Beer of the Week: Elysian Trip XV Belgian Buckwheat Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Trip number 15 in the Elysian/New Belgium series brings us a Buckwheat Belgian Ale. It seems like it would be a bit of a strange combination, but I figured what the heck, this is what beer drinking is all about. The beer was from a 22 oz. bottle and clocked in at a healthy 7.5% ABV.

The beer pours deep brown in color with lots of sediment in the glass, producing heavy notes of banana, Belgian yeast, buckwheat and grain on the nose, with subtle notes of dates and raisins. The beer starts out with a hearty and oat profile before moving into deep notes of roasted dates and plums with hints of bitter chocolate before finishing long with a strong sweetness from the Belgian yeast. The beer has some nice bold flavors but some of the more subtle flavors are lost in the mix, causing the beer to be out of balance, especially as it moved through its grain components. Buckwheat is a strong flavor and was complimented nicely with the roasted flavors, but it does produce an oat-like mouth feel and reminded me of a buckwheat pancake with jam.

Elysian Trip 15 Buckwheat Belgian step it up and throws back with 3 O’Tays out of 5.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Kendall Porter

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I am the first one to admit that I am not a big fan of ginger in beer. Don’t get me wrong, I love ginger in food, but in beer, it tends to be used in such a way that it overpowers everything else in the beer rather than being a complimentary flavor. I was a bit apprehensive when NW Peaks did a beer with ginger in December, but, given their previous track record with ginger beers, this one had some potential.

From the NW Peaks website on the Kendall Porter:

The name. The mountain. Kendall Peak is located just off Snoqualmie Pass, part of the ridge that separates Commonwealth Basin and the Gold Creek basin. Due to its proximity to Snoqualmie Pass and PCT trail it’s a great destination for a summer hike or winter day in the snow. Besides great views of Commonwealth basin and the Snoqualmie area, a full ascent of the mountain nets you about 2750′ of elevation gain, but there are plenty of other excursions in the area if you need more adventure.

The Beer. Ingalls Ginger has been a summer favorite since NW Peaks opened and we continuously get calls fro it in the winter. Since we only produce Ingalls in the summer, we decided to try our luck at a winter ginger beer – and we’re pretty darn happy with the results! We used a brown porter as a base (slightly less roast and lower ABV than the more common robust porters). The porter consists of all English style ingredients with some chocolate and brown malt for the color, with ginger and bitter orange peel added at the end of the boil. The light refreshing nature of the ginger, subtle sweetness and citrus of the orange and light chocolate notes combine to a great, delicate aroma and flavor in a light bodied beer. The result is a full flavored, but very light bodied, easy drinking beer.

Malts: ESB, chocolate, crystal, brown. Hops: Golding (+ Ginger root and bitter orange peel). ABV: ~4.7%

The beer pours deep brown in color with a cream colored head. The nose is bold – significant notes of ginger, orange peel and roasted malt with hints of coffee and chocolate in the background; it is hard to believe this beer is under 5% ABV. The beer drinks very layered, starting out with pleasant malt with hints of roast and chocolate before beginning to show the ginger coupled with a slight touch of spicy heat from the root and a very mild bitterness before moving into pleasant orange peel and chocolate. The flavors build on each other and all appear on the very long finish with a nice tongue tingle. The use of ginger is restrained and acts as a supporting player, allowing all of the other complex players to come through in a well-balanced and deep beer.

NW Peaks Kendall Porter rolls into the station with 5 Red Lines out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Pike Harlot’s Harvest Pumpkin Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I have a few older pumpkin beers that I have been sitting in the cellar just to see how they age. In the case of Pike’s Harlot Pumpkin, this was one that was sitting in the cellar because I forgot it was there. I found the 2012 bottle when I was moving some stuff around and figured I would give it a shot. I am not a huge fan of this beer in the first place, so I had pretty low expectations about it when I opened it.

From the Pike Website:

It’s big bold and voluptuous! Pike Harlot”s Harvest reminds us that Pike Brewing was founded in a former brothel. Nellie’s girls who worked at The LaSalle Hotel were sometimes called harlots, though their best customers often affectionately called them “pumpkin”.

