Deschutes Armory XPA Review

Name: Deschutes Armory XPA
Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
ABV: 5.9%

Originally I was going to continue going through the beers which I received via mail but in a twist of events, a challenger has appeared. For you see, I am not the only beer blogger in Duluth; Quite the opposite. He goes by the moniker Duluth Beer Snob and he also reviews beers but with a Gonzo-esque narration and definitely worth reading!

This morning before I left for work, I was checking out his latest post that focused on the latest offerings from Deschutes Brewing. As I was coming to the end of the post, he was talking about how tasty the Armory XPA was when he mentioned:

• I cannot imagine how good this would be on nitro at the pub. If I were Nick, I’d give it 10/10.

I noticed three things:

1. My name is Nick!
2. The name is hyperlinked!
3. That's my rating system!

So imagine my shock when I clicked on the link and it sent me....to my own front page! Was this a challenge? If so, I accept that challenge! I have to admit it's a pretty bold one considering that I've only given one 10/10 rating since starting this blog up. I just so happen to have bought a bomber of XPA last week, so tonight's review will be Armory XPA. The XPA stands for eXperimental Pale Ale as it was the first beer brewed at Deschutes' Portland location.

Armory XPA pours a hazy orange color with some mild visible carbonation and a soapy head. There is also no lacing to speak of along the sides of the glass. 

The aroma has a rather pungent floral hop and yeast scent that is complemented by some orange peels and pale malts. I do have to admit that it's rather vibrant smelling even for an APA.

The flavor is a lot more floral hop forward with some strong bready yeasts, mild citra-hops, yeasts and a solid pale malt backbone. Much like the nose before it, it's got a very vibrant taste even by APA standards

The palate as a whole is moderate in terms of both body weight and carbonation intensity. It's part-crisp and part easy-drinker.

While I think Armory XPA is an excellent and vibrant tasting APA, it doesn't quite match the complex flavors that I got from 3 Floyd's Zombie Dust, which I consider to be my all-time favorite APA. With that said, this is still a very flavorful beer and it's got a very decent price tag as I only paid about $4.50 for this so you're for sure getting your money's worth here.

Deschutes Armory XPA - 9.25/10

You can also check out the Duluth Beer Snob at www.duluthbeersnob.tumblr.com

Deschutes Red Chair NWPA Review

Name: Deschutes Red Chair NWPA
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6.2%

It's time to look at what I consider to be Deschutes Brewing's most popular Spring Seasonal offering: Red Chair NWPA, which is classified as an American Pale Ale. NWPA is an acronym for Northwest Pale Ale, but I'll be sticking with NWPA because it's easier to type.

I remember having Red Chair NWPA on tap a couple years ago down in Cannon Falls, MN after touring the Cannon River Winery, who by the way make fantastic wines. This is my first time having it in a bottle so let's see how this holds up.

Red Chair NWPA pours a hazy orange color with a thin soapy head, which has pretty good retention. The visible carbonation is quite high and it's leaves behind some pretty good lacing!

The nose is quite citrus hop forward with pale malts, light toffee mild floral hops and yeasts. If it weren't for the yeasty aspect, I would say this smells an awful lot like a traditional West Coast-style IPA.

With the flavor, I'm picking up on some pungent citrus hop notes, toffee, yeasts, and pale malts. The aftertaste is a bittersweet citra-hop flavor. The palate with this one is quite heavy body and moderately carbonated.

When you consider everything: The aroma, flavor and even the palate; It's pretty much got one foot already inside the West Coast IPA territory, with the other being in American Pale Ale. With that said, Red Chair NWPA is still a very good beer that's worth checking out.

Deschutes Red Chair NWPA - 8.5/10

Rogue Farms Dirtoir Black Lager Review

Name: Rogue Farms Dirtoir Black Lager
Style: Schwarzbier
ABV: 5%

After passing this by on the shelves for the past year or so, I decided last week to try out a beer from the Rogue Farms lineup from Rogue Brewing. What makes this lineup unique is that every ingredient used in this beer is grown by the brewery themselves on the farm which they own. Tonight I have Dirtoir Black Lager, which is a Schwarzbier style beer. For those of you who enjoy random tidbits of trivia, the word Schwarz in German means "Black." I've always regarded the Schwarzbier-style as a cousin of the Rauchbier-style, mainly because of it's smokey characteristics.

Dirtoir pours a black color with a very foamy dark brown head. Interestingly enough, I'm not picking up any signs of lacing.

