Laurelwood Workhorse Limited Edition Double IPA

There's a free Laurelwood tasting near campus. This is their 10%abv double IPA. I like the standard version, and this one is great too. Definitely doesn't seem like it's 10% -- it's a good thing they're only selling it in 10 oz glasses...

Hooligan Brown Ale

Laurelwood Brewing
Portland, Oregon
22oz bottle, 5.3%abv

Pours dark amber, with a substantial head.

Aroma is light malt with a hint of toast and subtle hop that dissipates fairly quickly.

Flavor is similarly lightly malty with little hops.

Finishes clean and crisp with a relatively big hit of bitterness that comes very late.

Overall a decent beer. I'd like a bit more malt -- it seems more like an amber than a brown.

Dark Hops

Hoppy Black Ale
Beerhere brewery, Someplace Unpronounceable, Norway
16.9oz bottle, 8.5%abv

Pours black and opaque with a tan head than sticks around a while.

Aroma is citrus and pine hops, with some roast malt in the background, and a good bit of alcohol. The piney-ness with the alcohol borders on too much -- it's almost Pine-Sol-esque.

Flavor is similarly hoppy, but with more malt to back it up and no floor cleaner.

Finish is clean and well balanced.

I would probably like this a bunch if not for the slightly off-putting aroma.

Serious Madness

Black Ale
Mad River Brewing, Blue Lake, CA

Another good beer similar to what we've been brewing. Too busy to say more.

Swordfish DCDA

Reel Ales
"Double" Cascadian Dark Ale
Fish Brewing, Olympia, WA
22oz bottle, 7.5%abv

Since we're also brewing a CDA, we figured we'd try a new CDA we hadn't had yet. They call it a double, but it's not really strong enough. Still tasty though.

Nice citrus hop aroma.

Good hop flavor, with very subtle roast malt.

Robust bitter finish.

A nice beer from a brewery I'd never heard of.

Kulmbacher Monchshof Schwarz

German Black Lager
"The Original Black"
Kulmbacher Braurerei, Kulmbach, Bavaria, Germany
16.9oz bottle, alcohol not specified

Since we're making one of these, we figured we should drink one.

It's all about the malt. No hop aroma, nice pilsner malt instead. Flavor is also malt, with a tiny hint of hops. Finishes dry and clean with a solid bitterness.

A really good beer -- hopefully ours will turn out something like it.

Shiny

We were losing a lot of heat while steeping grain, so we got smart and made a simple insulating blanket for the mash tun. Seems to be working well and was easy to do.

Making a double batch right now -- German Black Lager and Cascadian Dark Ale. Both have the same basic mash, but we'll be splitting the wort into two boils and hopping them very differently. We'll also steep some additional grain in the lager, and obviously use different yeast.

Old Man

No, not me...

Winter Ale
Southern Tier Brewing, Lakewood NY
12oz bottle, alcohol not specified

It's a bit late for a Winter ale, but with the weather around here today, it's appropriate.

Pours amber and clear, with a light head that doesn't last very long.

Aroma is light malt, toast, and subtle caramel.

Flavor is also lightly malty, with a bit of peat and little-to-no hops.

Mouthfeel is fairly light, with a nice creaminess.

Finishes initially with some warmth, then with a lingering bitterness.

The bottle was a bit cold, so some more complexity may come out as it warms. I'll add a note if it's significant.

A good winter ale for a cold, wet spring day.

Half'weizen

Block 15 brewery
Corvallis, Oregon

Tracie and I have the day off, so decided to head down to the pub and turn in our coupons for our celebratory Half-marathon beers. Block 15 was a sponsor of the event.

Oh, and we both got new PRs too.

Ace of Spades

Imperial IPA
Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland, Oregon
22oz bottle, 9.5%abv
Gold Medal: 2009 GABF

Pours clear amber with a fluffy white head that dissipates fairly quickly.

Aroma is huge citrus hops -- really nice.

Flavor is nicely balanced -- overall quite hoppy, but balanced with good malt.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly light and crisp for as strong as it is. It's almost too drinkable.

Finish is strongly bitter. No surprise there.

This is a really good IIPA -- highly recommended. I've been enjoying a bunch of the HUB beers, I need to get up to the brewery one of these days...

Jabberwocky Ale

English Style Ale
22oz bottle, 7%abv
Walkabout Brewing Co., Central Point, Oregon

This is a nice mellow beer. Nice reddish-amber color. Big malt nose, balanced flavor with a solid bitter hit way at the end. A pleasant surprise from a new brewery I'd never heard of.

Chris, you'll need to check this place out next time you're in the area, if you haven't already...