Liquid Solutions

Another oak aged Belgian it is dark dark brown in color with a creamy tan head. Its aroma has a sherry quality with a fruity vinous tone, vanilla and a touch of oak. The flavor has a coffee, cherries, apricot and earthy wood tones. Big prickly carbonation with 12%.

This oak aged brew has an aroma that is big with peach, floral, orange, vanilla, lemon and a grassy herbal hop. The flavor fruity with apple, pear and a peppery spiciness with clove and cardamom. More hops than I expected and big dry finish with high carbonation that has a fluffy pillowy mouth feel.

Deep mahogany red in color pours with two fingers of head. The aroma is grassy and earthy with dark crystal malts. Nice hop bitterness in the front flavor with a light caramel and plum fruitiness.

This Weise bier pours a cloudy yellow with an appropriately massive head. The aroma and flavor is crisp with wheaty lemon and ester banana. Yeasty with a smooth mouth feel just a mention of spice. I really like this one and go back to it time and again.

Light straw in color with a with a tight creamy head. The aroma is mostly of pale malt. Lightly sweet with a fresh noble hop showing. This is a great Helles and what makes a great Helles is the perfect balance of very subtle flavors of malt and hops. No matter what any brewer / marketing dolt does there will never be an imperial Helles it is a contradiction in term and style. The Helles style by definition has a low flavor threshold so it should not be marked down for not being bold or assertive but rather it should be judged for its light, clean lager body and subtle interplay between flavors.

I’m not sure how long “Blue Moon” has been making the “Honey Moon” summer seasonal but this is the first time I have seen it. It is a Belgian wit style made with honey. The funny thing is that their honey version of “Blue Moon” is in fact drier than the regular version. Wheaty with a nice hit or orange peel and the dry finish smacks of a spicy honey. Refreshing, flavorful and well put together.

This is the first bottling from Roots brewery. All of us beer geeks here in the Portland area have followed Craig Nichols around town as he has taken brewing jobs working for other people. We were all happy the day he got his own place, which means he finally got to brew what ever he wanted. He not only brews organic beers but his brewing style is such that he always goes a little further or a little off center to come up with brews that have enough character to set themselves apart from the rest. Case in point his Heather Ale, Toasted Coconut Porter, Island Red (with oats) and this “Woody Organic IPA” that has been dry hopped with Magnums. http://www.rootsorganicbrewing.com/index.htm

This IPA has a NW flair, plenty of bitterness, a grassy slightly fruity hop flavor along with all of its Magnum goodness. The malting is dry and slightly nutty. It all pulls together in one heck of a brew.

I think this is a triple of the highest order. Golden with a large fluffy head. Light sweetness with a fruity ester and an ample amount of alcohol. The best part is the slightly higher and brighter hop character this triple has. The finish is crisp with a lemony hop flavor.

This spicy extravaganza is quite a beer to behold. It is an amber/copper colored beer with some red tints to it. The carbonation is big and the head will climb the neck when opened but it is not a gusher. The aroma is complex and intoxicating. From sage to ginger to lightly roast caramel malts this beer’s aroma moves and changes as it sits in the glass. The last smell it settles into is a juicy fruit, clove combo that is not overwhelming and is very complementary to the malt. The flavor starts tart but quickly shifts to apple then a rummy raisin with plum. The finish is a shortly lingering tartness with the aforementioned plum. This is a beer that I would buy and drink now. It has great flavor and complexity but I would be afraid that the tartness would take over in the long run (10 months +)

Auction to start friday 4/25 12:00 Pacific.

Lot 85 one JW Lees Haverst 1987


Lot 86 Three Orval label dated 1996



Go to http://www.liquidsolutions.biz/auctions/

To view lots and register for an auction account.

Orange gold in color this beer pours with a huge rocky head. The character is of lemon zest, orange, grass, and floral hop. The malt is bready and a little sweet. Spicy and resinous with the nicely funky brettanomyces. Great 8.5% Belgian.

Redish brown in color and pours with a thing head. The aroma is toasty malt and caraway. The flavors are light caramel and chocolate with a piquant rye. The hops are grassy with a bitterness matched well with the rye. This beer is a benefit for Myeloma and Bone Cancer research. For more go to http://www.reunionbeer.com/ for more info about the beer and the cause. To see the sad story what spurred such a noble effort go to http://www.reunionbeer.com/virginia.asp. I defy any parent not to tear up after watching that video. May our drinking this beer bring about a treatment and, God willing, a cure.

Dark amber / brown color with a bubbly medium head. Roasty malts in the aroma with a light fruitiness and a bit of earthiness. The flavor is nutty with an easy malt sweetness. The finish as that light fruitiness (grape??), with a drying bitterness. This beer is an effortlessly enjoyable beers. Not too sweet, good complexity, not overly bitter with a great finish.

