Chicory Stout is a winter seasonal beer from Dogfish Head, a moderate-alcohol (5.2%) stout brewed up with the Dogfish twist: A dark beer made with a touch of roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, St. John’s Wort, and licorice root. Brewed with whole-leaf Cascade and Fuggles hops, the grains include pale, … Continue reading

For some reason I had never had Full Sail’s Session Premium Lager until recently. It’s a pre-Prohibition style American lager, 5.1% alcohol, and comes in 11 ounce stubbies… a novelty these days. Easy drinking, the stubby is fun… you can’t go wrong! Appearance: Nice honey golden color. Very clear. Thin … Continue reading

Cedar River Amber Ale is brewed by Hale’s Ales under the "Northwest’s Best" label for Trader Joe’s. The alcohol content isn’t listed, though I’d guess it’s around 5 to 5.5% by volume. It’s a pretty standard-fare amber, and I picked up a 12-pack for $9.99, which is a good deal … Continue reading

Great Divide has made a splash lately with their latest offering, Samurai Ale, because it’s brewed with a significant percentage of rice. Rice! The only other beers commonly brewed with rice are (notoriously) the big American macro lagers, and Japanese beers. Obviously they chose to take their inspiration from the … Continue reading

Firestation 5 is the beer brand set up by Portland Brewing which produces beers exclusively for Fred Meyer (according to RateBeer) SB Northwest (updated: see below). Kind of like the Trader Joe’s deal on beers, I guess. At any rate, I had their Steam Pumper IPA recently and it wasn’t … Continue reading

Generally speaking, I think Samuel Smith’s beers are pretty fundamental, maybe essential, beers that should be considered benchmarks. Taddy Porter is like that for English style Porters, I think. Or very nearly. Basically, it’s one of the best English Porters out there. Appearance: Dark brown and opaque, like dirty engine … Continue reading

Burton Baton is one of Dogfish Head‘s "Occasional Rarities" that I found when we were in Ashland. It’s a limited edition and can pretty much only be considered one of their extreme beers: it’s 10% alcohol by volume and their site describes it as A blend of oak-aged English strong … Continue reading

The subtitle to Rogue‘s Dad’s Little Helper is "Malt Liquor" but don’t let that dissuade you—as their site quotes John Maier, "This ain’t your Dad’s malt liquor." It’s got the signature Rogue twist to it: it’s good! We picked up a bottle when we were in Ashland a few weeks … Continue reading

19th Anniversary Golden Ale is Deschutes Brewery‘s first ever bottled Belgian style ale, a nice 8.7% alcohol brew that I first tasted at the pub. I was impressed then and I’m still impressed after the bottled version. Appearance: Nice pale golden yellow… I fancy I even see a tinge of … Continue reading

Twilight Ale is Deschutes Brewery‘s summer seasonal, one that is a locals’ favorite that everybody seems to be drinking when it comes out. It’s a nice, light, drinkable 5% alcohol brew that is, according to their website, "best enjoyed when chilled and consumed outdoors." I’ll drink to that. Appearance: Pale … Continue reading