Widmer Brothers Brewing Company - Okto Festival Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

This Oktoberfest märzen from Oregon-based Widmer Brothers pours a full-bodied amber with a ruby glow to back it up. The yellowed-tan head is thick and creamy with solid retention and layers of thin lace. The nose is dry and dusty, but feint overall. It is slightly spicy, but quite mild with a reserved sweetness. The malts seem light and very light on the aroma.

Initially, the beer's hops are center stage and dominate the palate. It's not so hoppy that the beer pushes an IPA, but seems more like a hoppy amber ale than a traditional märzen. Overall the hops are piny with a complex bitterness. Toasted malts have a mild biscuity edge and a pleasing caramel sweetness, but are up staged all along. The finish is dry and tight with lingering pine notes. I don't know if this is a misguided attempt or a "West Coast interpretation," but I think this one misses the Oktoberfest boat. What I do know, is that this is a solid brew.

Final Verdict: B

Beers from Oregon via Mobile Phone Camera

McMenamins - ESB
Enjoyed At: McMenamins Kennedy School
Serving Type: Nitro tap, served in a 16 oz. pint glass

Large creamy head in light tan. Feint dusty nose with slight vanilla. Dry bitterness with a smooth silky malt body. Classic to the style with a clean and refreshing finish.

McMenamins Beer Sampler

McMenamins - Ruby Ale

Enjoyed At: McMenamins Kennedy School

Serving Type: Poured from a tap, served in a 4oz. sampler glass

Lightly pink body with a hint of foam at the top. Sweet and slightly tart nose, fresh and fruity. Clear raspberry flavoring, but not too candy-like. The fresh raspberry is tart, but the flavor subsides quickly. Underlying malts are fairly thin, but not disappointing.

McMenamins - Hammerhead Ale

Enjoyed At: McMenamins Kennedy School

Serving Type: Poured from a tap, served in a 4oz. sampler glass

A medium, slightly ruby-tinted, amber body. Tight hoppy nose with minor grape fruit. Sweet and grainy malts on the palate with a mild hopping.

McMenamins - Sunflower IPA

Enjoyed At: McMenamins Kennedy School

Serving Type: Poured from a tap, served in a 4oz. sampler glass

Medium-light hazy straw body. Tight, pungent, but not overbearing hops on the nose. Satin mouthfeel with a drying and pronounced bittering. Moderate toasty malts shadow the primary hop body. Crisp finish.

McMenamins - Terminator Stout

Enjoyed At: McMenamins Kennedy School

Serving Type: Poured from a tap, served in a 4oz. sampler glass

Light chocolatey nose, deep brown body, very dark. Smokey nose and flavoring with a smooth and velvety mouthfeel. Big caramel notes lend a sweetness that offsets the smokiness.

McMenamins - Copper Moon Pale Ale

Enjoyed At: McMenamins Kennedy School

Serving Type: Poured from a tap, served in a 4oz. sampler glass

This seasonal has a medium amber body that's clear with moderate red highlights. The beer is hoppy and minerally with a smooth mouthfeel. The carbonation is there, but at times the body seems to go a bit flat and watery. The finish is mildly herbal and grassy.

McMenamins - Nebraska Bitter

Enjoyed At: McMenamins Kennedy School

Serving Type: Poured from a tap, served in a 4oz. sampler glass

The beer pours a light amber with a mix of straw and red hues throughout. The nose is relatively feint, but carries a mild candy and a slight perfume. The beer is floral with a slight honey sweetness and a tea-like graininess.

Ninkasi Brewing Company - Total Domination IPA

Enjoyed At: A kickball game

Serving Type: 1 pint, 6 oz. bottle, from the bottle

Bill's Tavern & Brewhouse - Duckdive Pale Ale

Enjoyed At: Bill's Tavern & Brewhouse, Cannon Beach, OR

Serving Type: 1 pint, 6 oz. bottle, from the bottle

The Duckdive Pale pours a glowing orange-tinted amber. The nose is tight with plenty of oily hops and a citrusy body. The beer is sweet with light hops and a biting crisp carbonation. Slight honey and herbal elements lend an extra bit of depth to the brewpub beer.

Bill's Tavern & Brewhouse - Asa's Premium Blonde Ale

Enjoyed In: Cannon Beach, OR

Serving Type: 1 pint, 6 oz. bottle, from the bottle

The ale pours a light golden orange with a foamy and frothy white head. Retention was mild and lacing was contained to the top rim of the glass. Mild hops and a very malty body. Honey sweetness was pervasive and left a slight astringency on the finish.