Amber in color with slender off white head. Carmel malt nose with a pine hop. The flavor follows the aroma with a good bitter finish. Billed as a “India Style Red Ale” and that describes it quite well.

Light yellow with tight two finger head. Straight forward wheat and orange in aroma with a floral hop. The flavor is wheaty (or course) with a lightly sweet honey and a finish of zest. Nice and refreshing with an effervescent carbonation.

The Poltorak style of mead is made with minimal amounts of water and well aged. In the Gronowy they used grape juice in place of the water. The color is a deep deep amber and part of that color must come from the years it spent in oak. The aroma is sweet with grape up front and a floral honey in the back. The flavor is of vanilla and grape with a profoundly rich smooth caramel / honey finish. There is a light tartness in there as well as some tannins but it is the thick honey character that is the main focus of this exceptional mead. With the big sweetness, thick body and 16%, one would drink this like a port wine that is 3 or 4 ounces at a time and sipped slowly. If you are a fan of the Apis Jadwiga (also a poltorak) this is a must try.

This dwojniak style metheglin (mead with herbs) is one part honey to one part water and aged five years in oak. Golden amber in color the aroma has a slightly woody herbaceous quality as well as an almost tropical (mango / pineapple) aroma from the honey. Big sweet up from that moves into a light candied lemon tartness and a spicy herbal finish.

This “Special Brown Ale” comes in a 7.5% and is made with cacao nibs and spices. Being a sour Belgian style it may not be for everyone. But for those of us who do enjoy a tart crisp brew this is pretty neat. The aroma is tart with fruity cinnamon notes. It does have a medium body to it but the tartness quickly overcomes it and lifts it off your tongue. There is a sweetness in there along with a “very ripe fruit” flavor, banana, spices and light chocolate.

This chokeberry melomel pours a light golden color. The aroma is vinous and tart. The body is light and the flavor is tart and fruity kind of cherry raspberry mix. The honey provides a sweet cinnamon spiciness to the mix.. The finish is light with a bit of drying tannins. The chokeberries give it a wonderfully unique flavor and the light body is unlike all of the other Polish meads I have tried.

This blackcurrant melomel pours amber with a pink hue. The aroma is lightly tart with currant and the honey comes through with a minty quality. The flavors start honey smooth but the current comes on quickly and leaves a nice tart finish. Definitely a sweet mead but the currants do their part to try and blance it out.

WOW!! This Polish “Dwojniak” (that is a mead made 1:1 water to honey) is made with herbs and has been aged in oak for 9 years!! The color is a transparent amber / brown. The darkness comes from the long oak aging (think Scotch or Whiskey color). The aroma is honey sweet with vague raspberry fruitiness and a rounded herbal quality. The label says that it is made with herbs but after 9 years in oak it is hard to pinpoint the individual herbs. This 16% beauty is better served room temp or heated slightly. This smoothes out the texture and makes the flavor profile very round and sumptuous. The flavor bounces. It starts very herbal and sweet that (from the alcohol) travels up into your nose. Your attention is then drawn to your tongue where the sweet honey coats your tongue and the finish is spicy with sweet cinnamon and alcohol. If you are looking for a sweet treat this will fit the bill and is a great replacement for port.

Liquid Solutions has been trying to migrate from our old “list server” to our new blog format. The blog entries are much faster and customers receive them a day or two earlier that those who are still on the old “list server”. As we are getting more and more limited quantity beers I want to make sure that everyone has the same chance to get these products (Earth Monk is on its way soon). The newsletter is first posted to the blog and then the blog entry is submitted to my developer who then reformats it and releases it to the “List Server”. If you are still on the old “List Server” or are unsure if you are please go to our homepage and on the upper left there is a place to signup for the newsletter (which will be the blog format). It will not let you sign up for the blog twice. If you did not receive an email about the Midnight sun beers on 4.5.08 then you are NOT on the blog and should migrate. We are just trying to make the newsletter process easier for me and faster for you so as soon as we can get most people off the old list serve the better.

Thanks,
Matt

This hop rage of a beer is fueled by Summit, Crystal, Columbus, Simcoe and Amarillo and goes up to 100 IBU and 8.3%. It pours a dark copper and has a huge spicy, citrus hop aroma. The flavor is tongue numbingly bitter and everything else you expect out of a great double IPA.

