Beer of the Week: Stone Collaboration Saison Du BUFF

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Collaboration beers can be fun and produce some interesting stuff. Stone has been running a collaboration series for a couple of years now working with brewers from around the world to produce some interesting beers. One of the first ones from this series that I tried was the Saison Du BUFF, collaboration between Stone, Victory out of Pennsylvania and Dogfish Head out of Delaware. This bottle was from the second brewing and was a 12 oz. container which ran about $4.

From the Stone website:

Appearance: This beer pours a beautiful pale gold with a white head of foam.
Aroma: Pronounced herbal characters, a wonderful blend of sage, lemon thyme, rosemary. It has some very pleasant citrusy notes, perhaps from the lemon thyme and the Citra dry-hop. And the Belgian yeast strain contributes low level banana esters and a hint of clove.
Taste: The taste starts with the herbal blend in the forefront, and then is backed by a clean malt balance and a very nice citrus and tropical fruit-influenced finish. The finish has a substantial, but balanced hop bitterness and hop flavor. It is a very dry beer, and has a nice refreshing quality that makes it wonderful for this time of year.
Overall: This is the second time that Greg, Sam, and Bill have brewed this beer here at Stone Brewing Co., and this time we were able to get all the herbs from Stone Farms! How cool is it to brew with ingredients from your own farm? Very, very cool.

Stats: 7.7% abv, 52 IBUs

Malts: Pale Malt, Pilsner Malt, Wheat Malt, Flaked Rye
Hops: Centennial & Citra

BUFF pours hazy yellow in color with a white head. Lots of lemon and herbs on the nose with hints of grain and yeast – basically this beer smells like a saison should. The initial taste starts with notes of lemon followed by a medley of herbs and a hint of hops. The finish is dry and lacking direction – some of the time it is green and unbalanced and other times it is even with a distinct progression through the herbs. It is a beer that relies heavily on the olfactory senses as well as taste and it reminds me of a liquid herb garden. The alcohol is there but it is hardly noticeable, I just wish the flavors from the herbs were more consistent throughout the beer.

Saison Du BUFF was interesting but uneven and definitely not a beer that someone who was a casual beer drinker would remotely enjoy. I had higher expectations for this beer and was unfortunately let down.

Saison du BUFF lifts into your fridge with a somewhat disappointing 2 Thymus citriodorus out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Laughing Dog Pure Breed Citra American Pale Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I really like the concept of a single hop beer. The great thing about them is that you really get to understand where certain hop flavors come from in the beers which use a combination of hops. When I found out that Laughing Dog Brewing out of Idaho was doing a single hop beer, well, I had to try it. I consider Laughing Dog one of the more underrated breweries in the US and I think they do particularly well with hops. The Pure Breed Citra American Pale Ale, their first entry into the single hop realm, came to me in a 22oz. bottle which ran about $5.

The description from the Laughing Dog website:

The first in our Purebred series of single hop A.P.A.s showcases the hop variety Citra. These are used for everything from bittering and flavor to aroma. The soft bitterness of the Citra hop makes this an extremely drinkable beer.
ABV 6.14%, IBU 67.8

Golden yellow in color and lots of carbonation on a slightly off white head. Strong notes of citrus dance around the nose with just a hint of grain lying in wait in the background. The first sip slaps you in the face – a very brief and pleasant bitterness quickly yield to a hop monster – lots of grapefruit and citrus peel, which lingers for a good few seconds before giving way to a light grain backbone and finally transitioning to a slight bitterness with hints of green hops in a long and pleasant fade. As the beer warms slightly, notes of peach show up on the nose and palate with the citrus, giving just a tease of sweetness before fading into the hop bitterness.

This is a fine beer which showcases the citrus aspects of citra hops in the best possible way. Grab your pooch and head on over to your local bottle shop and get yourself a bottle or three of this great beer.

Laughing Dog Pure Breed Citra American Pale Ale grabs 4 Best in Shows out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Brews Doubloon’s India Wheat Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Yay! Another Reuben’s beer review! I admit it, I love their beer and with the ever changing tap list they have and the 5 minute walk to the brewery from the Iron Chef abode, it makes for an easy place to review their beers. One of their recent new additions was their Doubloon’s India Wheat Ale. Clocking in at 50 IBU and 6.9% ABV, I had to give it a shot.

