Fancy Labeled Homebrew IPA? - (5.0)

name: Invasive Species IPA

brewery: Captured By Porches Brewing Co.

% alc: 6.3

type: India Pale Ale

vendor: John's Market, Multnomah Village, OR

price: $4.59 (22oz)

first impressions:

Off the bat, straight away this was an interesting and tasty beverage. It was malty for an IPA and exorbitantly cloudy. I liked it. The head was like mashed potatoes and it didn't bite with carbonation. Hoppy, bright, citric and smooth, it just tasted like a great, possibly homebrewed because of it's odd quirks, IPA. At this point it's a 7.0 rating for me. I had my tastes and left enough in the bottle to take pictures of later once my lighting was right.  

When I returned to shoot my photos I filled the pint and got my macro shots. I explored the resealable, reusable bottle top, and the One Dollar Bottle Deposit notification on the bottle. Which was possibly larger than the beer name and brewer logo.

Then, I sat down to drink the rest of the brew. I was surprised to find it had become more earthy and less bitter. It had lost some carbonation, to the extent that it was almost flat. It seemed to have decayed in short amount of time having been opened resealed and reopened again an hour or so later. My review at this point would be around a 3.5 or worse. It didn't taste like a properly brewed or sealed ale at this point. So, sadly my average lands around a 5.0 on this one. Love the artwork on the bottle. Love the bottle, but it needs to last a bit longer before it turns into an elixer that should be served only in a bog by a shriveled forest wizard.

review (/10): 5.0

recommended setting:  Drink this right away! Well, maybe not in the parking lot but right when you open it somewhere suitable. Grab a friend and just have a go of it. Or... Instead of getting it by bottle, a keg is likely to be a great option. Captured by Porch appear to have some sort of Mobile Haus brew bus operation in Portland which sounds like a fun way to find this on tap. If you do, its likely to be an ale worthy of my 7.0.

extraneous ramble (optional): 

Weed Golden Lager (5.5)

name: Lemurian Golden Lager

brewery: Weed Ales & Lagers

% alc: 6.0

type: Golden Lager

vendor: Whole Foods, Seattle

price: $3.99 (22oz)

first impressions:

While the suds settled on top of my freshly poured pint I waited to see if Lenticular clouds would form instead of the classic cirrus like bubble formations. No dice. That might have given this beer the unique edge it needed to really captivate me. I found it crisp and a little sweet like a lager should, and overall relatively satisfying but the aftertaste had a leftover bitter that didn't seem to make a lot of sense to me.  

I guess it's fitting that it wasn't perfect for me.

I was going to review this beer and bid welcome to the warmer spring air in Seattle. This is the point in the year when you're so ready to believe it's just going to rollover and stay at a comfortable temperature but there's always an unwelcome breeze or its beautiful out but its actually pretty cold outside. You sit down on the grass with a book and can just begin to feel the sun sinking into your albino northwest skin when you notice your butt is quickly becoming uncomfortably wet. That's how this beer was. As I wanted to embrace the coming season with this light, glorious looking beer it sat perfectly on my tongue and after I swallowed the clouds rolled in. I slowly reached for my sweatshirt and reluctantly squeezed it over my head.

review (/10): 5.5

recommended setting: In a couple of weeks the weather will actually be just right for this beer. While it still wouldn't be my first choice lager for some time in the sun, if you can grab a view of Mt. Rainier, crack one of these in honor of the lenticular clouds that sometimes form there. They're otherworldly. 

extraneous ramble (optional): If I'd just been a little quicker with this review it might have made a good 4/20 post.

HUB Organic Imperial IPA (8.5)

name: Ace of Spades

brewery: Hopworks Urban Brewery

% alc: 9.5

type: Imperial IPA (Organic)

vendor: QFC, Seattle

price: $7.99 (22oz)

first impressions:

Imperial = of or pertaining to an empire.

A humble emperor this IPA was, but one who's balance of power would remain effective and lovable until the end of its term. 

It was smooth and syrupy like most Imperial IPA's but still felt bright and crisp. It drank like a more deft and lightfooted beer with that cleanliness that comes from Organic Ingredients. Hopworks brews exclusively organic beers and their pub is aesthetically littered with recycled bike parts. They also brewed an Earth Day Ale. These guys are Pacific Northwest to the max and it's brilliant. 

I wanted to share this beer with Alex my girlfriend and did, but alas she assured me although it appeared balanced to me, this was no beer for the Hop-Weary. Alternatively I will say that this is the beer for the IPA lover weary of the Imperial's often overbearing lordship.

review (/10): 8.5

recommended setting: See that motorcycle on the bottle there. No, not while riding down the highway on it, but keep the Ace of Spades in a pouch with an ice pack while you cruise by Mt. Hood on your way to the Painted Hills. Park the chopper and walk to a nice spot with a view, preferably elevated. Now enjoy a red-rock topped cap-full or two or three... or well, finish up and grab some beautiful organic food in the area if possible. Painted Hills farms some of the leading grassfed beef in the Northwest.

extraneous ramble (optional): 

Hog Heaven Barley[s]wine (7.0)

name: Hog Heaven

brewery: Avery Brewing Company

% alc: 9.2

type: Dry-Hopped Barleywine

vendor: QFC, Seattle

price: $7.99 (22oz)

first impressions:

Wine-like only in it's potential strength (8-12% alc.), swine-like only through its whimsical label art, this bottle was a bittered delight. I first gave it a sniff and was brought back to the days of elementary school and the tiny, tangy cello-wrapped sweethearts candies. This scent didn't translate into the flavor at all but it started me off in kind of a strange nostalgic direction. But on that note of sweet, I wouldn't claim this one to have that characteristic. Not tart, not sweet. "Intense bitter follows a brief caramel greeting," I scribbled illegibly in my notepad. 