Folks, I think I just got a new favorite barley wine. This one is soooooo intense and malty. I would almost call this one an “Old Ale” instead of a “Barley Wine”. Totally malt driven. Malty, rich and smooth with some fruity tones and more alcohol that the flavor lets on. For More Info… http://www.midnightsunbrewing.com/beer_arcticDevil.php

This 9% "Imperial Pale Ale" is copper in color with little head. The aroma is big on tangerine / orange maybe with a little bread in the way of malt. The flavor sweet fruit hops at the start, mid-pallet changed to an aggressive grassy hop and the finish spicy with a medium bitterness and a light body. An outstanding brew that is both tasty and refreshing.

Light golden in color it pours with a large frothy head. The aroma is of citrus and pine with a smidgen of malt. The flavor is good balance of malt toasty sweetness and hop bitter with citrus rind and pine. A standup APA with an exceptional fresh hop showing.

Orange in color with a large rocky head. The aroma start off with the grapefruit hops but also has a floral and herbal quality. The flavor has a great nutty biscuit malting and quite a stiff bitterness along with the leafy and grapefruit / orange hop flavors.

It very very dark brown, almost black. The head is small but creamy head with tight bubbles. The aroma is of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, with a touch of leafy hop and yeastiness. The flavor flows the aromas along with some additional current, anise and earth hops. An excellent example of the robust porter style.

Spring Fever is a great Northwest rendition of a Belgian Grand Cru. It appropriately pours with a huge sticky head. The aroma is spicy with coriander (or is it ginger??) along with an orange hop and vague fruity yeast ester. Its body is in the medium range and the texture is creamy and smooth. The flavor is coriander with citrus rind that moves into a peppery spice and that underlying fruity yeast. Definitely more bitter that a classic Belgian would be but great in its own special way.

Deep amber in color, PGA pours with a thin head. The aroma is easy with grassy leafy hop and bready malt. The flavor is hoppy up front with a light bitterness and leafy herbal flavor. The brew finishes with a bready nutty malting that I quite enjoy.

Copper in color with a small fluffy white head. The aroma is grainy with citrus / floral hops. The flavor is of toasty grains with the flowery hops coming thought. Copperhead finishes on the malt end and its malt, hop, malt flavor progression makes it enjoyably easy to drink.

Made with Tettnang and Amarillo hops give it a big round hop flavor. The crystal and black malts give it its red color and dry finish. Very easy to drink and a welcome seasonal from our friends at Deschutes.

Golden bronze in color with a couple of fingers of foam. The aroma comes off resiny hops with a touch of peach fruit. The flavor has a toffee malt with tangerine, lemon and pine flavors to boot. Very nice IPA and being organic is just a bonus.

A rock solid pale that pours copper with a medium head. The aroma is toasty and citrus. The flavor is pine and citrus with biscuit malt and a crisp finish.

This amber is led by its malting with a nutty / crystal malt flavor and aroma with a spicy earthy hop. This organic amber has more flavor than most and is worth checking out.

Got a shipment of Midnight Sun that I was not expecting. 5 cases each.

Midnight Sun “Obliteration III”
This hop rage of a beer is fueled by Summit, Crystal, Columbus, Simcoe and Amarillo and goes up to 100 IBU and 8.3%. It pours a dark copper and has a huge spicy, citrus hop aroma. The flavor is tongue numbingly bitter and everything else you expect out of a great double IPA.

Folks, I think I just got a new favorite barley wine. This one is soooooo intense and malty. I would almost call this one an “Old Ale” instead of a “Barley Wine”. Totally malt driven. Malty, rich and smooth with some fruity tones and more alcohol that the flavor lets on.


Here is what the brewery has to say about it:
Arctic Devil Barley Wine, aptly named after the ferocious wolverine of the north, is brewed once a year then cellared in wine, port or bourbon oak barrels and released in December. This English-style barley wine is true to style, being bright, coppery-amber in color and intense in all aspects of the palate--very malty and balanced in bitterness with a warming alcohol finish. Arctic Devil is a vintage product, each year distinctively different from the next. Aging in different types of oak barrels for various lengths of time makes this beer rich and complex yet very smooth for such a big beer. The beer is carefully monitored throughout the barrel-aging process and transferred to stainless steel kegs at just the right time. Sometimes blending with other versions/vintages is appropriate to achieve the best flavor and complexity.

Awards:
Third Place and Best Barley Wine in Alaska - 2003 Great Alaska Winter Brew and Barley Wine Festival, Anchorage, Alaska. Vintage 2000 (More time on oak than the ADBW that won the 2001 Fest.)

First Place and Best Barley Wine in Alaska - 2001 Great Alaska Winter Brew and Barley Wine Festival, Anchorage, Alaska. Vintage 2000.

Best Barley Wine in Alaska - 2000 Great Alaska Winter Brew and Barley Wine Festival Anchorage Alaska. Vintage 1999.

Gold Medal English-Style Barley Wine and Best of Show - 1999 Great Alaska Beer Festival. Vintage 1998.

