Liquid Solutions

Well, just a quick update on the temprature and a couple of new beers to post. Today’s high was about 15 degrees cooler than yesterday. It is still quite warm (but not HOT) although it is headed in the right direction. We continue to process and box orders with the anticipation of shipping tomorrow. Thanks for being understanding as we are just trying to get you your product in the best possible condition. If you ABSOLUTELY have to have your beer sent out now please let me know.

Cheers!!
Matt

AKA "Brew Dawg"

This excellent brown/orange brew has it all going on; more than it fair share of hops with plenty of malt to go with it and a respectable alcohol content that is well masked by the high flavor profile. It’s sort of an “Arrogant Bastard” on steroids. This 9%er pours with a small tight head. It has plenty of Melanoidin and high lovabond crystal malts along with Simco and Centennial hops. The aroma is a mix of orange, cake and caramel. The flavor has a sweet malty base but it’s the 106 IBU hops that dominate the profile. With grassy orange flavor notes and a powerful bitterness at the end, the finish is quite dry

The 2008 is everything you expect from Old Crustacean Barleywine. It pours a deep amber with some brown thrown in and gives off a medium sudsy / bubbly head that falls to almost nothing. The aroma is big caramel and cherries with just a hint of chocolate. The flavor, as always, has a tongue twistingly bitter hit to it from the Centennial and Chinook hops along with their grassy floral flavor. The smooth sweet caramel comes in at the middle only to be taken over by another wave of lingering bitterness at the finish. There are few barleywines that age better than the Old Crusty. I for one like to age out some of the up front bitterness so it starts smoother but still ends bitter and dry. Put some down for yourself and see what I mean.

I've got good news and bad news. Good new is we got more new cool stuff in (see below) bad news is it is too hot to ship. We will not be sending orders out for a few days until the heat breaks. I will keep you posted. Sorry for the delay but no one wants cooked beer.

I have always loved this exquisite offering from Chateau Lorane and this years bottling has top all pervious vintages. This traditional mead pours a deep gold / orange color. By far one of the darkest I have seen available. The aroma is bright and lively up front with a sweet mead character and woody earthy tones from the buckwheat honey. The flavor starts off honey sweet then the acidity comes in to balance it out. It then moves to those wonderful subtle buckwheat tones and finishes with just a hint of mint. This mead has a unique flavors profile. It is sweet but well balanced and has a nice body without ending sticky. A+

This NW IPA pours orange with a big creamy head. The aroma is of citrus hop with a malty underpinning. The flavor has grapefruit and resinous hops and a pale and crystal malt to go along with it. One rock solid IPA.

This Eugene City pale ale pours amber and golden with a thin head. The aroma is light and of flowers and oranges. It has a good bitterness for a pale. The mouth feel is a tad slick after the bitter start while the flavor is of lightly toasted malt and grassy and orange hops.

Hi everyone!!! I just got word that the Deschutes Brewery Reserve “Black Butte XX” is coming in very soon. I was given pricing and my allotment so I feel confident in putting up for sale without any major snafus. I know many of you have been patiently waiting so I wanted to get the item up as soon as I could. For those of you who do not know this is an extream version of their Black Butte Porter. These will not last long.

Here is what the brewery has to say about it......

Black Butte XX is a tribute to Black Butte Porter, the revolutionary Deschutes Brewery beer that has excited beer enthusiasts since its release in 1988. This special Reserve Series brew is an extreme version of Black Butte Porter that the Deschutes brewers enhanced with several pounds Bellatazza coffee, Theo’s Chocolate cocoa nibs and by aging parts in Stranahan’s whiskey barrels. These regional partners from Bend, Seattle and Denver, respectively, each provide quality artisan ingredients that give this commemorative beer a truly handcrafted complexity.

This beautiful beer pours a clear red-orange with a ting of brown. The head starts big but does thin out. The aroma is bready with cloves and a hint of caramel. The flavor is sweet and fruity with doughy malt, aforementioned caramel and a tough of banana ester. The hops are there but not prominent, they give a nice bitter to wipe off the sweet but the banana comes back at the end and lingers just a while.

