Beer of the Week: Naked City Mild Davis

By Iron Chef Leftovers

The resurgence of mild beers is nice – they are low alcohol, usually have a nice malty flavor profile and can be very refreshing if they are served on a warm day. They are usually my go to beer when I am looking for something that is lower in alcohol and has a deeper flavor on warmer days. It is even better when served either on nitro or cask, giving the traditional English feel to the beer. It also means that when I see a mild on tap somewhere, I am going to get it. This was the case at Naked City where they had their mild on nitro. It clocked in at just 3.8% ABV.

From the Naked City website:

Our Northwest interpretation of a classic English Style Mild Ale. Mild Davis is brewed with British Pale, Ashburne Mild Malt, Brown Malt, and Crystal. Lightly hopped with Willamette. Served on Nitrogen for an extremely smooth, silky mouthfeel.

The beer pours amber in color with a creamy white head. There is no dominating or defining note on the nose of this beer – mild notes of caramel, malt and toffee all appear but none is overly present. The beer starts off on the palate in a non-descript way with really mild hints of malt before moving into very light caramel and toffee and finishing light with those flavors and just a touch of malty sweetness and a creamy mouth feel. Light in flavor and easy to drink, it was fine but it lacked a bit of depth in character that I like in a mild.

Naked City Mild Davis announces its presence with 2 trumpets out of 5

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Brews Triple Hop Imperial IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

It is always nice when Reuben’s throws out a new IPA or a variation of one of their existing ones. There have been some fun versions of the Imperial Rye, Blimey and Imperial on cask and randalls, adding new depth of flavors to already tasty beers. A recent experiment with their Imperial IPA lead to triple hopping (and sadly I did not write down what that actually entailed), but it did produce an 80+ IBU, 8.4% ABV monster.

The beer pours golden orange in color with a creamy white head. Strong notes of citrus and citrus peel with hints of lemon and pine appear on the nose. The beer starts out with a touch of sweetness and grain before moving into a strong citrus middle with notes of orange, lemon and tangerine that linger pleasantly before the bitterness sets in with notes of orange peel. The finish is a combination of fruit and peel with hints of resin and just a touch of alcohol, which disappears after the first couple of sips. Very layered and complex with deep fruit notes and enough bitterness to round them out, yes surprisingly easy to drink.

Reuben’s Triple Hop Imperial IPA throws a strike with 4 turkeys out of 5.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Luna dIPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

For the first couple of years of their existence, NW Peaks resisted brewing IPA’s, becoming the sort of anti-Northwest Brewery. They really had no reason to – they brewed some great beers in styles that were not always common, using different ingredients. That has slowly changed and NW Peaks threw its hat into the IPA arena first with the Challenger IPA and now with the Luna dIPA – their first crack at a double IPA. In NW Peaks fashion, they couldn’t just brew any old double IPA, they went out and brewed one using all Southern Hemisphere hops.

From the NW Peaks Website:

The name. The mountain. Luna is the center mountain of the Northern Picket range, arguably the most remote and inaccessible are of the N Cascades (along with the S. Pickets). There really is no good approach; any choice involves a lengthy slog and bushwhack. For those that venture into the area, the rewards are worth it as you are surrounded by gorgeous environs with a feeling of isolation. Since Luna Peak is the center of the N. Pickets including Mt Challenger (the namesake of our IPA), it was a perfect name for the bold and big double version of the style.

The Beer. Luna IPA is a beast of an IPA coming in at 9.5% ABV with about 3 pounds of hops per barrel. Luna starts with melon and tropical notes dominating the hop aroma and flavor. This leads to a crisp, hoppy bite, but one that doesn’t overwhelm your senses. Luna fermented dry (for the style), but the malt backbone, sweetness of the fruity hops, and alcohol warming support the hops harmoniously. The resulting beer is a great interpretation of the style that features unique hops, a full flavor profile, and pleasant drinkability.

The beer pours deep orange in color with a nice white head. There are strong notes of grain and citrus on the nose with hints of mellon and notes of wood. The beer starts off on the palate with just a touch of grain before moving quickly int a significant profile of mellon and tropical fruit with a hint of sweetness, reminding me of eating a juicy cantaloupe. The finish brings additional flavors of pineapple and passion fruit with a tiny amount of bitterness that lingers for what seems like forever and brings just a touch of warming heat from the alcohol. The beer is incredibly well balanced and different, its complexity hides the fact that this beer is a monster and you can easily drink 2 or 3 in one sitting without feeling like you have killed you palate like with most double IPA’s.

