Beer of the Week: Populuxe Smoked Rye Saison

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Smoked beers can be pleasant and roasty with notes of smoked salmon or BBQ that really compliment the other flavors in the beer when they are done well. When they are not, the beers tend to be roughly the equivalent of chewing on a campfire log. I was excited when Populuxe brewing partnered with Bitterroot BBQ to produce the Smoked Rye Saison. I love the Populuxe Saison, I love rye beers and I was very intrigued over what the combination of smoked rye and saison would end up tasting like. The beer clocked in at 6.8% ABV.

The beer pours deep red in color with a white head. Strong notes of roasted caramel with hints of smoke and rye dominate the nose with just minor notes of grass in the background. The beer has a significant amount of smoky sweet malt up front on the palate before quickly moving into light notes of lemon and grass with hints of Belgian character before finishing with layers of rye and very light smoke coupled with lemon and Belgian yeast that lingers pleasantly for a long time. The beer reminds me of smoked salmon with lemon and dill, with the dill (in a very light way) either coming from the grassy notes or my mind inserting it because of the smoke and lemon flavors. This beer is very well balanced and layered and is very easy to drink for a smoked beer. It would pair fantastically with just about anything grilled.

Populuxe Smoked Rye Saison grabs the blue ribbon with 5 low and slows out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Hoppin’ Frog Hop Dam Triple IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Along with the Hoppin’ Frog Double IPA came their Hop Dam Triple IPA. This thing was a monster at 10% ABV and an indeterminate amount of IBU in a 22 oz. bottle that ran about $16. Give the nutty numbers on the double, I had no idea what to expect from this beer.

From Hoppin’ Frog:

Some say “bigger is better!”. At Hoppin’ Frog, we built a massive hop dam to handle the enormous amount of hops added to this colossal American Triple I.P.A. An intense experience of citrus and piney hop character is complemented by layers of rich malt flavor. Behold our new standard for hoppy beers.

The beer pours hazy orange in color with a significant amount of sediment in the glass. Boozy and floral with strong notes of citrus and orange blossom and not much else on the nose. A very tea like quality on the first sip – tannic and bitter, so much so to the point of overwhelming everything at first. Once your palate has a chance to adjust and settle in, the beer becomes rich and full of citrus with a significant but pleasant bitterness. The finish is long with plenty juicy citrus and black tea that just lingers (there was one other flavor component on the description, but I can’t read my own writing – it looks like dilberness, whatever the hell that means). The beer surprisingly has no discernable alcohol burn making it surprisingly easy to drink from that respect, but the balance could have been a bit better, bringing out some of the more subtle notes in the beer. In all, this beer reminds me of where West Coast IPA’s made on the West Coast were about 10 years ago when it was a race to see how many hops they could fire into a beer. It might be the new standard for hoppy beers, but give me a Pliny or a Blimey any day.

Hoppin’ Frog Hop Dam Triple IPA crosses the road with 3 Froggers out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Bad Jimmy’s India Red

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I couple of weeks back, I posted my notes on Bad Jimmy’s Habanero Amber, which I called, “…one of the least enjoyable beers I have had in a long time.” It really was not drinkable, although I know people who love it. In the interest of fairness, I feel like I should now post my notes on the best beer that I had at Bad Jimmy’s, the India Red. The beer clocked in at 67 IBU and 6.9% ABV, both at the upper range for a Red Ale.

The beer pours ruby red in color with notes of roasted malt and caramel on the nose and hints of grain in the background. The beer starts out on the palate with a lightly sweet caramel hit before bringing a tinge of bitterness which fades quickly before finishing with a very pilsner like character and crispness which lingers for quite a while. The beer seems slightly off balance with a big hit of hops that fade quickly and a touch of alcohol burn, but it was enjoyable enough to drink that I might have ordered a full pint.

Bad Jimmy’s India Red hops the train and scores 3 Darjeeling Expresses out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Brews Kenya Cream Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Coffee beers can sometimes suffer from being too much coffee and not enough beer, even when the brewers are doing everything right and using really high quality coffee. It takes an even hand to get a balance where you can taste the subtle flavors of the coffee and still get the subtle flavors of the beer. It gets much harder when you try to make a coffee beer that is not a stout or a porter – the coffee can easily overwhelm the non-roasted flavors in lighter beers. I was intrigued when Reuben’s released their Kenya Cream, combining their Cream Ale with Kuma coffee. The beer clocked in at just 5% ABV and 17 IBU.

