Some months back I asked for some advice on some potential breweries/brewpubs and bars to visit through the US and Canada, to which I got plenty of good advice. And while I didnt get to go to all of them, cos I wasnt able to visit everywhere in the US and Canada in such a limited timeframe, and the fact that I was in fact a we, inasmuch as the trip was a honeymoon.
And so it is with much thanks to TDA, Trent, Malnourished and Sosman for their input. I did my best to get to some places, but there is so much beer to get through, and only so many places you can accidentally come across before SWMBO gets suspicious that youre leading her on an organised tour.
And so a summary version of tasting delights, taken from my tour diary. Note that Im still trying to get my head around labelling aroma and taste, so my comments on colour, carbonation and head retention are limited, and I only really notice them if theyre not what I expect (eg an off colour or cloudiness in a non-wheat, a gusher or flat as a tack).
Hawaii
Kona Brewing Big Wave Golden Ale Golden colour, so they got that bit right. Almost looks a bit cloudy, but not bottle conditioned. Nose is middle of the road but clean nothing overly flowery or fruity. Taste is also clean, right across the palate, not too malty or hoppy. Stupid as it sounds it has got some complexity in the profile, but its still simple enough that you can pick the hop and malt. 7/10
Kona Brewing Fire Rock Pale Ale Orange to the point of looking like a Fanta, but with a wheat sized head. Smell of citrus that makes me think its probably straight Cascade, but nothing OTT. Body has a bit of depth to it, bit of sweetness (caramel-esque), with medium hoppy citrus, bitterness on back of palate. I like the balance on this. 7/10
Mehana Mauna Kea Pale Ale Mild aroma of citrus and maybe pine. Lighter, thinner body, not much malt to it. Im guessing that the hops were mainly used for the bittering here, cos it finishes fairly bitter. Clean, and pleasant, but trending towards megaswill in its blandness. You know what I mean like an EB IBU rating, with some nice fresh aroma and an inkling that there is a bit of malt you can almost taste somewhere in there. 5/10
LA
The 4 Points Airport Sheraton actually has a great range of beer at their hotel pub called TH Brewsters. I destroyed my taste buds with a good session of hoppy beers
SNPA its in the bottle, but I see it, and cant wait til I get it on tap to try it. Wont bother with a review because everyone here ahs seen and read a thousand of them, but my impression? Its smoother than LCPA, Id call it less carbonated and a rounder mouthfeel, but it doesnt have the nose that LCPA, even comparing bottle with bottle. Cascade taste is certainly prominent, but not the grapefruityness from the LCPA. 9/10
Firestone Double Barrel Amber an oak conditioned (60L barrels) beer. Not much on the nose except the oak. There is a nice amber malt backbone that runs the length of the palate, but for mine, the oaking throws the balance too far out. The hops are barely discernible. Having recently been given a beer engine, Ive been considering doing some barrel/cask conditioning, but if this is how far out of whack it takes the beer, I may have to reconsider. Its probably worth noting that Im a bit biased with my review here, because oaked Chardonnay shits me off, and it was certainly an impression with this one a Chardonnay made with malt. Also, I should remind myself to drink up the bitterness scale I had tried 2 SNPA before this, which probably didnt help with me picking any hops on the palate. 6.5/10
Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA holy smokes, this is my first aggressively hopped beer, and it really is a prominent taste. From the top then, it looks and pours like a pale ale, it jumps up my nose and announces that it has arrived, suggesting no uncertain terms that some pine with a bit of citrus is there to take up residence. Bit thicker mouthfeel than some of the Oz IPAs Ive tried, and the hops thunder on in to my mouth with some sweet malt marching not quite side by side down my palate, but only a few steps behind. Ill admit that it is a nicely balanced beer certainly aggressive, but not overpowering, and Im confident that its not my idea of a session beer. Its at this point that I can feel my tastebuds starting to cringe from the bitterness and hop burn. 7/10
Stone Arrogant ******* Ale
In retrospect, its a big bottle (22 oz) to finish the night on will store that in the Things Not To Do list for next time. This beer is hopped so heavy, it smells like bleach when you open it. When I try a sniff from a distance, its piney, but up close, its just trying to open my sinuses with its sheer intensity, like a finger covered with Vicks. Head retention was practically zip, settled very quickly, almost like the hops were scaring the CO2 out. Thick body trending towards syrupy, which is a first in a non-stout for me (I later come to find this character more clearly shown in barleywines). My palate immediately finds the bitterness, which the beer has down pat as many IBU as you can pack in I suspect. But the hop overload just throws the balance right out, Im sure there was malt in there somewhere the colour suggested it was there, but stuffed if I could detect it. Real bitter pine bite at back of palate. Ive heard a lot of folks talk about how much they like the Stone beers, but for me and my now clearly curling up and dying tastebuds, this is just too much its like a novelty factor; I drank Arrogant *******. 5/10
*Oh yeah, and the ******* gave me some real acidity problems the next morning. Never had to have an antacid in my life before, but it went down a treat when I got up a mere 5 hours later. Thinking Ill have to toughen up real quick, or this trip will do my stomach and my liver in in one foul swoop.