NW Peaks Luna dIPA sends Alice to the moon with 5 Pows! Right in the kissers out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Sound Brewery Mayan Cave Bear

By Iron Chef Leftovers

There are some beers that are available once a year in a very limited window that are worth the wait. These generally tend to be really over the top hoppy IPA’s that have a huge following. For me, it is the obscure styles of dark beers, generally ones that have been sitting in a barrel aging. Sound Brewing Mayan Cave Bear has been a bit of a white whale for me – the last couple of releases I wasn’t able to get to try the beer and I have been wanting to for quite a while since their Imperial Stout – Ursus Spelaeus is one of my favorites. Fortunately for me I went to the cask festival and Mayan Cave Bear was available, so I figured what better time to try it.

The beer pours jet black with significant amounts of vanilla, chocolate and coffee with hints of malt and chilies on the nose. The beer starts off with huge notes of chocolate and coffee on the palate before throwing in a hint of green chili pepper that brings a touch of heat to the party, but not in an overpowering way, and some fruitiness from the pepper. The beer finishes long with chocolate, coffee, toffee, roast malt and a pleasant background heat that ties this beer altogether. The beer is big and complex and 10% ABV but well balanced and smooth making it easy to drink. This beer is one I probably couldn’t drink all day, but it would be a great one to have a snifter or 2 of on a cold winter day.

Sound Brewery Mayan Cave Beer staves off extinction with a spectacular 5 human sacrifices out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Belgian Tripel

By Iron Chef Leftovers

In the strictest sense of the word, this beer is technically not a Populuxe beer, it is something that one of their brewers brewed as a home-brew batch. It is getting put under the Populuxe category because of the connection the the brewery and I really don’t want to lose the notes that I took on the beer, especially since I love Belgian triples. The bottle was also a gift from the brewer for my birthday, so it was a one time deal.

The beer pours hazy orange in color with a nice white head. Very grain foreword on the nose with significant amounts of Belgian yeast and hints of spice and cloves on the nose. the beer stars out with just a hint of grain and boozy alcohol before moving very quickly into the realm of Belgian character – yeast and bread dominate at first before moving off into a nicely spiced middle and then bering joined with a pleasant sweetness and notes of yeast and bread that linger nicely on the finish with hints of nutmeg and cloves rounding out the beer. There is just a touch of warming alcohol at the end of the beer, reminding you that it is not a small beer to be drinking. The beer is well balanced and enjoyable throughout the experience and as the beer warms, deeper flavors of orange peel and banana come to the party making this a deep and complex beer to be enjoyed on a cool spring day.

Populuxe Belgian Tripel pulls into 3rd base standing up with 4 triples out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Bad Jimmy’s Blood Orange And Honey Wheat Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I always temper my expectations when it comes to beers involving blood oranges. Blood oranges are one of my favorite flavors, but when it comes to putting them into beers, you either get so much blood orange flavor that the beer is completely overwhelmed or so little blood orange flavor that it is barely noticeable. As a result of this, I had some apprehension about trying the blood orange and honey wheat from Bad Jimmy’s. The beer clocked in at a hefty 6.5% ABV and 20 IBU.

The beer pours light hazy pale in color with light notes of honey and blood orange peel with hints of wheat in the background. The beer starts out with a light, slightly astringent, bitterness from the blood orange peel before becoming gradually sweeter, first from the blood orange juice and then from the honey before fading out. There are very light grain and orange notes ion the finish, but the beer is lacking much in the way of actual wheat character which is strangely lost despite the lack of bold flavors from the honey or orange. The beer lacked balance and missed out on the chance to elevate itself with a great paring of ingredients.

Bad Jimmy’s Blood Orange And Honey Wheat Ale harvests just 2 combines out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Barrel Aged Breakfast Stout

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Reuben’s, coming up on their second anniversary, has been hugely successful. They quickly became one of the best breweries in the state, have won numerous awards and medals at beer competitions and make some of the most interesting beers you can get your hands on. One additional, but less well known place where they excel is their small barrel aging program. It has so far produced some of the best barrel aged beers I have ever had (see here) and they continue to surprise with what they can do with an old barrel. A recent release of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Breakfast Stout was no exception. This was their breakfast stout, bulked up to 10% and clocking in with 39 IBU.

