Brewery : Black Raven Brewing Co.
Jul0
Today I decided to take a trip to Black Raven Brewery in Redmond, WA. Black Raven serves up 7 brews including the classics, Hef Pale Ale, IPA, Porter and Stout. However they have a couple extras that are a little more unique. On the lighter side they have a Kristallweizen, which is a nice filtered wheat beer, light in color and alcohol. And to finish up, there is La Petite Mort. Meaning “The Little Death” in French (which is an innuendo FYI, in case you mention it in France) it is a strong Abbey Ale, running 8.8% ABV.
Kristale Wheat:
I began my journey with the lightest. The Kristale is a cross between a pilsner and a Hefeweizen. Very light and crisp, its light palate still contains some distinct flavors including light honey and banana undertones. Generally I’m not a big fan of light beers, but I would definitely take another look at this one.
The Good: Light and refreshing. For a Light beer I would drink it again.
The Bad: A bit too light, and the banana undertones (though prevalent in many beers due to the type of yeast) can be distracting.
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Hefeweizen:
Hefeweizen’s are a classic; Black Raven’s however, is an unfiltered version of the Kristale. Their differences are slight but noticeable. The Hef has a bit more of a bite, and a little fuller bodied. With a choice between the two I would take the Hef.
The Good: Same as the Kristale but with more body.
The Bad: The unfiltered version ends up with the same issues as the Kristale.
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Totem Pale Ale:
The Totem is a light amber ale. On first taste, it’s bitter, with the ESB malt smoothing out in the end. I’m not a big fan of bitters, but this Pale Ale might be worth a shot for IPA fans. The bartender tells me their IPA is even bitterer. The Totem Pale Ale rates a 38 IBU while the IPA pulls 68. *shiver*
The Good: It’s smooth and has some good flavors.
The Bad: A bit bitter, with a little too much hops. (But I’m biased)
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Obligatory beer sampler shot
Tamerlane Brown Porter:
I’ve moved past the lights, and entered the darks. My Expectations are high. The Porter… meets them. With a slightly smoky, nutty taste, this is a smooth brew. Not very sweet, there are Northwest hops and coffee undertones. Very enjoyable, and as my second favorite (and it’s not nitro) I’ll be taking this home in the growler.
The Good: Very tasty Porter. I love the full palate of flavors.
The Bad: Could be a bit smoother, and there is a touch of light bitterness.
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Morrighan Stout
This Nitro stout is yummy. A bit smoky, there is definitely a coffee flavor, with light mocha undertones. This nitro stout pours like a Guinness, and settles down into a beautiful head. The stout is smooth enough to drink all day, but still has the dry Irish stout satisfaction of a Guinness. Since I’m comparing to Guinness, I should state that the Morrighan has a solid, more flavorful set of tastes than a Guinness. Unfortunately because it’s Nitro I can’t take a Growler of this with me, shucks.
The Good: It’s Nitro. Lots of flavor. Would take over a Guinness any day
The Bad: I can’t take it home!
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La Petite Mort
This Abbey ale is also very tasty. The Belgium yeast leaves a bit of a spicy taste to this dark amber ale. Cloves, honey and banana are all light undertones. Additionally there is a very light tobacco flavor, which reminds me of my father smoking a cigar, while playing golf. I’m not sure if the innuendo of “The Little Death” quite compares to this brew as I was expecting a little more kick. As it stands you can barely even notice the 8.8% ABV, and honestly any more would be too much.
The Good: Enjoyable Abbey ale. Lots of flavor and a little more kick than the other Black Raven brews.
The Bad: The banana yeast is back, and it was a bit sweet. Still very good.
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Black Raven Brewing Co.
With 7 beers on tap made in house, only 1 of which is a seasonal (La Petite Mort) there is a beer for everyone here. The wait staff was friendly in the tap house, and overall the service was good. I was very satisfied with the sampler, and I shall go home and enjoy my Growler.
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Beer Review: Dick’s Imperial Stout
Jul0
Yummy deliciousness
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by my fiancee so please don’t think I started to carry around a man-purse or something stupid like that 
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Amount of brew: 12 fluid ounces
Warm and fuzzy factor: 7.5%
Type of beer: Read the title
Purse-thinning-factor: $2.49
I hardly ever post a beer review. My usual role on this website includes the very amateur photography. My secondary role includes picking beers for Mr. Beer Guy to review. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that I am averse to sharing my opinion (about beer)… It is just that putting my opinions down on “paper” means that I have to really think about them first.
So why am I doing a review now? Did you happen to notice the lovely textbook that is in the background of the picture? Um, yeah. That would be a review book for my next big fat test in a series of big fat tests that I will be involved in for a while. I figured that procrastination is definitely a part of studying, and this beer review is helping in the procrastination department.
Oh yeah, I should start talking about the beer.
