As summer winds down, Public Coast Brewing of Cannon Beach, Oregon released three seasonal beers to celebrate “summer’s last stand,” as stated in the press release. The brewery sent me these beers, Blueberry Wheat, Peach Pie Smoothie Sour, and S’mores Bonfire Stout, and for these reviews I’ve thrown in a bonus fourth: Oswald IPA.

We’ve got just over a week of summer left before it’s officially fall, so read on for my notes on these beers to see about getting some for yourself.

Public Coast Farm Blueberry Wheat Ale

You may or may not remember I reviewed last year’s version of this as well; this is an easy-drinking wheat ale brewed with blueberries grown on the brewery’s farm, located halfway between Cannon Beach and Portland. It’s 5.4% alcohol by volume, and the website’s current beer list description says:

So, we bought the farm! Public Coast Farm combines our love of all things beermaking AND growing things like blueberries and hops!

Appearance: Murky, bruised purple with off-white head that might be faintly pink.

Smell: Fruity and fresh berries—almost a blueberry syrup character, with a touch of berry skin. It’s fragrantly juicy. Blueberry is the dominant aroma, quite nice and pleasant and an excellent expression of the fruit.

Taste: Moderately grainy flavor with some lightly tannic fruit (skins) that’s slightly earthy, slightly sweet (although it’s fermented out so there’s not much residual sugars). There is a light touch of something chlorophenolic, I think, but it’s hard to pin down. The essence of the blueberries come through well overall.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with some structure from the berries; earthy finish.

Overall: It’s a nice fruit beer with good use of the blueberries.

Peach Pie Smoothie Gose Sour

Talk about easy drinking: Peach Pie comes in at an extremely mellow 3.8% ABV, starts with a gose base, and adds the other ingredients:

This Gose-style beer is so loaded with Peach Puree, Nutmeg, and vanilla, we might as well have tossed some pie and beer into a blender.

It’s brewed in the same vein as last year’s Pineapple & Mango Smoothie, and I think it works even better, especially going all-in on the peach pie theme. My notes:

Appearance: Smoothie/slurry appearance, muddy orange-brown, no head present but there was some fizz on the pour.

Smell: There’s a big fruit note here like overripe peach (right on the edge of over/rotten), with nutmeg and light vanilla that does have a pie-like quality—and weirdly makes me think of pumpkin ale. Dessert-y, with fresh baked(?) notes.

Taste: Subtle tart character that’s nicely complementary to the taste of ripe peaches, with a kiss of sweet and a dusting of nutmeg for a subtly creamy-spicy note. The sour character is soft and a bit like a balsamic with how it plays with the other ingredients. It’s not far from “smoothie” in that you could be fooled into believing that it’s not a beer…

Mouthfeel: Full body, with a puree consistency. Little tart bite at the back.

Overall: It lives up to the name!

S’mores Bonfire Stout

Take a milk stout base, and add the following (per the website):

All the marshmallowy, cocoa, and cookie flavor you’d ever want, without the hassle of finding the perfect stick.

Now, I don’t know for certain if that means this stout was brewed with actual marshmallow and chocolate, as the name “S’mores” implies, but considering one of the popular evening pastimes on the beach there in Cannon Beach is having a beach bonfire, I think you could easily pair this brew with actual s’mores around the fire.

It’s 5.5% ABV so another one that’s rather sessionable.

Appearance: Dark brown to black with a ruddy garnet clarity at the edges. Tan, creamy head.

Smell: Standard roasty stout notes, with a touch of acridity perhaps. Some coffee bean, cocoa nibs, hints of char. There might be some chocolate syrup, perhaps some subtle cream marshmallow character.

Taste: Roasty notes with some fruity esters and a bare hint of acrid/acidity (likely from dark roasted malts). Hints of smoke, cocoa, burnt graham cracker. I don’t really get “s’mores” as in dessert but there are hints here; perhaps it’s more akin to the “bonfire” part of the name.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, a touch toward lighter, with a roasty finish.

Overall: Decent, smoky-ish American stout that pairs well with chocolate.

Bonus! Oswald IPA

Obviously this isn’t one of the beers the brewery sent me, rather it’s one I picked up earlier in the summer when we visited Cannon Beach and Public Coast to get some beers to go. So I thought it was a perfect time to include my thoughts on the brewery’s flagship IPA.

It’s 7.6% ABV with 74 IBUs, and the site says:

A “beast” of an IPA! This is what the hop heads are after. Huge floral, citrus, earthy nose and flavor.

Appearance: Copper with a bit of orange, with moderate clarity. Good off-white head.

Smell: Classic grapefruit and malt aroma profile, with pine, grapefruit, orange rind, and some fruity alcohol esters. It’s got an old-school northwest IPA aroma without feeling old school, if that makes sense.

Taste: Piney bitterness with lightly citrusy resin, that’s relatively clean and unobtrusive. Some earthy character and some crystal malt sweetness which goes a little heavy. Tends more towards hop bitterness than hop flavor, though the pine and citrus work—and come back to my “old school” comments in the aroma notes.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full body, but ultimately has a dry finish with some lingering hop character.

Overall: It’s a nice IPA with a throwback feel.