The nose starts out with a distinct smoked malt scent, followed by chocolate, roasted barley, yeasts and mild floral hops.

Flavor-wise, it's pretty identical to nose. You have smoked malts, roasted barley, chocolate, yeasts and that mild hoppiness at the very end. The only big difference here is that it's way more roasty than the aroma leaves you to believe.

The carbonation is quite mild and the overall body is pretty light. With that said, it's very easy to drink.

After having I think I'll be looking at this lineup a little closer because I found this to be pretty good. While it doesn't do anything extraordinary, it's a solid beer with a very reasonable price tag and worth checking out since I feel it's an under-recognized beer style.

Rogue Farms Dirtoir Black Lager - 8/10

Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA Review

Name: Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10.6%

Hmm.....I don't quite know how to explain this to you, Deschutes Brewing but you have a very worrying obsession with IPAs; Much like how Buffalo Bill has an obsession with wearing the skin of other human beings. First you give us Fresh Squeezed IPA, then Chasin' Freshes, and now we have Hop Henge Experimental IPA.

Well, truth be told if I didn't want to try this out, I never would've gotten this in the first place. So for the time being, you have won this round Deschutes. In any case, as the name suggests, this beer utilizes hops that are new to the market, not unlike Summit's Union Series.

Hop Henge pours a hazy orange color with a filmy head. There is some good lacing retention and the carbonation is rather mild in appearance.

The aroma takes on a rather fruity characteristic with notes orange peel, peaches, caramelized malts with just a touch of piney hops thrown in for good measure.

In contrast to the nose, the flavor is very piney hop forward with caramel malts, mild citra-hop notes and some yeastiness. The palate is pretty moderately weighted and mildly carbonated, so it's pretty easy to drink.

Hop Henge doesn't do anything new, in terms of flavor, compared to other Imperial IPAs. However it's a pretty well put together Imperial IPA and those who are familiar with the style will no doubt find something to love with his.

Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA - 8.5/10

Deschutes Hop Trip Review

Name: Deschutes Hop Trip
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5.5%

You know the old phrase "If you love it so much, why don't you merry it?" Well I might as well be asking Deschutes Brewing this very question because in the past 7 months I have reviewed two other fresh hop beers from them: Fresh-Squeezed IPA and Chasin' Freshies. What I have here now is the trifecta of fresh hop beers from Deschutes: Hop Trip. Unlike the previous fresh hop beers, both of which were IPAs, this beer is an American Pale Ale.

Hop Trip pours a hazy orange color with a foamy head. The lacing is quite abundant and the carbonation has a mild appearance.

Citrus hops and grassiness are quite prevalent in the aroma upfront, with some lemon zest and mild toffee notes. I'm also getting hints of yeast in here as well.

The flavor takes on more of a piney hop characteristic and putting the citrus hops more in the background. Just like in the nose, the lemon and toffee-malt notes are still present here. There is also a bitter resin quality which makes up the aftertaste.

The body is quite heavy along with some stronger-than-normal carbonation. It's a little harsher on the palate than desired but nothing that isn't manageable.

Out of all of the fresh hop offerings from Deschutes, this one is the runt of the litter. It's got a good taste and you're making a bad choice by trying this out, but it lacks the vibrancy & complexity of it's counterparts.

Deschutes Hop Trip - 7.5/10

Deschutes Chasin' Freshies Review

Name: Deschutes Chasin' Freshies
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.4%

Note: This is the 2013 Release

Deschutes Brewing seems to have a thing for wet hop IPAs this year much like Summit Brewing has a thing for IPAs in general. Chasin' Freshies is the second wet hop IPA released this year after their Fresh Squeezed IPA. From what I understand, last year (2012) was the first time it was released and was brewed with Cascade hops. This year it's brewed with Amarillo hops and since I can't compare and contrast like I did with Surly Wet, this'll be a first for myself.

Before I start this review, I'd like to ask a question: Now is it just me or does the name "Chasin' Freshies" sound like the movie title of a stoner comedy?


Chasin' Freshies pours a pale hazy yellow color with a low amount of visible carbonation, semi-foamy head and good lacing.

In the aroma, it starts out with a grapefruit and citrus hop profile with some caramel malt, apricot and resin notes. The hops at large don't really give off a "wet hop" smell like Fresh Squeezed did.