Widmer Brothers Brewing Company - Deadlift Imperial IPA

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Mark Twain pint glass

The Widmer Brothers' Deadlift Imperial IPA pours a slightly hazy orange-tinted amber body with a medium-sized head. The foam is creamy with a yellowed hue and a minor hop oil sheen. The retention is moderate with extensive lacing. The nose is tight and potent with a hoppy bitterness. A huge citrus component supplements the clearly-sweet beer.

The beer has a thick, almost syrupy, consistency, which is broken up by some solid velvety carbonation. Citrusy hops are prominent with a defining grapefruit flavor. The hops transition slightly to a piney edge that balances the significant sweetness. The nectarous draw of the beer pushes the alcohol back slightly which manifests itself primarily in a warming heat. The finish seems slightly alcoholic and the beer leaves with a toothsome sugary feel.

Final Verdict: B-

Widmer Brothers Brewing Company - Hefeweizen

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pilsner glass, posing as a weizen glass

This Oregonian hefeweizen from Widmer Brothers pours a hazy, unfiltered, yeast-infused orange with a yellowy glow. The large off-white head is a creamy consistency with great retention and moderate lacing. The nose is light with somewhat feint dusty wheat malts. A mild spiciness accents the sweet edge and adds a dry characteristic.

The mouthfeel is fairly velvety, but flirts with wateriness. The wheat malts are sweet and find an accompaniment of standard coriander fare. Light citrus notes illuminate the beer near the finish and mix with a clear graininess. Some lasting lemon flavor develops in the aftertaste.

Final Verdict: C+

Rogue Brewery - American Amber Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

Rogue's American Amber Ale pours a deep, but clear, cherry amber with light visible carbonation. The head is huge and fluffy with a slightly frothy consistency and an off-white coloration. The retention is great and the lacing is commendable. Hops are prevalent on the nose with a light dusty dryness and an underlying malty sweetness.

The beer is super grainy with a gritty, coarsely cracked grain mouthfeel. There's a light sour mash component to the front palate. The beer is slightly earthy with toasted biscuit notes and sweet caramelized malts that add color and flavor. The hops are tight and turn the palate crisp and shift the focus of the beer. The finish is grainy, but carries a lasting hop dryness.

Final Verdict: A-

Widmer Brothers Brewing Company - Pitch Black IPA

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

The Oregonian brewer Widmer Brothers' Pitch Black IPA pours a very deep brown, but clear, with a ruby glow and a large frothy tan head. The retention on the head is excellent and the lacing is moderate and appealing. Coffee notes and a dark sweetness from the roasted malts define the nose. A fragrant hopping pierces the smokey coffee, providing an interesting meshing of aromas.

The smokey roasted malts seem gritty in texture, but are balanced by crisp and fresh hops. The hops almost seem citrusy, in distinct contrast from the malts. However, the play with the smokiness modifies the character of the hops giving the beer a unique edge. The biting hops combine nicely with the powerful charred character and create a lasting finish.

Final Verdict: B+

Rogue - Dead Guy Ale

Rogue - Dead Guy Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a flute glass

Dead Guy Ale is my first experience with Rogue, although I’ve long-admired their distinctive bottles on shelves in package stores, and perhaps my first Oregonian beer. Dead Guy pours a fuzzy muted orange body with a sticky off-yellow-tinted head of foam. The slow-to-fade head produces large swathes of thick lacing. The nose packs bright fruits like hints of pears as well as considerable citrus. Definite notes of grapefruit on this very hoppy nose. Mild alcoholic esters also float from the top of the beer.

The mouthfeel is smooth and airy. The bitter hops are drying and piney. This definitely seems more like a pale ale than the advertised Maibock. This supposed Maibock is brewed with some German ingredients including Maier Munich malt and Perle hops, but I just don’t recognize the likeness to the style. While the beer is quite good, it is dry and tart and almost singularly hoppy. 

There are notes of earthiness to it and the malts do come through quite late (after a few minutes to warm). I don’t get the breadiness that many have reported tasting and it doesn’t seem quite so complex. This is a totally competent and enjoyable pale ale, but not quite a Maibock, in my opinion.

Final Verdict: B