Beer Report

While Stateside micro and craft breweries concentrating on lower ABV session beers, Scottish brewer BrewDog of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire have produced a limited release ale called Tactical Nuclear Penguin. At 32 %ABV it is the world's strongest beer. The beer began life as a 10% ABV Imperial Stout. Then the beer was aged for 16 months in two different whisky cases, and then aged at -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) for three weeks to reach the final heights of 32% ABV. The freezing serves to do much the same thing as distilling does for spirits; it removes water. The alcohol in the beer doesn't freeze, but the water does, which means you can neatly remove the ice, and then freeze the beer again. This raises the percentage of alcohol, and yes, it also changes the flavor and texture; it's more like whisky at the end than a beer. Read more

Spring is beginning to, well, spring, and it's a good time to start thinking about seasonal brews for Spring. Personally, I plan on enjoying as much of Kona Brewing's Pipeline Porter as I can before it disappears in March, but in the meantime, Pyramid Brewing's seasonal Spring Fling will be appearing on shelves in the first week of February, and there have already been sightings of this hoppy pale ale made with Two-row and Caramel malts, and hops that include Nugget, Willamette, and a new-to-me Cascade/Fuggle hybrid. This one goes away in March too, so I suggest grabbing it while you can; it's a bit sweeter (the Caramel malt?) than some Pale Ales, so some folks are being very pleasantly surprised by it. At 5.2% ABV, this one almost qualifies as a session brew. Read more

Beer Tasting PartyWhen I was a kid, my mom gave us the Pepsi challenge. I was sure that I would pick Pepsi since I was a member of the Pepsi generation, but strangely  and embarrassingly enough, picked RC cola over either Pepsi or Coke. In preparation for an upcoming party, I decided that I definitely needed to have another challenge. Since most of my friends prefer beer to pop, I thought a beer challenge would definitely be the way to go. Read more

Beer bread is one of those things that are so easy to make that people think that there's got to be a trick. It's the easiest bread you'll ever make, and it's so easy that it's one of the things I suggest people who have never baked anything, bake. Plus, it's really fun, and it makes incredible bread. It's enormously fun to see what a particular brew does to the same recipe for bread. Plus, you can add herbs, or dried fruit, or even chocolate, to make the bread a bit special. There really are endless variations. Read more

Hale's Ales is a Seattle brewery (and brew pub) right on the border between Fremont and Ballard. Hale's Ale has been making their seasonal Wee Heavy Winter Ale since 1985. Their winter ale is a "wee heavy," in traditional Scottish Brewing Speak, because it's ABV of 6.8% is a wee bit on the "heavy" side. This is a lovely dark, deep brown, though not Porter deep, with reddish highlights. It's a good choice for Winter since it's definitely a hearty, hoppy, malty brew that can stand up to rich stews and roasts, and still not be overwhelmed. In fact, this is one of those food-enhancing sorts of beers. Read more

This is my first BridgePort beer, and it certainly won't be my last. BridgePort Brewery is the oldest craft brewer in Oregon, and was once known as the Columbia River Brewery. They make a full range of traditional craft brews: an IPA, an ESB, a stout, a brown ale, and even a porter, but today, I'm interested in their special seasonal holiday brew; Ebenezer Ale. In the glass, it's a deep brown, with lighter deep copper (almost red) highlights, and a creamy but narrow head. It's slightly sweet and spicy in aroma, but the taste is incredibly rich and complex; caramel and chocolate and something almost citrus. This is about as close as I've tasted to Christmas in a beer bottle. Read more

Red Hook always has interesting seasonal beer offerings. I've written about Red Hook Late Harvest Ale. Their latest is Red Hook Winterhook, their Winter Ale offering. They've been making this ale since 1985, and this year, it's only available from October through December. This one really is a "winter warmer," though something about its hoppy quality (it's brewed with four hop charges, using Cascade, Sterling, Alchemy hops). It's a noticeably hoppy brew; honestly, I can't think of one I've had in the U.S. that's as hoppy, but it also has an underlying "warmth" and sweetness from the malts. Winterhook is 6% ABV, and is made with Pale, Flour-malted Caramel and Light Chocolate malts—you do notice the Caramel and chocolate tones, under the hoppiness. Read more

For those of you just now thinking about Thanksgiving Dinner, and wondering—with all the turkey and dressing, and mashed potatoes and gravy and green bean casserole and sweet potatoes and cranberry relish and pie and also pie followed by pie—wondering where does the beer fit in?

Well. I'm glad you asked. First of all, Western Washington state is blessed with a number of small brew pubs. One of them, Boundary Bay in Bellingham, Washington, has a fabulous video starring Boundary Bay's own Ben Glass showing how to infuse a Turkey with beer (in this case Boundary Bay's fabulous Blond Ale), and roast it. Read more

I'm barely into sampling this year's seasonal fall and harvest brews, when I spotted the first Holiday beer; Deschutes Jubelale. Deschutes has been making this winter holiday ale for fifteen years. It's a dark ale, with dark crystal malts, and an ABV of 6.7%. You notice the malt, in the mellow but slightly spicy taste, and the sweetness, but the hops are very definitely there too. I suspect people who tell you they prefer something lighter and hoppier might be pleasantly surprised with this one. Read more

Red Hook is one of those Pacific Northwest brews that just doesn't make it to the east. Or at least, that's what I thought when I first started working on this post, but I'll get back to that. Red Hook ESB is one of the first Pacific Northwest brews I tried a year ago, and it's become one of those that I know is always a reliably good beer. The brewery was born in Seattle, in 1981. A second brewery opened in Woodinville Washington a few years later, and, as I just discovered, a third—in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Which means I can probably direct my New England beer drinking friends to a local supplier for Red Hook; that's pretty cool. Right now though, I want to talk about the Red Hook Late Harvest Ale. Read more