The beer pours jet black in color with huge amounts of maple sugar and milk chocolate on the nose with backing notes of roasted malt, whiskey and vanilla on the nose. The beer starts out surprisingly light with just a touch of roasted malt before quickly moving into pleasant notes of sweet caramel and whiskey coupled with milk chocolate and sweet coffee. The finish is long and sweet, with notes of coffee, maple, chocolate, caramel, fruit, grain and pecans all present. This was like drinking a complete breakfast in a glass and was an incredibly complex and deep beer. The beer was well balanced with no individual flavor taking over for more than a few seconds and this beer was in that “can’t tell it is high alcohol” category because of its easiness of drinking.

Reuben’s Brews Barrel Aged Breakfast Stout is bringing breakfast back with an outstanding 5 parts of a well balanced diet out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Naked City Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Back in the day when they first started, Naked City was really known for Belgian style beers. Over the past few years, they have really expanded both their beer lineup and brewery, so now when you head into their taproom/restaurant, you are faced with a large, something for everyone beer list. The upside of that is when you are looking for a particular style, there is a chance they have it. A recent trip to Naked City on a warm day lead to me wanting something light and refreshing, so I gravitated towards the Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, a blonde ale clocking in at just 5% ABV.

From the Naked City website:

The name is inspired by the final track on Bob Dylan’s brilliant Blonde on Blonde album. One of the many questions this song asks is: “Who among them do you think could resist you?” Made with British Pale, Munich, Wheat, and Crystal Malts, this light, easy-drinking session ale is hopped with Chinook and Styrian Golding. Once you have one pint of this smooth ale, you won’t be able to resist another.

The beer pours pale yellow in color with a significant amount of pilsner malt and slight floral notes and hints of grain on the nose. The beer starts off with a slight malty sweetness before showing significant pilsner character and touches of fruit. The finish is pleasant, with a malt start and finishing with hints of pilsner with a slightly floral character. The beer is pretty nondescript but pleasant and easy to drink on a warm summer day. I just wish it had a bit more depth beyond the significant pilsner character.

Naked City’s Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands tunes its guitar to 2 Rainy Day Women out of 5.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Single Hop IPA with Crystal

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Keeping with a theme of single hop IPA’s, NW Peaks released one also recently, this one done with Crystal hops. It was a new beer for the crew down at NW Peaks and an IPA, so it was definitely on my must try list.

The beer pours hazy pale yellow in color with notes of lemon and lemon peel and touches of grain and grassy hops. The beer starts off with a strong grain profile with just a touch of sweetness before quickly moving into a mild bitterness showing hints of lemon peel. The beer finishes long with notes of lemon juice (without the acidity) and a pleasant bitterness with just a touch of astringency (surprising but not unpleasant) and hints of grassy notes giving the beer a bit of a bite. The beer drinks fine and is a nice use of Crystal hops, but it lacked a great depth of flavor that you would normally expect from an IPA and it seemed just a bit unbalanced.

NW Peaks Single Hop IPA with Crystal goes into the china shop like a bull with 2 horns out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Stoup Brewing Citra IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I am back to bouncing all over my beer notes because every once in a while, I have a beer that is on tap at a local brewery and worth seeking out. I love IPA’s and I love single hop IPA’s even more because they really showcase the hop and its flavor profile. Stoup Brewing has a Citra IPA currently on tap that comes in at a reasonable 50 IBU and 5.9% ABV. Since I really do enjoy Citra hops, this one was a must-try.

From the Stoup website:

We like to call this one Sunshine In a Glass … or Sunshine In Your Belly because it won’t stay in that glass long. Our Citra® IPA is designed to be light and bright in both color and body. Your first sniff will elicit images of tropical fruit and citrus thanks to a healthy dose of Citra® hops. Enjoy a pint of this and you might just find yourself gazing skyward, pondering how in the heck sunshine made its way into your glass.

The beer pours hazy golden in color with tinges of orange and a creamy white head. There are significant amounts of orange and orange peel on the nose with light touches of orange juice showing through. The beer starts out with a mild orange juice sweetness coupled with touches of grain before more pronounced IPA character builds in. First, you get hints of piney resin, then burnt orange peel with a bitterness that is mild and pleasant that carries through the finish of the beer without overpowering it. There is more fresh fruit on the finish, combining with the orange peel and pine notes, causing the beer to finish nicely and tricked my mind into looking for orange pulp at the bottom of the glass. This beer is easy to drink with a nice balance and complexity, showing layered flavors and showcasing Citra hops wonderfully.

Stoup Brewing’s Citra IPA goes down to the groves and picks the best 4 oranges out of 5.