This beer is golden in color with a nice grain and citrus nose – lots of wheat and grapefruit with hints of malt. The initial sip delivers a pleasant grain shot, yielding to grapefruit and citrus peel before finishing long and slightly bitter. Being a wheat beer, it was drier than I expected (think more like a kolsh than a wheat beer in terms of sweetness, not flavor) and showed more hop character than I expected given the IBU. Despite its higher alcohol content, the beer goes down easily and well-balanced, so it could sneak up on you if you are not careful, especially if you find yourself having 2 or 3. This beer is different than most hoppy beers on the market and is a nice change of pace if you are looking for something interesting with a great deal of hop character, but don’t want to blow out your palate with a giant hop bomb.

Doubloon’s IWA from Reuben’s eases into port on a score of 4 Spanish Galleons out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben's Brews Doubloon's India Wheat Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Doubloon’s IWA from Reuben’s eases into port on a score of 4 Spanish Galleons out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Elysian Brewing Good, Bad & Red

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Since I don't have a picture of the beer, are you feeling lucky, punk? — Since I don’t have a picture of the beer, are you feeling lucky, punk?

I love going to Elysian’s location near the stadium since they have a great staff, good food and an extensive beer list. One of the benefits of their list is that they tend to have stuff on tap at any given point that I have not tried before, which keeps it interesting, and generally means that I will order those beers (the exception is when they have Dark of the Moon on tap – that is what gets ordered). A recent trip to Fields was no exception as I stumbled upon “Good, Bad & Red.” I can’t find Elysian’s description of the beer , so I can tell you it is 6.2% ABV and 35 IBU is made with 4 hop varieties including Cara, C-77 and Columbus, and is only available on tap.

The beer pours a beautiful rosy red color. The nose is awash in malt and barley complimented with a heavy dose of citrus. The initial sip is a hammer of grapefruit and citrus peel followed by a mellow malty sweetness and just a hint of bitterness and barley at the very end. Despite its low IBU, this beer was very hop forward with its citrus flavors, but not bitterness, so I think that this one is a nice compromise for hop heads and casual beer drinkers alike. As it warms, the grapefruit remains the dominant up-front flavor with the sweetness and citrus peel much more restrained. The finish becomes dominated by the malt and barley with just a slight hint of bitter hop resin.

Overall this beer was a nice change of pace from what I usually get at Elysian.

Elysian’s Good, Bad & Red saunters into town with an inspired performance of 3 Blondie’s out of 5.

Ed Note: In case you don’t get it, Blondie was Clint Eastwood’s character’s name in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

Beer of the Week: Driftwood Brewing Fat Tug IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Driftwood Brewing is a long time brewer out of Victoria, BC, who started distributing their beers to the US a few years ago. They make some pretty nice, albeit expensive stuff in a small but diverse lineup. Fat Tug IPA is their required entry into the crowded Northwest IPA market. It clocks in at 7% ABV and 80 IBU and is available in 22 oz. bottles for about $9.

From the brewery’s website:

Brewed with the hop aficionado in mind!
Fat Tug is a northwest style India Pale Ale with an intense hop profile with notes of grapefruit, mango melon and passion fruit. Sufficient malt is there to provide support. At 7 % alc/vol and 80+ IBUs this beer delivers on the promise to satisfy anyone with a thirst for all things hoppy!

Fat Tug is an orange IPA with a lovely cream head. You won’t mistake this for another type of beer as you a hit with a wall of hops when you get within about a foot of it. Upon closer inspection, there are strong notes of grapefruit and citrus, a delicate, slightly floral aroma hanging in the background, and even then, it is barely noticeable and slight hints of grain. The first sip hits you with lots of bitter citrus peel and green hops giving way to a more pleasant grapefruit palate that lingers for a happy minute or so. After a few sips, the bitterness becomes more muted and the beer is a very stereotypical NW IPA (and that is not a bad thing). As it warms, it is a bit more floral but it complements the rich hoppiness that is Fat Tug.

I really like this beer but there is nothing outstanding about it, especially at its price point – it is a fine entry from Driftwood, but not spectacular enough to set it apart from its competition. I don’t think that I would ever refuse this beer if someone poured it for me, but I don’t know that I would run out and buy it again as it is priced on the upper end of a crowded IPA market. I would recommend picking one up if you have never had it and decide for yourself.