With that said, the wet hops are quite noticeable flavor-wise with mango and apricot fruitness, toffee, piney & floral hops with a bitter resin finish. Now this is more like it. Permitting it's not quite as hoppy as say Fresh Squeezed, but the wet hops are present here.

It's got a moderate weighted feel to it but the carbonation is a bit too strong for my liking, and that is probably my biggest gripe and a relatively small one at that.

All and all, it's a very good wet hop IPA.......but I still prefer Fresh Squeezed over this. Sure it's got one of the better wet hop profiles that I've seen this year, but Fresh Squeezed just came off as more vibrant and satisfying. However I would still recommend checking this out because it's still a great IPA!

Deschutes Chasin' Freshies - 8.5/10

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale Review

Name: Rogue Voodoo Bacon Maple Ale
Style: Smoked Beer/Rauchbier
ABV: 6.5%

Last year, Rogue Ales started doing collaborations with Portland-Based Voodoo Doughnuts to bring about some rather....interesting beers. For starters, in an attempt to draw attention,the bottle itself is  a Pepto-Bismol Pink and you can tell it was sprayed on because there's some pink opacity (fading away for you non-Photoshop users) near the mouth of the bottle.

The second thing you'll notice is the flavor: Maple Syrup & Bacon. Now I'm no stranger to Smoked/Rauchbiers in general and I'm familiar with the bonfire/smoked bacon flavor that comes along with it but this is supposedly made with actual bacon. I've actually had a maple-bacon donut before (not from Rogue) and found it to be rather good but that may just be my own messed-up palate.

So Bacon and Beer together at last, two of my favorite things in one package, there is no possible way this could suck.....

'Merica!!

The beer pours a dark hazy brown color with a pretty foamy head. The amount of carbonation is pretty mild and the lacing retention here is pretty lacking.

The nose smells like a Perkins Breakfast Platter....No seriously, it's like they took the Perkins 55 Plus Breakfast menu and made a beer from it! I'm getting some bacon, maple syrup, some yeastiness that may as well be pancakes and a very light hoppiness.

The flavor thankfully remembers that it's still a smoked beer.....sort of. To start, it's got a smoked/sweet malty backbone, bacon and and a very sweet maple syrup taste. There's also some slight oakiness to the flavor as well as some bready/yeastiness. I still say it tastes like breakfast!

The body is moderate in weight with some pretty light carbonation. It's got a fairly creamy mouthfeel so it's a pretty easy beer to drink.

I love Rauchbiers & Smoked Beers but this really didn't cut it for me. It's a bit too sweet for this style of beer and there are cheaper alternatives of the same style that taste so much better than this.

Rogue Voodoo Bacon Maple Ale - 6/10

Deschutes Black Butte XXV Review

Name: Deschutes Black Butte XXV
Style: Imperial Porter
ABV: 11.3%

Since 2008, Deschutes Brewing has released a stronger version of year-round Black Butte Porter, starting with Black Butte XX to signify their 20th year in business and so forth. This year it's their 25th anniversary in business so therefore it's the roman numeral for 25 (XXV). I should've probably reviewed the original Black Butte first before having this.....Oh well!!

This will also be the second Imperial Porter that I've had, the first being The Dark Knight Returns from Barley John's Brewpub based out of New Brighton, MN.

Black Butte XXV pours a pitch black color with a Khaki colored brown head. The lacing retention is also pretty good and there's only a couple bubbles along the sides of the glass.

The aroma starts off with a chocolate-raspberry sweetness with some vanilla, coffee, plums and roasted barley. For a Porter, this smells rather fruity.

Chocolate & roasted barley make up the the front of the flavor along with raspberries/plums, burnt malts, vanilla and coffee. The aftertaste is a bit of an oddball here because unlike most Porters that I'm used to, which have a roasty-toasty finish, Black Butte XXV finishes with a tart chocolate & raspberry flavor.

The beer extremely hefty in weight and thick but paired with the light carbonation, it makes for a very smooth and creamy body. It definitely helps you enjoy every bit of the flavor that's in here.

Black Butte XXV is a very well put together & robust beer that offers slightly different take on the porter style particularly with the raspberry/plum notes so check it out if you get the chance! I will for sure be getting this again next year!

Deschutes Black Butte XXV - 9/10

Rogue Dead Guy Ale Review

Name: Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Style: Heller Bock
ABV: 6.6%

There is usually a debate about some breweries over which beer it is most well known for. In the case of Rogue Ales, everyone pretty much agrees (myself included) that their flagship beer is their Dead Guy Ale. It is considered by many to be the beer with put the brewery on the map. It also happens to be one of the first craft beers that I could really get into, plus the bottle glows in the dark!

