Tag: beer review

Iron Chef Leftovers and the Three Beers

…and now for something completely different…a beer review in the style of a fairy tale.

One day Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks was wandering through the concrete forest of Ballard and he stumbled upon a small brewery on a path called NW 49th street. Curious, he stopped in to find a friendly looking barkeep pouring 3 different porters, all infused with fruit. Thirsty from his long walk, Iron Chef Leftoversly-locks decided to taste all 3 beers.

First, he tried the Populuxe Raspberry Brown Porter. There were strong notes of raspberry with hints of chocolate on the nose when he smelled the beer. Upon tasting it, he noticed slightly tart raspberry that lingered for a long time before joining up with lots of chocolate flavors in a very long finish that kept going and going. Our hero thought “this beer reminds me of eating a raspberry filled chocolate and it was really tasty. I declare this beer received 3 ‘this porridge is too hot’s’ out of 5.”

Next, the friendly barkeep poured Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks a Sour Cherry Brown Porter. Our hero took a whiff of the brew and noticed mild notes of cherry and chocolate, reminding him of chocolate covered cherries. He took a swig and noticed the beer was chocolate forward, with an almost milk chocolate like characteristic, before it moved on to a  long cherry finish with a light tartness to balance the light sweetness of the malt. He thought to himself “the finish on this beer reminds me of eating fresh cherries with all of the juice. I can almost picture myself eating a handful of cherries and a chocolate bar while drinking this beer. I give this beer a 4 ‘this porridge is too cold’s’ out of 5.”

Finally, the friendly barkeep poured out hero a Roasted Plum Brown Porter. “Roasted plum?” Iron Chef queried. “It is a traditional Czech jam of caramelized plums that were used in the beer,” the friendly barkeep replied. Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks raised the glass to his nose and notices very light notes of plum and caramel with overtones of chocolate and malt in the foreground. Upon sipping the beer, he noticed light notes of sugar with hints of dark caramel in the foreground before moving on to light notes of chocolate and malt before finishing with a slightly sweet jam taste that lingered at the back of the palate. As the beer warmed slightly and more was consumed, our hero began to notice notes of dried fruit, raisins and plums becoming more noticeable throughout the beer, in a very subtle and pleasant way, complimenting the chocolate notes. Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks declared “this beer is subtle and delicious, with lots of character without being overpowering. I will rate this beer 5 ‘this porridge is just right’s out of 5.”

Just then Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks wife came through the door, Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks ordered a Plum Porter and a Blond (for Mrs. Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks) from the friendly barkeep and they went outside to drink their beers in the warm Seattle summer evening.

The End.

Roll Credits…

The Actors:

Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks……….. Iron Chef Leftovers
Mrs. Iron Chef Leftoversy-locks……… Mrs. Iron Chef Leftovers
The Friendly Barkeep………Jiri Zatloukal
Cast of Thousands……… Peter Charbonnier, Amy Besunder, Judy Scarcia
Prince Charming………Johnny Depp
Four Headed Alien………Betty White
And introducing………… Populuxe Brown Porter as Raspberry Brown Porter, Sour Cherry Brown Porter and Roasted Plum Brown Porter

This has been a cheapseateats.com production in association with Populuxe entertainment.

No animals were harmed in the making of this production, but there were a couple of cute standard poodle puppies on set. Plenty of beers were consumed however.

Editor’s note: All 3 beers were based on the same Brown Porter with the fruit added at the very end of the process. These beers were only done in 5 gallon batches, so watch Populuxe’s Facebook page to see when they are on tap.

Beer of the Week: Laughing Dog Brewing Alpha Dog

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Good boy. Sit. Stay. Drink.

Laughing Dog Brewing out of Ponderay, Idaho, is one of the more underrated breweries in the Northwest. The produce several good beers, but where they excel is in their IPA’s producing several outstanding ones. One of my favorites is the Alpha Dog, a very highly hopped double IPA, coming in a sizzling 127 IBU.

This beer pours amber and slightly fizzy with a smooth, white head. The nose is pleasantly floral from the inclusion of Columbus and Mt Hood hops and teases with hints of malted barley. The initial taste yields a great crispness without being tannic with a short hit of bitterness followed by a lingering hoppiness with a hint of sweetness on the finish.

As the beer warms, the bitterness fades and is replaced by a subtle sweetness with a more pronounced floral notes on the nose. My only complaint about this beer is that it lacks the strong citrus notes I love in an IPA – they are there, but barely noticeable, even as the beer warms. Even then, there is tremendous balance in this beer, producing a high IBU beer with enough bitterness to remind you that you are drinking an Imperial IPA, but not so much bitterness that the only people who would drink this are the most hardened IPA lovers. At 8%, you probably won’t find yourself having more and one or 2 of these.

Overall, I love this beer and would gladly drink it any time someone handed me one or I see it in a bottle shop.

Alpha Dog gets 4 canines out of 5.