Golden with a medium sudsy head that falls quickly. Up front the flavors are biscuit and pale malt with a finish of lightly spicy grassy hops. The bitterness it not big but is enough to cover for the up from malt.

Light brown in color with amber around the edges its heads starts well but falls to a skinny layer. The aroma and flavor are match in that they both have qualities of nut, cake, smoke and a touch of raisin. Sweet but not sticky, tasty and easy to drink. Not the powerhouse like an Ayaniger but more tasty than a Paulaner.

This lightly amber lager has a nice head that sits well on the top. The aroma is malty with bread / cake quality. The flavor is malty like the aroma with an easy pear and spice flavor. Easy crisp and clean just like any good lager should be.

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.

This big roasty Belgian stout is made with torrified wheat, oats dark candy sugar and a Belgian yeast strain. This gives is a black color with brown highlights. The head is massive and rocky. The aroma is coffee and roasted barley in character. The flavor is toasty, chocolate, and brown yeasty bread. Very limited in supply so my apologies if we are out already.

This oak aged dark wheat beer undergoes extensive aging in medium toasted American oak. The flavor is of dark treacle, dates, raisins, and vanilla. It finishes dry and oaky with a 10% alcohol finish that is rather smooth. Again, very limited in supply so my apologies if we are out already.

This 10% brew is made with black Raspberries and blueberries. It pouts red with a small head. The aroma is berry sweet. The flavor is sweet and fruity with wine tones and a spicy alcohol hit. An aggressive fruit beer in many ways, just like you would expect from Dogfish Head.

Leave it to Dogfish Head to make an 18% fruit beer. This HUGE on the raspberries. Start to finish it is all about the fruit with a spicy kick at the end. It could use a little aging to clamp down the heat at the end but it should smooth out nicely.

Actually not “Black” at all but a dark red brown color. The head is bubbly with some nice lace. The aroma is fruity and has a mild brown caramel malting. The fruit comes off in the raspberry / blueberry range. There are earthy qualities in the back that are a touch flinty. The flavor is tart up front with a mid pallet that is spicy and almost savory in its character (pepper cumin). It finishes tart and dry with a lingering fruitiness.

As always, get while the getting’ is good. The supply of Speedway is constantly unpredictable so get it while you can.

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.

I absolutely loved this one, my favorite Alesmith so far. Amber orange in color with a fluffy white head. Honey and peachy esters waft off the top. The flavor is rather tropical with a spiciness from the coriander and alcohol. This baby just screams Belgian and at 11.5% it will warm you to the core.

This BIG IPA is packed with tons of flavor. The aroma is malty with herbal fruity hop presence. The flavor is unexpectedly low in bitterness but is nothing but loads of hop flavor with a hint of fruity ester. Not too sure what the alcohol is but it will certainly get you where you’re going. I have a limited supply this as their next seasonal (see above) has come on.

I just wanted to give a quick thanks to those of you who participated in the Fred Fest online auctions. It raised over $6000.00 for Parkinson’s research. The local Fred Fest event which was held at “Hair of the Dog” brewing included ticket sales, raffle tickets and a silent auction that raised thousands more. All and all Fred Fest 2008 was a great success and I for one can not wait to do it all over next year. Thanks again.

Just a quick reminder of the auctions we have going starting on Friday the 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

While at HOD dropping off the auction check for Fred Fest, Alan had some Fred from the Wood he could sell me so I picked up some cases. This yearly brew is an oak aged version of his “Fred”.

Light amber/golden in color. Massive sticky white head. It has a wonderful aroma of spicy hops, coriander, and sweet malt/honey. The flavor is jam packed with hops. Plenty of piney, lemony, spicy hop flavor and the hop bitterness to match. The malt does come through with a touch of caramel and candy sugar. The wood provides plenty of tobacco and vanilla along with the other massive flavors to make this already complex beer even more so.