Laughing Buddha Beer

Laughing Buddha is a Seattle microbrewery. I picked up a 22oz. bottle of their Ginger Pale Ale on a whim, my curiosity stirred by the note on the bottle that referred to fresh ginger and Mandarin orange peel. It's a pale golden-orange in color, with almost no head. The scent of ginger is distinct from the start, but as the beer warms the mandarin notes are there too. In style it's a bit like a traditional English pale ale, one made with Munich malt, crystal malt, victory malt, two row barley, ginger, galangal, Mandarin orange peel, and noble hops. The taste is dominated at first by the ginger, but the mandarin is a pleasant accompanying note, with almost no detectable hops at all. It's a hefty 5% alcohol by volume, and between that and the ginger and orange I'd very much recommend this as a super beer with food; the brewery recommends sushi, but I'd suggest Thai or almost any slightly spicy fish, including ceviche tacos.

I was so impressed with the Ginger Pale Ale that today I tried a bottle of the Mango Weizen. It's a seasonal beer, made with mango pulp. It's a slightly darker amber than the Ginger Pale Ale, with very little head or hops flavor. It's made with Wheat malt, crystal malt, Munich malt, two row barley, mango puree, and noble hops. The mango taste is faint but there, lending a slightly sweet citrusy flavor to an otherwise recognizably Weizen, with the traditional wheat beer taste. As the beer warmed a bit, the mango was slightly more discernible, but not at all overwhelmingly. I like it, quite a lot; better even, in fact, than the Ginger Pale Ale. Laughing Buddha's site says that they were inspired by Indian mango lassi in developing this beer, and I'd have to agree with their judgement that it's a lovely accompaniment to a curry or barbecue. That said, Mango Weizen is eminently drinkable on its own. I think I'll be very glad to imbibe it on hot summer days, with or without curry— though I note that the Mango Weizen is also 5% alcohol by volume. Overall, it's a light and refreshing taste.

Frankly, while I do like hard cider, I generally don't like "fruity" beers, so I'm more than a little surprised by just how much I like both these beers. Laughing Buddha is often described as an "Asian fusion brewery." I note from the Web site that they have two other offerings: Dragon King Lager, which they describe as a "Craft brewed, Asian style lager." They've brewed it using a traditional Japanese brewing style called ichiban shibori, or "first press," using rice as well as crystal malt, two row barley, and noble hops. They also make an intriguingly labeled Pandan Brown Ale, whose ingredients include crystal malts, chocolate malt, honey malt, palm sugar, pandan leaves, and galena hops. Pandan Brown Ale clocks in at 6.0% alcohol by volume.

Laughing Buddha Brewery has a small tasting room and bar in Seattle, if you can't find their 22 ounce bottles locally. On Saturdays, they'll fill a growler.