And so it is with much thanks to TDA, Trent, Malnourished and Sosman for their input. I did my best to get to some places, but there is so much beer to get through, and only so many places you can accidentally come across before SWMBO gets suspicious that youre leading her on an organised tour.
And so a summary version of tasting delights, taken from my tour diary. Note that Im still trying to get my head around labelling aroma and taste, so my comments on colour, carbonation and head retention are limited, and I only really notice them if theyre not what I expect (eg an off colour or cloudiness in a non-wheat, a gusher or flat as a tack).
Hawaii
Kona Brewing Big Wave Golden Ale Golden colour, so they got that bit right. Almost looks a bit cloudy, but not bottle conditioned. Nose is middle of the road but clean nothing overly flowery or fruity. Taste is also clean, right across the palate, not too malty or hoppy. Stupid as it sounds it has got some complexity in the profile, but its still simple enough that you can pick the hop and malt. 7/10
Kona Brewing Fire Rock Pale Ale Orange to the point of looking like a Fanta, but with a wheat sized head. Smell of citrus that makes me think its probably straight Cascade, but nothing OTT. Body has a bit of depth to it, bit of sweetness (caramel-esque), with medium hoppy citrus, bitterness on back of palate. I like the balance on this. 7/10
Mehana Mauna Kea Pale Ale Mild aroma of citrus and maybe pine. Lighter, thinner body, not much malt to it. Im guessing that the hops were mainly used for the bittering here, cos it finishes fairly bitter. Clean, and pleasant, but trending towards megaswill in its blandness. You know what I mean like an EB IBU rating, with some nice fresh aroma and an inkling that there is a bit of malt you can almost taste somewhere in there. 5/10
LA
The 4 Points Airport Sheraton actually has a great range of beer at their hotel pub called TH Brewsters. I destroyed my taste buds with a good session of hoppy beers
SNPA its in the bottle, but I see it, and cant wait til I get it on tap to try it. Wont bother with a review because everyone here ahs seen and read a thousand of them, but my impression? Its smoother than LCPA, Id call it less carbonated and a rounder mouthfeel, but it doesnt have the nose that LCPA, even comparing bottle with bottle. Cascade taste is certainly prominent, but not the grapefruityness from the LCPA. 9/10
Firestone Double Barrel Amber an oak conditioned (60L barrels) beer. Not much on the nose except the oak. There is a nice amber malt backbone that runs the length of the palate, but for mine, the oaking throws the balance too far out. The hops are barely discernible. Having recently been given a beer engine, Ive been considering doing some barrel/cask conditioning, but if this is how far out of whack it takes the beer, I may have to reconsider. Its probably worth noting that Im a bit biased with my review here, because oaked Chardonnay shits me off, and it was certainly an impression with this one a Chardonnay made with malt. Also, I should remind myself to drink up the bitterness scale I had tried 2 SNPA before this, which probably didnt help with me picking any hops on the palate. 6.5/10
Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA holy smokes, this is my first aggressively hopped beer, and it really is a prominent taste. From the top then, it looks and pours like a pale ale, it jumps up my nose and announces that it has arrived, suggesting no uncertain terms that some pine with a bit of citrus is there to take up residence. Bit thicker mouthfeel than some of the Oz IPAs Ive tried, and the hops thunder on in to my mouth with some sweet malt marching not quite side by side down my palate, but only a few steps behind. Ill admit that it is a nicely balanced beer certainly aggressive, but not overpowering, and Im confident that its not my idea of a session beer. Its at this point that I can feel my tastebuds starting to cringe from the bitterness and hop burn. 7/10
Stone Arrogant ******* Ale
In retrospect, its a big bottle (22 oz) to finish the night on will store that in the Things Not To Do list for next time. This beer is hopped so heavy, it smells like bleach when you open it. When I try a sniff from a distance, its piney, but up close, its just trying to open my sinuses with its sheer intensity, like a finger covered with Vicks. Head retention was practically zip, settled very quickly, almost like the hops were scaring the CO2 out. Thick body trending towards syrupy, which is a first in a non-stout for me (I later come to find this character more clearly shown in barleywines). My palate immediately finds the bitterness, which the beer has down pat as many IBU as you can pack in I suspect. But the hop overload just throws the balance right out, Im sure there was malt in there somewhere the colour suggested it was there, but stuffed if I could detect it. Real bitter pine bite at back of palate. Ive heard a lot of folks talk about how much they like the Stone beers, but for me and my now clearly curling up and dying tastebuds, this is just too much its like a novelty factor; I drank Arrogant *******. 5/10
*Oh yeah, and the ******* gave me some real acidity problems the next morning. Never had to have an antacid in my life before, but it went down a treat when I got up a mere 5 hours later. Thinking Ill have to toughen up real quick, or this trip will do my stomach and my liver in in one foul swoop.
