21st Amendment Brewing “Hop Crisis!: The Empirical Imperial
Taste is subjective. We all know this. We all hotly debate it, question it, we attack the philosophical underpinnings of it as applied to everything from art to cars to ice cream to sitcoms, and those...
View ArticleColumbia Valley Brewing: A Finer Shade of Pale
Judye, my Significant Other, is a fiend for camping. Last year, we went to Wanapum Campground and almost got blown off the face of the planet; 40 MPH winds sustained for two days and nights. I figured...
View ArticleDeschutes Conflux 2 & Boulevard Collaboration 2: A Tale of Two Cities
If this style of beer is to evolve, to be continued by other brewers, I think the direction that Deschutes has taken here is the one more viable in the long run.
View ArticleBest of the Northwest 2011:The Finest Beers from Our Corner of the Map!
If I could compile a roster of beers that would serve as an introduction for a visitor who loves beer but knows nothing of our Northwest Brewing Culture, I'd simply make this my shopping list.
View ArticleA Summery Judgement 2012: The Fool’s Views on Cool Brews!
From - literally - every corner of the globe, creative brewers are reaching so far outside the box that the box has been rendered irrelevant.
View ArticleA Summery Judgement, Part II: The Fool’s Picks for the Dog Days
In Part Two of "A Summery Judgement", we go to Oregon - yet again! - Seattle, Gig Harbor, Bend, Boulder, and, improbably, to... Poulsbo, Washington?
View ArticleEye of the Needle “Private Eye” and Old School House “Fresh Hop”: The Fool’s...
Today’s Picks are two pre-release gems…no, make that GEMS. I’ve written frequently here about Haystack Needle/Eye of the Needle wines and I’ve taken some static about it. Several dozen readers...
View ArticleDeschutes “Chasing Freshies” and Klinker Brick “Farrah” Syrah: The Fool’s...
For today's Picks, I decided to put together a Titanic Twosome of sheer, hedonistic sex appeal. No pretense of particular stylistic integrity or preconceived notions of correctness. Just..."Does it...
View ArticleDeschutes Hop Henge: The Philosophy of The Flower
This edition is easily the most distinctive and delicious version of Hop Henge yet.
View ArticleThe New Hop That Drives Deschutes “Hop Henge”: Now It Can Be Told…
Hopsteiner Experimental Hop # 01210, AKA "Lemondrop", is probably going to show up in more beers than anything short of a Cray computer can count.
View ArticleStone Brewing: An Old Guardian and a New Bantamweight Bruiser
Stone is all about surpassing themselves and there is not a laurel to be found in all of Escondido, much less any to rest on.
View ArticleThe Indoctrination of The American Drinker
For the majority of Americans, our tastes in wine, liquor, and beer are largely determined by the early information we receive when being exposed to these beverages for the first couple of years.
View ArticleBeyond IPA: Where Do We Go From Here?
We need MORE of this wide-open exploration, not less. We do NOT need to simply beat the hell out of the core styles of the British ale tradition.
View ArticleFort George “The Optimist”: The IPA’s New Attitude
"The Optimist" IPA from Fort George Brewing is...THE...Best...New...IPA in five years, at least out of the thousands I've tasted.
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