Pike head brewer, Dean Mochizuki, created this extraordinary beer using a complex blend of rich and flavorful malts that include: organic pils, organic pale, special b, Vienna, organic caramel, and crystal. To take full advantage of the bounty of the season, Harlot’s Harvest is brewed with the finest Yakima Valley hops, including Nugget for both bitterness and aroma, and Mt. Hood for aroma; and organic pumpkin puree from Stahlbush Island Farms, Corvalis, Oregon and organic brown sugar. It is sensuously seasoned with cassia bark, allspice, vanilla bean, nutmeg, ginger and clove.

STATS: O.G: 1.080

ABV: 8.50%

IBU: 30

COLOR: Dark caramel and molasses

On the palate Harlot’s Harvest is round and rich with a burst of caramel and molasses yielding a smooth sweetness reminiscent of pumpkin pie, and the boldness of a Belgian, monastic-style, strong dark ale. Savor it naked or clothed in the bounty of the season! To dress it appropriately, Charles Finkel designed the seductive label.

The beer pours dark brown with just a hint of opaqueness and shows mild cinnamon and nutmeg on the nose with additions of light caramel and just a touch of pumpkin in the background. The beer is surprisingly light on the palate for a dark beer, starting out with a pleasant sweetness on the front and then moves over to a light toffee with subtle notes of pumpkin and dried fruit before finishing with very mild cinnamon that lingers pliantly and brings just a hint of heat to the tongue after a few seconds. It was pretty well balanced without any harsh notes that I have noticed in the beer when it is fresh – I guess a year of aging the beer really rounds it out.

Pike 2012 Harlots Pumpkin comes in an lobs 4 airborne salmon out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Suncatcher Wit

By Iron Chef Leftovers

It seems strange to me that I would be reviewing a beer called Suncatcher in the middle of the winter, but it is no less strange that Populuxe put the beer on tap at the beginning of the winter. Maybe we are both just trying to be optimistic. Either way, when the sun(catcher) comes back out, you can grab this 5% ABV wheat beer at Populuxe.

The beer pours a very hazy pale yellow with light notes of grain and lemon. The initial sip yields a strong yeast note before mellowing out into a barely noticeable lemon with strong notes of grain before finally ending off with mild orange and coriander with a nice bread like finish, which is slightly sweet and pleasant with a lingering yeast profile and hints of spice. A touch heavier than I expected, but not in a bad way – the beer would work as a nice refreshing drink on a warm sunny day but has enough substance that you would also not mind drinking one on a crisp fall day.

Populuxe Suncatcher Wit strums in with a well-played 3 Little Darlings out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Elysian Dark o’ the Moon 2012

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I was not overly impressed with the 2013 version of Dark o’ the Moon, but fortunately for me, I have a small stash of the previous versions of the beer, so I decide to crack one of the 2012 bottles open to see if I just forgot what the beer tasted like and my tastes have changed or the cinnamon was too overpowering in the 2013 version of the beer.

From the Elysian Website:

STYLE Pumpkin Stout

BODY Medium to Full

TASTING NOTES Pours dark as night with creamy tan head. A little smokiness on the nose with malty bittersweet chocolate and a little coffee with subtle earthy pumpkin and spices for an overall nice and creamy mouth.

MALTS Great Western pale, Crisp 77° Crystal, Munich, Cara-Vienne, roasted, chocolate and Special B

HOPS Bittered with Magnum and finished with Saaz and crushed cinnamon

SPECIAL Pumpkin in the mash, kettle and fermenter

ABV: 6.5%

IBU: 20

The beer poured jet black as expected with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice present on the nose joined by mild hints of roasted malt and pumpkin. The beer stars off with pleasant chocolate notes on the palate before moving into lightly roasted pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. The beer then transitions into the spice realm with distinct notes of nutmeg and cloves balancing out the pumpkin flavors before being joined by a mild dose of cinnamon mixed in. The finish is long and slightly sweet with dominant notes of cinnamon and roasted malt/pumpkin, providing a deep chocolate finish with just a touch of heat from the cinnamon.