The beer pours hazy golden in color with light notes of stone fruit and chocolate and hints of milk and grain on the nose. The beer starts off on the palate with a creamy feel to it with notes of yeast and bread before moving into berry and stone fruit flavors with a touch of roasty chocolate – definitely complex flavors coming from the coffee. The beer finishes with a touch of bitter black coffee and plenty of fruit notes and hints of chocolate, coupled with notes of steamed milk. The beer finishes like a nice café au lait. The coffee is definitely complex with a light fruit profile that compliments the milk like qualities of the cream ale without completely dominating it. The beer is increasingly complex as it warms and the balance is superb showing dramatic flavor from both the beer and the coffee. Kenya Cream surprises with being able to pull off a light coffee beer without feeling like you are just drinking a cup of coffee.

Reuben’s Brews Kenya Cream comes out of the savanna with 4 Masai out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Midnight Sun XXX Black Double IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

If you want to consider Alaska as part of the Northwest, then Midnight Sun Brewing in Anchorage is definitely a brewery that should be considered one of the best in the Northwest. If you are like me and think that a brewery 1800 miles from Seattle is not really part of the Northwest, then you can call Midnight Sun possibly the best brewery in Alaska, a state that has a surprising amount of great breweries. My only knock on Midnight Sun is that their beer is spendy. Take the recently consumed XXX Black Double IPA, which ran about $12 for a 22 oz. bottle. Of course I had to try this beer since I don’t think I ever had a double black IPA, so price be damned, I bought it. The beer clocked in at 8.5% ABV and 87 IBU.

From the Midnight Sun website:

Originally brewed in 2009 to celebrate Specialty Imports’ 30th Anniversary, XXX Black Double IPA is now produced each winter as one of MSBC’s four “seasonal double IPAs”. XXX offers bold, American hop character — comfortably cloaked in dark, luxurious malt. This exciting “winter warmer” will take the chill right out of your bones. Curl up with this session-beer-meets-nightcap.

Although XXX pairs really well with roasted meats and vegetables, it also complements creamy desserts and cheeses, especially those that feature burnt sugar and nutty flavors.

Sometimes XXX just means 30.

The beer pours jet black with a creamy brown head. Significant roasted notes with hints of citrus and coffee in the background and a touch of boozy vanilla show on the nose. The beer starts out on the palate with a slight sweetness from the malt before quickly moving into a strong hop character with distinct notes of mango and passion fruit up front, then moving to dried citrus with just a hint of citrus peel. The finish is slightly boozy with strong notes of roasted coffee and hints of vanilla with touches of orange blossom and peel interspersed in a very long finish. Despite the boozy quality, the alcohol is balanced and there is no alcohol burn and the flavors are deep and layered, bringing this CDA to the next level. I would definitely drink this one again as a rare treat to be enjoyed in the fall and winter months in the Northwest.

Midnight Sun XXX Black Double IPA rolls down the lane with 4 turkeys out of 5.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Magic Brown

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I have come to realize that one of my guilty pleasures in beer drinking is brown ales. For years, one of my favorite beers was Sam Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, and then, for some reason, I took a very long break from drinking them. In the last couple of years, there has been resurgence in browns, and with that, they have become my dirty little secret – a beer that I wouldn’t generally order, but when I am in the mood, there is nothing quite like a brown. NW Peaks does a couple of browns – the Pecan one they do in November and the Magic, which makes an appearance in March.

From the NW Peaks Website:

The name. The mountain. Magic is situated right off of Cacade pass (near Sahale), but it is just S and E from the pass rising above Trapper Lake. I climbed Magic Mtn on the front end of a week long trip, on the famous Ptarmigan Traverse – one of the most traveled alpine climbing traverses. The day trip to Cascade Pass is certainly one of the “must go to” areas of the N Cascades, with several options for continuing the trip, including over to Magic and it’s environs.

