Liquid Solutions

These auction do not start until Friday June 6th at 12:00 pacific.

Lot 87 – One 1994 Thomas Hardy Starting bid $13.95


Lot 88 – Sierra Nevada Bigfoot one each 98,99,00,01,02,03 Starting Bid $19.95

This IPA pours an amber / orange color with a thick white head. The aroma is of fruity and floral hops along with a touch of sweet malt and nut. The flavor starts appropriately bitter with fruity and citrus hop notes. The malt does not get in the way of the hops and comes through with a hint of caramel and nut. It is a rock solid IPA that is notched above the standard Cascade fest (if you know what I mead).

A dry hopped Belgian Pale style it pours a light golden color with a small white head. The aroma is of noble hops and dry pale malt. The flavor is of biscuit malt, yeasty bread and a nice floral hop bitterness.

Fermented with Hibiscus flowers this beer pours pink with big white foamy head. Wheaty, tart, floral, with some spicy notes at the end. The tart Hibiscus makes this beer all sorts of tasty and fun but still a quality beer.

This is one hell of a spiced rye beer. It pours a solid brown with orange edges. The head is tight but thin. The aroma is of brown bread and grassy hop. The flavor has that piquant rye character one would expect from a great rye beer and the spice of choice is pepper corns (Green and Black). The savory spice flavor kicks in mid pallet and its heat comes in at the end and lingers.

If one is looking for an awesome coffee beer experience, you can not do better then the Peche Mortel. Speedway is an excelent stout with coffee but the Peche is an excelent coffee with stout. And at 9.5% is has enough power to age well and packs a good punch.

Don"t just take my word for it, check out what they have to say about it over ar BeerAdvocate.com

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1141/10325/?ba=bros

Well…it’s black in color (yep) with a brown head. Aroma is big heavy roast malt and sweet chocolate. The flavor is sweet with fruit, licorice, pepper, chocolate and alcohol. This 17.5% monster imperial stout is quite a beer to behold and not to be taken lightly.

This oak aged Geuze pours a honey golden color. The head is small and fizzy. The aroma is pleasantly funky with tart acidity, cheesy, barnyard hay, with grainy malt. The flavor is tannic and oaky with Brett earthiness, musty and tart grapefruit rind.

This is oak aged raspberry lambic. Hazy red in color with a small fizzy head. The aroma is tart raspberry with musty tones of leather, and earth. The flavor is lactic tart with nice woody vanilla tones from the oak. Dry raspberry fruit with medium body and gentle finish.

Bright light golden in color this “Extra Special Golden” has a pale malt aroma with a light floral hop. The flavor is a touch malty and grainy up front with an easy hop bitterness and a tangerine and grass flavor.

Copper / orange in color with a lean white head. The aroma is all of sweet Jasmine. The flavor is lightly floral bitter hop with sweet golden malt and grassy jasmine notes. Not as bitter and hoppy as most NW IPAs but the Jasmine aroma and flavor makes this one of the best flower beers there is.

This beer is a “Gruit” style beer, that is it does not have hops but uses herbs in stead. This brew uses Heather tip as a bittering agent. Deep golden in color with a thin white lacy head. The aroma is big floral, sweet, and honey like. Pale malts in the front with a dry herbal quality and a bitterness that is very much like hops.

This Japanese beer is an English “Strong” style ale that has been aged in sake casks. Yet another unique tasty brew from the boys at Kiuchi brewery. Amber brown in color with medium head that falls to a thin layer. The aroma is slightly tart with malty / spicy.tones and whiffs of woody oak and cedar. The flavor is less tart than the aroma and the malt is smooth and brown up front. The mid palate gets you with oaky, spicy (light clove and pepper) flavors and finishes with a light tartness.

I’m the first to admit that this one falls into the WEIRD beer category but it is good beer none the less. It pours with a bizarre pink / gold color. The beer takes on a slightly tart fruity tone and is reminiscent of strawberries. This is due to the unique process this beer goes through. Below is the description of this process from the importer...

”The brewing process starts with the polishing, washing, soaking and steaming of rice [25% of total grain bill] to break down complex type b-starch molecules into short type a ones. Only type A starch molecules can be converted into sugar by the use of sake yeast. Afterwards, pilsner malt is added to the mashing process. After lautering Hallertauer hops is added in the brewkettle. Further complicating matters, two different yeasts, i.e. ale and sake yeast, must be used as regular beer yeast is not able to convert the rice sugars into alcohol.

A fermentation time of two weeks is followed by a maturation period of four weeks. Hitachino Nestbier Red Rice Ale is filtered, but left unpasteurized.”

Red Rice is a fun unique beer in the dry lager style with a bit of something else to it.