As the title indicates, this is an Imperial Stout. Please refer back to Mr. Beer Guy’s info post on Imperial Stouts if you want more technical information about that. Mr. Beer Guy chose this beer partly because he had not seen it before and partly because Dick’s Beer has consistently produced delicious beers. As another side note, before I actually get to reviewing this beer, Dick’s Beer makes a GREAT variety pack that we actually buy pretty often. They have a good spread of brews that have never disappointed. FTW We are actually thinking about using at least one Dick’s beer at our wedding.
Okay, so the beer… Out of the bottle and from the fridge, this beer smells pretty rich and smokey. It tastes just as mouth-watering as it smells. The beer is not over-powering in taste or intensity of the stout. I would recommend this beer to people that are wanting to try a stout but don’t want something that is going to knock them off their feet (or USMLE studying chair). The stout definitely went quickly and Mr. Beer Guy kept making his way from the office to the dining room so that he could get sips of the beer before I finished it off.
I don’t think that I would have like this beer if it had been hot and muggy outside. But then again, I don’t know too many people that like to drink heavy drinks while it is that warm outside. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what happen to this beer as it warms up. I think that it does start getting a bit stronger, but I happen to have finished off the beer before it got too warm.
The bottom line is that Dick’s Beer has brewed up yet another winner. It is great for people who want delicious beer, and it is even better for people who want delicious beer while procrastinating for studying for a test.
The Good: A good imperial stout that lives up to the Dick’s Beer label
The Bad: I don’t have more of these in my house to help me procrastinate further.
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Beer Review: Primator
Jul0
A delicious lager (yes, you heard that right)
Amount of brew in bottle: 500 ML (i.e. roughly a pint)
ABV: 5%
Type of brew: lager
Price: $3
I was getting low on my beer review so I headed on down to one of my beer supply spots and as I was checking out I asked them for a good beer to review that wasn’t common and this was the one they suggested. I would have to say it is a pretty darn good lager. It has been fairly warm here in Seattle so a good lager is very refreshing. I am always skeptical drinking lagers and pilsners as they have a bad rap here in the U.S. because of the macro-breweries that brew tasteless crap. I had a bit higher hopes with this beer since it came from the Czech republic which is where lagers originate. This beer pours with a light color and a good amount of foam. The taste is refreshing with a very slight bitterness to it and has some decent taste to it. Some might describe the taste as floral to me the taste seems light, sweet and like I said before a tinge of bitterness.
This is the second foreign lager I have had and so far I have been impressed. The difference between most U.S. lagers and the foreign lagers is very noticeable. I am sure there are some craft breweries that brew up some mighty tasty lagers but they are few and far between. If you see this beer when you are at the store I would suggest you pick one up, especially if it is warm outside!
The good: great taste, light, refreshing, awesome on a hot day
The bad: I am coming up blank
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Beer Review: 2009 Oak Aged Imperial Stout – Left Hand Brewing Co
Jul0
A damn fine beer! Photo by - Jana
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 10.2%
Type of brew: Imperial Stout
Price: $7
I love all types of beers but I would have to say good stouts and IPAs tend to be my favorites. Which means I have been looking forward to reviewing this beer for the week or two it has been in my fridge. On first taste of this beer it is readily apparent that it is barrel-aged because it is smooth like silk and is a bit sweeter than normal stouts. The nice thing about it though is that it isn’t crazy sweet, when trying barrel-aged stouts it is always a gamble and sometimes you get a beer that is so sweet you might wonder if you are drinking straight high-fructose corn syrup. However, it appears Left Hand brewing has decided to get the perfect combination for an oak aged stout; it is sweet with a slight taste of malts and dangerously easy to drink. I have to say that this stout has topped all of the other oak-aged stouts I have had to date. As most stouts this beer is black but what else would you expect? If someone gave you an amber “stout” you would laugh at them and ask them for whatever they have been drinking 
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On a side note all of the beers I have had from Left Hand Brewing have been enjoyable, so, if you are ever faced with a bunch of beers that you know shit about and Left Hand is in their maybe you should choose them. Also, they have one of the best brewery site designs I have seen to date.
The good: super easy to drink and a delicious taste
The bad: It could be too sweet for some people and it only comes in 22 ounce bottles
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Beer Review: Alpha Dog – Laughing Dog
Jul0
Don't follow this leader!
I have had this beer in my fridge for almost a month now so I guess I should finally get to reviewing it.
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 8%
Type of brew: Imperial IPA
Price: ~$6
The last time I had a laughing dog beer I wasn’t that impressed. Actually I was downright fucking unimpressed but hey I am not reviewing that beer on this post. Thankfully this beer is a little better but it still is not the best beer I have ever had. Supposedly this beer has 120+ IBUs but I don’t feel that it is that hoppy maybe because the malt is over-riding the hops which is too bad. The beer poured a light brown color and had a malty smell. The taste is skunky and very malty. Even though the taste is not that great this beer is decently easy to drink. However, this beer is rather unremarkable and Laughing Dog has let me down once again. Since this is my second beer I will give Laughing Dog one more try before I stop drinking their beers.
The good: A great beer to use for revenge
The bad: Tastes like malty skunk water
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