Liquid Solutions

* Good new, more good new, yet even more good news and…well…. some bad news. *

2009-07-02T15:58:00.001-07:00

* Good news, the Deschutes Black Butte XXI is in *

2009-07-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Deschutes Black Butte XXI 22oz:

2009-07-02T15:55:00.002-07:00

Good news, this years Deschutes Black Butte XX (XXI) is in.
We have plenty to cover the existing pre-sells with some left over. The price was correct and it will not need to be adjusted. If you have not ordered any yet you can do so now and are assured delivery. We are working hard to get all of the orders boxed up.

* More good news…Stone 13th Anniversary is also in. *

2009-07-02T15:55:00.001-07:00

Stone 13th Anniversary Ale 22oz:

2009-07-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is an ultra red ale. It comes in at 9.5%, is a beep red color and the head is thin and tan. The aroma is almost completely of lime and pine hops from the double dry hopping. The flavor bitter up front with pine hop and toffee / cake malt. The finish is bitter and hoppy with long staying power. This is the kind of thing Stone is known for and it does not disappoint.

* Yet even more good news… 21st Amendment is now available. *

2009-07-02T15:53:00.002-07:00

21st Amendment IPA 12oz:

2009-07-02T15:53:00.001-07:00

This micro brew in a can pours a rich gold color with a tint of orange. The head is white and sudsy and settles to a thin layer. The aroma is floral in the hops and honey in malt. The flavor lightly malty up front with a grassy fruity hop and a 70 IBU bitter finish. This is a tasty, well-constructed IPA that truly has malt to hop balance. I know many beers say that but it is rarely true.

21st Amendment Watermelon 12oz:

2009-07-02T15:52:00.002-07:00

This beer has quite a following and has won the “Most Popular” beer award at the Oregon Brewers Festival many times. The color is straw yellow with a yeast haze. The head has the appropriately large billowy character you expect from a good wheat beer. The aroma is grainy wheat and watermelon. The flavor has a crisp Weiss wheat flavor and a melon finish. There is NOTHING artificial tasting, they use only real watermelon and it shows. It is not fruity sweet rather it has a big wheat / malt flavor up front with a mellow watermelon underpinning. As it states on the can “Yeast inside, agitate before opening.” This is important (I did it after opening because I did not want to ware the beer) because putting the yeast in with the beer dramatically changes the flavor and mouth-feel. If you do not do this you lose the crispness in the flavor and have a thinner feel.

* Some bad news….. too hot to ship. *

2009-07-02T15:52:00.001-07:00

We are working hard to get all of the pre-sell orders boxed up and stay on top of our existing order queue but it is too hot to release them to UPS. If you want to take the chance and have me release your order anyway please let me know but with the weekend coming and the 4th holiday in there I think that it would be sitting in the back of a trailer truck for too long and end up cooking. If you really want me to release your order please shoot me an email with “Release order XXXXX now” and I will get it out the door. Sorry for the delay but I think it is for the best.

* Back In Stock *

2009-07-02T15:51:00.002-07:00

Rodenbach Flemish Sour 750ml:

2009-07-02T15:51:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh, the return of a classic. Deep mahogany in color with a small but persistent head. The aroma is oaky with a light sweetness and raspberry / cherry notes. The beer is light on the tongue with just a hint of caramel malt to play off of the lactic tartness and just a hint of damp earth. The finish is dry with minerals and fruit skin. Try this side by side with the Verhaeghe Duchesse d Bourgogne and see which you like best.

Rodenbach Grand Cru 750ml 750ml:

2009-07-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

This Rodenbach has been aged in oak for 18 months. It pours reddish brown with a thin head. The aroma is woody and earthy with a touch of minerals and wine. The flavor is very tart and fruity up front with plum and cherry. There is some malt in there but it finishes dry, tart and woody.

Alaskan Smoked Porter 2008 22oz:

2009-07-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

** This may be our last shipment of 2008 the supply is running thin. ***

Alaskan Smoked Porter is credited with helping revive the German rauchbier style, or smoke-flavored beers, in the United States. The most award-winning beer in the history of the Great American Beer Festival, Alaskan Smoked Porter has a dark, robust body and pronounced smoky flavor. This unique beer is produced in limited vintages each year and may be aged in the bottle much like fine wine. It ages very well and will continue to mellow and increase in complexity for some time. For those of you who love the hops, you will probably like it better young, for the rest of us aging it for a year or two smoothes and mellows it.