This is a Japanese beer made in the Belgian Wit style. That means it is a crisp flavorful wheat beer made with Orange peal and Coriander. This beer has tons of refreshing flavor without being overpowering. Hitachino make an array of English and Belgian style beers as well as a uniquely Japanese’s “Red Rice Ale”

For those of you out there who are not total beer geeks, this beers name is a pun on humulone. Humulones are the orangey, soft resin in hops that is primarily responsible for the bittering properties of the hops. This Belgain style IPA pours a hazy orange with a dense sticky head. The flavor is fruity, lemony, and spicy like a good Belgian, with a pronounced woody, piney hop hit like a good IPA. Very limited, get it while you can.

This 9% oak aged Imperial IPA pours a deep golden orange color. It has a citrusy hop character with oak and floral tones. Plenty of balancing malt up front with a dry floral hop bitterness at the end. It is one more notch on the awesome beer count for Dogfish Head.

This brew is a Wit style brewed with Pinot Noir Juice, and aged in Pinot barrels and on oak staves. Red orange in color it pours with a white head. The aroma is big with cherry fruitiness. The flavor is sweet with vanilla, oak and orange peel. It has a mild bitter finish with an alcohol spiciness.

I’ve been waiting for this one to come back for some time. This 20% IPA had hops added to it continually for 120 minutes then it was dry hopped every single day for a month. What does this do to a beer? It makes it the biggest hop monster on the planet. The aroma is big flowery, grassy grapefruit hop extravaganza with a bit of sweet fruitiness to boot. The flavor is like chewing on a sweet juicy hop cone. Sweet malt with grape like fruitiness along with a grassy hop flavor and a spicy alcohol hit. When it comes to excess no one does it like Dogfish Head.

This is a spicy lightly hoppy lager that presents itself as more of a Belgian Blond ale. Golden in color with a big head that falls quickly. The flavor is lightly sweet with a gingery spice and a medium hop bitterness.

This Bier de Garde style has a straightforward earthy quality along with a light body and a golden malt flavor.

Ummmm, hop-elicious. Who cares what this thing looks like; the first thing to hit you as you pour this baby is the resinious, cirtusy pine aroma. It smells like walking into a hop storage cooler. But after that you will notice a big head comes rolling out but does not stay long. The color is deep amber with a brown tint. Now as the more volatile aromas boil off you can notice a fruity orange component as well a hint of crystal malt. The aroma is superb, in fact I am delaying trying a taste just so I can full appreciate its beautiful aroma. The flavors are all about the hops as well. Medium body with a bit grapefruit hop flavor and as that hop hit dies down the flavor moves into a fruity orange and woody hop mélange. Although this has a good hop bitterness it is not overpowering; the malting is just enough to balance the bitterness but not so much as to detract from this awesome hop flavor. For a hop driven beer to get my A+ two thumbs up rating, it has to be complex, balanced, and drinkable. Hop Henge is all that and more.

Not too sure how long this will last this year. I am having to fight for quantities with some of the large chain store here in Portland. The found out how good it was last year and now are doing up 30 case displays in each of their stores. I"ll do what I can to get you your Henge but the supply may end abruptly.

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 is another Belgain style from our Anchorage friends at Midnight Sun. Loosely translated means “The Monks Mistress” This time she is a “Dark Strong” ale. It pours deep brown in color and the head is huge but settles into half inch topping of dense foam. The aroma is perfumey, malty with a whiff of dates. It has a medium body that fills the mouth but is not heavy. A bit of a sharp fruity (raisin) start, it moves into a sweet malty flavor with a hint of caramel. The finish has a spicy alcohol tinge and a slight hop bitterness. The beer maybe sweet and smooth but at 9% she could be a harsh mistress if not treated right. A damn fine beer that will only improve with age.

Online rare beer charity auction
www.LiquidSolutions.biz/auctions

This year in conjunction with FredFest 2008 Liquid Solutions is hosting an online auction of rare and vintage beers. All proceeds going to Parkinson's Resources of Oregon, the local affiliate chapter of the National Parkinson Foundation, this in memory of friend and famed beer and Scotch author Michael Jackson. Many breweries and private collectors graciously donated the beers for this worthy cause.

