Category: Food

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Berrynice Wheat

By Iron Chef Leftovers

imagesCAAR87MMHey another current beer review, I must be slipping. As we enter into the waning days of summer, we still are treated to nice, warm, sunny days in the Northwest and, on those occasions, I want something light and refreshing. Populuxe recently re-released their raspberry wheat, called Berrynice Wheat in their taproom.  The beer clocks in at about 5% ABV.

The beer is reddish/amber in color with distinct notes of raspberry on the nose and wheat hidden among the fruit. Berrynice starts out with a distinct wheat kick before quickly moving over to the realm of raspberry – slightly tart with just a hint of mild sweetness, reminding me of a hard candy, with a fruit finish that lingers for a long while, like raspberry syrup on an ice cream sundae. It is an obvious fruit beer without being overpoweringly so, with nice balance and enough wheat character to keep the beer interesting and keep it from being one dimensional. The raspberry becomes more subdued the further into the beer you get, bringing out more of the wheat flavor and making for a very refreshing beer, especially on a warm day.

Populuxe Brewing’s Berrynice Wheat fades out with a warm 3 dog days of summer out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Brews Cream Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

untitled2I personally think that anything new that Reuben’s puts on tap is worth trying at least once. Usually the beers are somewhere in the very good to outstanding range, so there is very little disappointment. At the beginning of August, they debuted a few new beers in their lineup, one of which is their Cream Ale.  The beer comes in at 17 IBU and 5 % ABV.

The beer pours very pale yellow, almost transparently so. Note of cream and grain with hints of what smell like English yeast permeate the nose. The beer builds slowly – it starts out with pleasantly mild yeast and a slight dryness before moving into a slightly fruity realm with some light sweetness before exploding into a long, slightly sweet, mild caramel finish. The finish was unexpected and was much less pronounced on a separate occasion where I had the beer. The second time there was more of a dry, yeast finish with very mild notes of the caramel. The caramel was also more restrained the further I made it into the pint on the first go around. The beer was a little more fizzy than I would have liked (personal preference, l like cream ale on nitro – hint to Mike and Adam), but it was a very enjoyable beer, crisp and refreshing, a nice beer if you are looking for something not terribly hoppy and perfect to be sipping on a warm summer day, especially if you are looking to have a couple.

Reuben’s Brews Cream Ale delivers with a strong 4 milkmen out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben's Brews Cream Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

untitled2I personally think that anything new that Reuben’s puts on tap is worth trying at least once. Usually the beers are somewhere in the very good to outstanding range, so there is very little disappointment. At the beginning of August, they debuted a few new beers in their lineup, one of which is their Cream Ale.  The beer comes in at 17 IBU and 5 % ABV.

The beer pours very pale yellow, almost transparently so. Note of cream and grain with hints of what smell like English yeast permeate the nose. The beer builds slowly – it starts out with pleasantly mild yeast and a slight dryness before moving into a slightly fruity realm with some light sweetness before exploding into a long, slightly sweet, mild caramel finish. The finish was unexpected and was much less pronounced on a separate occasion where I had the beer. The second time there was more of a dry, yeast finish with very mild notes of the caramel. The caramel was also more restrained the further I made it into the pint on the first go around. The beer was a little more fizzy than I would have liked (personal preference, l like cream ale on nitro – hint to Mike and Adam), but it was a very enjoyable beer, crisp and refreshing, a nice beer if you are looking for something not terribly hoppy and perfect to be sipping on a warm summer day, especially if you are looking to have a couple.

Reuben’s Brews Cream Ale delivers with a strong 4 milkmen out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Kassik Brewing Moose Point Porter

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Raise your hand if you knew there was a brewery in Kenai, Alaska. Raise your hand if you know where Kenai, Alaska is. Well, there is a brewery there called Kassik Brewing and they produce some pretty tasty beers, which happen to be available in Seattle. A little about Kassik from their website:

Kassik’s Brewery is housed in a small warehouse, nestled in a clearing in the woods, adjacent to the Kassik’s home in Nikiski. Frank’s passion for brewing began when his wife Debara, bought him a home brew kit for Christmas. Frank was hooked and soon became a proficient home brewer. They built a 36 X 50 shop in hopes to someday have a brewery. In May of 2005 Kassik’s purchased a used seven barrel system, and then remodeled their building to accommodate the equipment with the help of family and friends. The brewery opened Memorial Weekend 2006 with their first brew Beaver Tail Blonde, their Moose Point Porter was on tap a few weeks later.

I cracked open a 22 oz. bottle of their Moose Point Porter, which ran about $5 and happens to be their flagship beer. It is available at most good bottle shops and the occasional mega mart (I believe I have seen their beers in Fred Meyer).

The description from their website:

ABV 5.2%          –          Silver 2011 World Beer Championship

A delightfully deceiving signature brew! 

Moose Point Porter has a dark and heavy appearance with a surprisingly light and clean finish.

