Beer of the Week: Populuxe Berrynice Wheat

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Hey 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.

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: Populuxe CDA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

The nice thing about Populuxe and their ever-rotating tap list is that I can drink a beer, take a couple of months to review it and it will eventually end up back on tap. This means that, unlike some of the beers that I am taking so long to post the review of (say Pumpkin beers in March), there is a good chance that you will be able to drink this beer somewhat soon after I review it. Populuxe continued their foray into the world of hoppy beers with the release of the CDA; Cascadian Dark Ale, or as it is otherwise known, a Black IPA.

The beer pours jet black with a tan head. Lots of citrus and hop notes with a bit of roasted malt hiding on the nose. The first sip reveals some chocolate up front, yielding to delicious roasted flavors that linger for a long time before giving way to an explosion of hops and citrus peel in a very long and pleasant finish. A little bolder than the roast on most other CDA’s (which tend to be more hop forward), but very assertive and hoppy enough to please the most ardent hophead. The best part of this beer is how layered it is. It moves away from the one dimensional palate that you get from a number of CDA’s, which look like a dark beer, but taste just about like an IPA and gives you something much more interesting. The amazing part of this beer is that you still and pick out those layers when you are on your second pint.

When this beer shows up on the tap list again, get yourself down to Populuxe and have yourself a pint.

Populuxe CDA sneaks in under the cover of darkness and scores a strong 4 things that go bump in the night out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Pale Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Every once in a while, you come across a beer that will please multiple segments of the drinking population; Populuxe Pale Ale is one of them. The latest new beer in the ever growing Populuxe lineup. Lighter than you would expect, this beer clocks in at 4.8% ABV and is a nice summer addition to their lineup. As with all of their beers, it is only available on tap in their tap room.

The beer pours golden straw in color. Grain and hops dominate the nose with hints of malt. The beer starts out very mild – much lighter than you would expect based on the way it smells and then you get hit with the wall of flavor – light sweetness gives way to a significant hop profile without being bitter. You know there are hops in this beer but they don’t overpower everything else. The hops linger for a bit before giving way to a really nice long grain finish, sort of reminiscent of a hoppy pilsner. The beer is probably a little hoppier than a light beer drinker would enjoy, but it has a restrained enough hop profile that a good number of beer drinkers would enjoy. The added bonus is that the beer has enough character and complexity that a hop head like me would not hesitate to order one (or two or three) as the beer goes down easily. I could see this being my go-to beer for a warm, sunny day out on the back deck when I want hops but don’t want to be drinking a hop monster IPA.

Run down to the Populuxe brewery and try their pale. You won’t be disappointed.

Populuxe Pale Ale sings in with a beautiful 4 Whiter Shades out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Brewing Double IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I am lucky to live in Ballard – we have so many breweries popping up, all within walking distance, that this is becoming a beer nirvana in a city that is pretty close to being beer nirvana. One of the “new kids on the block” is tiny Populuxe brewing, located in a renovated auto repair shop on NW 49th between 8th and 9th Avenues (and right across from the Iron Chef family favorite – Domanico Cellars; Ballard’s only winery tasting room). Saying Populuxe is small is an understatement – they have a 1.5 barrel brewing system so they don’t brew a huge selection of beers. What they lack in size, they make up for in quality. The Double IPA is one of the beers that they have been putting on tap along with their IPA, EuroBlonde, Saison, Bitter and Brown. Check out their FB page for their current tap list.

The DIPA pours hazy golden orange with a white head. Lots of citrus and grapefruit on the nose with notes of grain; you won’t mistake this beer for another style. The initial sip yields large quantities of grapefruit and citrus which linger for a long time coupled with a hint of bitterness that reminds you that this is a northwest Double IPA. It has plenty of hop character but is well balanced and does not feel like a hop bomb – you are not going to blow out your palate after drinking this beer. That balance between the alcohol and hops coupled with a long, smooth, refined finish makes me want to drink more than one and it is easy to forget that you are drinking a 7.2% ABV beer.

Perhaps the greatest compliment paid to this beer and its drinkability was by Mrs. Iron Chef who described the beer as “Not Terrible”. Mrs. Iron Chef does not like anything that is remotely hoppy, so for her to say that is the greatest compliment that can be paid to an IPA.

Populuxe Brewing’s Double IPA pours into the foundation with a spectacular 4 Googies out of 5.

I leave you with this:

The Other (Tastier) March Madnesses

By Iron Chef Leftovers

March Madness is upon us and there is more going on than just basketball. There are at least 2 beer related competitions going on in Seattle.

First up is the Thirsty In Seattle Beer March Madness. This is just a paring of 64 beers in a bracket and you vote on the better beer. It seems to be somewhat random parings and I don’t think I agree with some of their selections (some breweries have multiple entries, some do not), but it is what it is, so vote early and often.

If you happen to be voting, please consider voting for my friends at the newly opened Populuxe Brewing in their matchup against Foggy Noggin’s Bit O’ Beaver. Populuxe is getting smoked right now and they could use some help. If you haven’t been to the brewery, you should stop by. They have really good beers and the owners are nice people. You can also stop by Ballard’s only wine tasting room, Domanico Winery, across the street (OK, my shameless plug is done).
Also consider their Ballard neighbors, NW Peaks, in a tough matchup of their Redoubt Red vs. American Brewing’s Caboose Oatmeal Stout. Both are fantastic beers and worthy of moving on in this competition.

The other pairing that was tough for me was Reuben’s Imperial Rye IPA (which has been previously reviewed on this site) against Anacortes Old Sebastes. If it was any other Anacortes beer, I probably would have voted for Anacortes, but Old Sebastes is their beer I like the least, and I have a beer crush on the Imperial Rye, so you can guess how that one went. I feel like a guy cheating on his hot wife with an even hotter girlfriend with this matchup.

Opening round voting ends March 22nd at 10 PM

The other and, in my opinion, more fun March Madness is going on at the Latona Pub. Their annual March IPA Madness started last night. Each Monday and Friday for the next couple of weeks, they will be tapping 3 beers. The most popular beer from those 3 advances to the final 4. You will most likely find yours truly at the Latona on March 25th when they are tapping the Anacortes IPA. It should make easy work of its 2 competitors – Triplehorn IPA (although I have never actually had it, I may have to size up the competition) and Laurelwood Workhorse IPA. The Final Four tapping is April 2nd.

The Ballard Beer Revolution

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Holy hops, Batman! Ballard is really becoming a hotspot for beer. I saw this on myballard.com, yet another brewery opening soon. That means when Peddler Brewing opens, we will have the following breweries in a 1 mile radius:

Hale’s Ales
Maritime Pacific
NW Peaks
Hilliard’s
Reuben’s
Populuxe (if they ever get their act together and finally open)
Peddler

I am not surprised that a brewery moved into the old Maritime space. I think it is a good location for a small operation.

If beer is not your thing, there you can always visit my friend Jason at the fun tasting room of Domanico Winery. Now if we could just get a distillery….