By Iron Chef Leftovers
Having the beer notes online allows me to quickly reference what I previously thought of a beer. It comes in particularly handy with NW Peaks when their Mountainbeers get brewed again and I can compare what I thought of the beer year over year and see how the recipe has changed. Granite Oat was one of the adjunct beers from last year’s experiments and it was interesting (in a good way) so I was happy to see that NW Peaks decided to bring it back into the fold this year.
From the NW Peaks Website:
The Name, the mountain. Granite is an accessible mountain right off I-90 just west of Snoqualmie Pass. With a summer trail that goes to a fire lookout at the summit, it’s a perfect day trip for those that want an accessible, but slightly strenuous day hike. From the summit, the views from Rainier to Baker are spectacular on a nice day.
The Beer. April brings another ‘adjunct’ beer to the mountainBeers. We used oats (20%) in this beer and then paired it with a couple of unique hops from New Zealand. Granite ended light and dry with a subtle oat, silky mouthfeel. The featured character are the hops that come through as distinctly melon-like, with floral and citrus notes also present. At 4.8% ABV, Granite has the characteristics of a session IPA (… but with Oats).
The beer pours copper in color with a white head. Strong notes of oats and yeast dominate the nose with hints of grain and spice in the background. The beer starts out with a mild sweetness with notes of oatmeal and sugar before becoming crisp and dry with hints of grain and yeast. The beer finishes slightly bitter with a backing note of oat and barley. I thought that the bitterness initially threw the balance off slightly as it was almost bracingly bitter (probably because it was unexpected and had a bit of a bite) on the first sip, but it quickly mellowed on the next sip and added a lightly bitter pleasantness to the finish. As the beer warms, there are some fruity esters that become present, rounding out the beer further and adding a new layer of flavor to the profiles.
NW Peaks Granite Oat Pale Ale comes up to the fence and straps on 3 feed bags out of 5.
FlatbreadGarden 