The 2012 version of Dark reminded me why I loved this beer so much.

Elysian 2012 Dark o’ the Moon comes to the edge of the cliff and lets out a deep howl with 5 Canis lupus out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Imperial Porter

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Hey, how about this – a new beer from Reuben’s and I am posting it when it is still available on tap. They decided to do an Imperial Porter which is exciting since I love porters and I don’t think I have ever tried and imperial version of one. This is a hefty beer, clocking in at 9.0% ABV and 53 IBU, so not for the faint of heart.

The beer pours jet black with a creamy brown head. Notes of dark chocolate and roasted malt dominate the nose with hints of caramel and sugar. The beer starts out with just a hint of sugar before moving into strong flavors of chocolate and roast with a pleasant bitterness and very light coffee and vanilla notes. The finish lingers like a nice cup of coffee. Deep and complex, the beer drinks like a stellar coffee with an incredible richness and just a hint of bitterness that compliments rather than detracts from the beer. The most amazing part is that the alcohol is not noticeable at all, making this beer just a bit too easy going down for my own good – it is definitely one that I could easily find myself ordering 2 or 3.

Reuben’s Imperial Porters meets me in the lobby and carries my luggage to my room with a perfect 5 luxury hotels out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Pike Monk’s Uncle

By Iron Chef Leftovers

There was a time where I really liked Pike’s beers. They were at the minimum solid and usually bordering on spectacular and were always a nice go-to when I was down at Pike Place Market and in the mood for a beer. They changed brewers and company focus a couple of years ago and the beers have not been the same since. I decided to give them another shot on a recent trip down to the market and they had one of my favorites of theirs – Monk’s Uncle on tap.

The gritty details from the Pike website:

OG (ORIGINAL GRAVITY): 1.075

ALCOHOL VOLUME: 9.00%

MALT VARIETIES: Organic Pale, Organic Pils, Wheat, Aromatic

HOP VARIETIES: Nugget, Saaz

IBU (BITTER UNIT): 38

COLOR: Straw

YEAST: Belgian ale

FLAVOR PROFILE: Big, full bodied & complex with a yeasty nose, fruity esters & malty dryness.

The beer pours golden yellow in color with heavy notes of grain and yeast and light notes of orange and coriander on the nose. The beers starts off bready with lots of alcohol notes before moving further into a Belgian character – notes of citrus and yeast occupy the middle of the beer and the beer finishes bready with spice and coriander couple with a significant alcohol burn at the back of the throat. Once you move past the alcohol, there is a relatively pleasant dry yeast character that is almost toast like. The beer, however seems out of balance because of the alcohol, making this one almost too hot to drink (it feels like the rushed it out before it had a chance to mellow). The alcohol diminishes some as the beer warms, but not enough to save it. A Belgian triple should be an exercise in warming, bready, yeasty goodness that is smooth and complex and this beer was none of that. I remember this being so much better than it was.

Pike Monk’s Uncle sings and out of tune 2 chants out of 5.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Snowfield 2013

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I love the winter warmer style of beer – malty but not too sweet with plenty of character to get you through a cold evening. I was excited back in December to see that NW Peaks was bringing back their Snowfield beer, a wonderful winter warmer.

From the NW Peaks website:

The name. The mountain. With a name like Snowfield, we couldn’t resist naming our winter beer after it. Additionally, Snowfield is a mountain that takes more effort and time to climb. While it weighs in at a mere 8,347′ and Washington’s 90th highest peak, it stands 6,500′ above the Pyramid Lake trailhead with multiple ‘ups and downs’ and glaciers en route. The Pyramid Lake trailhead is right off hwy 20 just S of Diablo dam. While the trail is nothing to write home about, once into the Colonial basin views are truly spectacular with the whole N Cascades park within view and Snowfield a half day’s hard work from there. But we digress, we just loved that climb so much, just like the beer, that we could ramble on forever.