While it did definitely remind me of an Imperial IPA, to the extent that I was interested in looking up definitions, it didn't have the sweetness usually present in these high octane beverages. So I enjoyed this balanced bitter ale without being constantly reminded of it's strength. 

The barleywine genre is certainly a loose term. It seems to be a catchall for brews in the higher alcohol range. They can come in all colors and tastes so you might have a bad one, and you may love another. Keep your eyes limber as you move down your regular beer aisle and you might find a barley-wine that's just your style.  

review (/10): 7.0

recommended setting: Well, I would say England 1777 where the first Barley-wine was coined but... ok something more realistic. Perhaps a rooftop or balcony with a view, should a flying pig decide to drift on by you'll be the sole stumbling eye witness. Once you finish your pint and tumble down the stairs no one will believe you.

extraneous ramble (optional): 

Rogue's Creek (Kriek?) Ale (5.0)

name: First Growth: Creek Ale

brewery: Rogue Brewery

% alc: 6.0?

type: Ale Brewed with Cherries

vendor: John's Market, Multnomah Village, OR

price: $6.29 (22oz)

first impressions:

You know, not that impressive. But it grew on me over time.

I initially was underwhelmed. While I didn't want a ton of cherry all up in my mouth, I wanted flavor. Aside from a little tart, a little bitter, and a little sweet malty body there wasn't much. I almost felt I was drinking apple juice at one point. As I came back to the glass, pacing around my apartment coping with the cost of this 22 ouncer and looking for insight, I liked it better upon each return. I found that it's initial weaknesses in many ways were also it's strengths. While your classic sour cherry Kriek ale is often too much by the end, this one grew more likeable. By the way, it seemed the Creek was a clever way of getting at the similarly pronounced type of ale called the Kriek.  What do you say Rogue?

So you know, not my favorite beer but we had an interesting time together. Its just hard to buy Rogue as often these days with the prices they charge. I mean help me out here: they are from Oregon (nearly local), they have good distribution (really good for a micro of their quality), and not every one of their beers is the barrel-aged, high-alcohol, special release you would expect for the price. So I'm gonna be hard on them. 

What I do really like about this series (Chatoe Rogue), is that they've grown their own ingredients (GYO). Each bottle has the Latitude and Longitude of their hops and barley yards. So in this case I can kind of rationalize the cost for the homegrown type of mark-up. This was just not my favorite from the series. The others have been pretty great though so check them out. In the meantime maybe they will become nostalgic for their days of selling affordable lovable micro ales.  

review (/10): 5.0

recommended setting: How about latitude 44, 48.2, 18.69. Longitude... Well anyway right at their "Chatoe." Why not? I bet it's beautiful and if this is the beer I gotta drink while I'm there, I'm still happy.

extraneous ramble (optional): 

Highland Ambush! (7.5)

name: Highland Ambush

brewery: Bridgeport Brewing

% alc: 6.8

type: Scotch Ale

vendor: Bridgeport/Molly

price: Free! Would be $5.99 (22oz)

first impressions:

They marched not in single file but in troupes. Onward, upward through the Highland to a summit upon which they would last as long as they could. The bubbles, I mean. I've never seen rows of carbonation like this (sadly not pictured) and what they produced together was a velvety, pillow-topped head. I can only imagine this beer on a nitro tap, (hint hint Bridgeport). I love the name of this beer although I didn't find it to ambush me the way some other scotch ales can. This is a good thing. I find some scotch ales can be just a bit too much, too alcoholic tasting or too rough around the edges. This one was mellower and by that virtue more drinkable. It was smooth and slightly smokey with a present tang. The word spacious came to mind... ? Maybe I should have that checked out... 
Anyway, I enjoyed the bottle all to myself and it was pleasant. 

This beer came in a little sampling package sent to me from Bridgeport thanks to my friend Molly Gilbert who does PR work for them. Sorry it took me so long to feature one! Alas my fridge is full of many bloggable brews but another special Bridgeport is likely to show up again sometime soon. 

Thanks & Cheers!

review (/10): 7.5

recommended setting: Honestly if there is a setting in which I can safely have a silhouetted sword-fight like you see on the bottle, that's where I'd take my pint. Drinking and swords?

extraneous ramble (optional): Foreshadowing my future post: Best Of #1: Affordable-Widely-Distributed-Microbrewed-IPA-In-SixPack-Form, I'm pretty sure the Bridgeport IPA will be in contention for sure. Suggestions for a shorter title will be sincerely considered.