West Coast Beer Flight #1 - IPAs from Out West

The U.S. has some pretty diverse beermaking culture, and many specific regions have developed their own local flavor. Like bike shops and bearded fixie dudes, the West Coast has its own unique brewing tradition with a strong emphasis on microbrews. I'd wager there are dozens if not hundreds of breweries on the West Coast, and each of them have a particular style.

My first experience with serious West Coast brewcraft was in June of 2008, when I spent my 21st birthday barhopping in Seattle with my brother and his MBA buddies. One thing I learned - besides learning that Jack in the Box is NOT a good idea at 2 am after you've just opted for a spirited game of ping-pong fueled by beer-by-the-pitcher at Teddy's - is that the West Coast has quite a tradition for microbrews and local creations. At each bar we went to, we'd run into dozens of beers on tap...many I'd never heard of before. Some even made their own. There's definitely a strong, vibrant craft beer scene out there to which I think many of us back East don't really have the same kind of exposure. Sure, we've got brewpubs, and microbrews, and everything - but we don't have the same kind of variety of small, regional craft brews and special one-offs that you might find in Seattle. Rogue Brewing Company, based in Oregon, is a good example of a macrobrew that still sticks to West Coast spirit. Unfortunately, many of the delicious beers you'd drink out West are unavailable in the mid-Atlantic or in New England.

But I did get my hands on a nice selection recently, when my brother Daniel recently sent me a huge box filled with different West Coast brews. I've decided to try a beer flight and review several at time for the edification of my dear readers. Hopefully these reviews will give you a good idea of some of the beers out there that are primarily available out West...and especially for my mid-Atlantic and East Coast readers, this may expose you to some beers you won't find in Whole Foods, Giant, or even specialty shops. Over the next few months, I'll be rolling out periodic West Coast beer flight reviews.

For this review, I'm going to take a look at Red Hook's Long Hammer IPA, Fremont Brewing Co's Unviersale Pale, and Fort George Brewing Co's OPA. All are some form of West Coast IPA.

As a quick note, the letters "IPA" stand for "India Pale Ale." IPAs are a subset of the pale ale category of ales. India Pale Ales are called such because the ale originally was brewed to be sold in India. And since the trip was so long, they needed the beer to keep. But once side effect was that the long voyage to India did these beers well...and as a result, this beer started being sold in England proper.

However, the beers I'm about to review all diverge from that typical IPA precedent.  Let's read more about them!

The first beer I tried of the new West Coast batch was Red Hook's Long Hammer IPA. The Red Hook Ale brewery of Washington state has some good stuff. Today's offering is their IPA, a 6.2% ABV dry-hopped IPA.

Pouring the beer out yielded lots of bubbles and a thin, white, foamy head. The beer left lots of lacing on the glass. It has a hoppy, bitter nose and the taste is definitely bitter. But - it's bright, hoppy, and has a deliciously clear taste with notes of piney citrus. This beer is crisp, drinkable, not overpowering and I would recommend it for those who may like the IPA style but may not like some of the bitterness that comes with that style.

Next up is the Fremont Universale Pale ale. Straight of sunny Seattle, Fremont Brewing Co's Universale is a delicious (but straightforward) pale ale.

On the pour, it generated a very thick, frothy head with a deep golden color. Pale white head. After it settled down a bit, I took a nice long whiff and noted a distinct lack of a serious aroma. Drinking it yielded a delicious, crisp hop taste with nice floral and citrus notes.

The number one thing I took away from this beer is that it's completely drinkable. Unlike some pale ales that can really hit you below the belt with hops and bitterness, this beer was tasty, smooth, and not overly bitter. Just like a real IPA should be. I like it! I bet it tastes great on draft.

Last (but not least) is the Fort George Sunrise OPA, or Oatmeal Pale Ale. This beer hails from Astoria, Oregon and is the American Pale Ale style.

The nose was fruity, warm and bright, which I liked. The pour was swift and the beer poured a hazy yellow, with lots of thick white foam. The nose, color and pour all pointed towards a smooth, bright, malty beer.

But I was wrong. Looks (or in this case, smells) can be deceiving. Just like those strawberry candies your grandmother used to have...not what they seem.

This beer is hoppy. It hits you like a wrecking ball of pure hops. Those clean, clear hops have a strong body followed by a sharp alcohol taste that evens out to a fruit-tastic finish. While the concept of this beer is novel, and it was tasty, for the amount of hops and free alcohols in there it needs to come with a warning label or a waiver or something. This beer isn't a session beer and shouldn't be taken liberally.

So unlike some of their traditional IPA / pale ale peers, these all present a very crisp, strong, clean and clear taste. They don't have the same dirty hop overload that other beers have. The Fort George has a lot of hops, but they were clean. Not bitter. The West Coast has its share of IPAs, and these are just a few examples of some of them. If you're every in Washington, definitely seek out the Fremont Universale. It's probably the most approachable of all of these. More will come as I get through the backlog of posts!

