I also love local brew. In fact, in my town of Salem, Oregon, there are only a handful of breweries in the local area. We have Pale Horse in town, Seven Brides out in Silverton, and another brewery called Gilgamesh a little south in Turner. I’ve always been very curious about Gilgamesh, but never got the opportunity to try their beers, until now.

Gilgamesh Brewing has had a pop-up store of sorts in the Reed Opera House in downtown Salem since Thanksgiving. I wandered in last weekend and met Eric Lopez, Gilgamesh Brewing‘s Marketing Director. Nick gave me the run down of the current selection of seasonals and year-round brews available in the temporary “Winter Ale House”.

The first beer I bought to review is Ridegeway IPA, which I chose based of the description and my love of IPAs.  According to Ridgeway’s description, here’s the rundown:

Dominated by citrus and pine flavors, this reddish beer features three of our favorite hops (Columbus, Simcoe, and Amarillo) added every minute for an hour during the brewing process. The three pounds of hops per barrel forge a well-balanced, full range of hoppiness, in this medium body brew.

The color is defininly red – I would actually say it’s more copper colored. At first sip, Ridgeway IPA tastes of light bitterness but more of a strong amber ale. This is a light-bodied IPA.

The IBU rating on the Gilgamesh website states the beer is 100+, however this bitterness rating doesn’t translate into the real-butter tastefulness of this beer.  This IPA will be favorable for beer fans who love a hint of hopy-inspired bitterness, but don’t want to be punched in the face with said taste.

I never picked up on the hint of pine flavors, but the citrus definintely comes through mid-sip.

I’d recommend this beer wholeheartedly.

Have you had Ridgeway IPA from Turner’s Gilgamesh Brewing?  If so, what’s your opinion?

Their unique style of beer is crafted after farmhouse ales from Belguim and France. I am a huge fan of this style because of it’s distinctive yeast-y taste that only Belguim-style ales have.

Today we’ll take a look at Hard Bop Brown, one of Upright’s seasonals currently on tap in the Portland area. Brown ales, traditionally, are known for being smooth in palate with a hint of malt and perhaps a taste of nut, depeneding on the brew. Alex, the owner of Upright Brewing, described Hard Bop as a “hoppy brown ale with a kick”.

Hard Bop Brown is composed of a few bales of hops that Upright normally doesn’t produce with, in this case centennial and cascade hops. This strong and hoppy brown ale also utilizes a new house yeast strain, according to their website and weighs in at 9% ABV and has 60 IBUs.

When you pour Hard Bop Brown, it’s a very dark copper-ish red color and the smell of the hops emanates from the pint glass. At first sip, you can definitely sense the the floral hoppy-ness with a small hint of bitter although not overwhelming. With this ale, you’re first met with a citrous-like start that is balanced with a mix of malt and yeast that balances out the drink. This beer tastes a bit bitter at first, but you quickly forget about it as the smooth brown ale taste takes over.

My impression of the beer is that it’s one of the best brews I’ve tasted in all of 2011. As a fan of hoppy beers and brown ales as well, Hard Bop Brown is a perfect marriage of the two ale styles, providing a smooth beer experience with the taste and surprising flavor of a hop ale.  Yum!

Upright Brewing is located in Portland, Oregon (map provided below). The draft house is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and also before each Blazer home game.

This beer, like some of the other ales I’ve been reviewing as of late, is completely dark – you cannot see through this beer at all. It’s heavy in malts and has a roasted flavor according to the website. This beer uses four malts including caramel, Black Roast, Wheat and Oats and the hops are comprised of Northern Brewer and Willamette. This beer is available from September through December and weights in at 5.3% ABV.

This beer is very dark and smells of chocolate and bit of coffee. It has a very black color and a bubbly head. At first sip, the heavily roasted malts comes through heavily. This is a very, very malty beer that almost tastes like black chalk. Unlike Black Butte Porter, which is very smooth and silky, Humbug’r is chalky and dry.

The taste can be described as a mix of roasted dark malt, coffee and some metallic taste. A roasty bitterniess sticks around during and between sips.

If you’re a fan of heavy dark porters, Humbg’r will suit you, however, I cannot recommend this ale.

Pyramid Brewing used to be one of my favorite breweries because it was local when I lived in Seattle for a short time long ago. However, I’ve had a few of their beers in the last few years and they haven’t been all that great.

However, let’s take a fresh look at Pyramid as I focus on their Snow Cap Winter Warmer ale as a part of the winter/holiday ale series. Snow Cap Winter Warmer is a very dark amber ale that  has a very unique taste to it. Some winter ales, as beer fans know, are dark and very malty, however, Snow Cap continues this streak of a dark bodied amber combind with roasted chocolate-tasting malt to add extra zing and a hint of sweetness.

Snow Cap Winter Warmer utilizes three different malts including Caramel, Chocolate malt and barley combined with Willamette hops and a few others. It is 7.0 ABV and has a low IBU score of 47, meaning it isn’t very bitter at all.

Snow Cap pours a dark copper/amber color and has a frothy head at the top, a little too much for my taste. When you first sip Snow Cap, the beer’s amber flavor comes through with a nice hit of malted barley providing a somewhat chocolatey taste, but not too much. This isn’t a sweet beer, but a smooth one. After you swig it around, you can taste the hops kick in a little, providing some floral zing and finishing off with the hint of caramel.

This beer is very similar to Widmer Brrr, although not as sweet on the last bit of the drink. Snow Cap is excellent. This is by far the best beer I’ve ever had form Pyramid and has restored my faith in them…I’ll be looking for more Pyramid ales for review.

Do you have a Pyramid ale that you especially like?