Driftwood Fat Tug IPA sails into port with a respectable 3 Theodore Tugboats out of 5.

Bottle Share At Chuck’s Hop Shop

By Iron Chef Leftovers

From Chuck's FB Page, what the evenining looked like. Also a rare photo of the elusive Iron Chef Leftovers in his natural habitat. — From Chuck’s FB Page, what the evenining looked like. Also a rare photo of the elusive Iron Chef Leftovers in his natural habitat.

Chuck’s Hop Shop in Greenwood recently hosted a bottle swap night. What is that you ask? Well, 24 people brought in at least 22 oz. of something rare/vintage/can’t get it in Seattle and shared it with a group of strangers. The group was split into 2 tables of 12 people each with the intention of that each table would get to taste 12 beers. Well, there was a lot of passing of bottles between tables and Chuck kept bringing out bottles from his personal stash, so, needless to say, I tasted way more than 12 beers that evening. It was an amazing opportunity to taste some stuff that I probably would not have gotten to try otherwise and there were some great conversations about the beers going on at our end of the table. It would have been nicer with a slightly smaller crowd, but based on some conversations I had with some new friends, I think we will try a CSE bottle share with fewer people at some point in the near future.
I took some brief notes on the beers, so here is an incomplete list of what I had:

Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Stout – Brought to the tasting by yours truly, so there will be a full review of this beer forthcoming.

Surly Abrasive Ale – A giant hop bomb, lots of citrus; exactly what I love in a hoppy beer.
Score : 4 out of 5 Brillo Pads

Dogfish Head Faithful – Disappointing; some currant flavor but it seemed flat. Had a weird lavender finish.
Score: 2 out of 5 Pearl Jams

Jester King RU55 – Not a fan favorite. Funky sour (but not in a good way) with hints of wood (like chewing on a 2×4, not aged in a barrel). I am wondering if the bottle was bad.
Score: 1 out of 5 Comedians

Breuery Melange– Loved this beer. Major oak with lots of vanilla and malt character. Reminded me of a fine sherry
Score: 5 out of 5 Mash-ups

Breuery Black Tuesday – More mellow oak than Melange (Melange is a component of this beer), but harsher. I think it needs to age to mellow out a bit before being fantastic.
Score: 3 out of 5 Mondays

Big Sky Ivan the Terrible – I had been looking forward to trying this one. Lots of malt, chocolate and coffee. Delicious.
Score: 4 out of 5 Czarist Swine

Troeges Nugget Nectar – lots of hops and citrus but it seemed overly fizzy, would love to retry it though.
Score: 3 out of 5 Hummingbirds

Goose Island Bourbon Country Cherry Rye Stout – very complex beer. Rye barrel and cherry dominate but there were lots of subtle character too. Would love to retry on a clean palate.
Score: 4 out of 5 Covered Bridges

Sam Adams Utopias Anniversary Edition – had Utopias once before, but this blend was even better. Not really a beer and more like a high end cognac or port.
Score: 5 out of 5 Sir Thomas More’s

Hill’s Farmstead – was looking forward to trying this one also, but it was like drinking an ashtray – smoky with no balance. Tasted like someone was burning down the Farmstead.
Score: 1 out of 5 Barns

Three Floyds Rye ‘da Tiger – gets a bonus point for the name, but was a delicious rye hop bomb. Would love to put it up against Laughing Dog, Reuben’s and Anacortes to see who would win in a blind tasting.
Score: 5 out of 5 Survivors

Cascade Bourbonic Plague – Lots of oak with a mild sour finish. Have to pick one of these up for the cellar.
Score: 4 out of 5 Bring Out Your Deads

Stone Double Bastard 2008 – the bottle was gone and tasted like wet cardboard. That is the danger of aging beer; you never know how it will turn out.
Score: 1 out of 5 Inglorious Basterds

Arcadia Big Dick’s Old Ale 2010 – Was too light for the end of the night, reminded me of an Imperial Pilsner.
Score: 3 out of 5 Too Easy, I Won’t Even Go There

I want to thank Chuck and his staff again for hosting such a wonderful evening and look forward to doing it again.

Bottle Share At Chuck's Hop Shop