The beer. Magic Brown fits the schizophrenic March Seattle weather perfectly. It is dark and malty for the cold/wet, but it’s body is light enough that it will be great on a warmer day as well. Unlike the typical “brown,” we built this brown up to have some more residual malt character by adding some extra munich, caramunich, and other specialty malts, but keeping the overall alcohol content and roast character down.

Malt: ESB, Special B, Crystal, muncih, caramunich, carafa 2, flaked. Hops: Apollo, golding. British ale yeast.

The beer pours deep brown with hints of amber. There are strong notes of malt on the nose with mild hints of chocolate, coffee and hops. The beer starts off on the palate with a pleasant grain note and a touch of sweetness before moving off into very light notes of milk chocolate with just a hint of coffee hiding in the background. Those flavors are joins by a malty sweetness that embraces the roast and the finish displays just a touch of hop character, playing hide and seek on a long fade. Not as deep as some browns, but easy to drink and well layered.

NW Peaks Magic Brown takes the stage and pulls 3 rabbits out of a hat out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Hoppin’ Frog Mean Manalishi Double IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

If you subscribe to the national IPA championship results, generally the best IPA’s are from the Midwest, particularly the Cleveland area. Of course those results are skewed since they are basically a popularity contest held at a bar within driving distance from Cleveland and it is not a blind study, so I believe there to be a great deal of bias in the results. Fortunately for me, I do have a friend who lives in the Cleveland area and he has sent me many of these “great” IPA. One of the breweries that a recent shipment contained was Hoppin’ Frog. I had some high hopes for their beers since they have won a ton of medals at the GABF as well as other competitions. First up was the Double IPA. It arrived in a 22 oz. bottle and carried a price tag of $11. According to the label, this beer was 8.2% ABV and 168(!!) IBU.

From the Hoppin’ Frog Website:

Explore the extremes of hops, and experience all of their bitterness, flavor and aroma with this Double I.P.A. An extreme, super-assertive and satisfying amount of American hop character is balanced with a toasty, caramelized, intense malt presence.

The beer pours deep orange in color with high amounts of hops and hints of grain and caramel on the nose with just a touch of floral character. The beer starts off on the palate with significant amounts of fruit and citrus peel before mellowing out a bit into a significantly bitter grain character. The finish is long with a huge amount of citrus and peel with slightly floral characteristics and a very light caramel note. There is a touch of resin and alcohol burn at the end but overall the finish is pleasant and enjoyable. The balance is good, but I expected a bit better given the pedigree – the alcohol was not off putting, but probably should have been a little better balanced and I would have liked the beer to show a little more malt and a little less bitter as the bitter was occasionally overwhelming the malt at times (this is why you don’t just keep ramping up the IBU in a beer). Overall it was a great drinking experience (although the bottle may have been just a touch past its prime) and definitely worth trying if you get the opportunity.

Hoppin’ Frog Mean Manalishi Double IPA takes a flying leap onto 3 lily pads out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

The great thing about the Populuxe IPA is that they brew it so often that you are usually drinking it really fresh and at its peak. The bad part about the Populuxe IPA is that they brew it in such small batches and it is very popular that the rarely have it on tap for long stretches of time. The guys at Populuxe are also constantly tweaking the recipe slightly between each batch, trying to get the perfect recipe dialed in, so I figured it was time to review this one again considering it was a new batch that was put on tap.

The beer pours hazy orange in color with a huge amount of citrus and citrus peel on the nose with just a hint of floral orange blossom. The beer starts out with a light sweetness before moving into a great amount of orange and tangerine before mingling in nice fresh orange peel with just a touch of bitterness, pleasantly cutting through the light sweetness on the beer. The finish is extremely long and pleasant with the citrus and hops that just don’t dissipate and a tinge of burnt orange at the end of the tongue. This is the most citrus-forward version of the IPA that I have tasted from Populuxe and the bitterness becomes more pronounced as the beer warms, adding a great deal of balance to the citrus notes. If you like a citrus-forward IPA with great balance and moderate bitterness (which I do love), you should be drinking this beer.

