Taste This Beer!!!: Full Sail Brewing, 25th Anniversary Brews

Full Sail Brewing: perfection and only 25 years old

Yesterday was one of those cold wet spring days that makes you think, "why did I move to Oregon from sunny Los Angeles" but, then you get invited to a beer tasting at your local store and realize there's more to live than a little sun. When I say beer tasting at your local store you might be thinking, "oh, some small table set up in the beer isle with someone pouring 1oz tasters", but you'd be wrong. We're talking about a "taste sitting" at Haggen's in Oregon City where they do tastings once a month. I'm talking about sitting down with 40 or so other people, food provided to cleanse your pallet, someone from the brewery discussing the beers and the brewery in depth, and of coarse beers being poured into real glasses to drink (has to be more than an ounce to really get a taste). And yesterday it was Full Sail Brewing and I was excited to see that we'd be tasting some of their Anniversary edition brews.

The Beer Line-Up was the following: Brewmaster Reserve Pale Dopplebock, Brewer's Share Series Phil's Existential Alt, Pub Series ESB, LTD Lager Series Vienna, Session black and red, and to finish the selection their Bourbon Barrel Stout with dark chocolate to eat with it.All of the beers were excellent and trust me at the end of the night I was torn on which one to buy to bring home and write about. I decided on the one that was really surprising to me, I chose the Pale Dopplebock.

Full Sail Brewing Company, Pale Dopplebock: 9% ABV, 1pt 6oz

I was expecting a thick rich malty beer that would sit heavy on the pallet and in the belly, I was in for a surprise. The Pale Dopplebock has a much lighter and smooth mouthfeel than ordinary Dopplebocks. The flavor profile is still however very much sweet and malty with some hints of spice and grassy hops. The finish is more like an IPA than a traditional Dopplebock, meaning instead of a sweet long lasting malt aftertaste you can taste the lingering bitters from the hops. This all makes for a faster drinking beer that may just be perfect for a late spring bar-b-q.