Taste This Beer!!!: June 2013

KGB Russian Imperial Stout, Widmer: Stout style, 9.3%ABV 12oz bottle

So it's the end of a warm summer day and why does that mean I have to stick to light color beers?

Honestly I usually do try and enjoy lighter beers during the summer months but, a really good friend of mine donated a four pack to us at TasteThisBeer (and by us I mean me) and I figured why wait till the fall. So I'm sitting myself down in the cool shade behind my house to try and imagine this being the end of a cool Fall day instead.

This beer pours out looking dark and intimidating with a thick tan foamy head. The head slowly dissolves leaving a nice thin layer with plenty of lacing on the glass. The aroma is that of oatmeal and dark chocolate with, because of the high ABV, the obvious alcohol smell. This is a full body beer with good balance and hops to prevent it from being overly sweet. You can taste the roasted malts against the mocha back drop which then ends with a grassy hop aftertaste. The sweet rich malty flavor actually lingers on your lips which assist in the over all pleasure of this beer.

This is a perfect Fall or Winter after dinner dessert beer that would be perfect with a piece of dark chocolate or slice of double chocolate cake. But if you're like me and insist on drinking beers outside their rightful seasons, try this beer with a roasted chocolate marshmallow.

Oakshire Brewing small company based in Eugene, OR

As before mentioned in my past posts I started going to beer tastings at Hagen's in Oregon City, this past Thursday had me tasting Oakshire Brewing Company beers. Now I've seen Oakshire beers on the shelves of my local beer sellers but I never actually brought one home so this tasting was especially nice as I would be tasting all new beers. Unfortunately their representative had to back out at the last moment and instead sent a distributor rep in his place. This leads me to not having as much information as I wanted about the brewery but lucky for us they have an excellent website. So from Oakbrew.com we are able to learn that Oakshire only brews in 15-barrel batches and that they are in he business out of love for beer and not money. It also mentions that they are dedicated to producing fine quality beers of different styles. Hmmm, maybe that's what led me to buying 2 beers to write about instead of just one.

Line Dry Rye, Oakshire Brewing: Rye Pale Ale style, 5.3% ABV, 22oz bottle

When I tasted this beer at the tasting I thought, this doesn't taste like other Rye Beers, this is good. When I took this beer home the first thing I noticed was that the head was more substantial than I had remembered. A nice white head that slowly faded away. The nose was that of malt and citrus but did not have the rye smell that I would expect from a rye beer. The color was a clear gold, slightly darker than a typical American pale ale. The first mouthful is a pleasant treat, it is sweet with hints of citrus and blackberry honey, crisp and clean, and has just the slightest taste of rye. This is a wonderful summer beer and has made my list of beers to drink on a hot day.

Overcast Espresso Stout, Oakshire Brewing: American Stout, 5.8% ABV, 22oz

Ok, I know what you might be thinking about stouts in the summer. Trust me this isn't a thick heavy stout, more like a nice smooth porter. Also I live in the Pacific Northwest and there is always a few days in early summer that call for a nice dark beer. When you pour this beer into your glass you might think, sure is dark and boy is it Heady but, once the head settles down to a lacing of tan foam you'll see it's not over bearing. Take some time to go ahead and really get your nose up close to take in the wonderful strong smell of coffee, chocolate, and malts. As I mentioned already this beer is smooth and lighter than other stouts. Also being an American style stout brewed in Oregon you can bet that it also will have slightly more hops than other stouts on the market, and you'd be right. Along with the very strong dark chocolate and coffee flavors you'll be treated to a bitter back drop that almost seems to keep the mouth feel dryer than other malty beers. Although I wouldn't take this beer on a hike, I would suggest that it would work perfect when the day cools to night sitting in front of a camp fire roasting up smores.