Stone Sublinely Self-Righteous Ale 22oz:

2009-07-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

This Black IPA / American Strong Ale is yet another fine brew from Stone. It pours black (really a very dark brown) with a medium head. The aroma is very hoppy with pine, and citrus rind, other scents include a light fruitiness and coffee from the dark malts. The flavor up front is of resinious hops then moves into the dark roasty malt. There is a bit of sweetness but the finish is of that Stone style bitterness.

* Ninkasi *

2009-06-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Very glad to have Ninkasi back in the lineup. Not only do we have their three main brews but a hop-o-licious summer brew as well. Enjoy!!!

Ninkasi Radiant Summer 22oz:

2009-06-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

This wonderfully dry hopped amber pours a red copper color with a thin tight head. The beer has the intoxicating smell of a bale of Liberty hops and deep crystal malt. The flavor had a mid level bitterness from start to lingering finish. The body is creamy and the malt is light caramel and bread. Yet another striking brew from the folks at Ninkasi.

Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA 22oz:

2009-06-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

This 9.6% hop fest is a masterpiece of brewing. It pours light amber in color with a small cap of dense foam. The aroma is huge with orange hops and just a hint of malt sweetness. The flavor is also big on the orange hop profile but the malt brings in some chewy caramel without being overly sweet. The mouthfeel is smooth and has a medium body. This is one of my favorite double/Imperial IPAs.

Ninkasi Total Domination IPA 22oz:

2009-06-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hazy orange in color this hop driven brew pours with a small white head. The aroma is big and fruity, all hops with an orange, tropical and floral smell. The flavor has a fresh hoppy quality to it with orange rind, and some grapefruit along with some grassiness. There is a touch of caramel malt in there someplace but make no mistake, it is all about the hop.

Ninkasi Believer Double Red 22oz:

2009-06-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

Dark amber / red in color, its aroma is hoppy upfront with toasted malts. The flavor is well bittered with a citrusy earthy hop. The malt is lightly of chocolate cake and bread. I’m a big fan of the Believer as it is aggressively flavored but well balanced malt to hops.

* Pre-Sell *

2009-06-20T17:44:00.001-07:00

Deschutes 20th Annv. Black Butte XX 22oz:

2009-06-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

I just got word that the Deschutes Black Butte XX is due in the first part of July. We are now taking pre-sell orders. That means we will fill the order sequentially and it’s first come first served until our allotment is gone. The price is tentative; there may be a small adjustment up or down. I’ll let everyone know if the price is higher.

This was the review from last year. I"ll post a new one for this year as soon as I can.
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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.

* New Beers *

2009-06-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

Southern Oregon Brewing Woodshed Red 22oz:

2009-06-20T17:39:00.002-07:00

A deep mahogany color, this beer pours with one to two fingers of head that settles to a thing layer. The aroma is toasty with some mellow toffee. The flavor is nutty caramel malt and an earthy floral hop. The finish has a midrange bitterness and the mouth feel is smooth and full. Overall drinkability is high, great with food and quaffable all by itself.

Trade Route Infedel Lime IPA 22oz:

2009-06-20T17:39:00.001-07:00

Don’t worry this is not a Miller Chill type of beer. This is a real IPA made with kaffir lime leaves added. The color is a rich golden. The head is thin. The aroma has a slight sweet malt, piney hop, and an herbal note from the leaves. The flavor is crisp with a easy bready malt, citrus/lime from the leaves and hops. It has a good hop bitterness and the leaves provide a unique bitterness all their own. Fun, different, and not at all like those cheap ass lime beers you see from the mega breweries.

Red Branch Diabhal 16oz:

2009-06-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

I know they bill this brew as a Belgian strong golden but make no mistake this is a golden braggot. If you don’t know, a “Braggot” is mead (honey wine) made with malt (tastes more like a mead than a beer) while a “Honey Beer” is a beer made with honey (tastes more like a beer than a mead). Trust me when I say that this is an excellent golden braggot (and I used to make gallons of the stuff in my younger days). The main thing is to set you expectations in line with drinking a mead not a beer.

The color is golden and a thin head that leave nice lace. The aroma is floral and orange from the honey, a bit of yeast and some oaty malt. The flavor has some sweetness to it but it is tart. For those of you who have had semi-dry to dry mead you know what I’m talking about. Mead is nautrally more acidic than beer and therefore will have a flavor that is more tart and that comes just from the fermentation of a lot of honey. Lightly malty with a crisp fruity component from the honey and finish that is sweet with a hint of yeast.

If you are interested in trying a more typical “Brown Braggot” try Dansk “Old Danish”
http://www.liquidsolutions.biz/home/product.asp?sku=062067029509