Widmer Brewing is a favorite brewery in the Portland, Oregon area because their beers have a a consistent quality that transends them to the top of Portland’s brewing scene.

Brrr Winter ale is a darker beer (but not totally dark – you can see through it) comes in at 7.2% ABV and has 50 IBUs. Brrr pours dark red and give a well balanced approach to a malty winter ale.

At first sip, you can easily make out the caramel and chocolate malts that bring a slightly sweetened malty presence. Further into the drink, there’s a very smooth finish that isn’t sweet at all – more like a smooth porter, just balanced and makes you want more. This ale smells of slight hops and caramel malts, enticing you the whole time.

Some people don’t like winter dark ales because they are too malty and heavy. Brrr is not this kind of beer, it has a slight malty flavor that has a slightly sweet aftertaste that brings you back.

For those who like amber ales or brown ales, this ale will be a nice next step into the world of more flavorful beers. I like it, and I think you will too.

Now that the winter season is approaching, I’m have a pattern of loving dark flavorful beers that come out this season. Today’s review takes us over to 10 Barrel to sample their S1most0r Dark Ale. This dark ale, at first glance, looks like it would be heavy and too strong in flavorful to be fully enjoyed.

However, I asked the brewer who poured my pint what sets S1most0r apart, and he referenced the de-husked german malt that is used. Being de-husked, it takes away the astringency and presents a strong flavor up front and a smooth after-taste on the back end.

At first sip, this ale is not strong in flavor – it’s more medium bodied with a subtle hint of chocolate. This beer is very balanced with a medium strong foretaste and a very smooth and subtle aftertaste that leaves you wanting more. S1most0r ale has a very light head and smells of licorice and a bit of toffee, a little bit of carmel and a touch of grains. You can taste the carbonation which adds to the zing of the beer.

If you’re seeking a smooth dark ale this winter, check S1most0r ale. If you’re wondering why it’s called S1most0r, notice that then 1 and the zero are emphasized, hence from 10 Barrel.

In today’s review, we continue the fresh hop ale trend by trying Hop Trip Pale Ale from Deschutes. This beer stands out because the brewers actually drive to my home turf of Salem, Oregon to pick their hops amongst the fields around Oregon’s Capital city. Then, they immediately drive back to Bend to boil the hops immediately and begin the brewing process.

Hop Trip comes in at 38 IBUs and weighs in at 5.4% alcohol. The description on the bottle describes this as a citrousy hoppy beer with fall spice.

Hop Trip pours with very little head and has a copper-red color to it. It’s an appealing looking beer which just makes you even more excited to drink it.

Normally descriptions are justified, and in this, case Hop Trip is exactly as advertised. The Cascade Hops seem like they pop in your mouth upon your first sip. This beer is a little bitter, but a quick spicy aftertaste that makes this a balance hoppy beer. Hop heads will likely think Hop Trip is a little weak, but for hop lovers and those who like a mild IPA, Hop Trip will hit the spot.

In this review, we’ll dig into a brew from Bridgeport called Hop Harvest Ale. The label promises that this brew is from field to brew in under 1 hour, which is an amazing feat. Imagine that there are brewers, loading up a truck full of hops, heading straight for the brewery to boil them instantly.  It’s a yummy proposition.

I’m a huge fan of fresh hop ales, largely because I love the floral bitter taste of an IPA, but sans the the punch-you-in-your face bitterness.  This is where fresh hop ales come into place. These ales offer a hoppy experience without a high-degree of bitter.

In fact, this specific Bridgeport ale is intended to mix caramel malt and a touch of wheat to give a cloudy color to an ale that begs to be sampled.

Upon first sip, Hop Harvest Ale gives you a familiar pale ale type taste, but with a nice floral accented aftertaste.  There is no bitterness, likely because of the wheat influence. There is no malty overtone to this brew, just a nicely balanced hop-intense ale.

If you’re a hop fan, please check out this brew at your local pub or grocery store. Bridgeport has again hit the nail on the head and you won’t forget this beer.

Each September, brewers from around the state come to the Willamette Valley to pick hops directly off the vine and boil them immediately into amazing ‘fresh hop’ beers.

This year, Deshcutes Brewing is going all in with special versions of Fresh Hop Mirror Pond Pale, Inversion IPA, Oktoberfest and a few other special ales.

This year is especially unique because Hop Trip will be available in stores as 6-packs as well as the normal 22 oz bottles. Fresh Hop Mirror Pond is available in 22 oz bombers.

So get yourself to a Deschutesutes Pub, in Bend or Portland, today and try out the new ales – you won’t be disappointed!

In today’s review, I’m taking a look at the Silverton brewery’s first IPA. As the label says, ‘popular demand’ required them to look at making an IPA. In this spirit, they have tried to make it as hoppy as humanly possible. Looking at the label, they invite hop heads to unite.

Quoting the bottle:

Frakenlou’s India Pale Ale. In response to your requests “demands”! we present our first IPA. Our first batch was just 1.5 barrels of this Hop Monster.

Using only the Northwests’s finests hops, and the desire to make a monster IPA, Frakenlou’s was born.

Think of it like this, we use enough hops in each batch if IPA to make three of our other beers!

Frakenlou’s comes in at 7% alcohol and is 10f IBU’s, making this a very bitter beer with some massive hop creds.

To me, when I read the label, I expected this to be a hoppy bitter beer that made me cringe when I took my first sip.  Almost like a DogFish Head 120 Minute IPA. This ale will definitely delight any hop head, but it’s not a pucker up and cringe when you drink it beer. It’s relatively smooth with a bitter finish that leaves you wanting more. It’s a heavy beer when it comes to alcohol content, so you’ll likely want to share it.