Beer "catch-up"

Ok, this is as much for you as it is for me.

Hop in the Dark (Cascadian Dark Ale) - Deschutes Brewery

Not impressed - Hop balance was negligible. Dark roasted malt flavors but just a "plain" bitter hop profile. Gave the rest of the bottle to a friend.

Which leads me to our next one (and one that I have had before at the p-house).

Racer 5 (IPA) - Bear Republic Brewing

Ho-hum. Kind of more of a session IPA, medium strength hop profile, also somewhat "plainly" bitter. Malting was nice but a filtered beer, leaving me feeling it to be a bit anorexic. And no, I'm not going to open a third one.

Here are a few more that I have had over the past few months...

Double Dry-hopped IPA - Boundary Bay Brewery

Wow, heaven-sent. Paul and Karen, over at the Trumpter have pulled a definite coup with having this one on tap....all the time. Its basically Boundary's normal IPA (which we all know is my favorite) but with some added hops that I have been told are grown around the brewery and the final product sold to only a handful of accounts (could someone confirm that?). Its basically my favorite beer...but slightly better. 'Nuff said.

Here's a good one for ya.

Devil Dog Imperial IPA - Laughing Dog Brewing

Ooooo, so nice. Big, nicely malted, and frickin' hoppy. The cloudiness added to its chewiness, which I liked. Pay no attention to the wine bottles in the background. This is a beer blog, so I don't think I should be talking about them...however, that doesn't take away from the fact that they were nice as well.

Also worth adding to the collection...

14th Anniversary Emperial IPA - Stone Brewing

And yes, only the arrogant bastards down in Escondido can get away with calling their imperial an Emperial. However, I will let them because it is a damn good beer. It is the epitome of the extremes that England has to offer. From the (as it says on the bottle) imported white malt to the most pungent hops Kent has to offer, this one was definitely worthy of another.

Don't quote me on this one, but....

West Coast IPA - Greenflash Brewery

At least I think so. If it is indeed that beer, then you all need to know about it. Bruce, the godfather of Mt. Vernon alehouses, really knows his IPA's...and so I have ample reason to stop by the Empire and check out his IPA lineup. It was very similar to Boundary's...again, 'nuff said. I also want to give a shout-out to my peeps up at Little Mountain Elementary...in the blue hall, for including their student teacher on the Friday milk-and-cookies meetings. (And yes, I was damn proud of my tie that day)

And one more

Ballz Deep Double IPA - 7 Seas Brewing

Ok, I have to admit...my wife picked this one for me (love my wife) while down visiting old friends in her childhood stomping-grounds of Gig Harbor. Not a stretch here, but the best IPA in a can I have ever had. And no, it was not consumed in the ferry line in the Lopezbeer primary mode of transportation (2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette Premier)....to the best of my knowledge anyway.

Until next time,

Lopez Jas

Spent last Friday afternoon at North Sound Brewery. Twas my second stop in (after Brother Joe and my pub crawl about a month ago). I was more than excited to get to meet Nick, the head brewer. The main reason for this trip was to try the new cask IPA dry-hopped with Cascades. I was told by Lyra that it has been described as "slappy," by the beer-buying patrons. I have to admit, it was quite "in-your-face".... but we all know that's what I love. They're most recent X-batch IPA was an 8% beast, hopped with Magnums. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mags, they are one of the most alpha-intense hops on the market. They are also, ironically enough, incredibly clean on the back end. All-in-all, a very nice brew. Just so you all know, To-Hell-in-a-Hop-Basket Imp IPA will be ready in a couple weeks. Be prepared to be dominated! Nick confirmed the already known, 10.7% ABV. As if I wasn't already excited, its going to be around 130 IBU's as well. Oh yah, he has taken a bit and put it into a cask for us aficionados. Its a good time to be a hop-head.

Until next time,

Lopez Jas