Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland, OR
22oz bottle, 6.5%abv.
Cascadian Dark Ale, a.k.a. "Black IPA" is a recent style to come out of the Northwest, and has been a great style for Northwest breweries to play with over the last year or so. HUB's new organic version is a great example.
Appearance is dark brown to reddish black with a decent head.
Aroma is initially delightfully hoppy, with big dankness. As the beer warms and the hop volatiles dissipate, a nice note of roast malt appears in the nose.
Flavor leans dry and hoppy, with good roast malt and plenty of hop flavor and little sweetness.
Finish is solidly bitter and crisp.
This may be my favorite CDA yet -- very tasty and highly recommended.
I'm not sure I've a CDA. It sounds yummy.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, one of the local casinos opened a brewery, and they finally got the license to serve their own brews. So I think we're going to head over and give them a try sometime soon.
Feather Falls Brewery.
You'd probably like a CDA, although they don't have figs or wood chips or parsnips or whatever it is you're putting in your beer these days ;)
ReplyDeleteGood to hear there's a new brewery -- hopefully they'll have good beer and do well!
Don't make fun of my cedar beer! I am, however, going to go back to basics and replenish my stock and make an IPA and a Red ale of some sort.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I've joined the local home brew club. Haven't yet attended a meeting (first week in March) but noticed they will be having the home brew competition in May. I was thinking of entering a couple of mine for fun. Someone has to be DFL!
I'm sure I'll find out more about the competition, but how much beer is actually required to enter? In terms of volume.
I keed, I keed...
ReplyDeleteCool about the club, and you should definitely enter. You should also volunteer to judge, it's fun and good experience.
Usually you're required to enter three 12-ounce bottles, with no identifiable marks (plain caps, no embossing or label, etc.). The requirements should be spelled out clearly on the entry form.
And you won't be DFL. If the beer is drinkable, you'll be fine. I've judged stuff that should have gone straight from the fermenter down the drain...
When you do enter, pay attention to what category your beer best fits in, regardless of what you call it (e.g. maybe you call it an "English Pale" but the official BJCP guidelines (see the BJCP site for those) show that it fits better as an "American Amber" enter it there.
Sweet. I already downloaded the full BJCP book, and have been thumbing through it. Given me some better hints on how certain styles should be.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the club doesn't have the entry stuff online yet, but the 3-bottle info is helpful. I'll have to see if I have enough bottles left of my first cedar beer, since they seem to have a "smoke and wood" beer class.