Gold Medal Barley Wine - 1999 Winter Brew and Barley Wine Festival.
Vintage 1998.

Hello comrades! Stones 2008 Imperial Russian is as good as ever. Inky black and as thick and rich as ever. This strong (10.8%) massive beer has a plum, licorice and coffee aroma. Its flavor is roasty with a black current fruity character. In other words it is everything you want out of an Imperial Stout. So get your taxes signed and sent in and enjoy a wonderful pint of Stone I.R.S.

This brew is billed as an “Extra Pale Ale” and is somewhere between a standard pale and a golden. It pours a deep gold color with a medium head. The aroma is of grassy hops and a slight fruity ester. The flavor has a light cereal grain and a big floral and grassy hop. It has a medium body and bitter finish that lingers a while.

Pale gold in color, small head and an aroma of spicy and slightly fruity hops. It has a lightly sweet creamy malt start that hints of Golden Promise. The hops are grassy / spicy and has a longer bitter finish than most pilsners. This is a good craft pilsner that it worth checking out and trying again (and again as I am on my third so far).

Semi dry (for a sake) with fruity melon tones as well as an earthy mineral quality. This quality Junmai Ginjo is milled to 60%, 14.8% and made fresh right here in Oregon.

The Silver is drier than the Momokawa Diamond with the Silver being a SMV +7. his sake has a big nose that is crisp with pear, tart apple and steely mineral notes. It is an exquisite pairing with lighter fair and will enhance the flavor of many fish, vegetables and some shellfish without overpowering. It is a Junmai Ginjo milled to 60% and an alcohol of 14.8% and made fresh right here in Oregon.

With a SMV rating of zero, this sake wedges itself right in between sweet and dry. Admittedly this one is sweeter than most other Junmai Gingos I have tried. Sweeter tropical flavors dominate with melon and guava. For me this one can stand-alone or be paired with milder foods like chicken and pork. Junmai Ginjo milled to 60% and 15.5% alcohol.

A light red orange in color this 19% mead is made with hops and hibiscus flowers. The aroma is of earthy hop and the tart floral that comes hibiscus. The flavor is big honey sweet with a spicy hop and alcohol component along with the hibiscus that brings an almost light raspberry tint to the profile.

This caraway infused mead is sweet, strong (21.8%) and is a force to be reckoned with. The deep herbal quality of the caraway is bold enough to stand side by side with the massive honey character. I thoroughly enjoyed this 750ml bottle of bliss but I’ll admit that I did it 3oz at a time. This big boy needs to be enjoyed like a port wine. That is sipped slowed, savored, and lingered with.

This is an excellent English style cider that is medium yellow in color and effervescent. The aroma and flavor is ultra clean (no sulfurs or off flavors) and has a crisp fresh apple flavor that is not only very tasty but organic as well.

If you ARE looking for a hop monster, this is it. This 9.2% behemoth is so loaded with hops that it makes your saliva glands kick into high gear. This gives the beer a weird (but very pleasant) juiciness you don’t usually find in a beer. It pours a deep copper with a large head. Its aroma is piney with a hint of grapefruit. The flavor is of tart fruity hops with the pine backing it up. There is malt in there someplace but for the life of me I can’t really pin it down due to the overwhelming assault from the hops.

Ok I’ll admit it, this is the kind of stuff I still get really excited about. Get ready for this, it is mead fortified with scotch. A wonderfully semi sweet mead mixed with a plumy, low (no) peat scotch. The aroma is rather perfumey, kind of lavender / baby powder along with the big honey and fruity smells. The flavor is honey up front with plum and apricot next and then moves into woody tones and has a slightly tannic finish. It may be 20% alcohol but you would never know it. I served it chilled and it had NO heat to it at all. Only rich honey fruit tones and went down all too easy.

This 12 oz 16% stout is a tasty powerhouse that is not to be taken lightly. Inky black and thick, it has a sweet character with tones of coffee, licorice and molasses flavors. Although sweet the high flavor profile make this a stout to be reckoned with. As the name suggests, it could be the ruin of many a men.

I will admit some people have a problem with the Lammin beers (if you can call them beers)but not me I love "em. This beer is a Sahti brew from Finland. The Kataja is their most subdued version of their traditional Sahti. Deep amber/copper in color with little to no head. This brew has a malty / caramel sweetness and a whiff of Juniper in the nose. The flavor is of heavy doughy, chocolate and caramel. The finish perks up with a hint of juniper. Now I have had a few Sahtis in my day and this one is the smoothest by far. Most are a lot more piquet and earthy. So if you are ever offered a homebrewed Sahti out of a long handled bucket, expect something rather different that this one.