The Beer.This is our latest version of the Snowfield. We used largely the same ingredients, but played with the ratios and yeast. This year, we used the American yeast that ferments clean and dry, pushing the hop aroma forefront. We also added another variety of hops – Sorachi Ace – to increase the lemon/citrus aroma to play off the chocolate notes from the malt. The result is a nicely balanced winter beer featuring notes of chocolate and citrus hops. While not a heavy hitter in ABV for winter beers (6.6%) Snowfield is still a great winter beer, perfect to warm you up on a dark winter evening.

Malts: ESB, chocolate, honey, crystal. Hops: centennial, sorachi ace. ABV: ~6.6%

The beer pours dark brown in color with a cream colored head. It shows loads of malt on the nose with hints of dried fruit and chocolate coupled with a subtle note of spices. The beer starts out on the palate with lots of pleasantly sweet malt before moving into deeper flavors – first with roasted chocolate before transitioning into hints of dried fruit and finishing with a mild and pleasant hop bitterness that mingles with the other flavors in an extremely long finish. The beer drinks deep and complex with a great balance of malt and dark roasted flavors to warm you up on a cold winter day.

NW Peaks Snowfield 2013 straps in and goes for a hike with 4 snowshoes out of 5.

Beer of the Week: New Belgium Lips of Faith Heavenly Feijoa

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Let me be right up front, I had absolutely no idea what Feijoa was prior to buying this beer. I did end up buying it because it was collaboration with one of my favorite breweries – Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! out of Montreal. In case you are wondering, the exclamation point is actually part of their name and it translates roughly as Oh My God!, which is the reaction that you have with a good number of their beers. They were one of the first craft brewers in Montreal and have been at it a long time. Just a handful of their beers get bottled and even fewer make their way out to the west coast. You can find them occasionally at the better bottle shops. The Lips of Faith was available in 22 oz. bottles for around $7 and the beer clocked in at a robust 9.4% ABV.

About the beer, well I will let New Belgium’s website fill you in on the details:

Heavenly Feijoa Tripel combines Dieu du Ciel!’s love of hibiscus flowers with New Belgium’s passion for strange and worldly fruit. Feijoa, also known as pineapple guava, has a sweet, aromatic flavor, which makes the aroma of Heavenly Feijoa Tripel luscious and tropical. The beer has Belgian yeast and Nelson Sauvin hops, combining to make a sweet fruit taste, mild spicy tones and a sharp bite. Hibiscus adds a cranberry tartness and an ambrosial quality to the color.

The beer pours deep golden, almost toasted brown in color with yeast and malt dominating the nose and hints of floral hibiscus and light pineapple hiding in the background. The palate is interesting – the beer starts out with noticeable Belgian yeast moving quickly into a mild dry tartness, similar to what you would find in a beer made with cranberries, before changing direction and bringing out a sweet mango and pineapple component that decides to stick around a bit longer than the first few notes of the beer. The finish is dry with hints of banana and coriander coupled with a slightly floral character of hibiscus. The flavor progress quickly when the beer is first served, but as it warms they become more distinct and linger for longer periods of time, providing a nice transition and balance into the complex flavors. The alcohol was completely unnoticed despite its high ABV and this beer was an interesting exercise in deep and tropical character.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Heavenly Feijoa rocks in and cries out 4 No Hiding Places out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Xtra Dry Hopped Cask IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Another day, another cask review from our friends at Populuxe. Populuxe, the beer to drink if you are looking to drink cask beer on a Thursday night. This time they decided to double dry hop their IPA with, well, I don’t remember what they hopped the beer with because I forgot to write it down in my notes.

The beer pours hazy orange in color with hops and citrus (mostly grapefruit) dominating the nose. The beer is surprisingly mild to drink – fruity wish very little bitterness up front before moving more toward a solid foundation of grain and then gravitating back toward citrus – reminds me of juicy fruit gum. Smooth with just a hint of hop bitterness and burn, reminding you this is an IPA but it is by no means palate blowing. Smooth and easy drinking, a great version of an IPA that you could easily find yourself having more than one.

The Populuxe XTRA Dry Hopped Cask IPA is gonna move ya with a happy 4 packs of gum out of 5.