Ministry of Beer - Beer of Socialist Labor with Oak-Leaf Clusters

For today's review, Sip and Puff is going to go where it has never gone before: the far-off galaxy of homebrewing.

Homebrewing is the process of making one's own alcohol. Many specialty outlets and stores carry supplies to make beer, wine, mead or cider at home. There are even a wide variety of kits available for the layperson to make his or her own beverages. Legal restrictions on homebrewing were lifted in the United States in 1978, and currently one single home brewer can only make 100 gallons of beer per year. Since the government gets money in the form of an excise tax on alcohol, homebrewers can't realistically sell their beer.

You can't, however, have a home distillery. Home distillation is illegal in many countries, including the good old U.S. of A., but in places such as Russia, Great Britain, and New Zealand, it's permissible. In Great Britain and New Zealand, there are legal avenues to home distillation; but it's not regulated in Russia. This explains a few things.

My first (and heretofore only, with the exception of today's post) experience with homebrewed alcohol was in college, when my roommate Sean made honey mead in the common room. He had glass jugs, spigots, bottles, caps, and a whole manner of tubes. He and his now-wife Bethany spent an afternoon making the stuff; he had 5 gallons when he was done. He bottled it in old wine bottles, corked them, and put them in the dorm closet. After the carbonation popped a few corks out, we managed to keep them sealed until it was time to open them. Aaaand...the stuff tasted pretty sour. We promptly got rid of it (or, to use a term coined by my wine merchant Charles, we "launched" it.)

So fast forward almost five years. Dear friend Jonathan and his wife Jill (also a good friend) have taken it upon themselves to brew beer in the living room of their Virginia apartment. Given my past experiences with homebrewing, I was slightly skeptical of how the beer would turn out. After much research, planning, and fermenting, Jon's beer - an oak-barrel stout - was bottled. Here's what the actual brewing contraption looks like:

Also note the Soviet propaganda poster in the background.

He's calling his label the Ministry of Beer, and his beers will feature a comical Soviet theme. This one, the Beer of Socialist Labor with Oak-Leaf Clusters, is called so because it's an oak-barrel stout. Oak-leaf clusters are also small metal pins attached to armed service medals to denote special recognition or bravery in combat. And since the Soviet army gave out medals like crazy, as evidenced by these badasses,

Source: Wikipedia, naturally

the beer's name is rather apt. So now, on to the beer! Jon brought some over for a BBQ I held and he presented me with a few bottles. Although I had some at the party, I did reserve a bottle or two for a proper review. Like any good hipster, I can say that you've probably never heard of this beer before.

The bottle comes capped with a normal crimped bottle cap. The bottles are repurposed and recycled, so there's no labels on them. When opened, the bottles have no hiss - no carbonation at all, really. The pour is very thick, slow, with just a slight head. The glass doesn't lace at all.

Attempts to stir up a frothy head using a cocktail fork were successful; a walnut-colored foam was produced. There is a little bit of lacing in there as well, as you can see.

The nose is deep, malty, with notes of caramel. The aroma is muted and faint, which is nice. Some stouts I have encountered are rather aromatic; this can (but is not always) a distraction from the beer. The taste itself is oaky, smoky, woody, and thick. This blogger enjoys a smooth brew any day - none of this frilly, bubbly, gassy, light stuff. Another good point to his beer is that there's no alcohol taste whatsoever, no carbonation burn, and not a hint of burnt anything. That's good. Again, some stouts taste like burned whatever, and that's always rough on the way down.

The flavor is very deep and mild. The finish is smooth, malty, and has an aftertaste of perfectly-roasted cocoa beans. After a few minutes, as it sits, its pedigree as a stout becomes evident. It opens up with the air, becomes chocolatier, oakier, and a little more flavor-forward. It finishes nicely and is gone before you know it. I would serve it cool, but not right out of the fridge. There's a definite benefit to letting this one come in contact with the air for a few minutes.

So, I'm definitely pleased by how this came out. Maybe it's because I'm partial to this type of beer, but I couldn't find anything amiss with this DIY concoction. You could pair this beer with roast meats; perhaps a thick barley stew with carrots and roast beef. Because this beer is deep, smooth, and strong, you'd be best to pair it with heartier foods and thicker soups. Something that has a muted flavor that won't clash with the strength or flavor profile of this brew.

I'm not sure how well this beer would cellar; I'd be interested in laying it down for six months and coming back to it at Christmastime. In terms of new releases, I'm eager to see what else the Ministry of Beer is going release; odds are, it will be pretty good. Stay tuned for more reviews from this newcomer to the beer world.