Populuxe IPA scores well on the retest with 5 redux out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Laughing Dog Sneaky Pete Imperial IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

If you live in the Northwest, you have probably seen Laughing Dog’s beers in most places, including your local megamart, and just not bothered with them. If you are doing that, then you are definitely missing out on one of the better breweries in the Northwest and one that, despite wide distribution, really seems to fly under the radar. They make some killer IPA’s and a few years back, they started putting out an Imperial IPA, available in 12 oz. bottles for around $4. Knowing that I love their other beers, it was time to give the imperial a shot, especially since I found out that this beer was finished with honey.

From the Laughing Dog website:

Sneaky Pete is a blend of five hop types: Simcoe, Glacier, Centennial, Vanguard and Hallertauer, with Simcoe playing the dominate role at 30%. In addition, three separate malts were used: Honey Malt, Rye Malt, and Munich Malt. The brew has a copious aroma of white grapefruit, citrus overtones, a complex rich middle and long flavors in the finish; a real beauty. Finished with wild clover honey. 89 IBU’s, 10% ABV

The beer pours deep amber red in color with a tan head. Notes of honey, caramel and hops dominate the nose with floral notes and light hints of toffee in the background. The beer starts off fairly mild on the palate with light malt sweetness before quickly moving into what you would expect from an Imperial IPA – strong notes of citrus and grapefruit with hints of resin first make an appearance before yielding to a significant pleasant bitterness that fades into a spectacular finally where the hop character is joined by a touch of sweetness and a touch of caramel that lingers and intermingles with the citrus bitterness, creating a sweet and bitter dynamic. The balance on this beer is superb and the layering complex with the added bonus of the 10% alcohol being completely unnoticeable, making this beer surprisingly easy to drink. My biggest surprise with this beer is that they honey adds a noticeable depth and very light earthiness and manages to not be overpowered by the bold hop flavor in this beer.

Laughing Dog Sneaky Pete grabs its leash and takes you out for a walk with 5 big dogs out of 5.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Esmeralda Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Sorry for the delay in posting some beer reviews. Seattle Beer Week and a few personal issues kept me from keeping up with the posting. I am back now, so you get to “enjoy” my reviews again.

Having been a member of the MountainBeer club at NW Peaks for over a year now, we are starting to see some of the beers make a return appearance. Since they are only brewed once a year, they warrant inclusion in my beer notes as well as posting here, just so I can compare how the beers and my tastes changed year over year. I posted a review of the Esmeralda Ale a mere 9 months ago and that was actually 5 months after I drank the beer. This time I am posting a review of it just 2 weeks after I drank the 2014 version. I am getting better at timely reviews.

From the NW Peaks Website:

The name. The mountain. Esmeralda is located in the Teanaway River drainage just S of Ingalls peak and SW of Mt Stuart – one of our favorite areas. It’s on the other side of the Teanaway River from its beastly neighbors and is a much easier approach/climb than that of it’s neighbors. The “class 2″ trek to the summit offers some great views of the massive Mt Stuart and the Stuart range and is part of a great loop for a day hike.

The story of two experiences. Because of its popularity from past renditions, we bring Esmeralda Ale back for another late winter mountainBeer. Of course it is always fun (or not) to remember the comedy of errors that was our first batch brewed on our current system (Esmeralda Ale), while now we have everything dialed in.

The Beer. Esmeralda is one of our ‘adjunct’ beers for March. The adjuncts in Esmeralda are corn and molasses that create a unique character. The corn provides a nice sweetness and smoothness and complements the molasses notes. Esmeralda was fermented with an English ale yeast adding a smooth fruity flavor on top. With very little few hop notes, the slight grain sweetness and dark sugar properties are uniquely featured.

Malts: ESB, munich, corn, special B, biscuit, carafa 2. Hops: Apollo and Goldings. Fermented with British Ale yeast. OG/TG 1.058/1.016 ~5.5% ABV

The beer pours light mahogany brown in color with a thin tan head. The beer has a significant up front nose of corn and grain with hints of spice and grass and just a touch of bread. It starts out on the palate with a slight grain and corn sweetness before bringing in a very light hop bitterness that stays until the end of the beer, when it couples with a pleasant note of corn cakes, molasses spice and an almost pilsner maltiness that linger in a crisp, long fade. This is a full-bodied beer and different from almost anything out there, this beer brings hints of fresh corn to the party in a well-balanced and easy drinking way.

NW Peaks Esmeralda Ale travels down the yellow brick road with 4 flying monkeys out of 5.