Though unlike Shiner Bock, this is an actual Bock style of beer. C'mon, this is Oregon we're talking about here, they can't mess up beer.....right?

Dead Guy pours a dark amber color with a mild haziness. The head is quite frothy in appearance with good retention and decent lacing. The amount of carbonation visible is also quite low with just a few bubbles.

The aroma starts off with a sweet caramel & honey scent with some light butterscotch, pale malt, floral hop and yeasty notes. Smells a bit like a Maibock!

The flavor has rather malty caramel and honey taste before finishing off with a floral hop, light butterscotch and yeasty flavor. The taste is pretty similar to the nose.

The body is quite thick and heavy in weight but thanks to the low carbonation, comes off as rather creamy and smooth. This is a pretty easy beer to drink and it fits the style well!

I feel that this is a great beer for any craft beer enthusiast as well as anyone who is just getting into craft beer. The flavor is great yet not overwhelming; Heavy yet smooth & an overall pleasure to the senses. Definitely worth picking up should you get the chance!

Rogue Dead Guy Ale - 8.5/10

Rogue Chocolate Stout Review

Name: Rogue Chocolate Stout
Style: Sweet Stout/Milk Stout
ABV: 6%

Chocolate Stout by Rogue Ales harkens back to when the idea of dark beers was a foreign concept to myself. Eventually I overcame my fears and tried out Deschutes' Obsidian Stout. Sadly I ended up hating it due to my inept palate and I deduced that darker beers simply were not for me.

That was until that fateful evening at Stanley's Northeast in Minneapolis while I was in college 2 years ago when I was given a sample of Rogue Chocolate Stout to try out. Placing my lips to the glass I took my sip and it was like discovering the Holy Grail, it was fantastic! It goes without saying that I have had this beer before but have never given it a proper review, that is until now.

Rogue Chocolate Stout pours a pitch black color and a khaki brown colored head with good retention and lacing.

The nose consists of milk chocolate, roasted barley, malts, coffee and a mild hoppiness. The hoppiness in particular is something I haven't really noticed until now; Unusual for a dark beer.

The flavor starts out with a very rich milk chocolate & cocoa flavor, before finishing off roasted barley, malts and mild hoppiness.

The body is moderate in weight and mildly carbonation. Very smooth bodied and it goes down quite easily.

Anyone who is intimidated by or even isn't a fan of darker beer, at the very least, should give this one a try. The flavor isn't particularly robust but it's just right so that you're able to savor the flavor without being too overwhelmed. As for those who like their beers dark, this should be a no-brainer!

Rogue Chocolate Stout - 9/10

Widmer Brothers Columbia Common Review

I apologize for my finger at the bottom right corner, it will not happen again

Tonight I'm looking at a spring seasonal offering from Widmer Brothers Brewing called "Columbia Common", which is a Steam Beer/California Common style beer. 

To give a Spark Notes explanation of what a California Common is, it is basically a beer fermented  with yeast which ferments at warmer temperatures. This was developed in the 19th Century by brewers in California who had to develop a yeast strain which allowed to it to ferment in California's warm climate.The name "Steam Beer" is trademarked by Anchor Brewing Company so other breweries wishing to make this style must call it a "California Common." 

It pours a dark orange color with a pretty clear appearance. You can see a mild amount of carbonation climbing up the sides of the glass and the lacing retention is quite good. 

The nose has some fairly strong yeast and barley notes which are backed up by a pretty mild Pilsener-like grassiness. It does smell like, in a way, liquid bread.

Flavor wise, it has the yeast and barley flavors I've come to expect but it also has a strange hefeweizen-like spicy zing to the flavor. I'm guessing it's the Columbia Hops they've used in making this beer as it does advertise "spicy hop notes" on the company website's description of the beer.

The beer itself is pretty moderate in terms of weight and the carbonation only has a slight kick to it, so it does feel pretty refreshing especially right now after this long day.

It's a decent beer and gets the job done, but I felt the spicy aspect of the flavor was unnecessary. I understand it's what makes this beer a "Columbia Common" but I'm pretty sure if I like my California Common without spice in it.  It is not a bad beer, however if I wanted a spicy beer I would have a Rogue Chipotle Ale instead.

Widmer Brothers Columbia Common - 7/10