Beer of the Week: Maritime Pacific Lady Jane Bitter

By Iron Chef Leftovers

With all of the love that I give to the Ballard breweries, there is one that up until this point (200+ beer reviews) that has never appeared in this space, which is disappointing, because they are a) on of the oldest breweries in Seattle and b) a place that the Mrs. and I go to on somewhat on a regular basis, albeit for food not necessarily the beer. Maritime Pacific has a great tap room/restaurant and I highly recommend them for their excellent and inexpensive pub fare and their solid but unspectacular beers. They have a pretty consistent tap lineup and brew pretty much to style, so you won’t find a bunch of super hoppy imperial IPA’s or weird adjuncts in their beer, just solid, straight forward, refreshing suds. I started off a tasting tray with the Lady Jane Bitter.
The beer pours medium tan in color with an off-white head. Notes of grain and caramel dominate the nose with just a hint of hops hiding in the background. The beer starts off on the palate slightly sweet with a nice amount of grain before moving into light caramel and toasted malt flavor with notes of caraway and rye. The beer finishes short with a slight bitterness that comes and goes quickly coupled with touches of sweetness and caramel on the finish. Drinks a bit differently than you would expect from a bitter, but it was easy to drink, tasty and smooth.

Maritime Lady Jane Bitter pours a long, cool 3 women in a red dress out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Bitter with Goldings Cask

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I do have a love for cask beer, and, while I have a soft spot in my heart for the ‘hoppy’ casks like IPA, CDA and Pale, I do really love the more traditional casks of Mild and Bitters. I was excited then when a few weeks ago, Populuxe went very traditionally British with their cask and rolled out a Bitter with Goldings hops. I am a big fan of the Bitter and with its sub 5% ABV, it is a great beer if you are planning on bellying up to the bar for a long evening.

The beer pours hazy orange in color with hints of grain and lemon on the nose. The beer starts out with a nice light grain component with hints of caramel on the palate before moving into light lemon with hints of mild malt sweetness. The beer finishes pleasantly with just a hint of bitterness and light tannins, coupled with notes of toffee and just a touch of chocolate. The finish is surprisingly long for a cask and the beer is complex without being too deep and drinks easily and goes down smoothly. If you want a nice change of pace from the big hoppy stuff you normally find in the Northwest, this is the beer you want to be drinking.

Populuxe Bitter with Goldings brings you all the way back to the station with 5 double deckers out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Stoup mk Special Bitter

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I have a soft spot in my heart for bitters (both the beer and the flavoring agent in mixed drinks), probably because it is a style of beer that, when it is done well, is deep, complex and enjoyable, but easy drinking at the same time. There seems to be a resurgence of the style in the Northwest and this winter it seems that a good number of breweries were rolling one out, which means that there were lots of them for me to try. Stoup threw their hat in the ring with the mk Special Bitter, which clocked in at 5.3% ABV and 35 IBU.

The beer poured deep amber red in color with significant notes of grain and malt and just a touch of hops and citrus on the nose. The beer starts off dry with just a hint of toffee before quickly moving off into the grains and malt, finishing with just a tough of bitterness and a long slightly sweet malt profile that keeps lingering coupled with a very subtle fruitiness, which become notes of dried fruit as the beer warms. Lightly bittered and hopped, this beer is easy to drink and balanced with enough character to be interesting and leaving you wanting more.

Stoup mk Special Bitter comes in from the cold with 4 neighborhood pubs out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Burke-Gillman Smoked Tea Bitter Cask

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Yes, I figured that since I posted the Sorachi Ace Bitter, it was time to post the Smoked Tea Bitter review. This cask version used a scant one ounce of Chinese smoked black tea in the cask, something that is probably not a traditional cask ingredient, but definitely something that piqued my interest.

The beer pours the color of iced tea with significant notes of smoke on the nose with backing notes of dried fruit and malt. The beer starts out lightly tannic with hints of malt and hops before crossing into deeper tea notes before the smoke component shows up. The smoke starts strong with forest fire qualities (in a good way) before mellowing out into a pleasant campfire background without ever really disappearing. The beer finishes with a distinct black tea character showing light tannins and mild notes of dried fruit with notes of smoke and hints of caramel. The beer drinks like a light rauch beer without the heavy malt and smoke qualities, making it easier to drink. It is surprisingly balanced and deep without being ashtray like or losing the qualities of the beer in the process, and I found myself wanting to go back for another pint. It is definitely not a beer that you would enjoy if you don’t like smoked beers, but if you are looking for something very different, this would beer to try.

Populuxe Burke-Gillman Smoked Tea Bitter Cask races in with 4 mountain bikes out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Burke-Gillman Bitter with Sorachi Ace Cask

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I have had some great cask beers, some good cask beers and some mediocre cask beers. The style of the beer almost doesn’t matter, some of the best casks I have had over the last couple of years have been non-traditional cask styles or casks with really non-traditional ingredients. Populuxe has been on a roll with putting out their Burke-Gillman Bitter in cask form – a traditional beer done in a few non-traditional ways. (I have to get around to posting the Smoked Tea Bitter review). I usually try to post my reviews in chronological order, especially for one-off beers since there is no hurry to go out and drink them. This is an exception – the latest version of the Burke-Gillman Bitter, dry hopped with Sorachi Ace and Horizon hops will be available at the Cask Festival on Saturday, March 22^nd and this is one that is worth seeking out there.

The beer pours cloudy brown in color with nice notes of caramel and orange with just a hint of grassy note and very light roasted notes. For a cask beer, this one has big, complex flavors. The beer starts out with a medium caramel profile with hints of roast before the hops start to kick in. The Sorachi brings a very light herbaciousness to the party and the Horizon brings a nice orange kick and just a touch of bitterness. These notes intertwine with the caramel and remain throughout the beer all the way to the finish making for an almost hard candy like profile as they are joined with just a touch of sweetness from the malt. The finish is very long for a cask beer and is incredibly pleasant and smooth. The beer drinks extremely easily and at less than 5% ABV, it goes down way too easily, leading you to want pint after pint.

Populuxe usually does a great job with their casks, but this one may be the best one they have ever done.

Populuxe Burke-Gillman Bitter with Sorachi Ace Cask lays down its cards with a perfect 5 Royal Flushes out of 5.

Get this beer early at the Cask Festival – it is worth the experience.