughout the beer. Smooth and flavorful, this is a perfect balance between sweet, roasty and slight bitterness. A great stout.

I'm not sure if this final beer is in fact made by Rogue or what the deal is, but it's called Eugene City Brewery's Track Town Honey Orange Wheat.
Regardless, I was excited to try this since I made a similar beer this summer that turned out great. This beer pours a cloudy light orange color with a thin white head. A very nice honey aroma right away with a very subtle citrus prsence. Very pleasant and easy drinking, this beer has a nice sweetness and subtle orange flavor. The mouth feel is great, crisp and refreshing. I think mine was sweeter with more orange flavor, but not as much of honey present. Nevertheless, this is a great beer. A nicely balanced, interesting, easy drinking summer wheat.

Overall, it was great getting some Oregon and Washington beers. Nothing like beers from the Pacific Northwest to remind you why some of the best craft breweries are from there. So a special thanks to Rick.
Salud!
Bearded Brewer