The auctions start at 3:00PM Pacific Friday May 9 and they will be closing starting at May 11 at 3:00PM Pacific then at 5 min. intervals (i.e. Lot FF01 will close at 3:00, FF02 at 3:05…). Below is a list of the beers up for sale

M-1000th Batch 2005 22oz
Conspiracy- Belgian Black 22oz
Arctic Devil 22oz
Berserker Imp. Stout 2007 22oz

Old Numbskull 750ml
Grand Cru 750ml
Horny Devil 750ml

Dave 1994 375ml

Anniversary Ale IV La Conner 2003
Anniversary Ale V Elysian Icarus 2004
Aniversary Ale IX Russian River Deviation

Adam #1 1994 12oz

Old Boardhead 1998 12oz
Old Boardhead 1999 12oz
Old Boardhead 2001 22oz
Old Boardhead 2002 22oz
Old Boardhead 2003 22oz
Old Boardhead 2004 22oz
Old Boardhead 2005 22oz
Old Boardhead 2006 22oz
Old Boardhead 2007 22oz

Leviathan 2002 1.5L

Dave 1994 375ml

Old Bawdy 1996 12oz
Old Bawdy 1997 12oz
Old Bawdy 1998 12oz
Old Bawdy 2006 12oz
Old Bawdy 2007 22oz

Dave 1994 375ml

Rodenbach Alexander 1991
Rochefort 10 1999

Old Wooly Barleywine 1991 7oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 1994 7oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 1995 22oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 1996 7oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 1997 22oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 1998 12oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 1999 7oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 2002 22oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 2003 22oz
Old Wooly Barleywine 2007 22oz

Dave 1994 375ml

Michael Jackson's 60th Birthday Beer 1.5L

Adam #1 1994 12oz

Eldrich Pope Thomas Hardy’s Ale 1991 12oz
J.W. Lees Harvest 1988 9.6oz

Westvleteren 12 1997 11.2oz

Older Viscosity 375ml
Angel’s Share 375ml
Lost and Found 750ml
SPF 45 2003 750ml

The Beast 2004 22oz
The Czar 2004 22oz
Ten 2003 22oz
Fourteen 2007 22oz

Dave 1994 375ml

Poseidon 2002 1.5L

Amber copper in color with a large bubbly head. The aroma is of orange and floral hops. The flavor is grassy up front along with flowery hops. The malting is light with some pale malts peaking through at the end. The finish has a lingering bitterness including some spicy tones. The green Elephant is a massive lupin pachyderm that will please even the biggest hop fan.

Barleywine Dutch style. It pours amber with golden edges. The head is big with a medium persistence. The smell is fresh with a yeasty grape, biscuit malt and grass hop. The flavor has a light toffee sweet malt along with some bread. The hop flavor is low but the yeast fruitiness comes though in the way of orange, apple and a light coriander. Although not the darker brown style of B. wine were all might be used to, this fruity strong import is quite a treat.

Black in the glass with a brown fringe, this beer pours with a creamy tan head. The aroma is of dark chocolate and coffee with sweet toffee. The aromas carry over into the flavor with the chocolate being more of a dry cocoa, and the coffee coming through smoother and rounder than the smell. Sliky and thick with 10% alcohol, this beer should be sipped but is easy to drink and disappears too quickly.

The peaches are added during fermentation when the activity of the yeasts reaches the maximum vigor. The peaches are heated to 200° Celsius in an oven before being added in order to increase the flavor intensity of the wild peaches and eliminate the wild yeasts.

Man oh Man when AleSmith brews a beer they do not kid around. This Imperial Stout is something to behold. This 12% jet-black beauty has a nice thick body and lower (appropriate) carbonation level. The flavor is HUGE with big roasted malt and molasses with chocolate and toffee notes. The big fun is the coffee flavors which come from the pounds and pounds of Ryan Brothers’ coffee added to the brew. This is a stout that AleSmith should be very proud of and I’m pretty sure they are.

It pours a nice peach hue with a dense sticky head. Nice pine/citrus/resin hop aroma. Big bitterness mingles in with a medium body and slight doughy malty flavor. The pale malt character comes though as it warms a bit and it takes on a touch of sweetness. A fine and well placed fruity bitter finish makes this an outstanding IPA to remember.

This Belgian style IPA is pale golden yellow in color; it pours a touch hazy with a frothy, well sustained head. The aroma is sweet and orangy with a floral hop and pale malt. The flavor is bitter with an herbal hop flavor, a spicy yeast character with an underlying pale malt flavor. This is a DRY IPA, unlike some Belgian IPAs which end up candy sweet and IPA bitter. It is not overwhelmingly bitter but since it is so dry it does not need a ton of bitterness to be balanced and refreshing. This is one of the best Belgian thirst quenchers and heat beaters I have ever had. A+

This brewery from the Netherlands pours a very dark brown with a thin tan head. The aroma and flavor is sweet with a light roasty and licorice quality and a prune fruity finish. The texture is quite soft and that makes this 8.5% beer very drinkable

English mild is the category this beer best fits into. I don’t have a lot of milds to offer but this is a good example of one. The style is kind of like a darker version of a brown ale. Malty, smooth lower in bitterness and has a touch of roasty/chocolate character. It hails from Oxfordshire England and is from the same people that do the Fiddler’s Elbow and the Old Devil.