 

Moose_Point_PorterThe beer pours on the dark side for a porter with light malt and hints of roast and chocolate hidden on the nose. The initial sip is slightly hoppy (and surprisingly so) with notes of caramel and toffee yielding to a slightly sweet but long finish. As you make it further into the beer, light notes of vanilla and sassafras start to appear, reminding me of a root beer or a cream soda. For being a dark beer, it is surprisingly approachable without any dominating flavor profile, making it a complex and well integrated beer.

Kassik Brewery’s Moose Point Porter saunters in with a strong 3 Alces alces out of 5.

Yesterday's EarthBox "Harvest"

by A.J. Coltrane

Previous post here.

I think I’m staying away from the word “harvest” for the same reason that I avoid the word “pizza” when making flatbreads — everybody has preconceived ideas as to what those words mean..

Anyhows, here’s yesterday’s colorful “harvest”.

(L-R) Tomatillo, Lemon Cucumber, Sweet Tequila Pepper, (large) Siletz Tomato, (medium) Glacier Tomato, (small) Sun Gold Tomato
(L-R) Tomatillo, Lemon Cucumber, Sweet Tequila Pepper, (large) Siletz Tomato, (medium) Glacier Tomato, (small) Sun Gold Tomato

The Tequila peppers got grilled and turned pale. Kind of a letdown. The tomatillos are going to become a green salsa really soon.

Bonus boy cat pic:

Always checking things out.
Always checking things out.

 

Yesterday’s EarthBox “Harvest”

by A.J. Coltrane

Previous post here.

I think I’m staying away from the word “harvest” for the same reason that I avoid the word “pizza” when making flatbreads — everybody has preconceived ideas as to what those words mean..

Anyhows, here’s yesterday’s colorful “harvest”.

(L-R) Tomatillo, Lemon Cucumber, Sweet Tequila Pepper, (large) Siletz Tomato, (medium) Glacier Tomato, (small) Sun Gold Tomato
(L-R) Tomatillo, Lemon Cucumber, Sweet Tequila Pepper, (large) Siletz Tomato, (medium) Glacier Tomato, (small) Sun Gold Tomato

The Tequila peppers got grilled and turned pale. Kind of a letdown. The tomatillos are going to become a green salsa really soon.

Bonus boy cat pic:

Always checking things out.
Always checking things out.

 

EarthBox Update — August 18, 2013

by A.J. Coltrane

Previous post here.

A very productive week. I’d have to guess at least 15 pounds of stuff. The cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil are all in full swing. The midweek “harvest”:

081313 bounty

The lemon cucumbers are going nuts. In a related note, the leaves are starting to look funky. My suspicion is that all of the plants are using their energy to produce fruit and they’re letting their leaves go south. I’m also going to guess that the leaves are going to look awful by the time the first frost rolls around. Here’s the “harvest” from Saturday — four days later. ((L-R) Lemon cucumber, bunch onion, Glacier, Sun Gold, Stupice):

Continue reading “EarthBox Update — August 18, 2013” →

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Sloan Stout

By Blaidd Drwg

I love stouts, especially when the weather is cold. To me, they are the beer equivalent of hot chocolate – hearty and flavorful, warming the belly and feeding the soul. Needless to say, I was excited when NW Peaks released 2 stouts as part of their mountain beer collection, Sloan and Stuart. It was a fun experience drinking them side by side to compare them (Stuart was previously reviewed here).

 From the NW Peaks Website:

The mountain. Sloan Peak is a prominent-looking mountain situated all by itself just off the mountain loop “highway”. It’s a great, distinctive mountain that appears to be falling over, depending on your vantage… The Beer. We used the same yeast used to make Guinness and tried to mimic the water profile of Dublin, Ireland to create our own interpretation of a dry stout, a style that Guinness has made ever so popular…

 

 

The beer pours predictably dark. Notes of coffee, toffee and chocolate permeate the nose with the coffee leading the assault. The beer starts off on your palate pretty light, giving way to a pleasantly mild astringency (think black coffee) before hitting you with a tidal wave of flavor. Coffee and chocolate dominate before leading into a long, sweet and slightly smoky finish. Sloan was much more robust than I was expecting and it becomes more so as it warms. It was like drinking a Guinness on steroids.

I case you are wondering, here is what I am referring to in the rating.
I case you are wondering, here is what I am referring to in the rating.

Sloan Stout was a wonderful interpretation of a dry stout and best of all, is still available in growler according to the NW Peaks website (you may want to call ahead and confirm). If it is, treat yourself to one of the better stouts available in the Northwest.

NW Peaks Sloan Stout stumbles into the brewery with an ethereal 4 St. James’s Gates out of 5.

And now a word from our sponsor…

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Greetings mortals.

It occurred to me as I was sitting at Reuben’s the other day drinking a Cream Ale, that I have a horrible backlog of beer reviews. It is so bad that I realize by the time I get around to posting my Cream Ale review, the beer is going to be long gone. It an attempt to post some more seasonally appropriate reviews, I decided that there are going to be 3 “Beer of the Week” posts instead of the normal 2, just until I can catch up on my backlog. You will still get the same witty banter about sports, games and food from our award winning writers Blaidd Drwg and AJ Coltrane, but with more Iron Chef Leftovers thrown into the mix. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the show, just with more beer. In the immortal words of Monty Python: