The Koehler Brewery

I’ve got a bunch of beer reviews from my trip to Seattle last year I never wrote up for http://www.koehlerbeer.com, so I figure I’ll put them up now in one big post. I have no recollection of drinking some of these beers, and my notes aren’t always great since I was making them on my iPhone in the dark while drinking. I’m just going to copy down what I wrote and leave it up to history to decide what I was thinking. Special thanks to Stuart and Naked City for making all this possible. Sorry for not posting nearer the actual event.

Full Sail Session Premium Lager

Golden color with a light head. Aroma of berry concentrate, perhaps cranberries and apples. Opens with a lot of carbonation, followed by an apple/berry flavor. Light finish. Very fruity.

Russian River Consecration

Deep black color, appears red and purple in the light. Thin head around the edges. Smells of sour cherries and sweetness. Very sour on the front of the tongue and the lips, but has a soft body and finishes dry.

Russian River Pliny the Elder

<I didn’t write down anything because I fawned over the pint the whole time. It was great.>

Redhook Long Hammer IPA

Tan/orange. Lots of foamy and persistent head. Very carbonated. Floral aroma with perhaps some light malt or corn aroma that is not pleasant. Floral hop flavor up front, not particularly bitter, a mildly bitter mid-taste and a barely bitter finish. Perhaps some corny aftertaste. Not great.

Kona Wailua Wheat

Yellow. Aroma of sweet tropical fruit. Flavor of passion fruit. Strange.

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

<Again I didn’t actually write anything down. I rather enjoyed this beer.>

Hales Cream Ale

Orange/tan with a hint of amber color in the right light. Served on nitrogen at the brewery with a large creamy head. Lightly sweet aroma, with a hint of wheat. Creamy, lingering light sweetness. Slightly spicy or bitter at the tip of the tongue with a very clean aftertaste.

Russian River Blind Pig IPA

Caramel color with spicy/floral hop aroma. Biting bitterness. A grassy hop flavor, especially in the aftertaste. Flatter hop flavor that Pliny the Elder and a way more bitter aftertaste. Harsher bitterness. <This is not what I expected from reading reviews. Perhaps my palette was done for the evening.>

21st Amendment Hell of High Watermelon Wheat

Hazy yellow straw color. Aroma is fruity and sweet with a hint of watermelon. Flavor is entirely sweet tangy watermelon. A bright watermelon flavor that tastes like watermelon candy. More watermelon the aftertaste. Only lightly carbonated, contributing to the smooth watermelon. Interesting, but not something I’d want to drink regularly.

Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA

Amber red color with ample head. Aroma of citrus and C hops. Lots of citrus-y, C hop taste. Vegetal aftertaste.

Schooner Exact Union <This doesn’t appear to actually be the name of a beer they make, so I really don’t know what it was apart from my comments.>

Tan honey color. Smells like salted, cured fish. Flavor is very salty, lightly bitter, and a little funky like old fish at a fish market. Also, salt.

Port Brewing Hop 15

Hazy and tan. Persistent head. Floral and fruity hop aroma of dried apricots and peaches. Yeasty bread aroma. Creamy. Bitter creamy hops followed by bitter creamy and acidic/peppery alcohol. Alcoholic aftertaste with an acidic finish.

Sorry for the crappy photo. It’s hard to take good photos in dimly lit bars.

Black Butte Porter was a dark black color with hints of red and gold when held to the light. The beer may have been somewhat lighter in color as suggested by the colors that presented when back lit, but in the low lighting it was decidedly dark black. It had a thin head that persistently clung to the sides of the glass. The aroma was of chocolate and sweet fruit, perhaps figs. I didn’t find the aroma to be as toasty or burned as I expected. The chocolate aroma was rather smooth and blended nicely and easily with the sweet fruity aroma.

The drink opened with a light bodied chocolate flavor, lighter even than the aroma suggested. Chocolate was quickly followed by carbonation as the associated bitterness, complemented by hops. This sensation quickly passed and was again followed by more chocolate. I found the chocolate flavor to be a decidedly light, milky chocolate rather than dark or heavily roasted chocolate. The body remained light and drinkable despite the creamy chocolate flavor. The flavor had final hints of roasted malt and roasted chocolate while the sweet chocolate remained; the flavors lingered. A very drinkable porter I’d like to have again.

Fat Tire in Cans

I stopped at the grocery store last night to pick up some snacks for my son’s preschool and made my usual pass down the beer aisle. It’s usually disappointing, but I noticed they were now selling Fat Tire in cans. I’m not a big fan of Fat Tire or amber ales in general really, but I had to support craft beer in cans, so I bought a 12 pack.

I decided to drink it from the can. Sacrilege I know, but it was late and I figured I’d try it. I know lots of people are going to be drinking it from the can anyway.

Fat Tire’s aroma was slightly sweet and malty with just a hint of biscuit, but generally very light for an amber ale and much lighter than I remembered. Maybe the can was interfering too much with the aroma or maybe I have a bad memory – probably both. The flavor was very light up front, almost like a light lager surprisingly, followed by some toasted malt, a moment of chocolate, and a finish of very light caramel, perhaps even a bit vegetal or pilsner-like. The beer is mildly hopped, but in a smooth way that dissipates before the finish of the drink. I prefer a crisper bitterness – which is one of the reasons I’m not usually a fan of amber ales – they too often have soft hops. I’d say Fat Tire is just OK.

Iron City Beer

Jonathan and I went to Monaca, PA recently to visit the relatives. He had a great time sitting in firetrucks and looking at firefighting equipment with his Great-Grandpa and I had a great time drinking some Iron City Beer. In case it wasn’t obvious, Monaca is relatively near Pittsburgh. Uncle Alex had come IC in the fridge, so I had to give it a try.

IC is a gold or deep yellow color that is darker than your average straw colored mainstream lager. Since I wanted to drink it from the can like God and the Steelers intended, I only poured a little of it into a glass for color, aroma, and some tasting. It smells like adjuncts, probably corn and little bit of sweetness. It tasted the same way, with the sweetness in the finish. I was surprised by the light carbonation compared to the over carbonation of most  mainstream lagers. It helped the slightly sweet corn flavor come through more clearly. I preferred the lower carbonation, but otherwise I think it’s an ‘acquired’ taste. I’ll leave the IC for trips to Pittsburgh. Go Steelers!