What happens when you combine snowboarding and beer? Euphoria. Well, that’s what happens when Ska Brewing and Venture Snowboards team up anyways. Ska brews the beer, Venture brands the beer, they throw a party and everyone has fun. Sounds like a perfect match to me.

The Euphoria Pale pours out a beautiful amber-red. Crystal clear but with a subpar head of foam. The aroma was a bit of a let down. I was bracing for that dank hit of hops, but it never came. Instead, this pale stays with its malty roots and hides its hoppy character behind a wall of grain.

The taste is a different story though. The hops definitely come through with a nice floral note that is sweet and fruity. Its interesting because generally a beer this hoppy is equally bitter. Not here. This thing almost tastes like a lite beer with its lack of bitter notes. It has a lingering passion fruit aftertaste that is really something.

Overall, it’s not what I expected and I’m glad. Too many pale ales seem to use the same recipe. Ska breaks from standard a bit here and ends up with something that ads a slight twist to the old classic. Pick one up, open it up, drink it down. What are you waiting for. 

Posted by mallen | 4 Comments »

I was in Mondo Vino the other night and noticed this beer sitting quietly in the cooler. After careful examination, it became clear that I had to give this one a go. After all, with an ingredient list reading Water, gerstemout, hop, and candijsuiker en gist how could you go wrong?

It poured out aggresive, almost like a champagne. The color is coppery-orange and mighty dirty, we’re talking major chunks suspended in the beer and a thick sludge of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Don’t grimace, that’s the good stuff! The aroma is yeasty and fruity, with hints of apple and pear.

The taste is typical of a belgian beer. It starts as a complex blend of flavors and continues to get more complex as it warms. It’s nicely carbonated, though smooth to drink. Fruit and spice intermix. Green apple and orange peel mixing with coriander and honey. They claim that the “taste ends with a nice afterglow.” At 10% ABV, I agree, a nice warm finish tops off this festive brew. 

Overall thoughts - With Double and Triple Pale Ales and Imperial IPAs dominating the US breweries, its easy to overlook the growing variety of belgians available. This beer is a perfect example of how creative one can get with a belgian ale. It’s almost completely void of hop flavor, yet it tastes balanced and complete. At $9 for one 11oz bottle, this one is probably a waste for most, however for the guy that has to try them all… It’s worth the one-time investment. All I know, is that after an exhausting day snowboarding in 12+ inches of fresh pow, this thing hits the spot.

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Well, its been a while since I’ve posted a proper beer review, so here we go. I was in the beer store today and picked up a large selection of new and seasonal beers. Hopefully, over the next few weeks, i’ll get the opportunity to taste them and report back with my thoughts. By the way, if you are ever in the Denver area, you need to check out Mile High Wine and Spirits - it is on the verge of taking over as the best beer store around - at the moment, Mondo Vino still holds the title , but Mile High is now the top contender.

Anyway, here we go. I don’t have too much experience with Port Brewing Company, but so far the beers I have tasted from them are fantastic. This week, I’ll take down the Old Viscosity - a thick, dark beer that has been aged in bourbon barrels. It weighs in at a hefty 10% ABV and sounds too good to be true. The label actually refuses to categorize this beer, remaining aloof with descriptions like “it’s thick, as in my chest just grew a wool coat,” and “It’s dark and sludgy like the old 50w oozing from the crank of that old truck.”

As expected, it pours thick and dark, completely opaque, with a dense creamy head that vanished within seconds leaving behind a glass of blackness. The aroma isn’t quite as strong as I would have guessed - but it has a strong grain backbone, with sweet malty overtones. Hints of chocolate and vanilla prevail.

The taste is phenomenal. It’s thick and rich like chocolate/coffee syrup with a very subtle whiskey/bourbon aftertaste that hits a little bitter in the back of the tongue. The more I drink, the more that subtle whiskey flavor lingers and the alcohol warms the body. Overall, this is one heck of a beer. It could be called a dessert beer, as savoring each sip brings new insight and appreciation. Highly recommended.

ABV: 10.0%

Serving Type: 22 oz. bomber and snifter

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Just in case you missed it, the results have been posted here.

As always, many of these could have been predicted, however, there were several surprises.

California brweries had a strong showing in all the Pale Ale categories, taking nearly every medal except Gold and Bronze in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category, which went to Hop Bomb, Rock Bottom Brewing, Louisville, CO and the Organic IPA from Hopworks in Portland respectively. It was great to see the Hop 15 take Bronze in the Imperial IPA category, though I was surprised not to see a selection from Moylens make the top three - wonder if they entered any beer. . .

Oh, and wow what a nail-biter in the America-Style Light Lager Category where Coors Light narrowly beat out Old Milwaukee and Keystone in a who-cares-they-taste-like-piss-anyway grudge match.

Other WTF notables are Hurricane from Anheuser-Busch winning gold in American-Style Specialty Lager - anyone out there had a hurricane? Good God, its a 40oz of paint thinner. I think they go for like $1.15 a piece. Hurricane beat out Natty Ice and Busch Ice - glad I didn’t have to judge that one.

Russian River and Dogfish Head both had strong showings placing in several categories. It was also good to see Jolly Pumpkin, Victory, and the timeless Alaskan Smoked Porter make the charts. Several Colorado favorites also made a strong showing, most notably, Sweet George’s Brown from Dillon receiving a gold in English Style Brown Ale and the Fifteen from Avery pulling in Silver in the Experimental Beer category.

I was disappointed that Southern Sun didn’t win anything, but oh well, there’s always next year and despite the lack of medals they remain a local favorite.

Posted by mallen | 1 Comment »