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At long last, Peak Northwest will introduce another beer to go along with its Hawksbeard label. Devil's Peak Ruby Ale is a creamy, medium-bodied amber. Like all Peak Northwest ales, it is made with a yeast strain from Peter Austin's brewery in Hampshire, England, reputed to be 150 years old, which contributes a distinctly dry, almost seltzerlike quality. This beer uses six varieties of hops and five different malts, though the result is neither excessively malty nor bitter. Available now in Eugene and Corvallis; look for it to appear in Portland stores soon. Portland Brewing braves the waters of a crowded IPA market with its spring seasonal, but with a twist. In this version, oak chips have been put in the fermenter to add a touch of the historical brew, which was shipped from England to India in oak casks. Unexpectedly, the beer's bitterness comes in part from the oak, which seems to neutralize the characteristic hop flavor somewhat, giving the beer a unique bitterness (though a bit of citrus is present). The oak notes are immediately evident, imparting a buttery, resinous flavor. I strongly recommend letting this warm up to cellar temperatures, where the complexity of flavor really comes through. Available through mid-April. Saxer Brewing follows up its winter dopplebock with Dark Bock. Like Saxer's other bocks, Dark Bock is made by decoction, a complex process of raising the temperature by removing part of the mash, boiling it and returning it to the mash kettle. The result is a very smooth, slightly sweet beer that--like most bocks--is deceptively easy to drink. At 7.2 percent alcohol, you'll know soon enough if you've been drinking too quickly. It's on the shelves now and will be until June. Under the Nor'Wester label, Saxer also brings back Smith Rock Bock, a well-regarded beer and one of the few recipes that brewmaster Tony Gomes has not revised. It is brewed using the easier infusion mashing system. Although the result is slightly less complex than Saxer's other bocks, it is tasty, somewhat toasty and with a more pronounced alcoholic flavor. Available now through August (or perhaps a bit later). Many things are afoot on Russell Street, the most straightforward of which is the Widmer Brothers' seasonal, Golden Bock. It is a malty, sweet beer, lighter-tasting than its 7 percent alcohol would suggest (on careful examination, one can pick up the tickle of alcohol on the palate), and balanced with enough hops to keep the malt from becoming overwhelming. It will be available beginning in March. Beyond that, the brewery has plans to introduce several new beers between the middle of March and April 1, including a licorice-and-molasses porter that will replace Blackbier, a true Vienna lager that may or may not be called Vienna, reintroduction of the current Vienna as Hopjack Ale (with a slightly revised, hoppier recipe), and a draft-only milk stout. Some of these are only in test batches now; expect details as they become available. Yakima Brewing Company introduces its spring seasonal, called SpringFest Ale, a beautiful reddish blend of five malts. The recipe has its origins in Grant's Celtic Ale but is maltier and comes in at more than 5 percent alcohol. As with the brewery's other seasonals, it highlights the use of a single hop, in this case Oregon's own relative to the English Fuggle. Last summer, I harvested some hops from a friend's back yard. I recall mainly the sense of being bathed in a green cloud of Willamette hops, lupulin oil spreading over my skin, a hoppy floral tickle at the back of my throat. They say hops have a narcotic effect, and so it seemed that night. After a single taste of SpringFest Ale, I could tell by the tickle that the hop variety was Willamette (as for any narcotic effect...). On shelves now through May. |
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